Wobbly cham, HELP!

[fluxanimator]

Yes, I see him drink.

Chameleon Company
Thank you for the frank post, and I agree. Bottom line is that I don't want him to die before I get a chance to take him to the vet. Just looking for any help or ideas in the meantime. Any and all help is very much appreciated.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

As much as you would like to be at the appointment...is it possible to have someone else take him to the vet?
Or, drop him off on your way to work and pick him up at lunch?
My chameleon vet has a website where you can print forms describing in great detail the problem, the husbandry etc.
Better to have him go sooner this way then wait.
Sorry....all I can think of to help.
Keep us posted.

-Brad

 

[fluxanimator]

He seems to be less wobbly this morning. Don't think he ate much of anything yesterday. I will be keeping an eye on exactly how much he eats today.

 

[kinyonga]

Does he have any swellings at the wrists or ankles? In one of the pictures you posted it looked like the front right wrist was a little swollen. The arm is close to his chin in the pictures so I'm not sure.

 

[fluxanimator]

Those pictures can be a little deceptive sometimes. No, no swelling around the front ankles. The back ones are a little larger where the foot joins but not really much bigger than what I've seen before.

 

[kinyonga]

I was asking because sometimes gout shows up as swollen ankles and wrists...but you would still need to see a vet for a diagnosis.

I think you should go over your husbandry regarding the UVB, supplements and what you feed to the insects. To begin with, what is in the gutload and the fish flakes that you feed to the crickets in the way of phosphorous, calcium, D3 and preformed vitamin A?

 

[Chameleon Company]

I can't say as reviewing one's husbandry is ever a bad idea. Quite the contrary. But it can also lead to someone feeling that they need to find something that is wrong, and therefore label somehting as wrong, and make a change. Again, it becomes a cycle of "something is broke, and so I am going to fix something", to put a different viewing angle on the old adage.

Just a for-instance. We feel that we pioneered some of the cause-effect in real vitamin A vs. pre-formed vitamin A here in years past. We were able to see differences in animals in quantity between use of the two as Vitamin A sources. Never was the "wobbles" a symptom observed in animals deficient in Vitamin A, and there certainly were observable symptoms of other things. Likewise as earlier stated regarding the use of fish flakes. Likewise with UVB, as animals in direct sunlight their entire life developed our version (or versions) of the "wobbles".

The bottom line, in your situation, is that you have no practical recourse except vet work, and with a competent reptile vet at that. You certainly have plenty of impractical, or at least less expensive, recourses. It may self-correct over time. And it may not. You could spend $200 and find out nothing of value in fixing the situation. And then again, you might get a boatload of actionable information.

I can respect that:

Bottom line is that I don't want him to die before I get a chance to take him to the vet.

But I also think it safe to assume that we all want likewise both for your animal(s) as well as our own, and in my most arrogant voice, "How does it feel to want?" What you want, what you are told, and how you act on it may not give you the option of doing anything except seeing a good vet, and to think that you had any other choice may be to make assumptions that are not prudent to the health of your animal. I wish that I or Dr. I or someone else could have told you that the magic bullet cure was $1 at any drugstore. Not yet anyway. If you opt for a vet, hopefully you can ask around and find one capable of running full diagnostics on a reptile, as many lack the machinery or support items to do so. To be completely honest, I would not fault you in the least if you judged it not worth the cost. I make that judgement all the time. Good luck.

 

[fluxanimator]

UPDATE

Well he is still drinking and he is still eating. I have watched him do both now. He is not eating as much as he was before, but he is at least. He is still wobbly, although not quite as extreme as a few days ago. I have scheduled an appointment for Thursday morning with the vet below.

http://www.gcvs.com/default.htm

If anyone in Houston has used them and has any comments I would like to know. Thank you.

 

[fluxanimator]

Has anyone had experience with this vet in Houston?

http://www.gcvs.com/default.htm

Thank you

 

[Parandrus]

That appears to be a specialist hospital which means you will probably need a referral from a general practitioner. Some Specialist Clinics take walk-ins but most don't. Make sure first that they will see you as a walk-in before heading out there. If they don't, find out another local Vet that could help you. I think Brad has posted (pinned topic) a veterinarian guide in this forum.

Ivan

 

[fluxanimator]

I've actually already called and made an appointment. They don't accept walk-ups but I guess appointments, and especially "exotics" appointments do not require a referral.

 

[RosielnSC]

wobbly chameleon

I have never experienced any wobbliness with my chameleon. I spoke with a vet and we talked for about 30 mins oneday and I was questioning the feeding and dusting...she specializes in reptiles and told me that the crickets should be dusted everyday with calcium dust, and twice a week with vitamins. I've had my Amelia for a few months now and she seems very healthy to me and I haven't had a problem. I use JurassiCal brand for both calcium and vitamins.

 

[Parandrus]

RosielnSC, be very careful when supplementing too frequently. Both extremes are dangerous in chameleons. If you have a proper gutload regime for your insects, supplementing with calcium and vitamins should be done twice weekly for calcium and once weekly for vitamins on average (some chameleons might require more and some might require less depending on many factors).
Glad to hear you chameleon is doing good.

Ivan