Hi, I have recently was given a Chameleon. The people before me gave him very very poor care. His got MBD very bad in his legs but the front two are getting much better. I am just worried about his back two. With the back legs is not able to climb anything so spending time on the ground. I have took him to a vet and the vet said give it time and the rite light and calcium with a good diet it would straighten out. I have done some research online but kinda just want someone to tell me, I am doing good. Lol. Ok now him veiled chameloen. Age I am not sure. Glass cage ten gallon with a screen topper with makes it a 20 gal. Tall. Lights one is a tropical day light and other is 10. UVB. No live plants still doing some research on them. But has two false plants and some walking sticks. Cage temperature stays between 85 to 100. At nite I put a reptile nightlight. So any and all help is Welcome.
Help...
- Thread starter acm453
- Start date
GoFSU
New Member
Are you misting him and the cage? No still water, use a dripper, you can homemake it with pool supplies also if you don't have a mister, use a spray bottle, thoroughly clean it before use. I also believe its too hot. Try knocking it down 10-20 degrees if you can. you also need a reptisun 5.0 bulb not 10.0. Other then those 2 items it sounds like you are doing a decent job. I once he starts to climb, I would try to get him a screened cage
Ace
Avid Member
WELCOME TO THE FORUMS,
its a good start to going to the vet
but things need to change for him to recover wuickly and effectively
and you will get the helpe you need, and will learn alot about keeping chameleons happy and healthy.
well for starters.
the uvb bulb people use that is safe and needed for chams is a repti-sun or repti-glo LINEAR tube 5.0 bulb
the temps is too hot, cool it down in the 70's and have the basking light in a corner and it shoud only be in the 85-90 range.
you do not need a heat pad unless the temps go below 65
and i think a screen cage is better suited.
live plants to use is a ficus benjamina(weeping fig), pothos, and ubmrella plants.
you give water by having a dripperand mist the leaves and the cham should lick the water off the leaves, they do not see still water,
no substate at hte bottom is needed, keep it bare, so no bark, soil, etc
here is a link to get more into deatail on how to care for your cham
hope this helps
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
its a good start to going to the vet
but things need to change for him to recover wuickly and effectively
and you will get the helpe you need, and will learn alot about keeping chameleons happy and healthy.
well for starters.
the uvb bulb people use that is safe and needed for chams is a repti-sun or repti-glo LINEAR tube 5.0 bulb
the temps is too hot, cool it down in the 70's and have the basking light in a corner and it shoud only be in the 85-90 range.
you do not need a heat pad unless the temps go below 65
and i think a screen cage is better suited.
live plants to use is a ficus benjamina(weeping fig), pothos, and ubmrella plants.
you give water by having a dripperand mist the leaves and the cham should lick the water off the leaves, they do not see still water,
no substate at hte bottom is needed, keep it bare, so no bark, soil, etc
here is a link to get more into deatail on how to care for your cham
hope this helps
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
First of all it sounds like a calcium imbalance. The quickest way for this to be corrected is for the vet to give it injections of calcium until the blood calcium levels are high enough to give it an injection of calcitonin. The calcitonin rapidly draws the calcium back into the chameleon's system.
Although what your vet has suggested will help, it will be a much slower process. Liquid calciums like sandoz or gluconate are supposed to be absorbed more quickly into the chameleon's system...so that would help it recover more quickly as long as it has enough D3 in its system too.
If he is sitting low in the cage, it would be better IMHO to move him to a shorter cage so that he will still be within the range of the UVB...but be careful not to overheat him if the cage is glass.
Once you get the nutrients back in balance, you need to make sure that your husbandry is good enough to keep them balanced.
Exposure to proper UVB, appropriate temperatures, supplements, a supply of well-fed/gutloaded insects, water and an appropriate cage set-up are all important for the well-being of your chameleon.
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption. Temperatures needed can vary with the species.
Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.
Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).
If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).
Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite.)
Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)
Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
Good luck!
Although what your vet has suggested will help, it will be a much slower process. Liquid calciums like sandoz or gluconate are supposed to be absorbed more quickly into the chameleon's system...so that would help it recover more quickly as long as it has enough D3 in its system too.
If he is sitting low in the cage, it would be better IMHO to move him to a shorter cage so that he will still be within the range of the UVB...but be careful not to overheat him if the cage is glass.
Once you get the nutrients back in balance, you need to make sure that your husbandry is good enough to keep them balanced.
Exposure to proper UVB, appropriate temperatures, supplements, a supply of well-fed/gutloaded insects, water and an appropriate cage set-up are all important for the well-being of your chameleon.
Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption. Temperatures needed can vary with the species.
Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.
Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).
If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).
Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite.)
Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)
Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.
Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
Good luck!
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