someone please help me!!

[K9Luvn]

I do not use anything at all. I just wipe up and stool that gets on the floor daily.


The UVB and basking light appear to be fine. But you really need to get rid of the substrate. The members that are helping you are very well versed in Chams and will be able to help you... just try to get pictures and and asnwer all you can so they can. They are really pulling for you and want to help you with you Cham.

 

[dolly123]

yes of course whats ur email?

 

[dolly123]

we have bought some eco earth, the shop where i got dolly told me to use it as it is digestable if this is not the case i shall remove it??

 

[camimom]

we have bought some eco earth, the shop where i got dolly told me to use it as it is digestable if this is not the case i shall remove it??

i pmed you my email.
and yes remove it.

she shouldnt be eating anything that isnt a bug or veggies.

 

[dolly123]

okay. i have sent you a picture her leg coordination isnt very good as you can prob see in the pic.

 

[dolly123]

usually when i open the doors to put her back when ive been holding her she near enough jumps out of my hand she climbs right up to the top but lately i have to lay her on her branches

 

[camimom]

Ok i got the pic, but it doesnt want to le tme load it.

this chameleon hs MBD.

you can tell by the way the front left arm is... its not straight.

it appears to be bowed and double jointed, and it shouldnt.

I wil ltry to load the pic once i get home, im at work right now.

you need a vet.
you need liquid calcium, and to get the supplements back on track.

the damage is done, and is not reversible, but you can stop the progression of the disease.

 

[dolly123]

oh no i dont know what to do theres nowhere i can take her at this time where i live everythings closed.. whats the best thing for me to do?

 

[camimom]

oh no i dont know what to do theres nowhere i can take her at this time where i live everythings closed.. whats the best thing for me to do?

just try to get her in asap. shes not going to die this very second.

try going to a local pharmacy, cvs, rite aid, whatever, and see if you can find plain liquid calcium.
you can give her a drop or two until you can get her to an experienced vet. which you need to do to get get injections, and other meds.

 

[Carlton]

my chameleon hasnt been eating since monday evening, she hasnt got alot of balance and is covering her face with her front leg. she had black beetles in her tank (that had hatched from something)that had been stressing her out so ive emptied everything out of the tank and put all new stuff in there but shes not drinking or eating and is just laying at the bottom of the tank, she was very pale earlier and now shes got some colour back in her but shes still quite weak. please help me thank you

The black beetles are the adult stage of your mealworms. It means she wasn't eating them or they hid in the soil before she could catch them. Who ever sold you this cham set you up very badly! Be sure there are no visible lights on at night. As long as your room doesn't get colder than about 60 F you don't need heat at night.

 

[carol5208]

camimom emailed the pics and your cham unfortunately does have MBD. I am sorrry and I hope you can get her to a qualified vet for treatment. She also looks a little plump in the pic Has she ever laid eggs? She might just chubby though.

 

[HolyToledo]

I know that it doesn't look as pretty without the substrate covering the bottom and keeping it humid is tougher without it, but, definitely: GET RID OF THE SUBSTRATE!!!

I left the substrate in and used all kinds of excuses to keep it (humidity, something soft to land on if they fell, she never goes down there so it won't hurt anything...). I was finally going to do right and leave the dirt out the next time it was due to be cleaned and because of my stubborn stupidity, my little girl chameleon died! She choked on some of the dirt when she was catching a cricket that escaped her food container!

MBD is survivable when caught in time and treated properly. There are many good informative threads on here and the people are very helpful. With patience and good care, your baby can pull through from the MBD.

But choking is quick and deadly! I speak from experience and it was devastating. Just put a bowl full of marbles to catch the water from the dripper if you use one, or soak it up with newspaper or something. But nothing that they can get into their mouth.

Good luck with your little one.

 

[camimom]

fnally got the picture to load.
you can clearely see the arm is bent and broken looking.
View attachment 49153

 

[kinyonga]

The MBD has to be corrected and then the husbandry that has led to it also needs to be corrected. MBD not only affects the bones but the calcium also plays parts in other systems in the chameleon...so its important to get it corrected quickly.

The quickest way for it to be corrected is to have a vet give it shots of calcium until its blood calcium levels are high enough that the chameleon can be given a shot of calcitonin to draw it back quickly into the bones.

If you don't do this, the chameleon can be given some liquid calcium sandoz or calcium gluconate in addition to the normal supplements until the MBD is corrected....but this is slower.

The chameleon needs to have proper UVB light especially during the recovery time...and appropriate temperatures to help it digest the food properly. Overfeeding her can also push her towards MBD (constipation, reproductive issues and impaction) so its important that it doesn't happen.

Also...do you know that she can/may produce eggs without having been mated and should have an appropriate place to dig in the cage to show you when she is ready to lay them.

Here's some information I hope will help you with supplementing, etc. so that you will understand it and the MBD won't return....
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

A wide variety of insects that have been well fed and gutloaded should be fed to it.

Since many of the feeder insects we use in captivity have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Please note that various supplements have various amounts of D3 and vitamin A and so some can be given more often than others. The idea still is not to overdo the fat soluble vitamins like D3 and prEformed vitamin A.

Here are some good sites for you to read too...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.

Good luck!