tounge is out and he acts like...

[No Limit]

he has parkinsons disease. he is shaky and twitchy. he only drinks when i spray the water directly on to him in his mouth. i have a 6 months old panther chameleon, (sambava),

open air cage
20x20x36
10-14 hours of heat and uvb lights, both are full size
cage temp is around 80 during the day basking is 100-110
night is around 75-78

fed every day 10 small meal worms and 3 small crickets
d3 calsium and reptavtive every other day (of feeding) alternating

he only eats like every other day

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

Too hot a safe bet, if it is 100 to 110 in the basking area and it is 36" tall cage with an ambient temp of 80 that means that almost the whole cage is too hot. I would give him a lot of foliage and put a 75watt bulb on him for heating. Panthers don't like it as hot as veileds. Also meal worms are very low in nutrients so try mainly crickets and an occassional meal worm for a treat. Also at 6 months he probably should be eating a bit more than that. But again I would definately lower the basking temps. If his tongue is hanging out I would take him to a vet for sure. Good luck, keep us posted.

-chris

 

[kinyonga]

Is there any glass or plastic between the UVB and the chameleon?

What do you mean when you say his tongue is out? Just out a little or hanging right out of its mouth?

The shaking and tongue could be a calcium issue....but you would need a vet to test for it unless there are other signs too.

 

[summoner12]

Way too hot for him. 75watts might be a bit high. Where do you keep him? why is the room so warm? slow down on the worms, give him more crickets. The ambient should be around 75ish and the basking should be around 90. At night his cage should come down to 65 degrees. What kind of UVB lamp, is it a tube or a compact(screw in style lamp)? Whatever the lamp you are using, like Kinyongasaid, make sure there is no plastic between the lamp and the chameleon. Plastic blocks out the UVB, rendering the lamp useless.

 

[Jordan]

I am thinking it could be a calcium issue as well. Sounds like you need a vet.

 

[No Limit]

you guys are all right, turns out the supliments i was giving him had like basically no d3 or calsium, i went to pestmart today and compared what i had to what they had and the calsium and d3's were WAY off... he is in the later stages of calsum and d3 defisiancy, i got him all new stuff with extra calsium for now, hopfully this will work. what kind of bulb should i get? 65w? the UVB light is a long one, (not a screw in) and the heat is a full size.


i got him crickets now, should i get him silk worms since they move less? right now i have to force feed because he can't hold still long enought to get a straight shot on a cricket

im gut loading with 2 different things now... did i catch this too late?

 

[No Limit]

there is no plastic between the UVB and the cage, the only thing that is between there is the mesh of the cage

 

[kinyonga]

A vet can tell you for sure if its a calcium imbalance and could give your chameleon injections of calcium to raise the blood calcium levels. When the blood calcium level is high enough the chameleon can be given a shot of calcitonin which will draw the calcium back into the bones. This is the fastest way to recovery.

Assuming that it is MBD, once you bring your chameleon's calcium levels back into balance you need to keep them there. Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are the main players in bone health and need to be in balance. When trying to attain the balance, look at your supplements, what you feed the chameleon and what you feed to the insects that you feed the chameleon.

I don't know what supplements you got...but..
most feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous, so dusting at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder will help to make up for this.

Exposure to UVB (either sunlight or a UVB tube light) will allow the chameleon to produce vitamin D3 which will allow the chameleon to use the calcium in its system.

Dusting twice a month with a vitamin powder with a beta carotene source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets its vitamins. Beta carotene sources of vitamin A will not build up in the chameleon's system however there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert beta carotene...so some people give a little preformed once in a while. Preformed vitamin A builds up in the system and can prevent the D3 from doing its job and lead to MBD....so don't overdo it.

If the chameleon is only getting UVB from tube lights you may also have to dust with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder twice a month. D3 from supplements can build up in the system so don't overdo it either.

Appropriate basking temperature helps with proper digestion, thus plays a part too.

Hope you can get your chameleon back on track!