Swollen legs

[baltiets]

Hello

My female of Furcifer pardalis has swollen both front legs for 5 days. She can barely move and it looks like she has pain in the swollen legs. I visited veteriarian but he told me that he has no experiences with these animals. Is there some way, how to help her? One more thing, she has thin stool since i bought her, i have her for 4 months.

Some informations.
I use UVB-5 Tubes
I use vitamins called Reptivite, it contains many vitamins, like Ca, D3, Ph...
I mist the terrarium 4 times per day
I feed them with cricket, locust and sometimes i give them wax worms
The temperature in the room is 26-27 °C, during night around 23-24°C

Here is a picture of her:

 

[jannb]

Take her to the vet. COULD BE gout. Use plain calcium at about every other feeding.....only use the d3 and vit. once or twice a month.

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

That is definitely gout! Make sure you change your UBV light ever 6 months. Get her to a vet, it isn't reversible but he needs to look at her.

-chris

 

[BocaJan]

Only give her vitamins 1x/month. She needs calcium without D3 on a daily basis with calcium with D3 2x/month

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

I am not trying to be rude by any means but where do you all find this calcium and vits helps gout? Gout is a buildup of uric acid around her joints...normally it is seen in animals who's livers and kidneys are not doing so great. I recommend keeping her very hydrated, give her food with lots of fluid in them (ie. silkies or horn worms). I would also hold off on the supplements and give her insides some time to relax.

There may be information elsewhere about the multivitamins and gout but not to my knowledge.

Good luck,

Chris

 

[Debmonster]

I concur with Chris.

Many years ago my female jacksonii had gout. The Vet determined (though blood work) that she her kidneys and liver had been damaged. Me and the doc spoke for a while and we had a few theories. One being chronic dehydration damages the kidneys and another unproven reason is that she was kept outdoors which exposed her to too many temps that may have been too low eventually damaging the liver...Lesson learned on my part!

 

[klangford]

Best 'short' article I could find on Chameleon Gout.

http://chamworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/health-section-f-gout_28.html

 

[sandrachameleon]

Extra fluids
Review what you are gutloading your insects with, no more waxworms for a while

Given the vet you saw had no experience with Chameleons, you will need to search for an exotics vet. https://www.chameleonforums.com/veterinarian-resources-67/

 

[WelshOneEmma]

I would go to the vet asap. My chameleon had Gout due to kidney disease (had it when we got her), and it is not good.

 

[baltiets]

@sandrachameleon
I gutload the crickets with the dog food + i add vitamins.
I live in Czech Republic and we dont have there exotics veterinarians. I visited vet., who cares for the animals in our Zoo but he honestly told me that they have no experiences with chameleons. It`s really sad.

@Debmonster
It seems that you and your vet. had good theories. I bought this pair of F. pardalis in the Hamm Show on September and since that time, they have both very watery stool, especially the urea part. One more thing, they drink very much compared to my other pardalis. So, it looks like they have some chronic disease of kidneys. :/

@CleanLineChameleons
You were also right, they have definitely something with kidneys. Thank yout for the tip with the silk and horn worms

Thank you all for your comments

 

[WelshOneEmma]

@sandrachameleon
I gutload the crickets with the dog food + i add vitamins.

i think in the link Sandrachameleon posted it said one of the causes of Gout is feeding your feeders food such as Dog food. I would switch to fruit and vegetables. better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Julirs]

Yes-no Dog food or fish food-too high in protein.

 

[BocaJan]

Thanks for the information on the supplements. The husbandry of chameleons is so very delicate that it is good to be reminded of it periodically. I have no experience with gout, only how to care for healthy chams. Thank you CLC for the ding.

 

[Clifford]

Using dog food as your gutload is a very possible cause of painful gout for the chameleon. It is the high fat and animal protein. Immediately switch to a vegetable and fruit based gutload. Do a search on gutloading on this site and you'll probably find many suggestions.

 

[klangford]

Using dog food as your gutload is a very possible cause of painful gout for the chameleon. It is the high fat and animal protein. Immediately switch to a vegetable and fruit based gutload. Do a search on gutloading on this site and you'll probably find many suggestions.

Or follow the link I provided earlier with same info....

 

[tv321406]

Not to distract from the topic, but i have a quick question. I have been gutloading my crix with cricket food from premiumcrickets.com as well as veggies. The third ingredient is fish meal. Should I stop gutloading with this?

http://www.premiumcrickets.com/Cricket-Food.html

 

[dodolah]

some people put fish flakes in their cricket chow.
I usually avoid those gutload.

 

[sandrachameleon]

Right: avoid dog food, fish food, cat food. Go with lots of veggies, and some fruits, nuts and grains.
Dandelion, yam, squash, orange, mustard greens, sunflowerseeds, bee pollen, spirulina, ...

Does her "thin stool" smell at all?

 

[baltiets]

@sandrachameleon

Yes, their watery stool stinks very much and it last since i bought them (4 months). I have other 15 adult F. pardalis (some are 2 years old now), which are without problems.

Of course, i will avoid to gutload crickets with dog food but i often order crickets, because i am not able to produce so many of them.

Can i feed crickets with pollard + vegetables?

@klangford

Thanks for the link but i have it in my favourites more than a half year and of course i read everything and searched on this forum before i created a new topic. I firstly thought that it could be Metabolic Bone disease.

 

[sandrachameleon]

@sandrachameleon

Yes, their watery stool stinks very much and it last since i bought them (4 months). I have other 15 adult F. pardalis (some are 2 years old now), which are without problems.

Of course, i will avoid to gutload crickets with dog food but i often order crickets, because i am not able to produce so many of them.

Can i feed crickets with pollard + vegetables?

Smelly excrement suggests parasites. You will want to take that chameleon to a reptile veterinary to have a fecal test done. The results of that testing will tell you which parasite(s) it has and what treatment is appropriate.

Yes, when you bring the crickets home from where you buy them, dont feed them to the chameleon right away. Instead, keep them for a day or two feeding them /gutloading them with good vegetables etc. Then give those now nutritionally improved insects to the chameleon.

gutloading:
http://chameleonnews.com/?page=article&id=101
http://www.screameleons.com/site/3602/default.aspx
https://www.chameleonforums.com/gutloading-tips-new-owner-15262/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/gutloading-recipes-1803/

good items for gutloading:
Dandelion, yam, squash, orange, mustard greens, sunflowerseeds, bee pollen, spirulina, alfalfa, collard greens, romaine, endive,...