baby veiled chameleon acting abnormal...

[nightangel]

i adopted a chameleon yesterday who came into where I work a few months ago with this abnormal behavior. he is constantly grabbing his left arm with his right hand...and will not let go. hes been kept in our back wellness room for a while to observe his eating habits - which are normal. besides his odd arm grabbing behavior - he walks slightly abnormal...as if his arms can't go one infront of the other they criss-cross. ive asked around on other forums - but was just told its a veiled chameleon baby acting like a chameleon baby but to me it doesn't seem that way. he has been to the vet twice through work - and there was nothing they found to be physically wrong. but any insite on making his life easier would be great!

 

[kinyonga]

Did the vet do any tests to see if the calcium levels are normal?
This grabbing of arms is often a symptom of severe calcium imbalance.

Can you post a picture please?

 

[nightangel]

hmm i am sure they didnt do that much indepth of a checkup...but yes heres a photo...

how would i go about fixing a calcium imbalance? <---besides adding more calcium to his diet

 

[Tommy Naples]

I read on this form that wen a chameleon is grabbing his legs it's could be the start of metabolic bone disease because this can mess up there muscle movement as we'll causing them to grab their legs instead of where they want to grab hope this helps mine had the same problem then I started the calcium without d3 dusting his food every time I feed him

 

[sharp229]

I agree with the other posters, grabbing his own legs or head is usually something I hear of in advanced stages of MBD. From the picture he does not look too bad other than the grabbing, but it is really too small to see much. Not sure what else would cause this, although I imagine some kind of neurological issue would be possible.

To correct MBD/calcium issues you need a good UVB light and proper supplements. I would recommend you get a ReptiSun 5.0 tube light or Arcadia 6%. Bulbs need to be replaced every 6 months even if they are putting out visible light. There must be no glass between the UVB light and your chameleon. You should be dusting his feeder insects with plain calcium every feeding, calcium with D3 twice a month, and multivitamin twice a month. You should also gutload them with fresh vegetables; you can find more info in the care sheet:

https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/