stuey has MBD

[Stuey!]

stuey was diagnosed with MBD tonite.

Arived at hospital at 6:00PM

Diagnosed at 6:19PM

taken home at 8:00PM

it pains me to see him like this my parents didnt belive me until it was 2 late...NOW they care that he can barely move...arms twisted....all sorts of things and it hurts me to see him like this. They gave him a shot for calcium and i was wondering if u guys know a way i cna comfort him, help him get stronger, it pains me to see him like that.

 

[curly]

sorry. hope he is doing ok now

 

[Scrappy]

Sooooo very sorry to hear about Stuey. Have you been dusting his food? He's so young or mbd. Follow the vets directions and maybe it can be slowed. Unfortunately it can not be reversed.

 

[Campy]

does that mean he is going to die? or just be mutated?

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

To get things turned around, make sure that he's got a good UVB source. If your tube is older than 6 months, replace it with a Reptisun 5.0 tube. Make sure that he can get within 6"-12" of the UNFILTERED (no glass or plastic) UVB light through the screen. When the weather is good enough let him get access to unfiltered sunlight. Follow the instructions that your vet gave you with supplements. It will take many weeks to get the calcium replaced back into the bones. At least he will be getting blood levels back on track quickly.

 

[kinyonga]

I would try to make it so he has less opportunity to fall until you can get his bones strong again. If you make the branches lower/closer to the floor of the cage and then lower the lights so that he will still be within range of them, he will have a shorter distance to fall which I hope will keep him from breaking anything that isn't already broken.

Dave gave good advice.

I have seen chameleons with some pretty bad cases of MBD go on to live fairly long lives once the problem is corrected...I hope yours will be one of them!

 

[Campy]

well I hope things work out for the lil fella .

haven't seen you around much there Stuey! hopefully u come around more! . you were the first person i talked too on this site!

 

[Stuey!]

well hes gonna be ok, everything checked out well at the vets, all the things we were doing were right! but i dont get it still how did he get mbd. the main thing is we CANT GET HIM TO EAT. the vet said whenever he opens his mouth we should just pop a cricket in but he wont open his mouth! any help?

 

[Stuey!]

well he started eating....sorta....only way he wil eat it is if we put it way back in his throat and we cant get his mouth open alot. if we dont put it way back in his throat he spits it right out. plz help?

 

[Jordan]

I have heard this recommended back and forth on this site before it is called bug juice.

http://adcham.com/html/husbandry/bug-juice.html

Pulling down very easy on the gular region to get the mouth open. Slowly injecting this in should help for the time being. Remember you do not want to hurt the guy or stress him to bad. You will need to feed him. This may not be the most comfortable situation for you or your parents to do to an animal but he needs food.

That a side I would recommend that you look back through old post and threads. MBD does not just happen. Along the way there has been some sort of mismanagement with the chameleon. Remember that MBD is not something that only a reptile can get. Humans get this to when they are sick or old in the form of osteoporosis. They can get any of the other forms of it too.

Diet, husbandry, supplementation and stress levels can all play a part in a chameleon getting MBD.

 

[Lunatic913]

im sorry to hear about ur stuey. the same thing happen to mine. his bones were fractured and couldnt walk. keep him on the liquid calcium and make sure you feed him. i fed mine veal baby food. i hand fed him veal baby food because its high in protein. one day at a time. dont give up. my zeus is alot better now its been several months since his injuries. good luck

 

[Stuey!]

yes i know, i wont. i was just wondering if we were feeding him right cause i dont want to hurt him any more. we are like...ummmm...how do i put this...like "petting" the sides of his head to make him open up. Of course i was doing somthing wrong but it was kinda sudden like one morning i woke up and his arms were bent, and like SUDDENLY he stopped eating, and went from healthy, to MBD. i had "tested" for MBD before, like rubery jaw, the other stuff i cant remember....damn migrane. ok ill look into calcium shots and stuff like that. but also do his legs heal? probobly wont cause i have no idea how he can straiten then himself or without a cast. just wondering.

PS. the vet gave him some kind of calcium shot when we were there, it was kinda wierd as soon as we went in side he instantly turned green and he looked ok! he would hiss at the vet....i didnt get it. then when we got back in the car he turned brown. wierd

 

[kinyonga]

Whatever damage (breaks to the legs, etc.) that occurred due to the MBD will remain....but I have seen some pretty bad cases survive and go on to live almost full lives.

Good luck getting him back into good health!

 

[Goliath]

Hey Stuey,
Sorry about your little guy. My guy also has mbd and I have been giving him liquid calcium for almost 3 weeks now. At first he was falling off branches right and left, but his grip is stronger now. He still has some trouble though. I took him to the vet and he gave him a shot of vit. D3 and calcitonin which drives the calcium back into the bones. My guy wont eat much either. He likes watermelon though. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[Stuey!]

thanks for your concern guys. im workin on helping him more.

 

[Stuey!]

noooooo.... he will not open his mouth, were exactly is the gular region,

he will NOT open his mouth, at all, will not eat a cricket in front of his face... any advice? PLZ?

 

[Jordan]

The flap of excess skin under his jaw. If you look at the picture in my avator to the left of my name it is the part he is puffing out with his tongue.

 

[Stuey!]

ok ty i thought so i tried that, but i didnt pull so hard cause i dont want to hurt him

 

[Jam]

My chameleon Hermie had very very very severe MBD -- all four legs broke in at least one spot. If you search through the Health Clinic forum you'll see lots of posts on him.

I am happy to report that he is still doing GREAT.

I would recommend that you get him on liquid calcium twice a day and weekly vitamin D shots. Hermie's vitamin D shots made a HUGE improvement in a months time. MUCH MUCH MUCH more improvement than we ever saw with the calcium alone.

There was a point in time where little hermie had four casts on his legs and a sling. I have some very creative and determined vets.

I also have a very determined chameleon -- I would have had him euth'd at any time but he just wouldn't give up. Hermie continued to "ask" for wax worms while he was sick and would open his mouth like a baby bird. He also loves baby food -- I use a small syringe (no needle!) and put a little on his mouth ... aftera while he'll open right up. There is this powder called "carnivore care" that I got from my vet that you mix with water -- it is correctly nutritionally balanced for these guys and hermie LOVES it. He gained TONS of weight on it and will open his mouth like a little baby bird when it's time for his food.

with a good vet there's hope for your little guy. Also you really need to remove anything that he can climb on -- Hermie broke all of his legs because he kept trying to climb. I had him set up in an aquarium with a temp gradient and blankets to cushion him, and little rolls of paper on the ground for him to "grasp" (he can't stand not to be holding something).

Just my experiences.

 

[Jam]

If you need any encouragement I just posted a new picture of hermie at:
www.xanga.com/hermanthechameleon
I tried to upload it here but was having difficulties. I'm not always the most computer savy individual.
But he's doing very well considering. His bones have completely healed (though crooked in spots) and his bone density via an xray looks the same as a normal chameleon.