Yoda took a fall, please help

[AlliePaddock]

Hello all, I am very concerned about my dear friend.
Yoda recently fell from his screen door, about three feet to the ground. He quickly climbed back up to his perch.
I looked into MBD in reptiles and decided that if he fell again, I would address it more seriously.
Today I am looking at him and he’s sitting unusual (while cute). I grow a little concern and wonder what’s going on.
I look more into MBD and see a fractured leg of a chameleon.
I take a peek at Yoda, and it looks to be the same kind of fracture.
I am concerned and I don’t really know what to do currently and in the future, how quality of life will be for him, and what to expect when I bring him to the vet.
Please any insight would be tremendous help.

 

[JacksJill]

If you answer some questions about how you keep Yoda we might be able to help.
A normal healthy chameleon can take a short fall and be alright one with MBD can not. These questions will help us see if he might need better care to prevent MBD.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

 

[Kaizen]

Step 1) book a vet appointment
Step 2) fill out the husbandry form above

notes: A vet visit probably costs like 70$, just take him. Mbd, at an early stage, doesn’t necessarily mean a death sentence. Likewise, an injury can be fixed.

 

[AlliePaddock]

Yoda is a fishers chameleon, a male, he is around 4 years old.
I’ve had him for 2 1/2 years.
I’m feeding him large crickets, I can say I don’t dust them often, I do feed the crickets a fluckers orange cubes.
He has a zoomed uvb lamp, maybe a medium size? I think it’s a 10.0 but I’m not certain. I used whichever came with the enclosure. I’ve since given him a larger screen enclosure. 4x2x2ft. The heat lamp is 100 watt, zoomed as well.
I’m going to assume basking is a around high 70s to low 80s.
At night, my home is kept in the low 70s so it’s not too cold though I know they like it a little chillier. Kitchen is a little cooler.
He’s moving around, not so much today.
Watered at least 3 times a day for a couple minutes at a time.
I do see him drink water but I don’t watch him much because he gets stage freight.
Same with eating, I know he eats.
I put maybe 10-12 crickets in the cage and he eats those in three days or so.
He is not eating much since the fall I would say.
Normal poops and pees from what I can see in the cage. I have a focus tree and an umbrella tree in his cage.
I have never taken him to the vet. I do have an appointment scheduled for Monday.
Humidity, I honestly have no clue.
I need new temp readers so I don’t measure with anything currently.
No fans, no vents, directly next to him and he is in the kitchen. He sits about 3-3.5 ft from the ground.
I am living in Upstate NY.

 

[JacksJill]

@kinyonga you had fishers didn't you?

 

[Kaizen]

Yoda is a fishers chameleon Species, please? There are several that go under that name. Either way, he’s a Kinyongia, which is a rare and challenging genus to keep. , a male, he is around 4 years old.
I’ve had him for 2 1/2 years.
I’m feeding him large crickets, I can say I don’t dust them often, I do feed the crickets a fluckers orange cubes. This is something that should probably change ASAP. Proper gutload, and dusting every feeding with calcium (no d3) is a must, but there aren’t any tried and true care sheets for most Kinyongia.
He has a zoomed uvb lamp, maybe a medium size? I think it’s a 10.0 but I’m not certain. I used whichever came with the enclosure. I’ve since given him a larger screen enclosure. 4x2x2ft. The heat lamp is 100 watt, zoomed as well. I highly recommend you do some fast and serious research into your species. The chameleon breeder podcast has a whole episode about Kinyongia carpenteri, and I’d definitely hit up @kinyonga for some more detailed advice.
I’m going to assume basking is a around high 70s to low 80s. Assumptions for veileds and panthers are probably Ok, but not for Fischer’s. You’ll want to get a temp gun.
At night, my home is kept in the low 70s so it’s not too cold though I know they like it a little chillier. Kitchen is a little cooler. Low 70’s sounds too warm for nightime temps for a Fischer’s.
He’s moving around, not so much today.
Watered at least 3 times a day for a couple minutes at a time.
I do see him drink water but I don’t watch him much because he gets stage freight.
Same with eating, I know he eats.
I put maybe 10-12 crickets in the cage and he eats those in three days or so.
He is not eating much since the fall I would say.
Normal poops and pees from what I can see in the cage. I have a focus tree and an umbrella tree in his cage.
I have never taken him to the vet. I do have an appointment scheduled for Monday.
Humidity, I honestly have no clue.again, this is not an area to compromise, get a h
I need new temp readers so I don’t measure with anything currently.
No fans, no vents, directly next to him and he is in the kitchen. He sits about 3-3.5 ft from the ground.
I am living in Upstate NY.

