Veiled Chameleon Acting Odd

[Lehuanani]

Hey everyone. I am really worried about my chameleon. I had my family watch her while I was out of town for a week and they had mentioned that she is acting drunk. She hasn't laid any eggs yet and they were thinking maybe she was going to soon so they put her into a bucket with some plants and such to see if she would dig and lay them. I've felt her stomach and she does seem a little bloated and like she may have some eggs.

If it wasn't 1 am and I didn't just get back home I would ask my family about how she has been eating and her poop and such, but I will do that tomorrow and post more info.

Here's a little bit of info about her:

She is a veiled chameleon about 8 months old. I've had her since she was 3 months old. I rarely handle her because she gets angry and I don't want to stress her out. I feed her crickets and meal worms and dust them with some zoo med repti calcium. She has never had a problem with eating. For water I have a small plant dripper, but she doesn't seem to drink from it much whenever I watch her.

What I have observed her doing since I've been home which has only been for about an hour, is she is constantly moving her limbs around in odd directions. She is also shedding in her face, but I don't think that's a problem except when she moves her front right limb it keeps getting caught and almost scratching her eye.

This is the first time I've ever had anything wrong with her. Is this common for veiled chameleons to act drunk when they are about to lay eggs? Should I take her into a vet? I don't have a clue on what to do. Any suggestions would be gladly appreciated.

 

[Lehuanani]

I am not sure how to post photos on here otherwise I would

 

[Adman]

I am not sure how to post photos on here otherwise I would

To post photos, when on the message/forum posting page scroll down to the grey rectangular button that says 'Manage Attachments', a new window should ope up that gives you the option of either uploading from your computer, or to upload via URL. If you're uploading from your computer click 'Browse' and select the desired image and click OK, once your choices are made click 'Upload'.

 

[Lehuanani]

Thanks, here are some photos of her hanging out by my laptop as I was typing this up. As you can sort of tell, her limbs are not resting in a normal position.

 

[carol5208]

Your chameleon has Metabolic Bone Disease and that is why she is acting "drunk" because she cannot probably hold onto the branches anymore. Have you been providing a UVB light? Not a basking light ,but a UVB light. On top of that she may have eggs also. Please read the link below on MBD. She looks in bad shape. She very well could have broken bones.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/wha...ase-mbd-looks-like-how-happens-how-fix-95071/
I also just realized you were the person housing your chameleons together which we told you was not a good idea. Please in the future, do some research before you buy any animals of any kind. There is too much information out there, including forums like this one to get an education on how to properly care for an animal. Would also like to see a picture of your set up

 

[jajeanpierre]

Thanks, here are some photos of her hanging out by my laptop as I was typing this up. As you can sort of tell, her limbs are not resting in a normal position.

Her limbs are not resting in a normal position because she had multiple fractures. How can you not see that?

This animal NEEDS to go to a vet immediately. This animal is suffering horribly. This is not something you can treat without a reptile vet's help. It didn't happen in the past week unless your family includes a budding sadist who snapped all her legs. It looks like a very severe case of metabolic bone disease.

You don't mention your light sources. They need a good source of UVB in order to metabolize calcium. UVB bulbs don't last long; they start dropping in the amount of UVB emitted the first time you turn them on. I tested an expensive ZooMed tube light that was less than two months old and it put out zero UVB.

Good lighting and good calcium supplementation are necessary to keep a chameleon healthy.

Unfortunately, your chameleon is in dire straits, and correcting your husbandry practices will not help. She needs the care of a reptile vet. If you can't afford the expense of treating her, please, please end her suffering. And, she is suffering. Imagine the pain you would suffer if all your arms and legs were broken and not stabilized.

 

[JoeVet]

Have to agree with the rest. It is painfully obvious this animal has MBD. It takes a long time to get to this condition and will take a long time to correct but it can be done if husbandry is corrected. A female with eggs and MBD is especially fragile. A vet is your best bet at this time. He can give her a booster of calcium and help begin the long process to healing. X-rays are also advisable to asses egg binding and blood work to look for other health problems.

 

[Lehuanani]

If you would like to quit lecturing me about the two chameleons in the same enclosure, yes, I actually got the other one a different enclosure. When I bought the chameleon they said it should be easy to take care of both them together and I did some research, but not a lot.

The lights I have are UVB, but maybe not strong enough? I'm not sure, I don't keep the boxes. I really am an amateur chameleon owner and I'm sorry if I have pissed any of you off.

 

[Lehuanani]

I'm taking her to the best vet around me, but he doesn't have an appointment open until Wednesday afternoon. Is there anything I can do to make the wait less awful for her?

 

[jajeanpierre]

I'm taking her to the best vet around me, but he doesn't have an appointment open until Wednesday afternoon. Is there anything I can do to make the wait less awful for her?

I would try to get an appointment today. Explain to the person answering the phone that the chameleon has multiple fractured legs and really, really needs to be seen today.

 

[Alexander1]

Have to agree with the rest. It is painfully obvious this animal has MBD. It takes a long time to get to this condition and will take a long time to correct but it can be done if husbandry is corrected. A female with eggs and MBD is especially fragile. A vet is your best bet at this time. He can give her a booster of calcium and help begin the long process to healing. X-rays are also advisable to asses egg binding and blood work to look for other health problems.

Sad to see

 

[dereckperkins]

I hope she gets better, good luck with the vet.