Rear leg paralysis

J

JFT80

New Member
Current Problem - Rear legs stopped working over night. After day 2 I took him to the vet confident it was impacted bowels, but she assure me it wasn't (used a probe). With that she says a calcium deficiency is likely the cause of a break that has pinched a nerve. She came to that conclusion without any blood work or Xray. I am very sceptical at the snap decision. I am even more worried about my new little buddy and feel helpless to fix the situation. Can anyone offer their advice/opinions or experience. He has been started on liquid calcium and was given a Vit D shot during the visit. He has little interest in his food, but can be force fed. Trick is getting him to open his mouth without having to irriatate him. I would like to minimize stress. Thanks for your help!

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - 6 month old Panther chameleon. (pictures before symptoms)
Handling - 2-3 times per week for about 1/2 hour
Feeding - crickets (gutloaded) and meal worms daily
Supplements - Sticky tongue farms MinerAll (no D3) daily and RepCal with D3 once a week.
Watering - drip, mist, and fogger. Almost never see him drink
Fecal Description - not much at all, but colors look okay
History - Purchased from TikiTiki reptiles out of Las Vegas last January.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen 16"x16"x36"
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 compact UVB, 75watt incandescent, window perch.
Temperature - floor? basking at 90 F. Night temps can get to 72 F.
Humidity - Cool mist fogger (ultrasonic) comes about 6-7 times a day for 30 minutes. Humidty ranges from 50-70
Plants - I have one live spathaphyllum or "Peace lily"
Placement - 3' off the floor in a East window of master bedroom. Some traffic
Location - North Texas
 

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What are you specifically gutloading the insects with??

You said you are using Rep-cal with D3 once a week...normally people only use that twice a month. How heavily are you dusting with it?

Did the vet say whether he would recover the use of his legs?
When he was eating was he pooping? Does he poop at all now?

Regarding force feeding...IMHO it should only be done as a last resort. If you can drip water on his nose and get him to drink, while he's drinking place an insect between his teeth so that he will have to chew it. I would stay away from the mealworms for now.
 
They are gut loaded with Cricket Power Food from Timberline fisheries.

I dust them in a shaker and they come out all white almost. He typically doesn't get to them until a lot has fallen off.

The vet said 50/50 on the recovery.

When he was eating he would poop every other day more or less. He was also shedding about once a month. He hasn't pooped in about a week and the vet said it may be due to the paralysis.

I will take your advice on the feeding.
 
If he hasn't pooped, maybe you could try something to stimulate the pooping? A warm soak in a shallow container of water and with a stomach masage. It is worth a try at this point.
 
I tried that before I took him in. I could feel that he had 2 that will hopefully pass, but the water and massage didn't do it. I was going to try again tomorrow. I just wanted him to rest today after all that he went through yesterday.
 
I know this sounds tacky but is there another vet you can go to? That one sounds a bit lack luster. I am sorry about your guy, i hope for the best. Let us know how it goes.
 
Awe poor little guy. i hope everything turns out for the best and you can find out what is wrong.
 
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What is in the Cricket Power Food? I'm particularly interested in phosphorus, vitamin A and D3.

Babyfood pears can help if a chameleon is constipated.
 
Possible Tumour

I had the exact same thing happen to a red bar Ambilobe about a year back. He past away really fast about two days after he stopped using his back legs. I had never seen it before and it came on so quick. I had my vet do an autopsy, turned out he had a tumour on his hemepene.
 
I tried a few places and there aren't any that sound confident they know what their looking at. It seems like vet school went over reptiles for about a week and moved on. I have learned more from this forum than she seemed to know. His hemipene is prolapsed (i'm not sure thats the right word), but its likely a side effect of the paralysis. He's still hanging in there. Pretty pitiful right now though. I can sometimes get him to open up for a cricket, but since they chew on his lower legs now they can't stay in there with him. I keep some meal worms in there in case he is hungry while I am at work. I didn't see a breakdown on the cricket power food, but i can check again. Do we really think that the gutload would play that severe of a role after only 6 months? I just can't imagine with the dusting and what not that the gut load would have such a huge role in this.
 
I actually did take it to one of the hospitals on that list. I hate to do this, but I would like to find a Chameleon specialist or rescue that can care for him better. I am trying my best, but I work 10 hour days usually and I feel like he needs things done while I am not here. In his condition he won't last long. I have to hand feed, hand water, hand medicate him now. Still no poop, so that will need to be helped along as well. I would hate to give him up, but I would rather he survive.
 
Sorry about your chams health issues. I know Texas Ranger on here and they are in the Dallas area. You might want to pm them. They may be able to give you a line on another vet with more exp close to you. Dont give up on him, I had an ambanja that was paralyzed also on his hind legs. I kept him going for 5-6 months. We couldnt figure out what it was. I had a great vet though who helped me keep his quality of life high. When I started to see him show signs of real discomfort I had him put down. Its a hard decision to make and I hope you dont have to face that decision.
 
Yay for poops! ;) Hope he's making a good turnaround for you now. How's his paralysis?

The reptile vets at Texas A&M are fabulous and very knowledgeable if you're willing to travel for a good vet. If you're seriously considering rehoming him and can't find a good home let me know. I work with a reptile rescue in this area (southeast Texas) and she will stop at no lengths to make sure her rescues get top quality care and she works at the hospital so is very good with medical issues. I can give you more info if you need it, just let me know.

JFT80 said:
It seems like vet school went over reptiles for about a week and moved on.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately true, unless you chose to seek out more classes. :( I'm actually trying to get them to incorporate more into the curriculum for next year! We'll see if they listen.
 
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