Veild Cham Owner
Avid Member
So at the vet about a week ago we had his nails trimmed. He has a hard time climbing on the screen now and gripping onto my hand sometimes. Will they eventually grow back?
Nails growing back?
- Thread starter Veild Cham Owner
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Veild Cham Owner
Avid Member
they will never ever grow back? its just this one mitten thats nail is really really short.
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
The nails do not grow back. I'd also recommend finding a new vet with more chameleon experience. You should add more vines and branches to his enclosure so he will have plenty to walk on and not have to climb the screen.
Lathis
Chameleon Enthusiast
I've said it before in a recent thread, and I'll repeat myself once here: you should not need (and should not) have chameleon nails trimmed. Chameleons need long nails to climb - all tree creatures do. If they are getting so long as to impede your chameleon's ability to walk, you don't have the correct branches in the enclosure. If they are just poking or cutting you - tough nuts, that's what they are SUPPOSED to do. *Steps off soapbox*
If the nail bed hasn't been damaged, they should slowly grow back. It may take a very long time. If the nail bed was damaged, they may never grow back. Please rethink your enclosure setup and add bigger branches of harder woods or rougher surface to naturally maintain a healthy nail length.
If the nail bed hasn't been damaged, they should slowly grow back. It may take a very long time. If the nail bed was damaged, they may never grow back. Please rethink your enclosure setup and add bigger branches of harder woods or rougher surface to naturally maintain a healthy nail length.
Kclarke02
Avid Member
I'd personally never get my chams nails trimmed. They are so vital in everyday life for them.....
Veild Cham Owner
Avid Member
Omg I feel like such an idiot and I feel horrible for my little guy now. Never ever ever will I have that done. He is only 6 months, they won't grow back as he gets older?
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oneillchameleons
Established Member
Was this done on your vets suggestion or did you ask for it?
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
I have noticed as they get older their nail tend to wear down and get shorter.
Veild Cham Owner
Avid Member
she was holding him and she said wow his nails are really long, which they were and i said could we cut them (not knowing they didn't grow back) and she said sure. They are all there but this one mitten and the nail is really short and that is the only one i am really concerned about. All the other ones are not to short
ChamomilleCame
Avid Member
I would confront your vet about it... That's definitely not cool. They call themselves professionals and then do damage like this to an animal. What a shame.
Maybe if you post a picture of how they look we could maybe see if they're too short to grow even a tad bit back?
Maybe if you post a picture of how they look we could maybe see if they're too short to grow even a tad bit back?
jajeanpierre
Chameleon Enthusiast
Of course they will grow back!
You can cut them right off flush to the toe and they'll grow back. When they "might" not grow back is if the nail bed has been severely damaged/infected or the nail has been pulled right out and there is no nail bed to grow from. You have to damage it really really deeply for that.
Think of your own nails or hair. If you cut your nails down into the quick, it will hurt really badly but it will grow out. If you damage the nail at the cuticle where it starts to grow, you might forever have a deformity to the nail. The same applies to hair. If you pull your hair out by the roots, it will continue to grow back until eventually there is so much cumulative damage to the hair follicle that it no longer grows a hair or a normal hair.
I have no idea where the idea that a chameleon's nail won't grow back if damaged comes from. I suspect that a lot of people have chameleons with damaged nails from screens--which is why I hate screen cages--and never solve the cause of the problem that is causing the damage so they think they don't grow back when in fact they just keep growing and continually getting worn down, broken or ripped out. They do take a long time to grow back.
Here are three pictures of a gracilior I bought in early December from a breeder who kept her in a screen cage. Her nails were a mess. Some twisted sideways, most ripped out below the surface of the skin. Her toes were swollen and painful. She didn't have one nail. I don't have a picture of them when she came but here is a picture of her almost 2 months after she came. They had already grown in a lot. The toenail on the left front foot has not grown back. I haven't given up hope quite yet but am doubtful. The other nails have all grown back. You can see in the second and third pictures how they are not (yet) nice nails, too small and varying in diameter. That variation could be evidence of health issues (such as parasites or poor nutrition) or it could be from the damage to the nail bed. The second picture taken today shows the right hind foot, and the third picture shows the left front foot.
