Fixed broken leg

[Anvl]

Hi, so I have a 1.5 year old chameleon named Reptar. A month ago she fell from her branch and broke her right leg. I’ve been giving her medicine the vet prescribed. I’m worried that because of the broken leg her right arm will atrophy. She moves around a bit but I noticed when she walks she doesn’t use her right front paw, she kinda army crawls. I put her on a heating pad for 15 minutes or so because since the broken leg, she had trouble maintaining heat. Her colors have been good and her attitude has been more like herself. In the pictures she’s puffed up because she hates phones. I have another chameleon that I’ve been comparing her to in regards to walking and stuff

 

[Anvl]

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled chameleon, female, 1.5 years
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? not often before broken leg, since the broken leg everyday, she likes skin on skin contact and has tried to come to me when she’s in her cage
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? 2 crickets, Dubai roaches, or mealworms every other day usually around 2:30. Gut loading them with flukers cricket quencher and high calcium. As per vet request 10units of liquid calcium a day.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? repticalcium right before feeding at 2:30
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? misting, 2times a day, about 30 seconds to a minute. I don’t see her drinking cause I usually leave for work. Vet had told us to hand feeding (drinking?) warm water mixed with mineral oil.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Black with a firm rubbery urate (maybe because of the pain meds?) some calcium deposits also in with the urate.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. had low calcium when she broke her leg so I’ve upped her intake on that. Tries to move around with the broken leg and climb and i stop her.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? glass, 1.5 ft by 2ft
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? thrive brand, with a heat light and a up light. Usually 12hrs from 8am to 8pm
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? 75-85 degrees, overnight 70 degrees, using a hydrothermo
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? 46 to 50% humidity. Mainly using the water and adjusting the height of the lamps. Using the hydrothermo
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? yeah, jade and pothos plants, i also had random branches in there so she could climb. But because of the broken leg, I took it out so she can stop climbing on them and further damage her leg.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? in the living room by the window cause she likes looking outside. It’s in a high traffic area where we walk past. The top of the cage is about 4 feet from the floor
• Location - Where are you geographically located? located 2hrs west of nyc

 

[#Chams4life]

Looks like she has sever MBD and she looks receptive. That’s probably why she broke her arm when she fell. Take her back to the vet or find a new vet if they didn’t notice that. She’ll
need liquid calcium

 

[#Chams4life]

Whoops, didn’t see ur new post before I posted. Her walk is due to her MBD

 

[Anvl]

Whoops, didn’t see ur new post before I posted. Her walk is due to her MBD

I’m worried about her losing muscle mass too because she can’t climb, i was thinking of maybe helping her move her arms and stuff; not the broken leg obviously, but like physical therapy. It’s been a month of feeding her liquid calcium stuff the vet prescribed. And she has gotten stronger and stuff.

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum!

She looks gravid to me. Has she ever laid eggs? Been with a male?
Does she have a lay bin in her cage? It's important that one is there at al times.

Is the calcium you're giving her now liquid? If so, is it only calcium or does it have their things in with it? What supplements do you use? What did you use all along?

I feed/gutload crickets, roaches, superworms, locusts with dandelion greens, kale, collards, escarole, endive, mustard greens, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, and a very little bit of fruit such a s berries, mango, apples, pears.

The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear reptisun 5.0 tube light and all you need for a basking light is a regular incandescent household bulb of a wattage that provides the right temperature in the basking area. (No light at night even for heat.)

Using a dripper would give her another source of water.

 

[Anvl]

Welcome to the forum!

She looks gravid to me. Has she ever laid eggs? Been with a male?
Does she have a lay bin in her cage? It's important that one is there at al times.

Is the calcium you're giving her now liquid? If so, is it only calcium or does it have their things in with it? What supplements do you use? What did you use all along?

I feed/gutload crickets, roaches, superworms, locusts with dandelion greens, kale, collards, escarole, endive, mustard greens, squash, zucchini, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, and a very little bit of fruit such a s berries, mango, apples, pears.

The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear reptisun 5.0 tube light and all you need for a basking light is a regular incandescent household bulb of a wattage that provides the right temperature in the basking area. (No light at night even for heat.)

Using a dripper would give her another source of water.

She had laid 45 eggs back in November. I thought she might be ready to lay too but the vet didn’t see anything in the scans. I think it’s because she isn’t propping herself up to be honest. And it’s liquid yes the vet prescribed her with Calcionate syrup every 24 hours and her regularly given food which is dusted with Repticalcium. I couldn’t look at the light before cause I had just turned it off. So it’s a 75w bulb for the heating lamp and a 13w uvb light. I have a dripper leaf on the inside too but was also worried about her walking around with the broken leg as well.

 

[Anvl]

I’m going to the vet early April for a follow up. What should I ask the vet?

 

[#Chams4life]

I’m worried about her losing muscle mass too because she can’t climb, i was thinking of maybe helping her move her arms and stuff; not the broken leg obviously, but like physical therapy. It’s been a month of feeding her liquid calcium stuff the vet prescribed. And she has gotten stronger and stuff.

I would not do that. She may lose muscle mass but that can be regained. I would wait until she is starting to prop herself up a little. Her bones are still probably pretty soft and you may do more harm since they’re so small. It’s going to take more than a month for her to get better from this. My second Cham I got had MBD when I got him and it took months for him to be able to stand again. Once he was able to, I put him in a very small screen cage with lots to climb on and cushioned the bottom in case he fell. He was able to regain muscle lose and is now a healthy 4 year old boy.

if you can get her outside for a couple hours a day if it’s warm out for natural UVB would be really good for her.

 

[Nemesis]

I would assume the questions you're asking the forums, the MBD, liquid calcium, the vet should provide you with everything to take care of your pet(thats what you're paying him for) Best of luck!

