Leg swollen??

[Fidget321]

Hi All,

I don't mean to sound like a paranoid first time mother, but i have noticed my cham's right leg being a bit swollen, please see below pictures, as you can see, one leg is clearly a bit swollen in comparison to the other.
She still climbs around and eats and drinks water regularly. She has also lain eggs about two weeks ago.
If it is anything of concern, i will take her to the vet.

All help would be greatly appreciated.





(I know the photos are too small to see at first, but if you click on them, and see the enlarged version, its more obvious)

 

[jannb]

It could be a number of things. It would be very helpful if you could answer these questions.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[Fidget321]

Hi, sorry i have done this before in another thread. my bad.

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Cage made out of green mesh, round, about a meter tall and about 12inches in diameter. I have also cut and placed several sticks and pushed it through the mesh in order for her to have something to climb on

* Lighting - I have a 50w basking lamp right next to the cage. (I am getting a UVB lamp on Saturday, it hasn't been necessary since we have her in natural sunlight every day.

* Temperature - 20C - 27 C
* Humidity - No idea

* Plants - Only plastic plants, also buying a pot plant on Saturday

* Placement - When we don't have the cage outside in the sun (Supervised) we normally have it in our study, lowest traffic area in the house.

* Location - South Africa - Johannesburg


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - Flap Neck Chameleon, Female, has been in my care about one and a half months. No idea how old she is.

* Handling - Only when i have no other choice.

* Feeding - I feed my cham three times a day, two crickets per serving. I gutload my crickets by feeding them carrot, potato and green beans.

* Supplements - Calcium with Vit D3, no idea what brand

* Watering - I have plastic plants in the cage, which i spray two to three times a day, otherwise we have a cup ontop of the cage that drips. I see her drink daily.

* Fecal Description - Was constipated, brown, orange and white

* History - As stated in previous post, she is still recovering from laying eggs two weeks ago.

* Current Problem - Please see previous post.

 

[kinyonga]

Could be gout...could be from an injury...could be an infection...only a vet can tell you for sure.

Concerning your husbandry...
You said that you are using calcium with D3...IMHO this is too much D3 if you are using it more than twice a month. I dust with a phosphorous-free calcium powder at most feedings to make up for the usually poor ratio of calcium to phos. found in many of the feeders we use.

I dust with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder twice a month. D3 from supplements can build up in the system...so don't overdo it.

I dust with a vitamin powder twice a month that has a beta carotene source of vitamin A. Beta carotene can't build up in the system like preformed vitamin A can...however, its not known if any/all chameleons can convert the beta carotene. Some people use a little preformed vitamin A once in a while. Excess preformed vit. A can prevent the D3 from doing its job and lead to MBD though.

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important for good bone health and other systems in the chameleon and they need to be in balance. You need to look at your supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon to get the balance.

You said that your chameleon is getting sunlight every day....does it pass through glass or plastic?

 

[PardalisGirl]

Need vet ASAP....

It looks like there is bending of some sort at the joint near the foot. It could be a fracture, break or tendon stress caused by the digging action. It could also have been caused due to calcium loss from egg production. The severe edema is a problem. It will cut off blood flow from the foot. You can end up with a gangrene/blood poisoning type situation. She needs to have an X-ray to determine the injury/condition. You can't make the swelling go down until you figure out the source. I don't think this will resolve without vet intervention. Let us know what happens....

 

[Fidget321]

I'll get her to a vet as soon as i can vind one in my area (i'll just ask an exotic pet shop)

Is she not getting enough vit A from the crickets i gutload with carrots?
Her cage is made out of mesh, she gets direct sunlight without passing trough anything.

I'll just get the natural calcuim and ask whats in it. I haven't seen the beta carrotene one yet but i will look out for it.

 

[yokazooma]

so that's not MBD then?

 

[Fidget321]

I don't mean to sound like a complete doofus, but what does MBD stand for?

Thanks

 

[yokazooma]

oh sorry. MBD is metabolic bone disease. it happens with improper uv lighting because without a certain amount of uv they can't use the calcium they intake (or something like that) so the limbs start swelling up. from what i hear it's irreversable (i could have been misinformed) but you can keep it from getting worse if that's what it is. go to a vet and he'll give him some shots and get a proper uv if thats the case

 

[Fidget321]

Oh that sound terrible!

Yes, i will definitaly get her to the vet.
(The only reason i was asking is that i was concerned that i might have been overreacting, didn't want to take him to the vet if it wasn't serious)

I think the calcium thing being a problem because she has just lain eggs can also be possible. I just hope it can be fixed hey

Thanks for the help.

Will let you guys know what the vet says.

 

[yokazooma]

no problem. i lost my first chameleon because nobody informed me that i needed to switch the uv after 6-9 months and 9 months after i got her she passed away. i figured her legs were supposed to get bigger with growth cuz i got her when when she was a baby so she grew quick. and i also figured that i'd know to switch the uv light when it burns out like any other light. but in actuality... the light stays on even after the uv is all used up so make sure you keep an eye on that and don't ever buy a used or old bulb plus make sure you mark on your calendar 6 months from whenever you get the new light if you feel you need one so you dont forget to buy another. good luck

 

[Fidget321]

I did not know that either.
Thanks for the advise. I'm buying a UV lamp on Saturday, what is the best one to buy for her?

I know you get 5 and a 10 one, i'm not too sure what that means.

Thanks

 

[yokazooma]

5.0 is usually okay. 10.0 can really bother their eyes and make them swell up or close and probably hurt their skin too. its sort of like how we use sunlight. you dont want to over do it and the one you want to get isn't a compact. you need a flourescent (the bulb looks like a tube)

 

[Fidget321]

Thanks for this, The issue i am having is misting (I bought an infrared bulb not too long ago, because of the mesh cage, when i misted, a droplet got on the bulb and it blew - luckily she wasn't in the cage when that happened) so the florecent bulb is not going to last long.

And space is also a big issue i don't have a lamp for it either, will it be a horrible crime if i buy the compact one?

As i said before, every chance i get to be home, she is out in natural sunlight, i still plan on doing that in future.

Thanks

 

[Goggles]

I bought the compact before reading the posts here and noticed my cham blinking alot. Did some reading and bought tube no problems since.
DO NOT buy the compact.

 

[Fidget321]

Thanks for this.
This is so strange because i always see the pet shops using the compacts, poor things.

What happens if I accidentally mist on the florescent, will it burst?

 

[Fidget321]

Just to give all an update on this:

After this discussion, i took her to a reptile expert and it was not broken. She was bitten by something (could have been a spider that got into her cage)
But i bought the UVB Bulb and the swelling has gone off completely, she is now her crazy self again.

Thanks for all the advise!

 

[beeze]

Glad that she's doing much better!

 

[kinyonga]

yokazooma...MBD can occur if there is not any exposure to UVB but it can also occur when there is an imbalance in certain nutrients...D3, vitamin A, calcium and phosphorous being the main ones. Too much or too little of these nutrients can lead to problems.


The limbs usually get bumps on them from broken bones and there is often some swelling involved, but the swelling shown in Fidget321's picture is usually from gout, and injury (including a bite) or an infection.

Although the mis-shaped bones, etc. can't usually be corrected by correcting the imbalance, further damage will be stopped.