Billy's not feeling well

[jajeanpierre]

This was when he was small for those who are angry with me please understand that I DID DO RESEARCH!! I have had him since he was 1 month old. I feed him little crickets dusted every other meal I have added more vines, and other things. I am going to take him to a vet. no worries there. I have one about an hour away. I think he fell while I was at work. The bath I give him is only to help him absorb water. He does " hunt" and mealworms and crickets are dusted every other feeding. this is PER VET before i got him!!! I am sorry some of you are feeling bad and are upset. I am n tears myself and as soon as I can afford and able to make the drive HE WILL GO. BUT AS TALKING WITH THE VET AND EMAILING THE LAST DAY N HALF. THERE IS NOT MUCH THE VET CAN DO EXRAY WILL ONLY SHOW WHAT HAS BEEN BROKEN as far as his long term care he will get what he needs. I have over 300 into this baby. He has all the light in the daytime and the driper plant as well. i have posted picks from when he was in good health. and of his enclousre that my husband made for him.

I have all the right lighting, the right temp's the right food and supliments. this was a case of he fell! not neglect. and yes again he will be taken n for xrays. I know the video was hart breaking i cried seeing him this way. I cannot stress enough how bad i feel that i cannot get him in today but i asure you i have sent this video, and pic to the vet ( who will take over his care)


thanks every one for the information. good and angry are understood. again I am very upset at myself for letting him have so much space so young. I will keep you all posted!

I'm sorry your chameleon is in such bad shape and I'm sorry you have been beaten up when trying to get help for your chameleon.

Metabolic Bone Disease is not something that can be treated without a vet's help. If you are trying to save money--and who isn't--skipping the x-rays might be the way to save yourself $100. He obviously has broken legs (based on the comments--I haven't seen the pics/video which seems to have been removed) and there really isn't anything you can do about them anyway. An x-ray is probably not going to change the treatment. What a vet can do is get him calcium into his body that is more readily available than dusting ever will be.

Don't put off taking him to the vet to get treatment.

Multiple leg fractures are indicative of Metabolic Bone Disease. MBD is the a disruption to the normal building/reabsorption of bones. Bones aren't static--old bone is constantly being absorbed while new bone is being laid down to replace it. Bone is always being replaced, so if bones are weak, the breakdown of bone is happening faster than the laying down of new bone. There is an imbalance between bone breaking down and bone being built.

Bone metabolism involves a lot of things, but Vitamin D and calcium are critical. Without Vitamin D, the body cannot metabolize calcium into bone. Vitamin D can be supplied by diet or the animal can produce it's own Vitamin D in its skin when exposed to high enough doses of UVB raditation. Your chameleon seeming to have MBD suggests either he is not getting enough calcium or Vitamin D.

Your husbandry has to be off for this baby. If it were right, he would have enough calcium available to him and would be able to use it in balance with bone's reabsorbtion. If your husbandry were right, he wouldn't have this imbalance.

I've had new UVB lights from a good manufacturer that were not producing any UVB and the only way I knew was I tested them with an expensive light meter which most pet owners don't have.

I hope you get this baby in to a good reptile vet who is experienced with treating bone disease in reptiles.

 

[kinyonga]

You said you dusted the insects every second feeding....it should be every feeding with phosphorous-free calcium powder except the two feedings that you use the phosphorous-free calcium / D3 powder and the two feedings you use the vitamin powder at.

You said the xrays will only show whether the bone is broken or not....but it will also shows the thickness/ strength of the rest of the bones too. Signs of MBD can be seen in the xrays too.

You said the temperature, etc in the cage were perfect...please tell us what they are so we can be sure.


GrimCamel...many chameleons do drink from puddles of water on the cage floor or water dishes but we don't recommend letting them usually because it can b

 

[GrimCamel]

You said you dusted the insects every second feeding....it should be every feeding with phosphorous-free calcium powder except the two feedings that you use the phosphorous-free calcium / D3 powder and the two feedings you use the vitamin powder at.

You said the xrays will only show whether the bone is broken or not....but it will also shows the thickness/ strength of the rest of the bones too. Signs of MBD can be seen in the xrays too.

You said the temperature, etc in the cage were perfect...please tell us what they are so we can be sure.


GrimCamel...many chameleons do drink from puddles of water on the cage floor or water dishes but we don't recommend letting them usually because it can b

Thanks for the info, I didn't know that. I've always read the opposite and use substrate so couldnt really witness it But yeah there is a high risk of bacteria in such places

 

[wodesorel]

I think it needs to be said that he needs to see a veterinarian who is experienced and preferably specializes in reptiles. I know the members here can help you find someone nearby. Almost any vet will agree to see any species, but that doesn't mean they know what they are doing. I've gone to, and worked with, dozens of vets over the years, and I've found that there are ones who will not admit when they are in over their heads and will prefer to basically 'fake it' with old or bad information rather than refer you to someone who does. MBD is a condition that requires experience, and chameleons in general are not a common pet and definitely need a specialist to get diagnosed and treated properly for something like this.