HELP! Baby Veiled Cham won't eat and back legs won't work
- Thread starter Agross721
- Start date
Carlton
Chameleon Enthusiast
OldChamKeeper
Chameleon Enthusiast
Its unlikely you'll hear much. That's just Petco for you. One of the worst places to buy a reptile from imo. Best case scenario they'll give you a replacement animal. I'd suggest you really use this website and gather the info you need to take care of one, because Petco will not give you the right info. If they did they would never sell a $40 lizard that needs about $250-400 in gear.
So I got a call back from the animal manager at Petco. She said he's back from the vet and they still aren't exactly sure what's wrong. They said none of his bones are broken. It's possible he's either deformed or that it's the very very early stages of MBD (still too early to tell). So they are going to hang onto him for another couple days with some extra care and call me back. We're gonna see if he gets any better or worse, I'll be sure to keep all of you posted. Thank you all so much for all of this advice, you've all been very helpful and I really appreciate it.
My advice to u is either get a refund or let them know u would like a healthy chameleon ,it depends on how serious is the MBD on this cham,u can prevent getting it worst by following the right supplement schedule along with gutloading ur feeder and with the correct lighting,But u can never REVERSE the MBD,especially if the bones are already deformed.
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
This is said wrongly. In order to treat MBD correctly there needs to be vet intervention; supplementation, gutloading, and correct lighting will not stop the progression of MBD if you chameleon is showing signs of it. Liquid calcium is the minimum of what you will need to stop MBD from progressing. Also you can technically reverse some of the effects of MBD. However the fact is your chameleon will always have MBD in some way. They may not be progressing with it, but in a way it is dormant, and if you screw up with your meds and supplements chameleons who have MBD are more likely to have bone issues and all the other stuff that comes with MBD much quicker and are much less lenient.
The key word I put is ,"it depends on how serious is the MBD "
Since the OP mentioned
Read my words carefully!
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...ase-mbd-what-is-it-and-how-do-you-fix-it.729/
"Damage caused by metabolic bone disease cannot be reversed completely but the disease process can be stopped so there is not further damage and the bones can heal if proper UVB is supplied and the imbalance of dietary calcium is addressed.
Metabolic bone disease takes a long time to develop, and conversely takes a long time to resolve. Correcting your husbandry and providing adequate calcium, nutrition through gutloading, and UVB is the first critical step. "
"Damage caused by metabolic bone disease cannot be reversed completely but the disease process can be stopped so there is not further damage and the bones can heal if proper UVB is supplied and the imbalance of dietary calcium is addressed.
Metabolic bone disease takes a long time to develop, and conversely takes a long time to resolve. Correcting your husbandry and providing adequate calcium, nutrition through gutloading, and UVB is the first critical step. "
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
Yes but the post also recommends liquid calcium, but I usually use a lot more than suggested in the beginning of recovery.
But I do agree I read that wrong. Sorry lol
She also shows in the post a severe change in one of the recoveries. MBD in my opinion can be reversed A LOT to more than people expect. However honestly when you typed the words deformed, I thought you were talking about deformation due to poor calcium and phosphorous balance.
But I do agree I read that wrong. Sorry lol
She also shows in the post a severe change in one of the recoveries. MBD in my opinion can be reversed A LOT to more than people expect. However honestly when you typed the words deformed, I thought you were talking about deformation due to poor calcium and phosphorous balance.
Kristen Wilkins
Chameleon Enthusiast
This is such a great forum . I did not know MBD could not be cured , That It remains dormant . Thank you for the post . I was under the impression it could be .
No problem,I will except ur apologies,
My point is,why bring more headaches if this cham is already not well in the first place,since
If their vet can not even tell whats wrong with the cham,why take chances??
The vet visit down the road for this cham and causing the OP more time and stress later,if this is in my situation,I will get my refund or ask for another healthy cham ,so I wont have to deal with all these problems,unless the OP choose to own this cham for whatever the reason is,then the OP will have to deal with all the consequences afterwards.
Kristen Wilkins
Chameleon Enthusiast
With all your Knowledge you could Produce your own beauty's .
I agree,and OP will decide this for sure.
Kristen Wilkins
Chameleon Enthusiast
And there absolutely no question that you will be amazing . Have beautiful Healthy baby . The only question is with so many inexperienced keepers how do you pick , will you be able to give them up
. We are new to chamealon but when We get more space We will start a rescue. I can never become a breeder I would never give the baby's up . I would fall in love with every one .
Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
I would be a breeder like @alphakenc and do a stupid amount of questioning of my possible home. I would probably send each person to the forums too. Provide back up info if needed, and if the cham ever needed a new home I would get them to send it back to me.
Kristen Wilkins
Chameleon Enthusiast
there's never enough stupid questions not when it comes to baby's !!.
Yes also @Matt Vanilla Gorilla is amazing . We are getting our new baby from him . He sent all care sheets and every question he has answered . He's beyond patient there's moments I can be a bone head lol . Both @alphakenc and @Matt Vanilla Gorilla have giving me fantastic advice on handling . I'm not new to lizards but chamealon yes . Going from beardies and geckos to chamealons and the first Chamaeleon being a little girl , drastically different in my opinion .
Ok so I have another question for everyone. In my research and preparing for this chameleon, I went to more of a "mom and pop" pet store and spoke to a guy about owning a cham. He warned me about getting a girl because if they don't mate and can't lay their eggs they'll be dead in a year. The girl from petco told me she had a girl that lived for 4 almost 5 years. Apparently we were very lucky to have found a boy at petco because they never get them (according to her). I have the option to take a new chameleon home if things with Carlton continue to go south. So I'm just wondering how true each person I mentioned was, and if you guys also think I should try to avoid getting a female