In short, you have a rare species that has very specific care parameters. In general, the genus Kinyongia is specialized and needs a lot more attention to detail than veileds or panthers. @DeremensisBlue, @kinyonga , please weigh in here.

 

[AlliePaddock]

That’s the guy.
I’ll adjust the temperatures for night and grab a gun this weekend.
I’ve been feeding crickets as of late sweet potatoes, grapes, spinach.
Anything else you can suggest?
In general as well... I know he’s a rare form as there are not many answers on Fischer’s.
I will take all the advice you fellas have, just want the dude to be happy and healthy.
He was a gift of sorts, I’ve been learning as it comes.
I unfortunately lost it on the calcium.
I saw calcium drops, is that something you would suggest for immediate relief?

 

[Kaizen]

That’s the guy.
I’ll adjust the temperatures for night and grab a gun this weekend.
I’ve been feeding crickets as of late sweet potatoes, grapes, spinach.
Anything else you can suggest?
In general as well... I know he’s a rare form as there are not many answers on Fischer’s.
I will take all the advice you fellas have, just want the dude to be happy and healthy.
He was a gift of sorts, I’ve been learning as it comes.
I unfortunately lost it on the calcium.
I saw calcium drops, is that something you would suggest for immediate relief?

Calcium drops can be stressful to administer. Here’s what I’d do until you have a handle on proper husbandry and health situation (as per vet visit): get a bottle of “repashy calcium plus LoD” ASAP, and dust all feeders with it. Gutloading can be a hot topic, and a real quagmire of controversy. Here’s what I’d do until I was versed enough to make informed decisions: get a commercial gutload formula such as “cricket crack” or “repashy superload”. Use that in conjunction with the following fruits/veggies: dandelion greens, apples, oranges. There are a million good gutload ingredients, but this will work fine. Go to the vet, dust with the LoD, and gutload with these ingredients, and double check your uvb bulb, it’s age and it’s distance from the basking branch.

 

[kinyonga]

@AlliePaddock can you please post a couple more photos of the chameleon's leg that you think is broken.

Il answer more in a few minutes..it takes time to reply the questions we asked you to answer.

 

[Kaizen]

@AlliePaddock can you please post a couple more photos of the chameleon's leg that you think is broken.

Il answer more in a few minutes..it takes time to reply the questions we asked you to answer.

Thank god you caught this!

 

[AlliePaddock]

He’s about to back hand me lol

 

[AlliePaddock]

He is also very uncomfortable sitting with his leg. He’s definitely hurting.

 

[kinyonga]

@JacksJill ...I have had Fischers chameleons a few times over the years.
@Kaizen ...I'm weighing in.

Yoda is a fishers chameleon, a male, he is around 4 years old.
I’ve had him for 2 1/2 years. You've done well to have him for this long already!
I’m feeding him large crickets, I can say I don’t dust them often, I do feed the crickets a fluckers orange cubes. I don't use those orange cubes. I feed/gutload crickets, locusts, superworms, roaches with a wide assortment of greens such as dandelion greens, kale, collards, endive. escarole, mustard greens, veggies such as carrots, zucchini, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper and a bit of fruit such as berries, apples, pears, melon. You can feed him a wide variety of insects such as silkworms, roaches, locusts, BSFL, and once in a while a superworms or a waxwork.

