Chameleon falling in cage. Help?

[Xyres]

So, I posted last week about my cham falling in his cage and took him for xrays and a general inspection and the vet said everything looked good. All he noticed was a bit of a sore on his foot that had already started scabbing over and said that may be the reason he has fallen in his cage. He said it should heal well on its own but I wanted some other opinions. Should I be doing anything to clean the foot? Could his foot being sensitive be the reason he has been falling?

The other thing is that once I got back from the vet he fell again shortly after his misting cycle. I am getting a little frustrated with not knowing what is going on. Anyone have personal experience that they would be willing to share? I also have pictures of his xray should anyone want to see them and maybe shed insight into something the vet may have missed.

 

[Mijah139]

Did the vet run any bloodwork or do a fecal for parasites?

 

[Xyres]

Nope. Unfortunately there is no "true" reptile vet in my area and he was the only one willing to see my cham. He said blood work was most likely unnecessary when I asked about it. Should I call him and ask to do a fecal sample and blood work?

 

[szpond]

Nope. Unfortunately there is no "true" reptile vet in my area and he was the only one willing to see my cham. He said blood work was most likely unnecessary when I asked about it. Should I call him and ask to do a fecal sample and blood work?

It definitely could not hurt. Did you and your vet talk extensively about your husbandry? Would you like the forum members to do a check-over of your husbandry to make sure everything is in order?

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

How exactly is he falling, by the way? Does he stumble around, or is it rather unexpected? How is his grip lately?

 

[Xyres]

It definitely could not hurt. Did you and your vet talk extensively about your husbandry? Would you like the forum members to do a check-over of your husbandry to make sure everything is in order?

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

How exactly is he falling, by the way? Does he stumble around, or is it rather unexpected? How is his grip lately?

He asked A LOT of questions about husbandry as he said that most of the time its husbandry that causes issues in reptiles. And sure, you can go over it again. I posted it in my last thread but it couldn't hurt to post it again.

And he seems more surprised that he fell. He will sit there for about 5-10 seconds and then climb back up to his branches. His grip has been great as usual even in his back left that has the sore. In the vets he was climbing all over me with no issue and holding on like crazy.


Your Chameleon - 1yo male panther chameleon. Had him for 8 months
Handling - Rarely. Once or twice a week for less than 15 minutes.
Feeding - Feeding 10-12 crickets a day, 2-3 mealworms a week. Gutloading with oranges, apples and repashy gutload mix. Confirmed him as eating today. Fully extended tongue.
Supplements - No D calcium every day, calcium +d3 twice a month, low d3 twice a month, multivitamin twice a month.
Watering - I use a mistking for about 12 minutes total a day. A dripper for about 20. I never see my cham drinking but sometimes I do sneak a peek at him just after.
Fecal Description - Bright whites, dark brown. Solid and in one piece. He has never been tested for parasites.


Cage Info:

Cage Type - Screen cage 2x2x4
Lighting - 14 hours of light with reptisun 5.0
Temperature - 85f basking, 70f ambient. About 65f overnight.
Humidity - 40-60%
Plants - No live plants
Location - Canada

 

[Xyres]

Here is the xray. The vet said that the bone density looks good. The back left leg looks strange. Could that be the issue? Possible MBD? Vet said it could be the angle at which it was taken as his structure doesn't look like it would be MBD.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Yeah it's usually just the angle of the back leg that makes the bones look a little odd. You can see the same thing here with the right back leg (bottom of image) compared to the left:

 

[Xyres]

Yeah it's usually just the angle of the back leg that makes the bones look a little odd. You can see the same thing here with the right back leg (bottom of image) compared to the left:

Ok, thanks for the info on that. I'm glad its just the way the leg was angled and how the xray was taken.