Hi I'm new new to all of this

[pink35901]

I got my first baby chameleon from petsmart in Dec. he was a xmas gift. i did some research on them so that i could do everything right for the little guy. and i thought most of the people that worked there was supposed to be knowledgeable... well i went to get the lighting and heat bulbs.. and to my knowledge i thought he gave me a uvb bulb.. it turned out he only gave me 2 heat bulbs.. so for the last 2 mos. he can't use his back legs.. and this was something that didn't happen over night.. it took a while for this to happen. I am so heart broken , because now it's hard for him to walk it looks as if he is deformed and can't use his back legs.. my vet said it was a calcium deficiency .. i began to cry.. he got very weak, and didn't want to eat.. so i started to fix him a past that was made of calcium, mealworms,babyfood, and this stuff called repta+boost..the calcium is made for all reptiles.. because my little guy was also dehydrated.. the guy at the pet store told me to keep lights on him at all times.. i found this NOT TO BE TRUE... because of this website i found out everything about how to take care of my little guy.. now i just hope it's not to late for him.. do they ever recover from a calcium deficiency??? will his legs ever be the same ?? that anyone knows of?? THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING THIS WEBSITE... and yes i am having to force feed him.. and it seems to be working.. and because of this website he is not in a glass cage.. the guy at the pet store told me to keep him in an aquarium.. he's been in a mesh cage for about 4 weeks now..

 

[Nellycool1]

Sorry to hear bout your Cham these pet owners will do anything just to get a quick £ and from my experience it all depends how much damage has been done but he should get a bit better with the right care and your right all lights should be switched off in the nights. Ps welcome to the forums

 

[camimom]

SOrry to hear you are joining us under sad circumstances.

MBD, metabolic bone disease, is not curable, nor is it reversiable.

You can stop its progression with calcium, and liquid calcium would be great to have. you should be able to buy it from a drug store.

his legs are deformed due to breaks, and sadly, they wont straighten out.
so an deformities you see now.. wont get fixed.

he needs a UVB bulb, and a basking bulb taht makes a basking temp to around 85 degrees.
lights stay on a 12 hour cycle, 12 on, 12 off.

no substrate on the bottom of the mesh cage (good job btw)

If its warm enough, take him outside for as much natural sun as possible.

I would purchase silkworms and pheonix worms (aka calci or repti worms) they are high in calcium and will help him recover.

Good luck!

any other questions, please post them hre, we will all help.

 

[pink35901]

Thank you !!

Thank you !!! with every day that passes he seems to get a little better.. i feed him 2 times a day, but not very much because he is so small.. my vet said right now is to hard to tell how much damage has been done.. so it's a wait and see what happens now.. thank you for your comment..

 

[K9Luvn]

Welcome to the forum This is the place for the right advice and help from experienced keepers. You might get lucky and find someone that actually knows about chams (or other reptiles or critters as far as that is concerned) from Petsmart...Petco... other chain stores. But for the most part they are just taught by a care sheet and really don't know the proper care. You are on you way to learning all you can... and never be afraid to ask.

 

[camimom]

very welcome.
and how old is he now?
can you post some pics of him?
wha are you supplementing with?
feeding him?
how do you water?

jsut trying to get as much info as possible to give you as much help as possible.

 

[pink35901]

Thank you !!

I learned about his cage, and the temps to keep him at because of this website.. and when its a sunny day we go outside a lot.. and i also came up with putting artificial leaves in the window, with the little suction cups on them and he'll stay in the window for as long as i let him stay there.. he loves that, but i don't let him stay long periods of time..

 

[pink35901]

he is now 4 mos old.. i feed him the past made of mealworms,babyfood, and the repta boost that my vet gave me for him.. thank you for your your help, and concerns ... thank you all so very much.. and i spray his cage with a fine mister my vet gave me..

 

[camimom]

So you knwo, he wont get UVB rays through the window. UVB rays cant pass through glass.
I would stop feeding the mealies, they are hard to digest.
get crickest, dubia roaches, silkworms, these are daily staple feeder bugs.


and pheonix worms, can be fed daily too, and like i saidm are high in calcium.


good luck, and any questions, again ask away!

