My Chameleon Fell

G

gumbycham

New Member
So my chameleon fell two days ago and took about a 30inch fall right onto the hardwood. It sounded like he hit really hard and now he has been acting all funny since and I'm not exactly sure what to do. He is a full grown male veiled. He hasnt been moving around in his cage very much and just now he fell off of his branch. He has been laying with his head down against the branch and his body leaned to one side. When he fell in his cage he didnt even try to climb back up he just hung there and there was branches near for him to grab. When I brought him up and barely found and grabbed the branches in front of him and his hind legs couldnt find anything to grab onto and the branch was only a couple centimetres away. He ate one hornworm yesterday and he was very slow to take it (he usually hauls ass across his cage to get them) and today he wouldnt eat crickets, superworms or a hornworm, he doesnt even look interested in them. Yesterday his eyes swelled up and then they started to move around in a very weird way, the eye kinda went in and push all the swollen part to the front towards his mouth. Just replaced the UVB bulb about a week ago, give him water everyday and his food is dusted with some calcium just about every feeding, and once or twice a week he gets a multi vitamin supplement. Any help would be great as i think maybe he broke his ribs or has brain damage :( he is my first cham and I have had him for over a year now and everyone is very attached to him. Please help thank you.
 
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Sorry your boy has hurt himself in a fall. Can you fill in the above form. There may be something that caused him to fall. It really sounds as if he hurt himself and I'm going to suggest you take him to a vet. In the meantime keep him hydrated and make his viv safe by bringing his vines low and placing a towel on the floor to break his fall if he does it again. You may want to turn viv on its side.
 
Okay I will take him to the vet tomorrow. Have nightshift tonight in about an hour. Ive got a couple pictures of him here
 
Pictures as of today. The arch on his back looks weird to me.
 

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Also just an FYI, I know tons of people who have had their chams fall a good amount and are fine. They fall allllllll the time in the wild. From my exp, falling freaks the crap out of them and they realllly don't want to do it again. Do you notice any bruising?
 
I didnt know any bruising, but when i went down he was just hanging off a branch, buy his forearm, none of his feet were gripping onto anything and they were all closed. I picked him up very gently and then put him on a blanket and he wouldnt even try to move his legs to stand up and balance himself. he just left them where they were. When he fell it was a pretty loud smack, maybe he hit his head first? I couldnt see bc I was on my bed then he went on the end board and slipped right away
 
Please don't take this as harshly as it might come off, but he is really very fat. Every part of him is super round and chubby, it wouldn't surprise me if he's just losing motor function from how overweight he is. He's beautiful, just very overweight.

I can't say for certain if that leg looks weird due to some swelling or just a little leg fat roll, but I think a vet trip is definitely a good idea. And then PLEASE come back and let us figure out a proper diet for him to be on because that will significantly improve the amount of years he's likely to live. He'll probably feel lighter on his feet and move around better too! 2-4 appropriately sized feeders (whether they are crickets, roaches, worms, etc.) every other day is usually more than enough to maintain a healthy adult.
 
I agree with Olimpia for sure... that guys is robust to say the least.. vet trip is definitely in order, and maybe in the meantime you can rotate his cage on the side so that he doesnt have far to fall if he does again. Chams do fall all the time in the wild so there is no need to completely freak out; however, it could be due to his weight or something else.. vet trip time.
 
Id take your chameleon in for some blood work and xrays. Id say you have some gout going on here.

Id have your vet focus towards the kidneys.
 
Thank you for all of your help! I really appreciate it, and even if there's anything other advice for me I would like to know, I've use the forums a little bit but I've always had trouble with them, even with my car ones. I've just gone with the advice from my local pet shop where a few friends of mine work and have chams too. He will definitely be going to the vet either today or tm, depends when I can get him in, and I have to go to my second job later. I want to keep him alive and healthy for as long as I can and I will be posting all results as soon as I get them. Thanks again for all the help.
 
Okay so I called around town and no one here deals with reptiles:( I would have to take him to the university of Guelph which is about a 45 minnute drive. And with my work schedule its going to be hard for me to get him there. In the meantime what else can I do for him? He isnt really eating and we have been having to put water in his mouth through a syringe. I saw him crawling around a little better but for the most part he doesnt want to use his legs.
 
It sounds like he may have ? Spinal ? Head injuries. Only a vet can say. If you can't get to a reptile vet you may have to go to your nearest one if you think he is suffering. A none reptile vet can contact someone who knows about reptiles for advice. Only you know the level of pain and suffering he is enduring. Good luck with what you decide and keep us posted.:)
 
Okay so I took my little buddy to the vet clinic yesterday and here is what I found out. The vet weighed him and he comes in at 182 grams. No major fractures that she could feel or see. I didn't get X-rays done bc of the price and she said she might not even be able to see anything from them. I did get blood work done and all of his levels are pretty much right around normal, except for a few that were a little high due to the stress of bringing him in, (had to go on the highway and it was bumpy in my little car) His tongue is working correctly, like how he swallows but he still doesn't want to shoot it out. The final verdict is that she believes that the fall has pinched one of his nerves in his spine, his feet stay closed and wont open all the way sometimes (getting much better now) so I got some medicine for him which is an anti inflammatory and pain killer. After taking this he seemed to be able to move his head around more, before it was only to the right side. I also got hand feed mixture for him so he can be feed until he gets better.
 
So glad you managed the vet visit.it is very difficulty to work out what is wrong without seeing him. Hopefully you will see an improvement in him in the next week or two. Let us know how he is getting on please.:)
 
Okay so it has been a couple weeks since the trip to the vet and for the most part gumby is getting back to his original self. The only problem is that he can't use his tongue. He looks and recognizes the food but can't act on it. Is there any way that we can get his tongue back to normal, maybe through therapy?
 
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