MantisFTW
Member
Sorry, this is going to be a little long because I wanted to get as much detail in as possible since im currently unable to get to a vet for the time being. Please help my little guy, hes my first cham. 
Current Problem - For the past month and a half or so, Ive noticed that Specs has been getting a lot... lazier, it seems. And slower, and clumsier. He used to hiss and gape when I tried to get him out of his cage, now he hardly tries to put up a fuss at all. He falls off of his branches occasionally and I try to help him up. He doesnt do that funny little back-and-fourth walk chameleons do when they walk on branches anymore. He sometimes grabs his legs and doesnt let go. When im holding him, I always feel like hes going to fall or topple over, and I always have to have a hand under him to catch him in case he falls because its happened before. He just seems really clumsy when he walks. When hes in his cage, I sometimes see him clinging onto a branch with his his front legs and his back are just hanging there. He doesnt move around as much as he used to either, but at least hes not sleeping during the day or resting on the branches, and he still uses his tongue to catch things just fine. However, the problem seems to be progressing, or at least not getting any better, as I notice him falling more and more and not being able to hold onto things. I was afraid to ask... but does he have MBD? I honestly dont see how it would be even possible though. Ive been doing everything right as far as I can tell. Gutloading, dusting, lighting, misting, all of that. Maybe im dusting too much and over supplementing..? Or please tell me im just worrying over nothing and being precautious. Please help..! D:
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Specs is a male blue bar ambilobe, hatched Dec 2 so about a little over 4 months old. Hes about 4.5 inches long from nose to vent. He was shipped to me and Ive had him since around mid February. He was lively when he was tiny and would put up a fuss when I tried to handle him.
Handling - Somewhat often, but not regularly or not for long periods of time. A few times a week I would say, but I would only take him out for a few minutes and put him back in. Occasionally I would pick him up while in his cage and move him to a different branch, or put him closer to his feeding cup or water. I recently started letting him roam outside with close supervision in hopes that UVB lighting may have been an issue, and he would catch a few flies while out. He used to gape and hiss or struggle when I tried to grab him but now he doesnt even try it seems.
Feeding - Crickets. I was giving him the smallest Petco had for a while, and I offered usually about 12-15 a day and he would eat them all. Then I switched to medium, and he ate less. Now hes on the larger ones and hes eating even less of those, about 5 roughly. However, I figured that since the crickets were bigger, he was still getting his fill. About one large cricket equals 3 small ones. I normally feed him at around 6 in the morning when I wake up. Crickets are gut loaded with a mash of carrots, oranges, apples, dandelion, sunflower seed, hemp seed, lemon, nuts, cranberry, potato, green beans, bell pepper, collard greens, kelp, mango, papaya, and flukers orange cubes and flukers dry gutload.
Supplements - I dust the crickets with Repti Calcium without D3 every feeding (sample size container, but its lasted me a while so far). Rep-Cal Herptivite with beta carotene Multivitamins on the 5th and 15th of every month, and Rep-Cal Phosphorus-Free Calcium with D3 on the 10th and 20th of every month. (2x month for each)
Watering - I use a container on the top of the cage with a drip catching pan on the bottom. I fill the container and change the pan every morning before school and when I get back I fill it and change it again. It usually drips for 10 or 15 minutes, and I see him drink. The pan isnt deep enough for him to drown in if he falls in it, which sadly has happened once before. Ive never seen him drink out of the pan which is good. I mist about 3 times a day or more, in the morning, afternoon, and before I turn the lights out. Sometimes Ill just mist if I notice the humidity is below 60.
Fecal Description - Seems normal, the usual dark brown and white. At least once or twice a day. Very occasionally, Ill see just a little bit of orange, but Ive only seen that a couple of times. He hasnt been to the vet before while in my care so hasnt been tested for parasites.
History - He used to be lively as previously stated, and a lot faster and active. He does not sleep during the day or lay on the branches which is a good sign at least. He seems to have gained a lot of weight in the past couple of months, and I dont know if thats normal for his age/size. He went through a period where he would shed every two weeks before he got fat. Maybe im over feeding him?
Cage Info:
Cage Type - He recently moved into a bigger cage and I was hoping the problem would get better if he had more space, but it hasnt. Hes in a home made wooden cage, with 5 sides of mesh including top and bottom. Dimensions are 24x18.5x24 LxWxH. This wont be his permanent cage and he will get a much bigger one when hes grown more. Maybe I should give him more time now that hes in the bigger cage?