Even though this is a Kinyongia species I dust the insects lightly at almost every feeding with a phos free calcium powder (RepCal) to help balance the poor calcium to phos ratio in most feeder insects. I dust twice a month lightly with a phos free calcium/D3 powder (RepCal) to ensure the chameleon gets some D3 without overdosing it. D3 from supplements can build up in the system and lead to health issues. I dust twice a month lightly with a vitamin powder (herptivite) that contains a beta carotene prOformed source of vitamin A. Vitamin A from prOformed sources won't build up like prEformed sources will so it's safe. It leaves it up to you to decide if/when your chameleon needs some prEformed though.
He has a zoomed uvb lamp, maybe a medium size? I think it’s a 10.0 but I’m not certain. I used whichever came with the enclosure. I’ve since given him a larger screen enclosure. 4x2x2ft. The heat lamp is 100 watt, zoomed as well. I use a ReptiSun 5.0 long linear tube UVB light. I use a regular household incandescent bulb for basking....wattage that produces the proper basking temperature in,the basking area. (Low 80's F should be fine)
I’m going to assume basking is a around high 70s to low 80s.
At night, my home is kept in the low 70s so it’s not too cold though I know they like it a little chillier. Kitchen is a little cooler.
He’s moving around, not so much today. Likelynbecause of the leg??
Watered at least 3 times a day for a couple minutes at a time.
I do see him drink water but I don’t watch him much because he gets stage freight. You could make a dripper from a deli up with a tiny hole poked in the bottom of it...so it drips at the rate of one or two drips per second.
Same with eating, I know he eats.
I put maybe 10-12 crickets in the cage and he eats those in three days or so.
He is not eating much since the fall I would say.
Normal poops and pees from what I can see in the cage. I have a focus tree and an umbrella tree in his cage.
I have never taken him to the vet. I do have an appointment scheduled for Monday.
Humidity, I honestly have no clue. it would be good to know this.
I need new temp readers so I don’t measure with anything currently.
No fans, no vents, directly next to him and he is in the kitchen. He sits about 3-3.5 ft from the ground.
I am living in Upstate NY.

I'll post more in a few minutes.

 

[kinyonga]

Part of the reason you can't find much info might be due to the name change...you may have o look under the old names too.

This might help...
http://www.chameleonnews.com/05DecKroo.html

Th leg looks broken in one photo and not in another...sorry I can't be of more help with that.

 

[AlliePaddock]

Thank you so much for all of the guidance to everyone. I will keep you updated.
I know what you mean, one photo he is resting, the other he is on the move. If it is broken, which from his body language tells me most likely, it doesn’t look to be a large fracture.
I’m not sure what the vet will suggest, but with that I will also keep you posted.

 

[kinyonga]

Good luck!

 

[AlliePaddock]

Hi there friends!
I wanted to give you an update on Yoda, he does not have a broken leg. Whether or not MBD.... not sure. He is underweight and weaker than he should be.
I’ve gotten the calcium with D3 dusting, I also got vitamins you mix into the gutload, along with a calcium spray.
I ordered some larvae of three different flies to give him some protein and calcium..
I’ll be ordering a temp/humidity gauge as they don’t have them in store.
Though being in NY, it’s very difficult to maintain the humidity they need. After my heat goes off, he will be moving over to the window in my room which provides natural light for most of the afternoon.
I do want to thank you all again for being so quick to help and give me the information that’s going to help me be better for Yoda.

 

[JacksJill]

Good news!
If humidity is an issue there are a few things you can do that will help. You can wrap the back and 2 sides of your screen cage with plastic sheeting like shower curtain. Adding more plants to the age can boost humidity in pockets within the cage. A cool mist ultrasonic humidifier can help either in the room or directed into the cage especially at night.

 

[kinyonga]

I didn't think the leg was broken but I'm not a vet so I couldn't say that it was or wasn't for sure. I'm glad of that!

So...you have a phos free calcium powder now to use at almost every feeding and a phos free calcium/D3 powder to use twice a month and a vitamin powder with a beta carotene prOformed source of vitamin A in it OR Repashy LoD?

What are you going to do with the calcium spray?

I wouldn't put the cage by the window because you live in NY and it will be chilly. It's not the temperature there that I'm concerned about its the chilly feeling air that I don't feel is a good thing. The light passing through the window will not provide him with anybuvb either.

 

[AlliePaddock]

He was definitely acting strange enough for me to notice last week, but after the weekend he was motoring around like usual. I’m not sure what was going on.
I have the RepCal phos free calcium with D3, and I also have a RepCal Herptivite w Beta Carotene and phos but doesn’t say anything about Vitamin A.
I should be looking for that daily calcium with vitamin A then?
Calcium spray is for the bugs, it is phos free and without D3.
Vet suggested to put him by the window during the summertime for those rays, but you think the movement of air will chill him out?