Broken leg?!

[Thompson]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Nosy Be panther chameleon, 6.5 months old been in my care for about 3 months now
Handling - Twice a Week to put him in his free range
Feeding - I feed him adult crickets and meduim sized dubia roaches. I feed him five adult crickets one week and then the next week five dubia every other day.
Supplements - I use reptical w/o d3 and w/ d3. I dust with calcium w/o d3 monday-friday saturday-none and sunday-alternate d3 and multivitamin w/o 3
Watering - I have a mistking but lately since i've been out of school I just hand water him
Fecal Description - Brown with white urates and has not been tested for parasites
History - None

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 24"L x 16"W x 30"H all screened enclosure
Lighting - 5.0 reptisun and a 75 watt Halogen basking bulb( I hang that a couple inches from his cage.
Temperature - Basking spot is 85F the rest of the cage is usually around 75-77 degrees
Humidity - Humidity stays around 60% and goes up to 80% with each misting. I use a digital humidity gage that I bought from walmart.
Plants - I use a Ficus
Placement - The cage is located on top of a counter. The top of the cage is about 8ft from the ground. The only person that walks into the room is me.
Location - Las Vegas

Current Problem - I noticed this morning that my chameleon has not been using his left front leg. It seems to be a little swollen. I gave him food and he quickly ate two of the five crickets I gave him. I gave him some water and he was drinking more rapidly then I have ever seen him drink! He also stays very close to his branch and hangs his leg when he walks. I am about to make an appointment to his vet but I was wondering if any of you could see if it is actually broken. I have not seen him fall at all.

 

[Thompson]

Also I would catch him with his eyes closed, but when I got close to his cage he would open them and continue to act normal(walking around, eating and drinking.)

 

[draetish]

Can you post pics of his whole body and enclosure? Nothing really seems to jump out in your husbandry that could be the problem. I'm not really clear on how you are supplementing with what and when. Do you gutload your feeders and if so, with what?

 

[Thompson]

Yes I can. Sorry I was in such a rush to post this. I do gutload, I gut load with romain lettuce, mango, dandelion leaves, carrots, oranges and apples. My supplement schedule is Calcium w/o d3 Monday-Firday, Saturday I do not dust with anything, Sunday I alternate the Calcium with d3 and Multivitamin w/o d3 so that he gets two dustings of each supplement a month. I'll post the pictures you asked for in a second.

 

[Thompson]

 

[Syn]

Have you checked the bottom of his feet for sores?

 

[draetish]

Have you tested his grip with that front leg on your finger? Will he latch on or is it just limp? I think I would take him to the vet for an x-ray.

 

[Thompson]

I checked and I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Yes I've checked his grip and he doesn't grip at all. I agree I'll take him in for an x-ray.

 

[Syn]

Good luck Thompson! Hopefully the vet can get everything cleared up.

 

[Thompson]

Thank you syn

 

[morpheon]

Yeah i also think he needs Xrays. Your hypothesis about a broken leg is most likely the good one.

Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[lisagr07]

poor little guy.. the way he's holding it, letting it dangle off of the limb gives it th appearance of a break..
good luck, please fill us in after his vet trip...

 

[Carlton]

He may have some sort of soft tissue injury but other than that he's beautiful! If he fell in the "typical" sized cage he shouldn't be breaking anything unless there is undiagnosed MBD going on. Doesn't appear that way. Do check his footpads and claws for small injuries. Possibly an injured nail bed from climbing on the screen? It might hurt but not be very obvious. But, if he's eating and drinking with a little help he could heal up well and be OK.

 

[Thompson]

Thank you guys. I scheduled him an appointment for tomorrow afternoon. Thanks carlton! His colors have been very nice this month!

 

[Berg]

PLease update us good luck man.

 

[FFSTRescue]

It could even be slight edema or gout, which can be very painful even if it is only slight. The way he is holding it almost makes me think of edema that has spread through the whole forearm. I can't wait to hear what the vet says, he is beautiful by the way!

 

[Thompson]

Thank you ! I'll update you all after his vet visit.

It could even be slight edema or gout, which can be very painful even if it is only slight. The way he is holding it almost makes me think of edema that has spread through the whole forearm. I can't wait to hear what the vet says, he is beautiful by the way!

 

[Thompson]

Just got back from the vet and everything is perfect. She said he may have got caught on something in the cage and hurt a muscle in his leg. We did an x-ray and she said his bones were perfect To bad the x-ray was so expensive! 150$ She told me to take anything he can climb on out of the cage. I was a little confused though and forgot to ask so I'll just ask here, should I put him in a bin with paper towel on the bottom because he can still climb the sides of his cage and what not?

 

[draetish]

They do not like change and that will most likely stress him out. I would leave everything like it is and just keep an eye on him. If it starts to swell or get worse or you notice anything else unusal then check back.

 

[morpheon]

Like Draetish, i wouldn't change anything, unless a few tweaking. In fact, the only thing i may be worried about your chameleon is falling. ANd then again, i'd bet that he might never fall at all. But just in case, i'd put some towels on the bottom of your enclosure. This way, if he falls, he should land on something softer.

Just don't forget to keep an eye on him on a daily basis, to see if anything new happens!


Keep getting us updated, it's really appreciated!