Tongue Issue

[javsto]

Hey Now, its been awhile since my last post but I think that this current one is somewhat but hopefully not that important. I purchased an ambilobe cham back in December of 2013. He is approx. 8 months old and I have not had any single problem with him since the day I first brought him home. This morning I noticed that he took a MASSIVE poop, I would say that its at least half as long as he is with a very white urate attached to a 4-5 inch long poop which is dark brown. I will try to upload a pic asap.

I also noticed that his mouth is slightly open and the tip of his tongue is protruding. When I reached into his cage to clean up his mess I also held him to get a better look at him and noticed that his right paw is not opening while he is trying climb, it sort of stays half open and when he manages to get a claw into a cage hole or around a branch he then hooks whatever it is he is holding onto and pulls himself along but cant grasp with that paw.

I was told by the store that I Purchased him from not to feed him anything other than crickets for the first 6-9 months of age. I dust them regularly with multivitamin powder and gutload them with Bug Burger. At first when I initially got him I would feed him about 12-16 crickets a day and he would devour them almost as fast as I could feed him but now is slowing down in his consumption, it usually takes him several days to eat the same amount of crickets. I use a Monsoon mister (which I have owned for the past 4 years with no complaint so save the hate for another thread) at two hour intervals with a 60 second spray time every day from 7am to 6pm and I do see him drinking from time to time. As Im writing this Im getting ready to take him down to my local vet to check him out for the first time.

I don't have the list that you would usually ask for to fill out for help but I keep him in an 18*18*36" cage, I use a 75watt bulb for heat and and 18" UVA/UVB 5.0 linear bulb and have a live umbrella plant in his enclosure with fresh non toxic soil. These pics are from this afternoon and the bottom one is of a twenty $ bill used for scale purposes.

 

[javsto]

I wish it was easier to post pics either from my pc or facebook or something like that...(it took a bit of back and forth but I managed to transfer some over from Facebook)

 

[reptoman]

As you probably figured out already, it was bad advice to limit his diet to crickets at any age. Variety is best from the time they are out of the egg until they pass.
I would want to see your exact supplement schedule. It does not sound like you used phosphate free calcium with or without D3. Multivitamin is very broad and could describe a lot of different supplements.

 

[javsto]

I use Reptical individual supplements both with D3 and without D3. The without I use every other feeding once the cage is empty and the with I use bi weekly. The multi vitamin I use is called Herptivite w/ beta carotene and I use that twice a week every other off D3 day if u get my meaning and I only use a pinch of each supplement, just enough to get a fine coating on the crix.

 

[javsto]

Ok so I just got back from the Vet and it was diagnosed as an early case of MBD. Here is an email discharge message that I got from the vet...

Emergency DISCHARGE INSTRUCTIONS
Presenting Date/Time: 05/31/2014; 4:51 pm
Discharge Date/Time: 05/31/2014; 6:53 pm

Presenting Complaint: Not grasping with right front limb

History:

Unknown was presented to the VMCLI ER for evaluation of not grasping with right front limb, which you noticed today. There is no recent history of vomiting, diarrhea, or known toxin ingestion. Unknown's current diet includes crickets and roaches dusted with vitamin supplementations. Unknown has no prior medical conditions and is not currently receiving any daily medications.

Initial Physical Examination (limited):

Weight= 0.049 kg (which the attending doc told me was normal for his age)

EENT: eyes clear, no nasal discharge, no lesions noted in the oral cavity

LUNGS: clear bilaterally

ABDO: soft, non-painful

INT: no cutaneous masses, ulcerations, plaques, scaling, or crusting noted

NEURO: appropriate mentation

M/S: Patient is in good flesh with no muscle wasting noted. Ambulatory x 4 with mild lameness in right front carpal area (wrist), BCS 5/9

GU: Unknown

Options Discussed With Owner:

Recommended box shot radiograph and outpatient therapy. You consented to all recommendations.

Diagnostics:

Radiographs- Low bone density. Malalignment of the right radius. Radiology report pending.

Problem List/Assessment:

1. Not grasping, low bone density: R/O metabolic bone disease vs other

Treatment: Vitamin (A, D3, E) injection 1 U IM, Calcium gluconate 5 U IM

Medications: None

Discharge Instructions:

As discussed, your chameleon's lameness is most likely secondary to metabolic bone disease (MBD) based on the physical examination and diagnostic results. At this time, we recommend administering Vitamin A,D,E and calcium gluconate to help increase calcium uptake in his bones to increase their density and prevent further folding. While the MBD may not progress, the malalignment of his radius will not change. Our goal is to prevent further complications with his bones including fractures.

Please monitor for any vomiting, diarrhea, inappetance, difficulty breathing or any other abnormal behavior. If you notice these clinical signs Unknown must be re-evaluated immediately.

Recheck: with Dr. Mehlrose at VMCLI on Monday (6/2).

It was a pleasure treating Unknown. Please feel free to contact me with any questions. The Veterinary Medical Center is open 24 hours-a-day should you need to contact us at any time for an emergency. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Tamara Kruse, DVM

Emergency Medicine

I just got back from Petco with a new linear UVA/UVB bulb, a newer containers of reptical with/without D3 since the one's I was using were expired my bad and I also got a medium sized magnetic ledge thing to hold his mealworm/calciworm combo that I also got from petco. What do you think about this and what should I be looking out for as far as improvement before I bring him back for reevaluation prior to july 4 as recommended?

 

[Camsofcali]

Not sure what your temps are like but you want to keep temps a little warmer for a Cham with Mbd. It speeds up the metabolism and helps ensure there absorbing their calcium to strengthen back up the bones. His poop being that big is a sign he wasn't warming up to digest properly which could be part of the cause of the illness..