Sick Chameleon

[cham7034]

I just got a chameleon in august from petco and he is only a couple months old. things were going fine until a couple weeks ago. He fell off his branch in the middle of the night and was laying on the ground. Thinking maybe he was dehydrated i gave him some water with an eye dropper and he drank it. I waited a couple days and he didn't get any better and spent all his time on the ground so i took him to the vet about a week ago and they said he had MBD due to not enough calcium so i got him a UVB light and its been on everyday since. For about a week now he's been on the ground and a day after the vet appointment he started shedding. He's almost done shedding there is just a bit around his stomach and feet. I never see him eat and hell usually eat right in front of me sometimes out of my hand but now he refuses food. Today i decided to take him out of his cage to assess him. He has NO energy to move. It seems as if he back legs can not function and can't support his weight. When he is in his cage he is a dark green color, when i hold him he's bright green. Im not sure what to do! Please help my little Marvin

 

[kinyonga]

Did the vet not tell you how to correct the MBD by giving it a liquid calcium supplement until the bones were strong again in additional the UVB?

 

[kinyonga]

Please post a photo of the chameleon and answer the questions in the how to ask for help thread at the top of the health forum so we can help you better.

What species is your chameleon?

 

[kinyonga]

When a chameleon has MBD you first need to get the bones built back up by giving extra calcium preferably liquid calcium sandoz or gluconate since they absorb better into the system...then you need to keep the balance by providing propped UVB light, appropriate temperatures, feeding / gutloading insects properly, supplementing/dusting properly.

Appropriate temperatures aid in proper digestion and thus indirectly in the nutrient absorption.

Exposure to the UVB allows the chameleon to produce D3 so it can use the calcium in the diet.

Feeding and gutloading the insects such as crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms with a wide variety of greens such as collards, escarole, endive, dandelion greens, kale, etc and veggies such as carrots, sweet red pepper, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, etc provides the chameleon with healthy food.

It's recommended that you dust at most feedings with a phosphorous - free calcium powder to help make up for the usually poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous found in most feeder insects.

It's recommended that you dust twice a month with a phosphorous - free calcium D3 powder to ensure that the chameleon has some D3 without overdosing it and leaving the chameleon to produce the rest of the D3 from exposure to UVB. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 from exposure to UVB won't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of the UVB when it wants to.

It's recommended that you dust twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene ( prOformed ) source of vitamin A. Vitamin A from prEformed sources can build up in the system and lead to overdoses but vitamin A from prOformed sources will not build up.

Bone health and other systems need a balance in phosphorous, D3, vitamin A and calcium.

 

[cham7034]

more answers

He is a veiled chameleon. I feed him meal worms, crickets, and wax worms. i mist him as much as possible and keep his temp at around 85-90 and humidity is 60-80 i don't hold him often, maybe 3-4 times since I've gotten him which was in august. The vet suggested calcium liquid but i thought id wait to see how it goes. Maybe i should get him that? Thanks of the help

 

[cham7034]

more pictures

here are some more pictures

 

[carol5208]

Yes unfortunately your chameleon has MBD. You may have a female also and not a male. The way to tell is to post some pics of the back feet.
The males have a little bump on the back heel and the females do not. Petco usually does not know. I just taught someone there last week how to tell a male from a female. They had no idea. Anyways, your chameleon must have calcium if you want to stop the MBD from progressing. Did you not have a uvb light or give it any calcium since you got it? Do as the vet said and give your chameleon the liquid calcium. You were supposed to be dusting your feeders with calcium all along. I don't know if you give liquid calcium that you will do the dusting also. I believe so, but ask your vet or someone else on here may know and comment.
What size is that cage? Your temps a bit high also.

 

[cham7034]

i will get the calcium liquid. I've tried dusting with calcium but as of right now, he won't eat. my tank is 18 in. by 12 in. Im really worried i will take him back to the vet asap Thank you so much for your help!

 

[carol5208]

That is a very small tank and the lighting you are using is heating it up too much. You don't want it too hot. Ideally you should have a basking area(which is hard to do in that size cage) of about 85 and the rest of the cage should be about 10 degrees less. If your whole cage is reading 85-90 there is nowhere for your chameleon to cool down. Also remove the dirt from the cage. It is unsanitary and can be injested. I know your chameleon is not really eating, but if you get him/her feeling better you do not want the dirt in there. Post a pic of the back feet so we know if you have a male or female.

 

[cham7034]

What do you suggest i put at the bottom? i feel awful this is what i was told to put at the bottom of the cage and this is the cage i was told to use! i will purchase a new one asap what do you suggest?

 

[SIRCHAMELEON]

Carpet

You can use this:
http://www.petco.com/product/104018/Zilla-Green-Reptile-Terrarium-Liner.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch
Or just newspaper I use the first

 

[carol5208]

Most of us use nothing. Some people use paper towels. A screen cage is best. Your situation is a little messed up because your chameleon cannot get around and will most likely fall with the MBD. Normally a tall cage is suggested for chameleons as they love being up high. The average size used is 24 X 24 X 48. They make smaller ones and you could get one and turn it on its side and keep everything low to the ground inside like the branches and vines incase she falls.. Chameleons can somewhat recover from MBD. Their limbs will never be straight. There is no cure for it and you cannot reverse what has been done, but you can halt it from getting worse and make her stronger by giving the calcium and exposing her to uvb light. I don't now what sizes your pet stores sell, but you can order online from somewhere like lll reptile if you cannot find one. They have many sizes to choose from. Here is a link for you to read on MBD.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/wha...ase-mbd-looks-like-how-happens-how-fix-95071/

 

[SIRCHAMELEON]

Cage Size

That cage is fit more so for geckos. Glass can lead to lung problems. Also if your chameleon is male(I think it looks female leg picks please!), it will grow at least 18 inches as an adult so he won't even have space to turn around! If you act quickly enough, you can save him. About him not eating I'm not sure if it will come down to this but you may need to force feed. Keep him hydrated and give him plenty of UVB exposure 10-12 hours. Also you cant get the calcium drops too soon.
I hope for the best ~SirChameleon

 

[SIRCHAMELEON]

One more Note

He/She won't drink from a waterbowl! Use a plant and mist it, they use their tounges to drink from leaves.

 

[sharp229]

That looks like a female. You don't need anything on the bottom, you just need to dry up excess moisture to prevent mold and bacteria.

Eventually you will want an 18x18x36 screen cage with a good drainage system, but you are going to want a cage that isn't very high until the MBD improves. This will prevent you chameleon from falling, and will also let her get close enough to the UVB light. You could get an 18x18x36 and put it on its side until she is better.

What specific brand and model of UVB light do you have, and how old is it? Your chameleon will need to be able to get within 7" of it for it to be effective. UVB does not travel very far.

 

[kinyonga]

Also...females can lay eggs without having mated so it's important that you provide her with a place to dig and lay eggs in the cage to prevent her from becoming eggbound.

It's importantly get some calcium in her ASAP. Please be careful when giving it to herwith a dropper or needless syringe that you ease it into her mouth slowly so she doesn't aspirate it.