Up until now, he was sharing his cage with a green anole for about three weeks. I know this is a big no-no, which is why I removed him now. However, Specs never seemed to mind the anole and hes had the problem since before the anole was introduced, it only just progressed. They shared the crickets and lighting and I made sure they each got the amount they needed. The cage may get frequent traffic because its right next to my computer desk, and im always on the computer so im passing through and im always next to it.
Lighting - Im using a 75 watt Zoomed basking bulb with a 5.5in flukers clamp lamp. It rests on the top mesh of the cage along with the Zilla Slimline T8 25 UVB tropical fixture. Up until about a month and a half ago, I realized that the stupid fixture had a plastic cover slip on it. I ripped that thing right off as soon as I discovered that UVB couldnt pass through it, so he could have been with without UVB that whole time. The UVB light is placed kind of in the front of the cage with the basking in the back. He doesnt go under the UVB very often I notice, maybe its because its too close to the front? Does he have to be under the UVB to be getting any of the rays at all? Lights are typically on from 6am-6pm. Weekends its usually a little later in the morning.
Temperature - The highest point in the basking spot is up in the 90s (97-100 F) which I am now realizing must be waay too hot, so im going to fix that. Cage floor is 75F, and the middle is 80ish. I didnt notice the heat in the basking spot before because it read differently the first time I checked. :/ I was using a digital thermometer before, but it recently fell in water and shorted out. I had to use the junky Petco brand needle kind to check these temps. Night temps are usually in the low 70's.
Humidity - I try to keep it above 60 at the very least. Unfortunately my house is fairly dry, so whenever I see it go below 60 I mist until it gets in the 80s or 90s. When hes shedding, I mist a lot more frequently. Sometimes I'll open the window in my room to make it warmer and for more humidity.
Plants - Only one live plant so far, just a small pothos that rests on the bottom. He doesnt go in it much due to its size, but im hoping to get a better and larger plant in the near future when I can.
Placement - This may be a problem- the cage is located directly right next to my computer as previously stated. I use my computer a lot so Im always passing through. Usually though, I just sit there for a while and dont move around too much so its not like im creating a lot of movement. The very top of the cage is about 4 feet from the ground, its resting on a table-shelf thing.
Location - Louisiana, very warm and humid here.
Pictures - A side view, a top view, his belly to see how fat he is (is that normal for his age?), and of him grabbing his leg. He was also shedding when I took these:
Again, sorry for the excessively long post. I just really wanted to get all the detail in that I could to find out what could be wrong with my little guy.
Current Problem - For the past month and a half or so, Ive noticed that Specs has been getting a lot... lazier, it seems. And slower, and clumsier. He used to hiss and gape when I tried to get him out of his cage, now he hardly tries to put up a fuss at all. He falls off of his branches occasionally and I try to help him up. He doesnt do that funny little back-and-fourth walk chameleons do when they walk on branches anymore. He sometimes grabs his legs and doesnt let go. When im holding him, I always feel like hes going to fall or topple over, and I always have to have a hand under him to catch him in case he falls because its happened before. He just seems really clumsy when he walks. When hes in his cage, I sometimes see him clinging onto a branch with his his front legs and his back are just hanging there. He doesnt move around as much as he used to either, but at least hes not sleeping during the day or resting on the branches, and he still uses his tongue to catch things just fine. However, the problem seems to be progressing, or at least not getting any better, as I notice him falling more and more and not being able to hold onto things. I was afraid to ask... but does he have MBD?
I honestly dont see how it would be even possible though. Ive been doing everything right as far as I can tell. Gutloading, dusting, lighting, misting, all of that. Maybe im dusting too much and over supplementing..? Or please tell me im just worrying over nothing and being precautious. Please help..! D:Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Specs is a male blue bar ambilobe, hatched Dec 2 so about a little over 4 months old. Hes about 4.5 inches long from nose to vent. He was shipped to me and Ive had him since around mid February. He was lively when he was tiny and would put up a fuss when I tried to handle him.
Handling - Somewhat often, but not regularly or not for long periods of time. A few times a week I would say, but I would only take him out for a few minutes and put him back in. Occasionally I would pick him up while in his cage and move him to a different branch, or put him closer to his feeding cup or water. I recently started letting him roam outside with close supervision in hopes that UVB lighting may have been an issue, and he would catch a few flies while out. He used to gape and hiss or struggle when I tried to grab him but now he doesnt even try it seems.
