Possible broken legs?!

[Graciiee]

Hiya, I am in need of some help with my new baby veiled Chameleon.
He is now 7 weeks old, he is in a 45x45x45 exo terra vivarium with one of the doors removed and mesh placed there.
The basking spot is about 90f with an ambient temperature of about 80-85F. He has a 5.0 Exo Terra UVB bulb.

So basically I have only had him for just over a week but when I first got him someone had dropped him but at the time I was unaware that this had happened. I got him home and placed him straight into his new viv and left him to settle in. I went to check on him the next morning and found him on the viv floor. I picked him up and gave him a check over and noticed that he was walking funny and then his legs didn't look right. Everytime he tries to walk his front left leg flings up and hooks onto his face which causes him more difficulty to walk.

I took him to the vets that day to get checked over but the vet I normally see was on holiday for 2 weeks. The guy I saw said straight away it was MBD and that he only had a 10% of surviving and that I need to syringe feed him Calcium and a powdered food and give him 30 Celsius bath EVERYDAY!
He offered an X-ray but to be truly honest I denied it as I wanted to wait for my normal vet to come back.
By looking at the legs I think they are broken as he let's out a little noise and gasps sometimes when he walks.

I've offered him food and he hasn't taken it so I have given him some crickets and mealworms by mouth and given him just under 1 unit of Zolacal D.
I'm just getting really worried about it and I do feel awful about waiting till the vet comes back but I would rather him get seen by someone who I trust and know he isn't just about the money.

I was just wondering what you guys thought and if there was anything I could so for him?
I'll add some pictures of his legs.
Thank you for reading.

 

[froggielog]

I'm sorry your little guy isn't feeling well

He does have very very bad MBD, but I think he has a much bigger chance of survival then 10%, as he looks healthy other wise.
I'm on my phone so, I cant give much advice now, but I would go ahead with the calcium Ingections....I'm not sure about the bath tho, I have never heard of giving them baths.
Hope he makes a full recovery!

 

[squeekz1992]

If somebody dropped him, it is completely possible for his legs to be broken. I can't tell you just by looking if he has MBD, but I can tell you that I think the x-rays would be important, and caution you that the longer it takes for his legs to be treated, the bones are healing in an improper way and it will be a lot more difficult to treat.

You said you've only had him for about a week, so if it is MBD it is not your fault and there are things you can do to stop the progression of MBD, but you would need to talk to somebody more informed than myself to tell you how...

I hope your little dude is okay.

 

[Alexl]

Your vet was right, the little guy suffers from metabolic bone disease. He definitely needs calcium, UVB exposure etc. to survive. To clarify a broken leg (which can happen due to MBD) and to see if she has eggs, the vet needs to take an x-ray. There was nothing wrong 'til now with his diagnosis and treatment. Your chameleon has not only a problem with its legs, this is a life threatening problem! So you need to start treatment suddenly. She may already have organ issues which could be checked by the vet, too.

 

[camimom]

Im sorry, but he does have severe MBD.

the legs are broken.

what do you supplement with?

do you have a uvb bulb? if so, how old is it, and what brand?

 

[carol5208]

how old is your chameleon? I am trying to see if in the last pic that your chameleon has a spur, which would make it a male. Other wise I think you got a female there who looks VERY fat. She could have eggs. But we need to know her age. They can develop eggs as soon as 4 months. You have been keeping her very warm and therefore that can help aid in egg production. If we determine, in fact you have a female, you need to get laying bin in the cage. I am sorry to add this possibility to the already bad case of MBD your chameleon has.

 

[mirrinias]

If I were you, I wouldn't let whoever gave him to you this way get away with this. Try asking for your money back and if you're up to the challenge, keep him and try to improve his life.

 

[maxttu]

This cham is only 7 weeks old??? Could it have developed this severe case of MBD at only 7 weeks and still be alive?

 

[camimom]

This cham is only 7 weeks old??? Could it have developed this severe case of MBD at only 7 weeks and still be alive?

he doesnt look that young, id say its about 3-4 months old.

and i think its a girl.

 

[carol5208]

This cham is only 7 weeks old??? Could it have developed this severe case of MBD at only 7 weeks and still be alive?

i did not notice it was 7 weeks old. I thought she had her (I think it is a female) I don't know how I missed that. I thought she had it for 7 weeks. In any event, I think it looks older than that.

