Broken ribs???

[Taydynn]

A little backstory first. I took my Cham to the vet a few weeks ago cuz her eyes were closed and they flushed them out and then she was fine. The vet said everything looked great except she’s a little underweight. I’ve had her on a syringe diet along with helping her eat her live bugs. For whatever reason she refuses to eat. Anyways recently her eyes closed again and I haven’t changed any husbandry and then I went to feed her today and her ribs looked caved in. I about had a panic attack when I saw that. I have no idea how this happened or how ago. I think her ribs are broken but she crawls around everywhere fine. She did fall a few days ago but only from one branch to the next so it was only a few inches so I don’t know if that could’ve caused it. I’m gonna set up another vet appt anyways. Also her ribs look fine when she breaths out but I’m so worried. I’ll include husbandry at the bottom.

MAY 10, 2022

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled, female, 4 months(roughly). Had for about 2.5 months.
• Handling - Handle almost daily to syringe and hand feed per vets orders.
• Feeding - Feeding staple of Dubia roaches, and hornworms occasionally. Feed about 3-5 roaches with a worm in the afternoon at around 4 pm. Gut load night before with carrots and dubia diet.
• Supplements - 6 days a week calcium without D3, every other 7th day of the week I switch between a multivitamin and calcium with D3.
• Watering - Use a misting system twice a day right before lights turn on and off for two minute intervals. Dripper used during the day. Haven’t seen her drink in a little while.
• Fecal Description - Dark brown droppings, slightly wet, urate is mostly white with a tiny bit of orange. Negative for parasites.
• History - Been to the vet twice since getting her and vet said fine except her weight.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen cage, 24x24x48
• Lighting - UVB: reptisun t5 5.0 Heat: 60 watt bulb. Lights on from 7:30am-pm.
• Temperature - Overall temp is 72-76°, basking temp is 78-82°. Lowest overnight gets to about 63°. Measured with two digital hygrometer/thermometer in separate areas of the cage.
• Humidity - Humidity stays at about 35-55% during the day. At night it’s about 75-100%. Misting twice a day and a dripper. Two digital hygrometers measure.
• Plants - 2 live plants including a pothos and an umbrella tree. Many branches placed through cage as well.
• Placement - Located in my bedroom. Low traffic, downstairs. Top of the cage is about 6 feet from the ground.
• Location - I’m located in Spokane, WA.

 

[Taydynn]

I would also like to put out there that I am very gentle when handling her and I never tear her away from branches or anything. I know how to handle her and this is a very recent experience injury I’ve noticed.

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. I’m not seeing anything of concern in your husbandry. What brand and type of supplements do you use? What is the distance from your uvb to basking area?
I don’t believe her ribs look broken, but more like the way she’s holding herself is making it appear such. The question is why is she holding herself like that. Has your vet done any blood work on her?
Her eyes don’t look right to me…like there’s some matter stuck in them. If it’s stuck deeply enough, your vet would have to be thorough in flushing them out. Vision problems will make it difficult for her to aim and shoot at her food. Have your feeders been small enough (smaller than the space between her eyes)?
@kinyonga what are your thoughts?

 

[Taydynn]

Hi. I’m not seeing anything of concern in your husbandry. What brand and type of supplements do you use? What is the distance from your uvb to basking area?
I don’t believe her ribs look broken, but more like the way she’s holding herself is making it appear such. The question is why is she holding herself like that. Has your vet done any blood work on her?
Her eyes don’t look right to me…like there’s some matter stuck in them. If it’s stuck deeply enough, your vet would have to be thorough in flushing them out. Vision problems will make it difficult for her to aim and shoot at her food. Have your feeders been small enough (smaller than the space between her eyes)?
@kinyonga what are your thoughts?

I have a video of her breathing but I can’t post it. Her ribs are very caved in on one side and protruding at the top no matter what yet position she is in. I use Reptivet for supplements and my vet approved them, I’ve already had her eyes flushed and the vet said she was fine. She only just recently closed them again but she still moves around a lot. She is also about to shed and that gas why her eyes have some coloration around them. Insects are 1/4 inch and not too big. She eats fine as long as I feed her. She has been tested for parasites and had two health checks. I was worried about mbd and uri but the vet said she was ok. I will get a better pic of her ribs tomorrow in a different position. Also light is about 7 inches away. And sometimes she tried to crawl up to the UVB lamp.

 

[MissSkittles]

I honestly don’t know then. Has the vet said anything about the bulge at her tail base?

 

[Taydynn]

I honestly don’t know then. Has the vet said anything about the bulge at her tail base?

No she hasn’t and I believe that’s been there since I’ve had her.

 

[bbyoda]

Have you had bloodwork done to see if there's some sort of vitamin or calcium deficiency? I agree there's nothing of concern with your husbandry. If I were in your shoes I'd get bloodwork done, check expiration date on supplements, and check the UVB with a solar meter. If you buy UVB from places like Amazon you can buy duds, and you wouldn't even know. If you don't have a solar meter consider just replacing the bulb from a reputable pet shop.

Is your vet experienced with chameleons? Feels like this needs some advanced troubleshooting.

 

[kinyonga]

Are there raised areas by the top stripe on her side and the lower strip that comes out under her arm? Is that the side she fell on?

The look of her eyes is bothering me too.

 

[Taydynn]

Have you had bloodwork done to see if there's some sort of vitamin or calcium deficiency? I agree there's nothing of concern with your husbandry. If I were in your shoes I'd get bloodwork done, check expiration date on supplements, and check the UVB with a solar meter. If you buy UVB from places like Amazon you can buy duds, and you wouldn't even know. If you don't have a solar meter consider just replacing the bulb from a reputable pet shop.

Is your vet experienced with chameleons? Feels like this needs some advanced troubleshooting.

Yes she was very try advanced with chameleons and they said she didn’t feel there was need for bloodwork, I’ll contact her again though. Im more concerned on what to do if her ribs are broke. Do I just hope it heals and leave her be?

 

[bbyoda]

Yes she was very try advanced with chameleons and they said she didn’t feel there was need for bloodwork, I’ll contact her again though. Im more concerned on what to do if her ribs are broke. Do I just hope it heals and leave her be?

I don't think there's much you can do for her ribs except helping her heal through good husbandry. @kinyonga can confirm. That said, I'm concerned why her ribs broke and why her eyes look off - could be something that is causing her to not see or grip well. That would need to be addressed to prevent further falls.

It might be time to take the chameleon back and push for blood work. Otherwise how do you know if there is a vitamin deficiency that would cause eye issues? Or calcium deficiency that would cause grip issues and weak bones?

 

[kinyonga]

I don't think there's much you can do for broken ribs either...but I'm not a vet.

Like @bbyoda I'm wondering about what's going on with the eyes and wondering if it's only a case of broken ribs or there's more going on than that.

 

[Taydynn]

I don't think there's much you can do for broken ribs either...but I'm not a vet.

Like @bbyoda I'm wondering about what's going on with the eyes and wondering if it's only a case of broken ribs or there's more going on than that.

I think she’s closing her eyes due to the stress of her ribs and what not bc it only recently happened

 

[Beman]

Can you please take a picture of your supplements?
With the UVB are you sure it is a T5HO fixture and not a T8? What is the exact distance to basking below the UVB?

I see your not using crickets as a feeder... Is there a reason why? Babies do not tend to transition well to other feeders like dubia. They tend to go for what they know and are raised on like crickets.