 

[pink35901]

Welcome to the forum This is the place for the right advice and help from experienced keepers. You might get lucky and find someone that actually knows about chams (or other reptiles or critters as far as that is concerned) from Petsmart...Petco... other chain stores. But for the most part they are just taught by a care sheet and really don't know the proper care. You are on you way to learning all you can... and never be afraid to ask.

Thank you so much.. everyone has been so helpful..

 

[pink35901]

So you knwo, he wont get UVB rays through the window. UVB rays cant pass through glass.
I would stop feeding the mealies, they are hard to digest.
get crickest, dubia roaches, silkworms, these are daily staple feeder bugs.


and pheonix worms, can be fed daily too, and like i saidm are high in calcium.


good luck, and any questions, again ask away!

Thank you !! next feeding i'll give him crickets.. i'll have to order dubia roaches, and silkworms.. it's hard to get them here in Jasper GA.

 

[camimom]

Thank you !! next feeding i'll give him crickets.. i'll have to order dubia roaches, and silkworms.. it's hard to get them here in Jasper GA.

mulberryfarms.com is a site sponsor, and they sell all those things.

 

[pink35901]

very welcome.
and how old is he now?
can you post some pics of him?
wha are you supplementing with?
feeding him?
how do you water?

jsut trying to get as much info as possible to give you as much help as possible.

he is 4 mos old now i'm still learning how to do things on this site.. i will post pictures of my little one soon.. i'm giving him the repta boost my vet gave me to give him.. and i spray him with a fine mister i got from my vet.. THANK YOU SO MUCH..

 

[camimom]

he is 4 mos old now i'm still learning how to do things on this site.. i will post pictures of my little one soon.. i'm giving him the repta boost my vet gave me to give him.. and i spray him with a fine mister i got from my vet.. THANK YOU SO MUCH..

to post pics.
post reply.
click paper clip in utilitiy tray.
in new window, browse your computer, click pic you want, click upload.
when done, close window.
click paper clip again,
click insert attachments.
click submit reply.

i dont know about the repta boost, but if you feel your vet knows what they are doing...
lets see if anyone else has dealt with repta boost.

also, you can doa s earch for mbd in the search button, green bar at top, you can find lots of stuff...

 

[pink35901]

So you knwo, he wont get UVB rays through the window. UVB rays cant pass through glass.
I would stop feeding the mealies, they are hard to digest.
get , dubia roaches, silkworms, these are daily staple feeder bugs.


and pheonix worms, can be fed daily too, and like i saidm are high in calcium.


good luck, and any questions, again ask away!

Thank you !! I won't give him any more mealworms.. i do have crickets i will give him those his next feeding.. i know about the uvb. i did get him a uvb bulb.. and we go out in the sun.. Thank you so very much !!

 

[camimom]

Thank you !! I won't give him any more mealworms.. i do have crickets i will give him those his next feeding.. i know about the uvb. i did get him a uvb bulb.. and we go out in the sun.. Thank you so very much !!

just checking, some people think that if they put the cham near window, they get the uvb rays... so with new people, we just always clarify.

the natural sun will work wonders for him.

and you are very welcome! i know what its like to deal wiht a sick animal... and the chams are hard cuz theres only so much we can do.

 

[pink35901]

This is ziggy ..

 

[camimom]

Definite MBD.

But its not the worst weve seen.
with proper care, he could be able to live a relatively normal life.

i would place some towels on the bottom of his cage, so if he falls whcih happens alot with mbd, he wotn get hurt.

 

[pink35901]

ziggy

This is my little ziggy.. if i did this right..

 

[pink35901]

to post pics.
Post reply.
Click paper clip in utilitiy tray.
In new window, browse your computer, click pic you want, click upload.
When done, close window.
Click paper clip again,
click insert attachments.
Click submit reply.

I dont know about the repta boost, but if you feel your vet knows what they are doing...
Lets see if anyone else has dealt with repta boost.

Also, you can doa s earch for mbd in the search button, green bar at top, you can find lots of stuff...

thank you !!!