 

[kinyonga]

She's due to lay again then....I'm sure she's carrying eggs. I don't know how she's going to dig a hole to lay them in her condition...but one could be dug for her and she could be shown it ...in the off chance that she could use it now.
Did the vet do an X-ray?

You've never dusted with a phos free calcium/ D3 supplement?
Is the UVB light a long linear tube or what? For basking all she needs is a regular incandescent household bulb of a wattage that produces the ring temperature.

 

[Anvl]

She's due to lay again then....I'm sure she's carrying eggs. I don't know how she's going to dig a hole to lay them in her condition...but one could be dug for her and she could be shown it ...in the off chance that she could use it now.
Did the vet do an X-ray?

You've never dusted with a phos free calcium/ D3 supplement?
Is the UVB light a long linear tube or what? For basking all she needs is a regular incandescent household bulb of a wattage that produces the ring temperature.

the vet did an X-ray and there were no eggs. And only the stuff I listed before I’ve used. The vet asked me what I fed her and he said that was okay just up the intake on calcium by giving her the liquid calcium. It’s not a long tube, I don’t know the name but it is incandescent, it’s like a flood light shape.

 

[Anvl]

I would not do that. She may lose muscle mass but that can be regained. I would wait until she is starting to prop herself up a little. Her bones are still probably pretty soft and you may do more harm since they’re so small. It’s going to take more than a month for her to get better from this. My second Cham I got had MBD when I got him and it took months for him to be able to stand again. Once he was able to, I put him in a very small screen cage with lots to climb on and cushioned the bottom in case he fell. He was able to regain muscle lose and is now a healthy 4 year old boy.

if you can get her outside for a couple hours a day if it’s warm out for natural UVB would be really good for her.

okay thank you, was just worried about other things that could go wrong cause she can’t do much. And it’s been too cold and rainy here sadly, she loved the outdoors during the summer

 

[ZEROPILOT]

It sounds like your UVB source is either inadequate or non existant.
Lack of UVB causes most MBD.

 

[kinyonga]

I still think from the size of your chameleon and shape she's carrying eggs. If it's true and she can't lay them, she will die.

Also when a chameleon loses bone mass due to MBD it also loses muscle mass. MBD also affects other systems in a chameleon.

Please be careful about leaving her on a heating pad..they get heat from the top normally and you might burn her belly doing that. The same goes for her being under a basking light...she won't be able to move herself out from under it like normal.

With the choice of UVB light and the fact that you have not been supplementing properly I don't think she's been getting enough D3 and so she wouldn't be able to use the calcium you were giving her...which is why she ended up with the MBD. Now you're giving her liquid calcium...which is what is done for chameleons with MBD...but you also really have to make sure she has enough D3 to use the calcium. It's best when the D3 is from the sun or UVB light but we always recommend using a supplement containing D3 lightly twice a month dusted on the insects before feeding them to her to make sure she gets some and leaving her to produce the rest from the UVB light exposure.

You also have to make sure that the insects are fed/gutloaded properly too.

Good luck with her.

 

[Anvl]

I would assume the questions you're asking the forums, the MBD, liquid calcium, the vet should provide you with everything to take care of your pet(thats what you're paying him for) Best of luck!

My vet didn’t mention a few things like how to give her her medicine, he said to just feed her via syringe the medicine. I came on here and found the proper way to give her it.

 

[Anvl]

It sounds like your UVB source is either inadequate or non existant.
Lack of UVB causes most MBD.

Okay thank you!

 

[Anvl]

I still think from the size of your chameleon and shape she's carrying eggs. If it's true and she can't lay them, she will die.

Also when a chameleon loses bone mass due to MBD it also loses muscle mass. MBD also affects other systems in a chameleon.

Please be careful about leaving her on a heating pad..they get heat from the top normally and you might burn her belly doing that. The same goes for her being under a basking light...she won't be able to move herself out from under it like normal.

With the choice of UVB light and the fact that you have not been supplementing properly I don't think she's been getting enough D3 and so she wouldn't be able to use the calcium you were giving her...which is why she ended up with the MBD. Now you're giving her liquid calcium...which is what is done for chameleons with MBD...but you also really have to make sure she has enough D3 to use the calcium. It's best when the D3 is from the sun or UVB light but we always recommend using a supplement containing D3 lightly twice a month dusted on the insects before feeding them to her to make sure she gets some and leaving her to produce the rest from the UVB light exposure.

You also have to make sure that the insects are fed/gutloaded properly too.

Good luck with her.

when I go back I’ll ask again, she isn’t acting like she did when she laid eggs. And with the heating pad, I lay a few towels under her and put it on the lowest setting and check on her every few minutes.
With the heating lamp I also check on her there, I have it set up so she can move off to the side an inch or so, she moves around a lot.
And okay thank you for the D3 advice, my vet didn’t mention that. What’s the best product to give her for that?
I’m going to feed the crickets veggies and stuff like y’all said, I had thought the stuff I was using was good but, going to change it up.

 

[AmandaS]

It sounds like maybe your vet isn't educated on chameleon care. No offence to you.

 

[kinyonga]

The usual supplement schedule is to dust the insects with a phos free calcium powder at all feedings but 4 a month lightly.
On 2 of those no dusting days, once every two weeks...it's recommended to dust with a phos free calcium/D3 powder lightly and on the 2 remaining days, use a vitamin powder with a beta carotene source of vitamin A. I use RepCal with and without D3 and Herptivite...but there are lots of other options out there too.

I feed the crickets greens and veggies because I prefer to use natural things instead of commercial products....it's just what works for me.

Good luck with her. I hope she will be ok.