MBD or injury? Help my little guy.
My 6 month old chameleon may have MBD. I have given him proper UV lighting, glut load and dust crickets, drip system, misting, and humidifier. His housing is not the issue. I'm worried he injured his back legs and now he has MBD. I haven't seen anything regarding a broken bone causing MBD. It's seems to be the other way around.
After his injury, his back legs and hip turned brown. He didn't use them or turn green for about an hour. 2 hours later he was crawling around, hunting, and showing normal behavior. This was 6-7 weeks ago. The cause of the injury is still in question because I poorly trusted someone to check on him while I worked a long shift. I have not taken him to a vet because there isn't one close to me that takes exotics (unless to euthanize ).
The past 10 days he's been showing signs of MBD. He still hunts crickets and attempts to crawl but his back legs are weak. I have been giving him flukers repti-boost (.3 cc for his weight) and half his cricket diet. I give him a calcium d3 dust to his crickets every other day. I only handle him if necessary. I also replaced his UV lights just in case.
He stays on the bottom of his enclosure and doesn't attempt to go to the top. I have a hammock for him with plenty of branches to reach the top safely. I put his lighting at the bottom along the side of his enclosure at almost a 90 degree angle. I also have a low heating pad under his enclosure. He has repti bark but to make it easier to move I covered the bottom with paper towels. He also has a pathos plant that he climbs in to sleep.
He's pooping normally. His legs essentially look weak. He doesn't seem malnourished, dehydrated, or emaciated. He can grip with his feet but doesn't put much weight on his back legs. He still curls his tail and sits up right. Sometimes he lays on his back which makes me nervous and I flip him over if he doesn't hiss at me (which is rare). I try to take him outside but I'm worried it stresses him even in his enclosure.
I guess my questions are:
Am I on the right track with the care I'm giving?
Is it MBD, broken bone, or both? I may have a vet that can take him in for an X-ray but I'm waiting to hear back.
Should I give him some sort of brace? I saw someone gave their chameleon a cast made from a straw to help with MBD/broken bone.
Is there a "point of no return"? A time table would be great to help me track his progress.
I'm staying positive and vigilant. I work most days from home so I keep a close eye on him without stressing him out. He's surprisingly well tempered and only hisses when he sees the dropper with his liquid diet...which is perfect because it's easy to give it to him
I'm willing to do whatever it takes for my little guy.
Thanks for reading.
My 6 month old chameleon may have MBD. I have given him proper UV lighting, glut load and dust crickets, drip system, misting, and humidifier. His housing is not the issue. I'm worried he injured his back legs and now he has MBD. I haven't seen anything regarding a broken bone causing MBD. It's seems to be the other way around.
After his injury, his back legs and hip turned brown. He didn't use them or turn green for about an hour. 2 hours later he was crawling around, hunting, and showing normal behavior. This was 6-7 weeks ago. The cause of the injury is still in question because I poorly trusted someone to check on him while I worked a long shift. I have not taken him to a vet because there isn't one close to me that takes exotics (unless to euthanize ).
The past 10 days he's been showing signs of MBD. He still hunts crickets and attempts to crawl but his back legs are weak. I have been giving him flukers repti-boost (.3 cc for his weight) and half his cricket diet. I give him a calcium d3 dust to his crickets every other day. I only handle him if necessary. I also replaced his UV lights just in case.
He stays on the bottom of his enclosure and doesn't attempt to go to the top. I have a hammock for him with plenty of branches to reach the top safely. I put his lighting at the bottom along the side of his enclosure at almost a 90 degree angle. I also have a low heating pad under his enclosure. He has repti bark but to make it easier to move I covered the bottom with paper towels. He also has a pathos plant that he climbs in to sleep.
He's pooping normally. His legs essentially look weak. He doesn't seem malnourished, dehydrated, or emaciated. He can grip with his feet but doesn't put much weight on his back legs. He still curls his tail and sits up right. Sometimes he lays on his back which makes me nervous and I flip him over if he doesn't hiss at me (which is rare). I try to take him outside but I'm worried it stresses him even in his enclosure.
I guess my questions are:
Am I on the right track with the care I'm giving?
Is it MBD, broken bone, or both? I may have a vet that can take him in for an X-ray but I'm waiting to hear back.
Should I give him some sort of brace? I saw someone gave their chameleon a cast made from a straw to help with MBD/broken bone.
Is there a "point of no return"? A time table would be great to help me track his progress.
I'm staying positive and vigilant. I work most days from home so I keep a close eye on him without stressing him out. He's surprisingly well tempered and only hisses when he sees the dropper with his liquid diet...which is perfect because it's easy to give it to him
I'm willing to do whatever it takes for my little guy.
Thanks for reading.
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