contorted bones on a young female chameleon

[Geoffrey87]

Hello, I'm new to this area, but I really appreciate all the great advise that all of you have posted. I have 2 chameleons an adult male, and a very young female. Very recently I've noticed that the females legs are becoming contorted, and her arms are doing the same. She keeps grabbing at her face, and has a hard time balancing on any limbs. She is eating well. I feed her crickets, with occational dusting. She has both UVA, and UVB light source. All the vets in my area do not have knowledge of chameleons, but I am seeking care outside my area. If any of you have any advice, I'd really appreciate it. Has anyone had this happen to their chameleon? Did it ever improve, or is the damage irreversable? Thanks alot, from geoff and Ophelia. [email protected]

 

[Hempa]

Look at this thread "How to as for help". With your answers to those questions it will be easier for other to help you and your cham.

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

 

[Tygerr]

From what you've already described, this sounds like it could be a case of MBD. Don't waste too much time scouring the internet and these forums for home treatments - they'll all lead to the same conclusion: you need to get your cham to a vet ASAP.

If the condition is caught early enough, it is treatable, and although the contorted/broken bones may leave permanent disfigurement, the cham can still live out a normal life. But only a vet will be able to prescribe the correct course of action for treating this cham.

And then once the cham is being treated, come back to the forums to review your husbandry thoroughly to ensure that there isn't something in your setup/regime that could be allowing this problem to develop.

Good luck with the cham. Let us know how it goes.

 

[Geoffrey87]

ok here's a little more info.

Her name is Ophelia. I keep her in a screen cage (she seemed to like it better than a glass cage.). I usually keep her around 70-80 degrees. She has a UVA, and a UVB bulb. I spray her twice a day to keep her humid. I keep live plants in her cage for her to climb on. She's kept in the window , but only gets brief direct sunlight. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you, Geoff, and Ophelia.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

What you've described is classic MBD.

In addition to the link that Hempa posted (we need that info to eliminate other problem sources) we need to know exactly what make and model UVB tube you have. Is there any plastic or glass between the UVB tube's actual surface itself and your critter? It might be part of the fixture... If your glass windows are not open then all useable UVB sunlight has been filtered out. List the insect dusting products and their frequency of use.

 

[Geoffrey87]

more info

I'm actually at work right now, and I dont have all of the info such as the brand of dust or the bulb. The bulb is glass. The only thing that seperates ophelia and the bulb is a screen cage top. She's about 8 in. away fromn the bulb. As soon as I get home I'll check on the brand names. Thanks alot for your help. -geoff, and ophelia

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."She's kept in the window , but only gets brief direct sunlight"...exposure to UVB allows the chameleon to produce vitamin D3 which allows it to use the calcium....but UVB from artificial means or from the sun must not pass through glass or plastic.

Phosphorous, calcium, D3 and vitamin A are four of the big players in bone health (and they play other parts in the body too)...so they must be kept in balance. Its important to look not only at what the insects contain, but at what supplements you are using and what you feed to the insects and gutload them with.

Appropriate basking temperatures are important for good digestion which plays a part in nutrient absorption.

Feeder insects usually have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorous, so dusting them with a phos.-free calcium powder helps to make up for this.

Vitamin A from beta carotene sources can not build up in the system, but those from preformed sources can. However, there is controversy about whether all chameleons can convert beta carotene into vitamin A, so it may be necessary to provide a little preformed from time to time. Excess preformed vitamin A can build up in the system and prevent the D3 from doing its job...and lead to MBD.

Excess D3 from supplements can also build up in the system and lead to problems....but not enough will mean that not enough calcium can be absorbed.

If your chameleon has MBD caused by lack of calcium, then a vet can give it shots of calcium until the blood calcium levels are high enough to give it a shot of calcitonin which will rapidly draw the calcium back into the bones. (The blood calcium levels have to be high enough or the blood will be left short of calcium and the chameleon may die.)

Whatever damage (breaks, etc.) the chameleon has already sustained will likely remain...but if treated early enough, a chameleon can live a fairly long life.

 

[Geoffrey87]

Thanks all for helping my boyfriend in this question. He doesn't know quite as much about the chams but he was trying to help. So I have a reptisun 5.0 bulb along with an r-zilla white daylight bulb over each of my two screen cage setups. I feed ickabod large crickets either dusted with a 'cricket dust' calcium containing powder or a 'cricket spray' almost every time I feed. Both supliments are ESU products btw. So the younger chameleon I have was sold to me from a local store who I later found out had the cham for two months without any UVB. They sold me an ESU R-Zilla 100w White Daylight Bulb as a UVB bulb when I bought my chameleon. Then I realized that this was not UVB at all. I also found out that this little (approx four mo.) old cham had been in someone's home already once before. I had the cham for nearly a month total, with the Reptisun on her the entire time but it seems as though it was too little too late. I took her to the vet as soon as I realized she had MBD, and the vet x-rayed her. She has very little bone mass at all it seems. Because she is only four months, calcium injections of any kind would most likely be further tramatizing to her. She is going to get back to me with some liquid calcium gluconate(sp) that I am to administer orally. Other than that, she said to make sure she is getting plenty of calcium as she has been (her x-ray showed the most calcium in her belly) and keep a uvb light on her and keep her warm. That's all they can do for now. Make sure that those who sell you chams are using uvb. You never know how long that cham has been there. Never thought about it that way I guess.
-Adam

 

[kinyonga]

You're welcome for the information. I hope she will be alright before long.

Calcium gluconate is supposed to be more easily absorbed than the powders are....but be careful when giving it to her....its kind of syrupy and hard for them to swallow. Also, just ease it into the mouth because you don't want her to aspirate it (get it into her lungs).