Feeding - Crickets. I was giving him the smallest Petco had for a while, and I offered usually about 12-15 a day and he would eat them all. Then I switched to medium, and he ate less. Now hes on the larger ones and hes eating even less of those, about 5 roughly. However, I figured that since the crickets were bigger, he was still getting his fill. About one large cricket equals 3 small ones. I normally feed him at around 6 in the morning when I wake up. Crickets are gut loaded with a mash of carrots, oranges, apples, dandelion, sunflower seed, hemp seed, lemon, nuts, cranberry, potato, green beans, bell pepper, collard greens, kelp, mango, papaya, and flukers orange cubes and flukers dry gutload.
Supplements - I dust the crickets with Repti Calcium without D3 every feeding (sample size container, but its lasted me a while so far). Rep-Cal Herptivite with beta carotene Multivitamins on the 5th and 15th of every month, and Rep-Cal Phosphorus-Free Calcium with D3 on the 10th and 20th of every month. (2x month for each)
Watering - I use a container on the top of the cage with a drip catching pan on the bottom. I fill the container and change the pan every morning before school and when I get back I fill it and change it again. It usually drips for 10 or 15 minutes, and I see him drink. The pan isnt deep enough for him to drown in if he falls in it, which sadly has happened once before. Ive never seen him drink out of the pan which is good. I mist about 3 times a day or more, in the morning, afternoon, and before I turn the lights out. Sometimes Ill just mist if I notice the humidity is below 60.
Fecal Description - Seems normal, the usual dark brown and white. At least once or twice a day. Very occasionally, Ill see just a little bit of orange, but Ive only seen that a couple of times. He hasnt been to the vet before while in my care so hasnt been tested for parasites.
History - He used to be lively as previously stated, and a lot faster and active. He does not sleep during the day or lay on the branches which is a good sign at least. He seems to have gained a lot of weight in the past couple of months, and I dont know if thats normal for his age/size. He went through a period where he would shed every two weeks before he got fat. Maybe im over feeding him?
Cage Info:
Cage Type - He recently moved into a bigger cage and I was hoping the problem would get better if he had more space, but it hasnt. Hes in a home made wooden cage, with 5 sides of mesh including top and bottom. Dimensions are 24x18.5x24 LxWxH. This wont be his permanent cage and he will get a much bigger one when hes grown more. Maybe I should give him more time now that hes in the bigger cage?
Up until now, he was sharing his cage with a green anole for about three weeks. I know this is a big no-no, which is why I removed him now. However, Specs never seemed to mind the anole and hes had the problem since before the anole was introduced, it only just progressed. They shared the crickets and lighting and I made sure they each got the amount they needed. The cage may get frequent traffic because its right next to my computer desk, and im always on the computer so im passing through and im always next to it.
Lighting - Im using a 75 watt Zoomed basking bulb with a 5.5in flukers clamp lamp. It rests on the top mesh of the cage along with the Zilla Slimline T8 25 UVB tropical fixture. Up until about a month and a half ago, I realized that the stupid fixture had a plastic cover slip on it. I ripped that thing right off as soon as I discovered that UVB couldnt pass through it, so he could have been with without UVB that whole time.
The UVB light is placed kind of in the front of the cage with the basking in the back. He doesnt go under the UVB very often I notice, maybe its because its too close to the front? Does he have to be under the UVB to be getting any of the rays at all? Lights are typically on from 6am-6pm. Weekends its usually a little later in the morning.Temperature - The highest point in the basking spot is up in the 90s (97-100 F) which I am now realizing must be waay too hot, so im going to fix that. Cage floor is 75F, and the middle is 80ish. I didnt notice the heat in the basking spot before because it read differently the first time I checked. :/ I was using a digital thermometer before, but it recently fell in water and shorted out. I had to use the junky Petco brand needle kind to check these temps. Night temps are usually in the low 70's.
Humidity - I try to keep it above 60 at the very least. Unfortunately my house is fairly dry, so whenever I see it go below 60 I mist until it gets in the 80s or 90s. When hes shedding, I mist a lot more frequently. Sometimes I'll open the window in my room to make it warmer and for more humidity.
Plants - Only one live plant so far, just a small pothos that rests on the bottom. He doesnt go in it much due to its size, but im hoping to get a better and larger plant in the near future when I can.
Placement - This may be a problem- the cage is located directly right next to my computer as previously stated. I use my computer a lot so Im always passing through. Usually though, I just sit there for a while and dont move around too much so its not like im creating a lot of movement. The very top of the cage is about 4 feet from the ground, its resting on a table-shelf thing.
Location - Louisiana, very warm and humid here.
Pictures - A side view, a top view, his belly to see how fat he is (is that normal for his age?), and of him grabbing his leg. He was also shedding when I took these:
Again, sorry for the excessively long post. I just really wanted to get all the detail in that I could to find out what could be wrong with my little guy.
