Chameleons tail is getting by crickets and can it heal or do i need ti take him to a vet

[Colorfulcham]

Im new here and wanted to find out about my cham's tail. My male veild's (about 1 year lr so) tail was being eaten by his crickets while I was away.

Can his injury heal or do I need to try to find and take him to a vet? I've been putting neasporin on it and I also put a makeshift cast around his tail, and keeping an eye on him, making sure he's okay and warm. I don't mind if he has to loose that part of his tail, I'm just concerned if it gets him sick.

 

[Beman]

Can you please post more pics of your chameleon? From what I am seeing I would like to confirm a few things before I give you feedback.

 

[Colorfulcham]

Can you please post more pics of your chameleon? From what I am seeing I would like to confirm a few things before I give you feedback.

I will as soon as I get home

 

[Beman]

I will as soon as I get home

ok I will need pictures of the enclosure as well including the lighting on top. The tail will need a vet. If the tail becomes necrotic it can move up the tail. This can kill a chameleon. Please make sure you are using the plain neosporin. NOT the kind that has additional pain reliever in it.
But I am also concerned about the look of the chams limbs. I would like to confirm with more pics of the cham before I give feedback on this though.

 

[kinyonga]

Clearer photos of the chameleon would make it easier to be sure...but your chameleon may have MBD.
Please answer the questions with as much detail as possible (brands, specific lights, whether the supplements he D3 or calcium, phosphorous, form of vitamin A) that @Beman has given you.

 

[Colorfulcham]

ok I will need pictures of the enclosure as well including the lighting on top. The tail will need a vet. If the tail becomes necrotic it can move up the tail. This can kill a chameleon. Please make sure you are using the plain neosporin. NOT the kind that has additional pain reliever in it.
But I am also concerned about the look of the chams limbs. I would like to confirm with more pics of the cham before I give feedback on this though.

Okay! How can I tell if it necrotic? Is it the color or would he not look like himself?

 

[Beman]

Okay! How can I tell if it necrotic? Is it the color or would he not look like himself?

Anytime they have an injury like this the flesh can very easily become necrotic and die off. Then if there is infection involved this can move into healthy tissue killing it off as well. The concern with the tail is that this is an extremely important extension of a chameleon. So to have it move up the tail causing more of it to die off is dangerous not only for functionality of having a tail to balance and hold on to things but the infection from the original wound can move into the blood making them septic and their entire body shut down.

 

[Colorfulcham]

Anytime they have an injury like this the flesh can very easily become necrotic and die off. Then if there is infection involved this can move into healthy tissue killing it off as well. The concern with the tail is that this is an extremely important extension of a chameleon. So to have it move up the tail causing more of it to die off is dangerous not only for functionality of having a tail to balance and hold on to things but the infection from the original wound can move into the blood making them septic and their entire body shut down.

I got better pictures of his tail

 

[Beman]

I got better pictures of his tail

poor baby is gonna be in pain with that injury. You have to see a vet with reptile experience to get that fixed. They will more then likely amputate off the bad section. Here is a link to find a reptile vet near you https://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661

I would not wait on this. I would get the cham in asap for treatment.

If you can post pics of the entire cham I would like to see if I am seeing MBD in its limbs. This is a debilitating disease that is 100% preventable. But without the correct supplements and UVB lighting this can and will eventually cripple and kill a chameleon.

 

[Colorfulcham]

poor baby is gonna be in pain with that injury. You have to see a vet with reptile experience to get that fixed. They will more then likely amputate off the bad section. Here is a link to find a reptile vet near you https://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661

I would not wait on this. I would get the cham in asap for treatment.

If you can post pics of the entire cham I would like to see if I am seeing MBD in its limbs. This is a debilitating disease that is 100% preventable. But without the correct supplements and UVB lighting this can and will eventually cripple and kill a chameleon.

Okay. Here's pictures of him and the vitamins I feed him

 

[Beman]

Okay. Here's pictures of him and the vitamins I feed him

Ok so this baby has an extreme case of Metabolic Bone Disease. It will always have the abnormal formation to its bones... You need the vet to go over giving it special liquid calcium as well as taking care of the tail. You can stop the progression of the MBD but that is it at this point. He will never have the body of a healthy chameleon without MBD. But as long as the proper care is given now it will not get worse.

