Sore foot/bumblefoot prevention for parsonii

[Lathis]

I keep a really close eye on Bucky's feet for just this reason. Off and on, he does have a pink spot on one back foot in particular, right at the heal where I suspect he puts a lot of pressure. The breeder (Action Jackson) recommended not to use the ExoTerra Jungle Vines because of how rough they are (Parsons feet are just so soft, like suede!). I have a few of the rubbery Fluckers vines for free ranges, but I do not use them as his primary climbing vines.

I'm using a combo of dowels, real branches, and pothos vines (although fatty is almost too big for most of the pothos vines). I don't really like the dowels honestly but they are very convenient and easy to maintenance. I think they unnaturally wear his claws down. Given the option, Bucky seem to prefer natural branches and even the rubber vines over the dowels.

 

[Garrett]

This condition is so common with parsonii I'm almost ready to call it normal. It's a pressure sore from perch sizes that are too "large." I know It seems counter intuitive, but chameleons normally grasp with a pincer like grip, and on a small branch this
would distribute the weight evenly across the hand. A small perch also forces the muscles in the hand to become strong because the perch must be gripped rather than the chameleon just balancing it's weight on the top.
You can try this out for yourself, clench your fingers around a small railing and try to hold up your body weight a little. If your fingers do most of the work the palm of your hand doesn't even touch the rail. Now put your hand flat on a table or large object and do the same.. notice
how the base of your palm takes the brunt of the force, right where these pink areas develop.
Don't be afraid to offer really small perches, I use fresh green saplings that have a little give to them when I notice one of my guys has the irritated palms. On any given day at least half of my parsonii group has the pink palms. I don't worry about it unless
they open up into a sore, which has been rare for me. This condition CAN be caused by cage conditions that are too cold and wet, but in my experience that is usually secondary to the initial pressure issue.
To illustrate I made this horrible drawing in photoshop

 

[jannb]

This condition is so common with parsonii I'm almost ready to call it normal. It's a pressure sore from perch sizes that are too "large." I know It seems counter intuitive, but chameleons normally grasp with a pincer like grip, and on a small branch this
would distribute the weight evenly across the hand. A small perch also forces the muscles in the hand to become strong because the perch must be gripped rather than the chameleon just balancing it's weight on the top.
You can try this out for yourself, clench your fingers around a small railing and try to hold up your body weight a little. If your fingers do most of the work the palm of your hand doesn't even touch the rail. Now put your hand flat on a table or large object and do the same.. notice
how the base of your palm takes the brunt of the force, right where these pink areas develop.
Don't be afraid to offer really small perches, I use fresh green saplings that have a little give to them when I notice one of my guys has the irritated palms. On any given day at least half of my parsonii group has the pink palms. I don't worry about it unless
they open up into a sore, which has been rare for me. This condition CAN be caused by cage conditions that are too cold and wet, but in my experience that is usually secondary to the initial pressure issue.
To illustrate I made this horrible drawing in photoshop
View attachment 160651

Thanks Garrett, both of my chameleon vets have always preached the exact opposite. I'll have to tell them about this and show your illustration.

 

[Lathis]

This condition is so common with parsonii I'm almost ready to call it normal. It's a pressure sore from perch sizes that are too "large." I know It seems counter intuitive, but chameleons normally grasp with a pincer like grip, and on a small branch this
would distribute the weight evenly across the hand. A small perch also forces the muscles in the hand to become strong because the perch must be gripped rather than the chameleon just balancing it's weight on the top.
You can try this out for yourself, clench your fingers around a small railing and try to hold up your body weight a little. If your fingers do most of the work the palm of your hand doesn't even touch the rail. Now put your hand flat on a table or large object and do the same.. notice
how the base of your palm takes the brunt of the force, right where these pink areas develop.
Don't be afraid to offer really small perches, I use fresh green saplings that have a little give to them when I notice one of my guys has the irritated palms. On any given day at least half of my parsonii group has the pink palms. I don't worry about it unless
they open up into a sore, which has been rare for me. This condition CAN be caused by cage conditions that are too cold and wet, but in my experience that is usually secondary to the initial pressure issue.
To illustrate I made this horrible drawing in photoshop
View attachment 160651

This is a really great explanation. Thank you!

 

[Twitchet]

Hi Garrett- Thank you for the illustration- You did way better than I could on photoshop! What you say really makes sense and I have been trying the theory out as you suggest. Know I'm very confused but I guess making sure I have a variety from very thin to very wide that's all I can do? Trouble is them being inactive they dont get to use all the branches in a day.
Many thanks for the explanation and many thanks to everyone for their help.

 

[savage13]

That's some great information Garrett...So you need to change out Perches as the chameleon Grow does that sound right?

 

[Garrett]

Offering really thin all the way up to thick is the best you can do, honestly I don't worry about it too much unless there's an open sore going on. I've noticed this happening to mine when I would only have thick branches available. They get lazy and their grip gets soft from not having to grip the perch firmly to prevent falling. Also animals that are more sedentary will develop this more easily than animals that move around a lot, especially during the winter brumation. Usually you only need to swap out their favorite perching area where they sleep to a smaller size, something they can wrap their fingers all the way around. If you do end up with an open sore betadine or the silver cream won't do much as the problem is mechanical. It would be like swabbing iodine on a hospital patient's bed sore then rolling him right back into bed
I've only had this happen once from wet cage conditions, it presents as spotty dark areas with open sores and scabbing. If you just see a pink area on the palm with no broken skin you're ok, just keep an eye on it. If it's anywhere else like the fingers or dark in color you may have an infection going on.
I know this isn't feasible for most people, but allowing the chameleon some exercise time on a tree outdoors with thin bendy green branches a few hours a day is the best medicine for this.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

I have a variety of perches, both living and dead, rough barked and smooth, with all being natural materials. My parsonii use all of the thicknesses, but most frequently rest, roost, sit, and perch on the the thin, living branches, the the hibiscus, ficus, and gardenia, much more than anywhere else. The male occasionally will utilize a medium-thick branch, about as thick as a Sharpee marker. I never noticed foot problems in my melleri, either and I used rubber soaker hose for some of their vines and pathways.

 

[Twitchet]

Hi everyone, thank you garret and extensionofgreen for your last comments, today we finished building their individual outdoor enclosures and I will go branch hunting tomorrow with a shopping list of all the different types and sizes to collect. Thank you for such great info. I've got some silver sulfadiazine just incase. I keep lifting Parsley's feet up to have a look and she's incredibly obliging. Just sits and stares at me. She's just had an adult locust with wings which she got very excited about.

Thank you to all of you who have shared your info and experiences , it's been so amazing to have such useful and vital info.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

The best of luck and you're a very observant and conscientious keeper and you'll undoubtedly have great success with your animals.

 

[Twitchet]

Thank you very much, I'm in various stages of nerves as a new parson keeper at the moment and am trying my best to get everything they need right, I loved your enclosure you made, very very impressive, how is it doing- I must check to see if you've added more pics, may have to do something similar when the boy gets bigger. I could never forgive myself if something happened to them because I hadn't realised so your comments make me feel more confident now so thanks again.

 

[Andee]

You will do well, observancy is the key for chameleons, good luck, I have faith.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

I'll be updating enclosure pics in about a month. Thank you for the compliments on their enclosure. I absolutely am thrilled and in awe of it myself.