skinny cham need pics

leela

New Member
hi,
my chameleon is a bit skinny how can i fatten her up. has any one got any pictures of a variety of weights of chameleons to help. also what do i gut load wax and meal worms with??
 
Check this out:

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

Wax and mealworms are both very poor options for your chameleons diet.
Better choices include:
crickets
cockroaches
superworms (zophoba morio)

All of the above can be gut loaded with sweet potato, apple, carrot, collard greens, cooked egg, alfalfa, dandelion, orange, melon and squash.

-Brad
 
i couldnt have said it better brad.! just follow the guidelines that brad ramsey is offering with that link. its not gona happen overnight but if you follow them correctly youll have it fat and healthy soon enough. good luck fatning it up and keep us posted.
 
the only problem with that is i cant give her anything that moves fast i.e. crickets n stuff??
 
well you could pop the crickets in the fridge for a little while before you offer them to your cham. Being cold slows crickets right down and would give you cham a better chance of catching them.
 
the only problem with that is i cant give her anything that moves fast i.e. crickets n stuff??

I don't understand.
Does she have trouble hunting?
Can you post a picture of her?
If she can't hunt and "zap" insects like crickets properly, there are other issues involved.
A healthy chameleon should have no trouble with crickets.

-Brad
 
my chameleon had an accident a couple of months ago, she fell about 6 inches onto her back and damaged her lower spine. she had no movement in her back legs for a while, she had a few injections and she is moving them now but, well, its a bit wierd really, she will go to move to another place and go to grip a branch but she over reaches and holds on to her fronts leg and wont let go because she seems to think she will fall if she lets go. i have to keep going into her cage and prising her feet open, i think that mite be why shes a bit off her food. and also the crickets just hide and she cant get into spaes or climb to catch them. but shes happy to be left with some wax worms and some giant meal worms in a dish.
has anyone got any ideas atall of something i could put on the front legs to stop her holding on with her back legs??
 
Do you mean she is grabbing her front legs with her back feet?

Could you try cup feeding, suspending a container (like a coffee mug) under where she likes to sit? Break the crickets back legs and they walk slowly around the cup - easy for her to catch that way. Silkworms generally dont move far or very fast, and could be placed in front of her.
 
What is the basking temperature (where she can sit)? Do you have a long linear UVB tube light on the cage?

What supplements do you use and how often for each?

What were the injections that she had when she hurt her spine?

What species is she?
 
...she will go to move to another place and go to grip a branch but she over reaches and holds on to her fronts leg and wont let go because she seems to think she will fall if she lets go...
Howdy Holly,

I think Kinyonga didn't want to over-alarm you without first getting the answers to her questions.

Kinyonga asked:
What is the basking temperature (where she can sit)? Do you have a long linear UVB tube light on the cage?

What supplements do you use and how often for each?

What were the injections that she had when she hurt her spine?
-------------------------

I think she asked those specific questions for the same reason that I would have. When Veileds (Yemen) grasp their own legs or grasp as their face or somewhat wildly grab at the air, the underlying reason is most often found to be metabolic bone disease (MBD). Your vet may have injected calcium etc. to counteract the severe lack of calcium in the bloodstream. Not only do the bones suffer from this lack of calcium but the nervous system begins to malfunction.

Proper calcium uptake and utilization is accomplished by supplying calcium with vitamin D3 and UVB. Not all UVB is suitable so we want to know what type of light source you are using. Supplement brands and types are also important to know since they're not all created equal either :eek:.

We're all hoping that this isn't MBD but if it is, you'll be catching it before it becomes fatal.
 
OK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
80 degrees basking temp,
yes i have a long UVB bulb
i supplement with nutrobal regularly
calcium injections...................................................................soooooooooooo
i didnt know it could become fatal what can i do?????????????????
 
suggestion...

Like one of the other posts suggested, I would create a feeding bucket strategically positioned in an area that the cham can get at the feed, hastle free. And what I would include in this bucket are crickets with a calcium supplement etc... But be sure to gut-load them with carrots, apples etc...
 
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