Dehydrated cham?

[Goldfish]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon -veiled, 5 months, owned for 2 1/2 weeks
Handling - once every few days
Feeding - 9-10 crickets daily, gut loading w/ apple and celary
Supplements - rep-cal calcium w/ vitamin d every 3-5 days
Watering - 2-3 mists daily w/ a reptifogger on and off. and i see him drinking
Fecal Description -urate is half white half orange, feces is light brown and moist but thick
History -got him at petsmart 2 1/2 weeks ago.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - half glass half screen
Lighting - all living things basking bulb 75 watts, and exo terra repti glo 5.0 uvb 13 w
Temperature - 80-85 i keep a guage in there that tells me.
Humidity - using a gauge also, i use a sprayer and then i have the reptifogger. i try to keep it 50-60% but it goes in between 30-60 during the day while i'm at work
Plants - fake plants, i tried using a jade but it didnt work out so well.
Placement - low traffic, on a stand in my room, near a window but shades closed
Location - southern georgia

Current Problem -he acts lively but his urate is half orange and half white... I also think he has a small abscess on his tail and since its like the 15th day petsmart refuses to do anything about it even though they said he probably had it when i got him there..

 

[Jay1501]

Is the lump hard or soft are there any sighns of mbd?

 

[Goldfish]

It felt sort of hard, it wasnt really soft or rock hard, just like his skin. and what is that?

 

[Jay1501]

Im not to sure is it male of female? Do you have picture is around the lump a certain colour? Mite be worth going to a vet if you havent had cmthe cham that long in all fairness the shop should exchange if known to be unhealthy.

 

[Jay1501]

Do you give your chameleon a calcium supplement?
What brand and size of UVB light do you have? How old is the bulb?
Is the lump on the underside or topside of the tail?

 

[MissBritt]

Do you have any pictures? They might help to see what's wrong.

 

[Jay1501]

The lump is likely to be either an abscess or a tumor. Abscesses tend to be a little softer, but the fluid in them can harden. The lump is not likely to go away on its own so maybe quik trip to a vet i shouldant imagine theres any home treatmeants you could do for now others mite be able to help out on here abit more though

 

[Goldfish]

I will get a picture soon, i'm scared its mbd =(

 

[MissBritt]

Feeding - 9-10 crickets daily, gut loading w/ apple and celary

Supplements - rep-cal calcium w/ vitamin d every 3-5 days

A few tips..

You should be feeding your crickets more.. You can buy gutload for them, I use Repashy's "Bug Burger" and offer different fruits and vegetables based on what I have bought for my boyfriend and I every week.

Also, are you referring to calcium with D-3 above? Calcium without D-3 should be used daily, calcium with D-3 twice a month and a multivitamin twice a month.

You can read about MBD here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/what-metabolic-bone-disease-mbd-looks-like-how-happens-how-fix-95071/

Here's Sandrachameleon's blog on gut loading: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

And one on hydration, since that was the original concern: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/92-hydration-importance-water.html

 

[Goldfish]

I use rep-cal phosphorus free calcium with vit.d3 ultrafine powder.

 

[Goldfish]

A few tips..

You should be feeding your crickets more.. You can buy gutload for them, I use Repashy's "Bug Burger" and offer different fruits and vegetables based on what I have bought for my boyfriend and I every week.

Also, are you referring to calcium with D-3 above? Calcium without D-3 should be used daily, calcium with D-3 twice a month and a multivitamin twice a month.

You can read about MBD here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/what-metabolic-bone-disease-mbd-looks-like-how-happens-how-fix-95071/

Here's Sandrachameleon's blog on gut loading: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

And one on hydration, since that was the original concern: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/92-hydration-importance-water.html

I also switch it i feed them all sorts of stuff, celery,apples,potatoes,lettuce. it just depends on whats in the fridge when i get a new batch of crickets

 

[MissBritt]

I would recommend getting calcium without D-3, too much D-3 is harmful. You could also try an "all in one supplement" such as Repashy's Calcium Plus..

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-much-d3-too-much-why-46007/

 

[Goldfish]

he has two spots on his tail i'm concerned about
and then heres him being his grumpy self

 

[carol5208]

do not use the repcal with vit d3 so often. That has a very high concentration of d3 and you do not want to over do it. Get a calcium with no d3 and use that dailyl.

 

[Jon114]

Just a note, celery, apples, lettuce, and potatoe and not a sufficient gutload. Celery and lettuce (specifically iceberg) should not be fed for nutrition since they're mostly just water, potatoes aren't great either. A good gutload for crickets should be a low fat kitten food or chicken layer from the feed store, (ground into a powder with an old blender/food processer) kale, carrots, bokchoy, oranges, and just about most dark leafy greens. Petsmart is rather poor choice for animals, everytime they have a chamaleon there it's in poor condition, eyes closed, etc.

As for the abcess I don't have much advice on that, I'm still new to chams.

 

[MissBritt]

The picture is a little dark, so I can't really tell exactly where the spots are that you're talking about. Also, it looks like you might have a female, I don't see spurs..

 

[Goldfish]

it would have spurs at 5 months?

 

[MissBritt]

Yes, they can be sexed as soon as they hatch.

 

[Lovereps]

Just a note, celery, apples, lettuce, and potatoe and not a sufficient gutload. Celery and lettuce (specifically iceberg) should not be fed for nutrition since they're mostly just water, potatoes aren't great either. A good gutload for crickets should be a low fat kitten food or chicken layer from the feed store, (ground into a powder with an old blender/food processer) kale, carrots, bokchoy, oranges, and just about most dark leafy greens. Petsmart is rather poor choice for animals, everytime they have a chamaleon there it's in poor condition, eyes closed, etc.

As for the abcess I don't have much advice on that, I'm still new to chams.

No, Jon114 those wouldn't be good to gutload chams' feeders with.
They contain too much animal protein and too much of vitamins a and d.
To quote veterinarian Ferretinmyshoes' blog,
"Avoid dog food, cat food, fish food, and other prepared foods that are heavy sources of animal protein and/or fat and may provide excessive preformed vitamin A and also D (a little now and then is okay, but too much can lead to gout and other issues)."

Goldfish, try these for good gutloading info:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/446-basics-gutloading.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

The first is written by a veterinarian who keeps chams and the second is written by a successful chamkeeper of many years.

Giving D3 too often does lead to serious health problems and it is recommended for only 2x each month.

A visit to a reptile knowledgeable vet would be wise.
ARAV vets have a special interest in reptile medicine and you can find one here:
http://www.arav.org/find-a-vet/