Toenails?

[jonpat83]

My male Veiled chameleon is 10 months old now, my parents had been looking after all my chams for me while I was on holiday and when I got back, my male Veiled had lost 2 claws from 1 of his feet. They dont know how he lost them and there is not even a mark where they had been. Will this cause him problems or will he be able to cope ok without them?
At the moment he seems just like normal but I dont know if it will give him trouble as he grows bigger.

 

[ChameleonsTree]

The aluminum screen cages are notorious for causing the nails to be ripped out. Most of the time there is no problem is they lose 1 or 2 but i would make sure there is more for them to climb on so they dont hang on the cage itself. Keep an eye on the area to make sure it doesnt get infected.

 

[jonpat83]

Thanks for the advice, I will add some more branches in for him

 

[ChromaChameleons]

FWIW, i have a female with 3 feet. She lost 1 front foot when she was a juvi, before I got her. She functions amazingly well and has even been able to dig holes, lay eggs and cover the lay site , with only one front foot.

So, it shows how adaptable these chams can be , when they are at a perceived deficit.

 

[kinyonga]

Just keep an eye on the toes that the nails are missing from for signs of infection/swelling.

 

[jonpat83]

Thats amazing that they can learn to deal with a problem like that, I guess if they had something like that in the wild they would either have to cope or they would get eaten by predators. It's brilliant that she does so well!

I will keep an eye on his toes just to be on the safe side, thanks again.