The supplements your using are incorrect. You should be using a calcium without D3 at all feedings and then a multivitamin with D3 two times a month on the 1st and the 15th. Something like reptivite with D3 or Repashy Calcium Plus LoD version could be used for the multivitamin.

What kind of lighting are you using on the enclosure? Can you post a picture of the entire enclosure as well?

 

[Colorfulcham]

Ok so this baby has an extreme case of Metabolic Bone Disease. It will always have the abnormal formation to its bones... You need the vet to go over giving it special liquid calcium as well as taking care of the tail. You can stop the progression of the MBD but that is it at this point. He will never have the body of a healthy chameleon without MBD. But as long as the proper care is given now it will not get worse.

The supplements your using are incorrect. You should be using a calcium without D3 at all feedings and then a multivitamin with D3 two times a month on the 1st and the 15th. Something like reptivite with D3 or Repashy Calcium Plus LoD version could be used for the multivitamin.

What kind of lighting are you using on the enclosure? Can you post a picture of the entire enclosure as well?

I'm using a nightlight (his other light broke) and uv light.

 

[Beman]

I'm using a nightlight (his other light broke) and uv light.

Ok so there should be no lights on at all at night or heat added at night they need the cool down. Your UVB looks like the wrong type as well. You would want to get this type of fixture for the UVB lighting. https://www.amazon.com/DBDPet-Repti...649288910&sprefix=reptisun+t5,aps,131&sr=8-11 And with the fixture you would want the highest spot the cham can get to 8-9 inches below the screen top with the fixture placed on top of the cage.
The cage unfortunately is not set up correctly for a chameleon. They are arboreal so they need to be able to climb. They do not spend time on the ground. The cage is too small and you do not want to have any substrate on the bottom. They do not drink from bowls so you have to spray plants in their enclosure. Adding live plants is best. Here is an image for live plants. You want the kind that say Veiled tested.


Here is a great link for you to learn all about what and how you need to care for him. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

Once you read through all this info let me know and I can have you fill out a husbandry form to go over everything to ensure the husbandry is corrected completely.

 

[Lindasjackson]

poor little guy! I hope you can make the corrections needed so he can get better! Welcome to the forum, we are really glad you’re here!

 

[Colorfulcham]

Ok so there should be no lights on at all at night or heat added at night they need the cool down. Your UVB looks like the wrong type as well. You would want to get this type of fixture for the UVB lighting. https://www.amazon.com/DBDPet-Reptisun-Hood-UV-B-Bulb/dp/B08NMV6MPC/ref=sr_1_11?crid=2TX7SJYAVBR4N&keywords=reptisun+t5+ho+terrarium+hood+24+inch&qid=1649288910&sprefix=reptisun+t5,aps,131&sr=8-11 And with the fixture you would want the highest spot the cham can get to 8-9 inches below the screen top with the fixture placed on top of the cage.
The cage unfortunately is not set up correctly for a chameleon. They are arboreal so they need to be able to climb. They do not spend time on the ground. The cage is too small and you do not want to have any substrate on the bottom. They do not drink from bowls so you have to spray plants in their enclosure. Adding live plants is best. Here is an image for live plants. You want the kind that say Veiled tested.


Here is a great link for you to learn all about what and how you need to care for him. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

Once you read through all this info let me know and I can have you fill out a husbandry form to go over everything to ensure the husbandry is corrected completely.

View attachment 322620

I do have 2 plants I like to put him on, and I got everything from petsmart when I got him. I do know a place where I want to get a custom screen enclosure, and the water if for the crickets.

 

[Beman]

I do have 2 plants I like to put him on, and I got everything from petsmart when I got him. I do know a place where I want to get a custom screen enclosure, and the water if for the crickets.

So start reading that link I gave you and get a vet appointment set up asap. When you have questions let me know. But first priority is vet care. I would put the crickets in a shallow bowl in the bottom of the cage below a vine so the cham can get to them but they can not get to the cham. They should not be loose because they will continue to chew on the cham.

 

[kinyonga]

To correct MBD usually you need to give the chameleon the proper liquid calcium from a vet along with proper supplementing, proper gutloading/feeding of the insects and proper UVB light and temperatures until the bones and other systems in the chameleon are back to normal again. Then you will cut out the liquid calcium and continue with the proper supplements and proper husbandry.