why is my chameleons limbs so small?

[tayandsteve]

my chameleon is about 6 months old after looking at pictures i see other 6 month old chameleons that are bigger and stronger looking then my chameleon. i just want to know if my chameleons ok... hes been taking his RI meds for about a month now so maybe it was because he was sick. also we used to have a glass tank top where the UVBd wheres supposed to be shining on him but we switched it about about a month or two ago.:/ i was wondering if it was because of that. and also could he bounce back up to normal weight. does my chameleon look healthy? also he might be bowlegged?

this picture was a month ago when he had his RI so hes about 5/6 months also he is bigger then this now by a little bit that's after he stopped eating for a few days but his legs are still about the same

 

[jannb]

Please post some more recent pictures and get a few good ones of his legs and his whole body. What type of meds is he taking for the RI?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

How much and how often are you feeding him and with what kind of feeders and gutloading?

 

[tayandsteve]

vet order repcal calcium and d3 every other day for a month. i feed him everyday with crickets, mealworms, waxworms, the vet had us give him chicken babyfood and hes been eating apples and bananas, sweet potatoes, and green beans babyfood. and calcium once a month . im taking pics now

 

[ataraxia]

he looks a bit underweight all around.

how you should dust your feeders. plain phos free calcium every feeding. d3 twice a month and multivitamin twice a month.

how nutritious your feeders are starts with your gut load practices.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/446-basics-gutloading.html

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/425-may-2011-gutload.html

at the moment i would feed him as many feeders as he will eat EVERYDAY. id suggest you using crickets, roaches as your staple and silk worms, butter worms as snacks. let the boy pig out

 

[tayandsteve]

1st picture wow that's a really bad angle makes it seem so bad
2 sometimes he grabs his front leg with the back one
3. sleepy
4 skinny):
and he doesnt always look bowlegged but sometimes it just look weird

 

[tayandsteve]

1grabing himself
2 kinda normal
3 little legs
4 yeah
sometimes he like twists his foot around

 

[tdotcham]

so are you using a UVB light? I dont understand. From the first pictures, he looks much too skinny, just judging from his tail. I'd say initially it would be smart for you to increase the amount of feeders

 

[okiroo]

looks like MBD to me its not reverable but its treatable. he needs more calcium and more better gutloaded food. how old is your UVB?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

What makes you say MBD? There are no bent or broken bones or stunting. He just looks undernourished to me so that should be investigated and corrected. Although I agree that gutloading and calcium supplementation are extremely important. What do you use for gutloading? If you're feeing him adequate amounts and he looks like that then I'd say bloodwork to asses his organ function and a fecal are in order.

 

[ChameleonNerd]

he looks all around healthy, BESIDES the fact that he is very skinny

 

[tayandsteve]

yeah we brought him to the vet last month but im planning on going again soon to make sure its not MBD, just wanna check up on him

 

[okiroo]

What makes you say MBD? There are no bent or broken bones or stunting. He just looks undernourished to me so that should be investigated and corrected. Although I agree that gutloading and calcium supplementation are extremely important. What do you use for gutloading? If you're feeing him adequate amounts and he looks like that then I'd say bloodwork to asses his organ function and a fecal are in order.

hes limbs looked bendy to me. do they not to you? id say he looks underfed on top of him devolping MBD and that he's going to need better gutloading and more food. i agree with all that you've said but i do think he looks rather bendy and his bones cant be very healthy right now. if he doesnt have it its best to be safe and give him a little boost


EDIT: also grabbing limbs is an early sign isnt it?

 

[tayandsteve]

yeah we brought him to the vet last month but im planning on going again soon to make sure its not MBD, just wanna check up on him. but we've been keeping a feeding chart off him and his eatings like off and on. somedays he eats a lot and somedays he hardly eats anything at all

 

[okiroo]

yeah we brought him to the vet last month but im planning on going again soon to make sure its not MBD, just wanna check up on him. but we've been keeping a feeding chart off him and his eatings like off and on. somedays he eats a lot and somedays he hardly eats anything at all

thats odd. i may very well and hope that im wrong. some other much more experinced member have said they dont think it is and if i were you i'd trust what they say over me and thats just being honest. mabey parasites if hes not putting on weight? sounds like a overall checkup is in line. you should get a gram scale and keep track of his weight dureing this aswell and keep track of how much he's eating(like a journal)+ plus what days your supplamenting and what supplaments your useing. you need cal with d3 cal w/o d3 and multies.



heres how i do it

10th-cal with d3 and multies(i use repcal btw)
20th- same at the 10th

everyday i use w/o d3 and dust one crikets back untill its a tad white instrad of dusting them all. i make her eat that one first and than she gets the non dusted yummy ones. most people do an over all light dusting tho.

 

[ataraxia]

just looking at the pictures again. i noticed his eye looks closed in one and he is squinting in another. does he do this often?

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Chameleon Info:

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Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
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[tayandsteve]

i already have a journal of what he eats everyday and all the supplements and cage cleaning and generally how he is doing in general. and i did a dusting over my crickets with d3 non phos repcal every other day the vet said. i think he's just not been feeling well from the RI and he skints his eyes after he gets alll hyper and like passes out. hoping its not dehydrated imma soak him tom
the medicine is SM3 MP PED SUSP.

 

[SonTigerPantherCham]

there is a product called reptaid, its a liquid, you keep it in the fridge and give maybe 1/2 drop (depends on weight, that is why I am saying a small amt) that might help him bounce back a bit.
Also, when you speak to your Vet, ask him about a probiotic, with the meds, a little good gut flora might help as well.
I agree with Ferret, maybe a fecal, blood work just to check on his organ function. antibiotics are hard on anybody, maybe more so on a young cham

 

[Elizadolots]

Is he grabbing his own limbs often? By that I mean, are you seeing it more than once a day? Even once a day might be a concern, but more than that is definitely a concern. I'm not at all sure what the connection is, but historically, "grabbing his own limbs" has been an early indicator of MBD. I don't see any obvious breaks or bends in the limbs, so it might be very mild at this point, which means catching it now is a very good thing.

 

[tayandsteve]

what's reptaid? i got a dewormer from the vet does the dewormer count as gettin rid of parasites? how much is it? and im glad it isnt bad i really wanna fix it now