sad but hopeful

[kaachamaleon]

So I'll tell you my history that I hope never happens to the new owners like me ..
When I finally get my chameleon (kaa) in Petco store 5 months ago , the shop wet the base of the box where they give to you your cham and I asked if I could feed him with something else apart of crickets or meal worms because I investigated a little more of the variety of food for chams and they said " no don't give anything more we only feed them with that " .. for fear of a poisoning follow the orders of store care like a new owner of a reptile ,even bought the chameleon kit wich has the lighting kit the UVB & heat wit day light , and now 5 moths after all tis time my cham is so sick he has his crest (casque) wavy had it since I got (8 weeks of life) it and think was normal , but not ! isn't healthy and he have a great problem of hypocalcemia & hypovitaminsis , I suspect that the store gived to me my cham something sick my poor baby now with a lot of problems for follow their instructions .. sounds dumb but I was scary of a poisoning , he became to drag we tough he was a little more big for hang in the plants but noo.. was a type of bone disease ..the lamp day is practically useless contributes nothing apparently.. 3 days ago went with the veterinarian specialist on reptiles & exotic animals (recently we had not specialist on my city) and he said to me that wet the base of the box was a problem because can cause hypothermia ... and almost all the instructions that the people of the store give me was wrong, I am telling you my sad history because I don't want another suffer the consequences like me ,I find put a lot of things about chameleons before have mine , but I just trusted in the instructions .. now my chamaleon is on slow recovery and with hope of his total recovery

 

[kinyonga]

Sorry for the problems your chameleon is having. We could have helped you more if you bothered to answer the questions we asked and replied to the thread. Hopefully yo will make sure that the husbandry for your chameleon is correct now...before it's too late.

In this thread Rogue suggested you answer the questions in the how to ask for help thread.....and gave you the link to it....you didn't do it...
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/i-think-my-chameleon-isnt-acting-normal-help.159976/

In this thread I asked you to answer the same questions...you didn't.....
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/helppppppp-please.160391/

So....your chameleon has MBD and in addition to correcting it you need to make sure your husbandry is right to stop it from happening again.
What did the vet tell you to do to correct it? Did he give you liquid calcium or give the chameleon injections? Is it a veiled chameleon? Please take the time to answer these questions for the good of your chameleon.

For husbandry to keep it from returning...
Your chameleon needs a basking spot in the low 80's for now. This allows it to warm up so it can digest it's food properly. It will play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption. The basking light can be a regular white household incandescent light of a wattage that produces the proper basking temperature

Your chameleon needs to be fed a diet of healthy insects such as crickets, roaches, silkworms, locusts, superworms, black soldier flies, etc. There insects need to be fed/gutloaded properly. Crickets, superworms, roaches , locusts can be fed greens, veggies and a BIT of fruit such as dandelion greens, kale, endive, escarole, collards, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, carrots, berries, apples, making, pears, etc.

In addition to this your need to dust the insects just before feeding them to the chameleon with a phosphorous-free calcium powder at almost every feeding to help make up for the poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous found in most feeder insects.
You need to dust them twice a month with a phosphorous-free calcium/D3 powder to ensure that the chameleon gets some D3 without overdosing it and leaving it to produce the rest of its D3 from its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to health issues (like MBD) but D3 produced from exposure to the UVB light won't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB at will.
It's also advised that you dust with a vitamin powder twice a month that contains a beta carotene prOformed source of vitamin A. PrOformed vitamin A will not build up in the system so it's safe. This means that you will have to decide when/if your chameleon needs prEformed vitamin A or not. PrEformed can build up.

It's important that the chameleon gets proper UVB light so it can produce vitamin D3 so its bones and muscles, etc will stay strong.

You need to provide water through a dripper and a mister. They are often slow to start drinking so you have to do it for long enough that they do drink.

Also...if your chameleon is a female she will need a laying bin IN the cage at all times once she's sexually mature because they can produce eggs without having mated. Her diet needs adjusting once she is mature too.

Hopefully you will be able to bring the chameleon back to good health. Good luck.