Swollen feet

[reptilegurl]

Hey, I'm jsut new to this forum, but I have a customer that brought in a chameleon female vail, 13 months old, great shape, eating great. But the last 3 weeks it's toes and feet have been starting to swell, they brought her into me and they are very large, I was touching them and it doesn't seem to bother her, just wondering if anyone can tell me what they think it is. ALso just latley she doesn't use her tounge. She only sticks it out so that just the sticky ball on the end comes on and that's it. She used to use it better then that but has stopped, any thing will help. THey are worried and I'm stumped... Thanks
Terri

 

[Phatturk]

Well I recommend that you wait for some experts to answer, but it sounds like it is broken probably due to not enough D3 or UVB rays or calcium in it's diet. From what I have read when they have poor nutrition they break bones but maybe there is a more complicated answer also. Good Luck!

 

[kinyonga]

Are the toenails missing on the toes that are swollen?
The toes are likely infected and if so, they should be cleaned out properly by a vet. The vet can run tests to see what bacteria is involved and give the appropriate antibiotic. Usually if the chameleon is just put on antibiotics and the toes are not cleaned out, the infection won't go away.

As for the tongue...MBD is one reason for tongue dysfunction...but there are other reasons. The vet could be consulted about this at the same time.

 

[Eric Adrignola]

possibly gout. Is she feeding her insects fish food, by the way?

I find that many times, if they have gout, it's from people feeding their crickets fish flakes.

 

[Parandrus]

Gout or MBD are possibilities indeed. As Eric mentioned, excess animal protein in their diet can cause gout and feeding exclusively fish flakes, cat food, dog food and other items not mainly for crickets and reptiles, can lead to this. With that said, I have not seen that feeding fish flakes on ocassion, maybe once every 7-10 days to the crickets causes any problems and it actually helps provide pre-formed vitamin A and other nutrients in a more direct form than just dusting. Good hydration is the key in cases with ocassional exposure to animal protein to reduce the accumulation of uric acid in the joints.

Ivan