evertech11
New Member
my 9 week old veiled "Carlos" has something wrong with his arm. it's almost as if he has an extra joint belom his elbow. I'm really worried.
veiled problems
- Thread starter evertech11
- Start date
MicheleSmith
Established Member
Is there any chance you could post pics of his disfigured arm, or elaborate in detail a bit more? What's his setup like? Does the arm appear rubbery and bendable? Sound to me like he may have Metabollic Bone Disease (MBD) Are you dusting insects and using UVB lighting? Sorry for the bombardment of questions, there's just a lot of different possibilites with so little a description. Best of luck,
That sounds EXACTLY like my cham hermie when he broke his legs... please get him to a vet ASAP. Maybe he just fell and broke one leg, but hermie's legs broke due to MBD. Hermie just started by breaking one leg and when he tried to climb again he fell bc he was unstable and kept breaking more legs before we could get to him (that's what my vet guesses). PLEASE get him to a vet before it goes as far as hermies did ... I WISH we had caught him with just one broken leg ... instead hermie broke ALL four (most likely some ribs too) and had to have four casts and a very long recovery.
insecttrap
New Member
I concur. Look up a vet an make an appointment asap.
This will help the symptoms. But we need to look at solving the problem.
What is your dusting schedule like for his food? Was his leg always like this? After getting back from the vet, please reply answering Michele's questions, they are important to address for your chams health. There are a lot of people knowledgable and willing to help.
Michael
This will help the symptoms. But we need to look at solving the problem.
What is your dusting schedule like for his food? Was his leg always like this? After getting back from the vet, please reply answering Michele's questions, they are important to address for your chams health. There are a lot of people knowledgable and willing to help.
Michael
insecttrap
New Member
Sorry, try your best to find a Vet with reptile experience.
Michael
Michael
evertech11
New Member
he's small so he's in a plastic cage until the new cage gets here tomorrow or the next day, it's kept at around 80f during the day,but with no basking spot, he is kept in full spectrum light, my first order of Miner-all is coming with the cage. i'm not sure if the crickets i use are gutloaded since i still buy them from a store. he eats all that is given to him. i just noticed his leg today, and one of hind legs looks to be bowlegged but i'm not sure because i have no photos to compare it to. I have a vet in the area, and i will set up an appointment. I will have pictures of carlos' legs tomorrow.
MicheleSmith
Established Member
evertech11 said:
Many things to address here. First off, a basking spot for this species is almost an absolute necessity; he needs to thermoregulate so he can digest his food properly and go through sheds. When you say 'Full spectrum lighting' are you using a specially 'reptile' manufactured UVA/UVB bulb?
Dusting crickets (or any other food item for that matter) is of great importance when they're this young, and should almost be done daily- as well as always gutloading his prey items. Pet stores don't really gut-load them, they just throw bread and potato in there and hope that'll last them. Getting him off to a bad start with no source of vitamins or calcium is just asking for trouble. From the bowlegged symptoms you described, I'm thinking that he does have MBD.
Another thing- Did you order ONLY Miner-all? Miner-all is an overall nutrient supplement, and he will need Calcium D3 as well to grow properly. Try to get him to a vet ASAP.
evertech11
New Member
ive had him for two month and i got him from Lynde Pinto
about the calcium supplement, could i crush a cuttle bone from my birds to use as a supplement i cant find any rep-cal. he's starting to have trouble walking and after looking at his other legs they seem to be fractured or deformed aswell. i will get him into a vet soon after i get an appointment set up. should i take the plant out of his cage so that he doesn't fall and hurt himself?
about the calcium supplement, could i crush a cuttle bone from my birds to use as a supplement i cant find any rep-cal. he's starting to have trouble walking and after looking at his other legs they seem to be fractured or deformed aswell. i will get him into a vet soon after i get an appointment set up. should i take the plant out of his cage so that he doesn't fall and hurt himself?
You need to take EVERYTHING out of his cage that he can climb on. I had this exact same problem with hermie ... and yes if you want to save him he will have to live in a very abnormal atmosphere. Put him in an enclosure with NOTHING to climb on, just towels, and soft material in the bottm. I also rolled up little pieces of paper so that hermie had something to hold onto.
Please get him to a vet asap ... any good vet should not make you wait for an appointment ... this is an EMERGENCY, I am very sorry to say. If you want to save him he needs to get on aggressive therapy asap ... MBD can progress to their spines and even cause seizures and heart attacks due to too little calcium.
A good vet will take an xray to assess his bone density and you will have to make a decision with him/her from there. If you decide to treat then the vet should put your cam on a high dose of liquid calcium twice a day (that you will have to syringe into his mouth) with antibiotics for a week or two and pain meds for a week, along with splinting his legs.
This really is an emergency ... when I came home and saw my cham in what sounds like a similar situation we were turned around and out the door driving to the nearest emergency exotic animal clinic (it was after hours for my normal vet) as soon as I could heat his hot water bottle for the trip. He wouldn't have made it if I had waited much longer.
Please get him to a vet asap ... any good vet should not make you wait for an appointment ... this is an EMERGENCY, I am very sorry to say. If you want to save him he needs to get on aggressive therapy asap ... MBD can progress to their spines and even cause seizures and heart attacks due to too little calcium.
A good vet will take an xray to assess his bone density and you will have to make a decision with him/her from there. If you decide to treat then the vet should put your cam on a high dose of liquid calcium twice a day (that you will have to syringe into his mouth) with antibiotics for a week or two and pain meds for a week, along with splinting his legs.
This really is an emergency ... when I came home and saw my cham in what sounds like a similar situation we were turned around and out the door driving to the nearest emergency exotic animal clinic (it was after hours for my normal vet) as soon as I could heat his hot water bottle for the trip. He wouldn't have made it if I had waited much longer.
Eric Adrignola
Avid Member
Miner-all is not an overall supplement, it's a calcium an dminerall supplement. Vit-all is their vitamin supplement. Make sure you got the minerall wilth D3. That's the biggest thing right there. IF you do not use a supplement with D3, they will get MBD, regardless if you have a UVB bulb or not.
lilj0e
New Member
it sounds like mbd to me ur cham needs to see a vet. theres a pic of mbd on this web site http://www.chameleonsdish.com/health/commonproblems.htm if u would like to compare. as far as the supliment go to www.chameleonsonly.com andms liddy can have them shipped fairly fast. i use rep-cal w/ d3, rep-cal hebative, and miner-all
evertech11
New Member
i got some suatable calcium supplement at the vets.
