Please Help! Hind Legs Problem!

[Jetterbug]

Recently my Veiled Chameleon's hind legs started to function quite oddly. He spreads them both out to the side and does not bend them underneath himself. He even drags and climbs himself with only his front legs and his tail to help. It's actually like he is doing the splits almost all the time and the only way he will grab on to something with his hind legs is if it is out to his side so this way he can remain in that splitting stance. It's kind of like his upper joints that connect the hind legs to the body are dislocated. I'm kind of getting worried... any help or ideas of what may be causing him to do this?

 

[laurie]

Could you give me some idea oh his age, how long you have had him, when you first noticed the problem, and what your care routine is?

 

[kinyonga]

Please post some photos and answer the questions in the how to ask for help thread at the top of the health forum.

 

[Bigsky]

Recently my Veiled Chameleon's hind legs started to function quite oddly. He spreads them both out to the side and does not bend them underneath himself. He even drags and climbs himself with only his front legs and his tail to help. It's actually like he is doing the splits almost all the time and the only way he will grab on to something with his hind legs is if it is out to his side so this way he can remain in that splitting stance. It's kind of like his upper joints that connect the hind legs to the body are dislocated. I'm kind of getting worried... any help or ideas of what may be causing him to do this?

Is there any chance that he ate something that was to large?

 

[Jetterbug]

Could you give me some idea oh his age, how long you have had him, when you first noticed the problem, and what your care routine is?

I've had him for about 2 months now and I'm guessing he's around 3 months old. I first started noticing this happening about 3 or 4 days ago but it's gotten a lot worse, especially today. I bought the repti chameleon kit when I bought him, did my research and honestly don't really think I'm doing anything wrong. He's also holding his face now and won't let go. Here is a couple of pics.

 

[Jetterbug]

Please post some photos and answer the questions in the how to ask for help thread at the top of the health forum.

Ok I will do that next time sorry... here is some pics:

 

[Nursemaia]

I suggest filling out the how to ask for help form

 

[ColeCham333]

It's pretty obvious he has MBD I'd take him to a vet immediately

 

[Jetterbug]

It's pretty obvious he has MBD I'd take him to a vet immediately[/QUOTE

It's pretty obvious he has MBD I'd take him to a vet immediately

 

[Jetterbug]

It's pretty obvious he has MBD I'd take him to a vet immediately

yeah that's what I figured after researching about it It really sucks because there is no vets around me that see reptiles, only cats and dogs. This morning I woke up and he was at the bottom of the cage. He's not able to go hardly anywhere, and it's getting SUPER severe. Is it worth a try to nurse him back to health??

 

[jajeanpierre]

yeah that's what I figured after researching about it It really sucks because there is no vets around me that see reptiles, only cats and dogs. This morning I woke up and he was at the bottom of the cage. He's not able to go hardly anywhere, and it's getting SUPER severe. Is it worth a try to nurse him back to health??

Yes. It is worth it. There is a vet somewhere near you that will treat him.

 

[broderp]

This does not belong in the general section. This needs to be in the HEALTH CLINIC. This poor animal has MBD badly. This sort of thing doesn't happen over the course of a week or two.. This is a long time neglect of the requirements of having such a pet.

How long have you had him? What are you feeding him? what supplements? Does he have a UVB bulb of any type?

 

[kinyonga]

Look on the heels ( back feet)...are there tarsal spurs? It looks female. If it is you need to be prepared for egglaying eventually. How old is it?
http://web.archive.org/web/20060819...m.com/html/husbandry/glossary/tarsalspur.html

The chameleon is not so far gone it can't be helped but you need to help it ASAP.
What supplements are you using and how often for each? Does it have a UVB light?
What is the basking temperature?

 

[Jetterbug]

This does not belong in the general section. This needs to be in the HEALTH CLINIC. This poor animal has MBD badly. This sort of thing doesn't happen over the course of a week or two.. This is a long time neglect of the requirements of having such a pet.

How long have you had him? What are you feeding him? what supplements? Does he have a UVB bulb of any type?

Yeah sorry I am new here and don't know how to transfer this over to the health clinic section, if I knew how I would... He has been in my care for about 2 months now and I think he's around 3 months old. When I purchased him, I also bought a zoo med complete chameleon kit. (With this kit it supplied me with the calcium dust, UVB and basking bulb, and a lot of other stuff) I also ordered crickets, mealworms, superworms, waxworms, Dubai roaches, hornworms, and Phoenix worms so his diet would be varied. He mostly ate super worms and crickets which I fed sweet and regular potatoes. He was pretty picky and didn't hardly wanna eat anything else... he also loved mealworms but I didn't want to feed him those because of how hard I've heard it was on their digestive track. I've misted his cage multiple times a day and honestly thought he was overall super healthy. It's hit all at once in the last week, getting worst as we speak. He has it so severe that he barely moves at all now. I will post pictures of him in his cage. I have been also misting him and taking him out in the warm summer sun to bask lately to see if that helps. He is also refusing to eat.

 

[Jetterbug]

Look on the heels ( back feet)...are there tarsal spurs? It looks female. If it is you need to be prepared for egglaying eventually. How old is it?
http://web.archive.org/web/20060819...m.com/html/husbandry/glossary/tarsalspur.html

The chameleon is not so far gone it can't be helped but you need to help it ASAP.
What supplements are you using and how often for each? Does it have a UVB light?
What is the basking temperature?

It is a male because I do see little spurs on both back feet. His basking temp was around 80 degrees, and it does have a UVB light source. I feed him all kinds of insects I've ordered online but he is really picky and mostly eats the crickets which I feed sweet and regular potato. He also LOVED superworms. He is no longer eating, he refuses everything that even walks near him. It is about 3 months old I am guessing because I got him two months ago and he was pretty tiny. I don't have ANY vets that see lizards around so if you have any advice on what I can do on a basis, please inform me. Thanks

 

[Andee]

He needs liquid calcium to restrengthen his bones, no matter what you do to help right now he will not be able to gather enough calcium to otherwise support his organs and body functions. He likely isn't eating because his internal functions are failing him and his tongue and jaw no longer work so he can't eat. He likely won't be able to see or track well soon. MBD is a slow and horrible death. Sun is wonderful it helps a lot, but it won't be able to treat this severe of a case on its own.

 

[Andee]

Where do you live? We might be able to find you someone near you

 

[Jetterbug]

Where do you live? We might be able to find you someone near you

Thank you so much for the info... I finally actually found a vet near me but it's 3 hours away and won't be able to drive him there asap... the liquid calcium however, I will try and get some of that. How many drops of that stuff should I do a day?

 

[Andee]

Only vets can correctly prescribe liquid calcium, it has to be correctly diluted. The general dosages are rather easy to do. But I don't recommend buying anything over the counter.

 

[Andee]

There is technically a correct type of liquid calcium suspension online, but I don't know if you need a vet license to buy it and you would need to dilute it. And since you are relatively new I would 100% not recommend trying it. The thing is just a slight overdose of liquid calcium can physically burn your chameleon (especially if it's not diluted correctly) or stop their heart.