I think the first two pictures are good examples to show why they need long claws. In the first picture, you can see on the two feet that are gripping a branch that the nails do not touch the branch, and the only thing holding onto the branch is the palm of her hands and feet. The second picture shows it very clearly with four long nails each digging into the branch and the fifth nail nowhere near touching the branch even though it is growing back.
jajeanpierre
Chameleon Enthusiast
Unless the nail bled when it was trimmed it will not be hurting. A chameleon's claws are the same as a dog or cat's. There is a live part (the quick) with blood and nerves in it and the outer horn. The outer horn has no nerves or blood supply and is not alive. Have a look at the the last two pictures I posted above. A gracilior's nails are red, so it shows fairly well where the live part ends and the dead part starts. The clear yellow tips are dead. I expect her claws to get redder and redder as she gets healthier and the nails grow out more.
MissLissa
Avid Member
Yes, cham nails do grow back, unless there is significant cuticle damage. It just takes a while. It would make no sense for a cham's nails not to grow: they are constantly being worn down by rough bark and branches. If they didn't grow to replace what was worn away by natural use, by the time they were six months old they'd have no nails left at all.
However, that being said, there is no need to trim a cham's nails unless there is a husbandry issue to address resulting in a massive overgrowth. I personally have never witnessed a cham nail being so long it needed to be shortened. As you've seen for yourself trimming their nails can result in mobility and balance issues.
However, that being said, there is no need to trim a cham's nails unless there is a husbandry issue to address resulting in a massive overgrowth. I personally have never witnessed a cham nail being so long it needed to be shortened. As you've seen for yourself trimming their nails can result in mobility and balance issues.
jajeanpierre
Chameleon Enthusiast
Here's a picture of a wild caught imported less than two weeks ago. This will give you a reference for how long the nails should be. You can see when she holds her feet together, the nails cross. They are not short.
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Veild Cham Owner
Avid Member
AHHH YESS I HEARD THE ANDWER I WAS LOOKING FOR!!! I was having a hard time believing the didn't grown back. I figured it was a normal regular nail and would eventually grow back. The ball bed didn't bless at all. Here is a pic, sorry I came so late I haven't been home at all to take the pic and he was super grumpy this morning
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Andee
Chameleon Enthusiast
Those super short ones look a little painful. Is there any nail left at all? I would watch out for any sort of infection. It looks like she might have nicked the quick a tiny bit. Either way all the others look fine I just wouldn't file them anymore. It seems like he needs them pretty desperately to climb, so I would just give him some tough textured branches to walk on. Either way he should be ok as long as there is no infection, make sure he doesn't fall. If he's trying to climb the screen add more horizontal branches for him to get around on. It will take a while for the nails to grow back, way longer than most reptiles. So it's just a waiting game.
Veild Cham Owner
Avid Member
Yea that was the one I was really concerned about. There is nail left but not as much as the others. The middle nail has always been chipped (I think it happened when he was climbing the screen) he did fall once but not more than 3 inches. He was on the screen and he fell into the leaves and sticks and he was perfectly fine. I picked him up have a lil chameleon hug and he was back to climbing. He has not climbed onto the screen after that lol. He has been climbing and eatting fine so that is why I think he isn't hurting at the nail. But I could be wrong
jannb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Poor baby. I hope they do grow back but in my 12+ years of raising chameleons my daughter and I have never had a chameleon grow a nail back. I have a guy now that I acquired at 3 years old and he only has 4 nails total. They can also get infections that can go to the bone quickly from pulling their nails out on the screen. That happen to my guy with 4 nails. The infection went up his leg and ate out him entire knee. He's getting old now and has arthritis and doesn't get around very well but I have a low free range for him and a catch net in his outside sun cage.
