Hello! We have the same concerns actually. I noticed the 'double elbows' and have been reading quite a bit on MBD. He/she has only been in our care for about 2 to 3 weeks, during which time we've been doing daily calcium dusting and have done 2 multivitamin dustings (reptivite + D3). He is quite active and a skilled climber and doesn't seem to show any weakness/wobbliness associated with later stage/worse MBD. This is our first cham, but have had other reptiles and amphibians.
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled, ~3-6mo old, 2-3weeks in our care.
- Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Not at all in the first several days. Approximately 5-6 times in the last 2 weeks, he's been held while various enclosure activities are done (cleaning, draining plants). While out, colors change to vibrant almost neon green and he's very active (climbing to top of head, sitting on hand by window, etc.) he seems to enjoy it but I know this is rare.
- Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? ~15 crickets/day at around 10am. Crickets are kept in a separate cage, gutloaded from the store with apple, and sweet potato from me. Crickets are about the width of his mouth (~.75inch). He has a very strong appetite and moves quickly when it's time to eat. Tongue shoots out at least the length of his body and with force, has no problems eating. He eats from a glass (cricket-escape-free) in the base of his Schefflera plant but has eaten/will eat directly from hand. We have a shooting gallery which we plan to put other feeders in when we have them - Dubia, Hornworm, etc. when the time is right.
- Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule? ExoTerra Calcium daily, Reptivite multivitamin+D3 once per 15 days (not on 1st and 15th, but planning to move to these days when I'm sure he's fully healthy)
- Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Hand misting twice/day at recommended times for approximately 5-10min - before lights come on and after lights go off. I also have a Little Dripper which I activate for ~2-4 hours/day. I have witnessed him drinking a few times actually and have video/photos of that if you'd like to see
He also seems to enjoy the shower very much. I've also read in several places that they can be taught to drink from standing water or that it's at least good to offer, so he's got a clear glass which is full to the brim, and while I move the dripper on the top of the enclosure, it is commonly made so that it drips into the glass. Fogger/automatic mister are en route and will be set up in the next 2-3 days.
- Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Looks as I believe it's supposed to. Brown on one half, white on the other. No real traces of orange or yellow. No parasite test yet.
- History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Unfortunately, this little guy/gal came from a big box pet store where husbandry is notorious. I've worked adjacent to exotic animal husbandry and conservation, and could not bear to leave him in the conditions we found him in.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 4x2x2 Reptibreeze XL Deluxe (mostly screen, with the acrylic front upper panel+LEDs) - the Reptibreeze XL was so hard to source in my area that I had to settle for the Deluxe LED combo. I do not use the red LEDs as I've read they can damage Cham eyes and disrupt sleeping cycles.
- Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? We were provided with the Fluorescent housing seen in the photo - the bulb is brand new out of box (also provided) and is a Zilla T8 15W 18". There's a chart on the box which indicates the UVB intensity/UV index and the light is arranged so that he's in 2-5uv index while basking. ~8-10" from bulb. He's positioned next to a large window upstairs to receive as much ambient sunlight as possible. Arcadia T5HO should be here this weekend. The basking lamp itself came with the deep dome housing, it's a blue daylight UVB+Basking bulb. Lights on roughly 9AM, off roughly 8PM
- Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Awaiting the proper tools to fully measure the enclosure, but the home is kept at 72F and commonly 70F at night. Basking spot feels warm to the hand and in my absolutely unequivocally expert hand-measuring experience I would say 80F. I've got a shipment with some items coming to incl. the correct measurement devices so I can get accurate readings inside his enclosure, but at the moment he's positioned about 10ft away from our home thermostat which measures Temperature and RH at its location. He's positioned next to a large window upstairs which I've been opening at nighttime to tank the temperature to around 63-65F, as well as provide air flow through the cage. Due to nighttime drops here being around 50F, I close this window at around midnight.
- Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? We live on the Gulf Coast of the US, so daytime RH hovers around 55% and nighttime is generally 70%+. I've got a shipment with some items coming to incl. the correct measurement devices so I can get accurate readings inside his enclosure, but at the moment he's positioned about 10ft away from our home thermostat which measures Temperature and RH at its location.
- Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Only live plants. Schefflera, Pathos. Bendable branches provided by an acquaintance. The enclosure in total will be updated more this weekend but some things have been surprisingly hard to source in our area. Planning to build wooden upright supports inside the corners this weekend to hold the pathos plants at the top and add more branches in the higher regions. Then another tall growing plant (taking recommendations!) in the bottom with the Schefflera.
- Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? Located in an upstairs office. This is not a high traffic area, but I'm commonly in the room. It is a calm and quiet area of our home. There is a ceiling fan and floor air purifier in the room, both remain on most of the time. Cage is located on a stand ~3ft high, putting the entire 4ft enclosure at ~7ft at the top. He looks down on me from his basking spot and I'm 6ft tall.
- Location - Where are you geographically located? Gulf Coast, USA
I was planning to make this post today, but I knew I would type way too much. This community seems really awesome, and I'd love to learn more from you all! Thanks in advance for helping us take care of C-Rex
