cham got the shakes!!!

[david sullivan]

Only today I noticed that my male veiled cham has the shakes. What could cause this? anyone have this problem before? His temp is good, humidity is good and he was eating really well up until today. The only thing I have done different was introduce him to larger prey items such as an anole, a pinky and a very small white mouse. He eat all three, not at one time though. In the run of about 8 to 10 days, I think I got a little carried away and maybe over feed him. Also I have a type of umbr. tree plant in with him, it's leaves are smaller and they grow in bunches almost like little bushes. can this be causing a prob?
thanks.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy David,

Put some more detail into describing "the shakes". Tell us about his Ca/D3, UVB lighting and access to unfiltered sunlight since one possibility is MBD.

 

[david sullivan]

Ca/D3-Calcium/no phosphorus powered supplement with:
calcium-38.5%,
Vitamin A-36,000IU,
Vitamin D3-600IU,
Vitamin C- 235mg.
Analysis per 100g.

UVB lighting- repti-glo 5.0 18'' florescent and a small
- repti-glo 2.0 compact in his basking area
-inferred 250w suspended about a foot and a half above his enclosure.
I live in northern Canada And there is not a lot of natural sunlight here, too much fog so I do not have any source of natural unfiltered sun light.

 

[david sullivan]

i have some video of him shaking but i am not too sure how to up load it.

 

[AFH]

This may not be giving you enough credit so no offense, but are you sure the 'shaking' is different from the normal chameleon 'staggered walk' where they move in a jerky type fashion?

 

[david sullivan]

not even close...he can hardly stand up! it's like he's having constant seizures.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Ca/D3-Calcium/no phosphorus powered supplement with:
calcium-38.5%,
Vitamin A-36,000IU,
Vitamin D3-600IU,
Vitamin C- 235mg.
Analysis per 100g.
... -inferred 250w suspended about a foot and a half above his enclosure...

Howdy David,

For comparison, the popular brand of Ca/D3 called Rep-Cal:
Calcium 35%
Vitamin D3-40,000IU/100g (listed at 400,000Iu/Kg)

Sticky Tongue Farms Miner-All (I):
Calcium 35%
Vitamin D3-440IU/100g (listed at 4,400IU/Kg)

(Not popular but mentioned here for reference) TetraFauna ReptoCal:
Calcium 35%
Vitamin D3-1370IU/100g (listed at 13,700IU/Kg)
Vitamin A-21,990Iu/100g (listed at 219,900IU/Kg)

For a Veiled that isn't getting any natural sunlight, I'd be tempted to recommend the Rep-Cal with the higher D3 content if your Vet or you decide that there is a shortage of D3 in his diet. I use the Miner-All (I) with its lower dose of D3 since mine get natural sunlight about every weekend or two.

I'm not a big fan of infrared heat lamps. I think chameleons do better with white light and the appropriate wattage to make the basking spot (skin temp)around 90F-95F.

 

[david sullivan]

could the the pinky or the anole or the small mouse have caused any of theses problems?
I cannot get to a vet till monday.

 

[david sullivan]

he seems a lot better today, not shaking near as much as the day before and he is a lot lighter in color and he is eating a bit. He seems a bit slow though, he missed a few crickets in the jar this morning. He is drinking and eating but I don't like to assume anything so we are going to the vet asap.

 

[chamlover]

Good call David. Let us know what the vet says.

Debby