claudesdad
New Member
Hello CF friends,
We have a panther chameleon, Claude, who is a little over a year old. We got him from a respected breeder at 3 months of age late last October. We noticed a bump in his arm recently and took him to a herp vet a few days ago. He said that we may have had issues with a bad bulb and/or voltage regulator from the timer we were using, and Claude is calcium-deficient. This cause him to have an issue with bone density with his arm in particular, one of which formed at a jointed angle on the exterior forearm bone. I was fairly surprised, as the ExoTerra bulbs come highly recommended and the bulb had been operational for less than a year. I've now been informed to replace them every 6 months despite them advertising a need for annual replacement, but I don't believe it was in use for longer than 7-8 months. Additionally, he's been masterful at masking his symptoms; I was informed by the vet that this is common for chameleons as a preventative practice against wild predators. Nonetheless, his colors have remained wonderfully vibrant, and his demeanor hasn't changed significantly until just before the vet visit (and certainly after). He's now lying down on branches, and holding his own hand somewhat frequently, as I suspect his arms are weak. The X-rays certainly revealed some standard MBD issues with bone density for his size. He's about 145-150 grams; a good size for a year-old male Panther, as I understand it.
I have since replaced the light fixture, bought another brand new 125W ExoTerra bulb, replaced the timer with a brand new one, and we've been orally administering 1/4cc a day of Calcium Glubionate, which was given to us by the vet. I've also been increasing the amount of time he's been spending in direct sunlight outside. The vet also gave him an injection of Vitamin D.
However, he's refused to eat in the few days since the appointment, and one of his eyes seems to be fairly swollen. It's closed a lot of the time, and he's been noticeably and unusually lethargic; he's usually a klutzy, but highly energetic and exploratory creature, even through the MBD, and has been this way since we got him months ago. He's been trying to scratch it on some of his favorite larger branches, too. The vet doesn't reopen until Tuesday, but I wanted to get some thoughts on here if possible about how to address the eye at the very least. He's certainly well-moisturized, and has continued to drink just fine. Typically, he seems more excited to get water every day than food - he very enthusiastically tries to "get" the end of the spray bottle on a daily basis with his tongue once he sees it, and he almost always makes a break from his current position for the sprayer once I open the door and he notices it's that special time.
Cage Info:
Current Problem - The eye, and obviously the circumstance on the whole. We have a 7 year old bearded dragon who is in great health, and though we understand that Panthers are much more complicated to take care of, we researched their husbandry needs and are quite surprised that this has happened. We have them both on the same ExoTerra 125W bulb, which isn't cheap, and have used these without any prior issue. I'm quite concerned we just got a dud this time around.
Thank you all very much in advance for your suggestions and assistance. We want to get our little man right again!
We have a panther chameleon, Claude, who is a little over a year old. We got him from a respected breeder at 3 months of age late last October. We noticed a bump in his arm recently and took him to a herp vet a few days ago. He said that we may have had issues with a bad bulb and/or voltage regulator from the timer we were using, and Claude is calcium-deficient. This cause him to have an issue with bone density with his arm in particular, one of which formed at a jointed angle on the exterior forearm bone. I was fairly surprised, as the ExoTerra bulbs come highly recommended and the bulb had been operational for less than a year. I've now been informed to replace them every 6 months despite them advertising a need for annual replacement, but I don't believe it was in use for longer than 7-8 months. Additionally, he's been masterful at masking his symptoms; I was informed by the vet that this is common for chameleons as a preventative practice against wild predators. Nonetheless, his colors have remained wonderfully vibrant, and his demeanor hasn't changed significantly until just before the vet visit (and certainly after). He's now lying down on branches, and holding his own hand somewhat frequently, as I suspect his arms are weak. The X-rays certainly revealed some standard MBD issues with bone density for his size. He's about 145-150 grams; a good size for a year-old male Panther, as I understand it.
I have since replaced the light fixture, bought another brand new 125W ExoTerra bulb, replaced the timer with a brand new one, and we've been orally administering 1/4cc a day of Calcium Glubionate, which was given to us by the vet. I've also been increasing the amount of time he's been spending in direct sunlight outside. The vet also gave him an injection of Vitamin D.
However, he's refused to eat in the few days since the appointment, and one of his eyes seems to be fairly swollen. It's closed a lot of the time, and he's been noticeably and unusually lethargic; he's usually a klutzy, but highly energetic and exploratory creature, even through the MBD, and has been this way since we got him months ago. He's been trying to scratch it on some of his favorite larger branches, too. The vet doesn't reopen until Tuesday, but I wanted to get some thoughts on here if possible about how to address the eye at the very least. He's certainly well-moisturized, and has continued to drink just fine. Typically, he seems more excited to get water every day than food - he very enthusiastically tries to "get" the end of the spray bottle on a daily basis with his tongue once he sees it, and he almost always makes a break from his current position for the sprayer once I open the door and he notices it's that special time.
- Your Chameleon - Panther, male, 13 months. Been with us since late October 2017.
- Handling - Every 2-3 days. Has always displayed a pretty good temperament for being handled, as Panthers go.
- Feeding - He will only occasionally eat crickets or dubia, and is troublingly picky here. Always has been, and we haven't been able to make any significant headway there whatsoever. Won't really touch Phoenix worms, either. He largely prefers superworms; 3-4 a day. He'll very occasionally get a hornworm. We mince a mix of vegetables and put a healthy pinch in each container the day they arrive from California. We also usually include a chunk of carrot for the superworms for moisture and nutrition.
- Supplements - His food is dusted with Repti Calcium with D3 from Zoo Med. This is a phosphorus-free dust.
- Watering - He has a big spray bottle that we use 2-3 times a day. A healthy spray first for him to drink, then on his body, then throughout the cage. He drinks very well, and always has.
- Fecal Description - Very light yellows in the urates, but that's been more recent. Largely very healthy-looking dumps. We have not tested for parasites, but if we must return to the vet this week, we will do that.
- History - Nothing in particular I can think of. He's always fallen several times a day, but we generally chalked that up to the fact that he's very energetic and exploratory...and a certifiable klutz. Has been since the day we got him. We didn't see muscular shakes until much more recently, which was a red flag.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - Screened, 36 x 18 x 18
- Lighting - UVB 10.0 bulb and an ExoTerra 125W Solar Glo All-in-One with UVA + UVB. Lights are on from 8:15-30 AM until around midnight.
- Temperature - Approximately 75 at bottom and 88-92 at the top. We have a Zoo Med temperature/humidity gauge.
- Humidity - Between 50-60% during the day. Higher immediately after spraying.
- Plants - No live plants.
- Placement - Cage is located next to a fairly low-traffic area in the living room (other than when we come to interact with him). Cage is placed directly on the floor. Not especially close to air vents, but it's a newer house, so the air circulation is good. I can't imagine that would be a contributing issue.
- Location - Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Current Problem - The eye, and obviously the circumstance on the whole. We have a 7 year old bearded dragon who is in great health, and though we understand that Panthers are much more complicated to take care of, we researched their husbandry needs and are quite surprised that this has happened. We have them both on the same ExoTerra 125W bulb, which isn't cheap, and have used these without any prior issue. I'm quite concerned we just got a dud this time around.
Thank you all very much in advance for your suggestions and assistance. We want to get our little man right again!