 

[Elizadolots]

I wonder if he meant 7 months? It would be a bit small for 7 months, but that would fit better with the pictures.

I agree that it's a female who probably has eggs. I think the description of walking, more than the broken legs, makes me agree with the MBD diagnosis. X-rays would confirm both the MBD and the egg issue (though, one would have hoped the vet could spot something like "this is a girl!").

I think the over all temperature is too hot. I think a basking temp around 83 degrees with a fall off to room temperature at the bottom of the cage would be better.

If this were my animal I would reduce the temperatures and put a laying bin in there just in case it is a female.

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

I see a bump on the back of the foot in the 3rd pic though.

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

Either way, this chameleon is in very, very bad shape. I hope the previous owner gets what's coming to them, this is abuse. Please inform them, or have them reported.

 

[lisagr07]

This cham is only 7 weeks old??? Could it have developed this severe case of MBD at only 7 weeks and still be alive?

Yeah,,, that was my initial thought!!!!!! Surely they mean they've either had it for 7 weeks or it's 7 moths old........
Poor thing,,,, either way it's in a bad way!!!!!!!

 

[Elizadolots]

She says she's had the chameleon for just over a week...

It's possible that she was told that the chameleon was only 7 weeks old. Anyone who would sell an animal in that condition wouldn't hesitate to lie....

 

[AngieL]

Poor little thing! I think you should go and get the X-ray. Like carol says she looks gravid, and at a very young age too! If it is infact a male the. It's really overweight.

You need to check on the egg situ. If there's eggs and she can't lay then there's not a lot of hope for her. That mbd looks pretty bad and if she's calcium deficient then it's possible the eggs aren't formed properly and she will be unable to lay.

I understand your vet is out of town but me personally, I wouldn't wait too weeks to act.

 

[justjumpit621]

Yes get a clear picture of the heal on the back foot to clarify if the situation is more or less severe. If it's a female this will not be a good situation, if male it could have a much higher chance of living a healthy normal life.

 

[justjumpit621]

Also, make sure you give PLAIN calcium every feeding, no phosphorus or D3. You will need to take (him) outside for natural sunlight when it is warm enough, but not too hot. Also give calcium WITH D3 2 times a month and a multivitamin 2 times a month for now until (he) is healthy again.

What kind of UVB light are you using? You will need a good one to battle this, a reptiglo 5.0 would be best.**nevermind looks like that's what you have.

Are you misting him with water? That is how they drink so they need their cage completely misted down 3-4 times a day.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

As others have said, your little chameleon does indeed have metabolic bone disease and it looks like all 4 legs are broken.

Metabolic Bone Disease is unfortunately a common disease of reptiles due to lack of dietary calcium, imbalanced nutrition and/or lack of UVB rays. Just one of these things can cause serious disease even if the other aspects are all present. UVB rays are needed in reptiles to produce Vitamin D3 in the skin, which is necessary to absorb calcium from the food. Without UVB rays from either unfiltered sunlight or a UVB producing bulb then your chameleon cannot absorb the calcium you are giving it. If you are not providing an adequate level of calcium in the diet then no amount of UVB will make up for it. Too high levels of phosphorus in the diet will interfere with calcium absorption so even with good calcium levels and UVB the body is still not getting enough. To compensate for inadequate calcium absorption the body will pull calcium directly out of the bones so there is enough calcium for critical functions like muscle movement and metabolism. On x-rays the bones may not even show up in the end stages because there is so little calcium left. MBD affected animals (doesn't just happen to reptiles) can have bones break just walking because they are so weak. MBD eventually kills them because the body needs calcium for many bodily processes. Signs of MBD include stunted growth, bent legs bones, fractures of those bones (double elbows or knees), grabbing at its own legs, tongue not shooting as far, a soft jaw, the mouth doesn’t close all the way, etc.

Damage from MBD cannot be reversed completely but the process can be stopped and the bones can heal if proper UVB is supplied and the imbalance of dietary calcium is addressed (see nutrition section). A vet may have to give injectable calcium to replace the deficit in more than mild cases. It is very important to address MBD as soon as symptoms are noticed to stop the damage being done.