Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey guys!!
im the new owner to an 8 month old veiled chameleon.(his names neil) Hes the first reptile ive ever owned. He developed MBD, i caught it early and have been treating him with vitamin suppliments and proper UV exposure. Its been about a week and he seems to be getting better. Will he rid of this disease or do i need to take him further into treatment through a vet????
also.. just recently hes been launging around with his mouth open. I have proper air ventilation and hes recieving proper food and water, why does he sit around with his mouth open.???
- katie

How come you chose a cameleon as your first reptile?

Anafril, More importantly, how can we help Katie now. What makes you think that Katie shouldn't have a veild for her first reptile? It is quite obvious that she is wanting to put forth the effort, $ funds and comitment towards research, study and observation to make this work. Don't prejudge Katie for the mistakes others have made. I'f you want to discuss this further, I'd be happy to converse with you via msn messenger. It's always nice to have another herper to talk with aswell. xexiledx@gmail.com

Katie, welcome. Congrats on your new purchase. I'm glad you posted, as I'm sure others of us are too. It seems that you are doing your best to give Neil (Awesome name ) the best he deserves.

Chameleons, along with many other l;izards I have found, will open their mouth when they cannot escape the heat of their enclosure. It's the same as with a dog panting and letting their tounge hang loose. Unfortunately I think this might also dehydrate the reptiles faster since their mouth is open and the saliva and thrat coating will dry up faster aswell. But it would be awesome if someone could confirm that for me. It makes sense to me anyways.
My suggestion is to look at a few things that concern your chameleons husbandry. The size of the enclosure, is it large enough to give a few degrees gradient in heat from the top portion near your heat lamp, to areas further away? Measure the temperature at the branch or vine, etc where your chameleon would bask under the light, and then again find the temperature on the opposite side. Also you may need to add more foliage to the enclosure to create "shaded" areas. I recomend live plants, Pothos do the trick nicely, and keep humidity up well.
did I miss anything?

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CANADIAN CHAMELEONS

Ok I shouldn't ask a question like that,it's every body's right to keep whatever they want,I apologise,it's just that I'm having troubles keeping my own first veiled and I'm not a begginer at keeping reptiles.

Chameleons are one of the few reptiles that not much has been written about them.I am sick and tired searching for decent literature about them.Actually I found none.

Books available show nothing more than basic hasbundry and no studies have been presented(as far as I know).If anyone knows one I will be happy to learn.

Several decent articles and literature has been presented about other popular reptiles such as the green iguana,but not chameleons.The chameleon keeper must gather everything he/she learnt and make an assumpion for example if their chameleon behaves 'naturally' or not.

Though it doesn't mean that a first time reptile keeper must not succeed with chameleons,just he or she will be dissappointed for all the wrong reasons if he/she does not make it.I wish you good luck with your pet and don't forget that you have a reptile with MBD and that's not your fault....

Anafranil, Sorry it's one of my current pet peeves along with people telling others how they can and can't keep their reptiles- Something that recently became clear to me and has made me rethink my past actions and advice.

Anyways, I strongly suggest you pick up the chameleon bible- Er sorry... BOOK, entitled "CHAMELEONS: Nature's Hidden Jewels" by the German scientist and herpetologist, Petr Nečas. At nearly 400 pages, it is hardly a simple care sheet.

The second edition, revised in 2004, has now been translated to English and should be widely availiable around the world or on the net for order, I think. Anyways I just recently picked up a copy and have dived into it. 5 stars hands down.

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CANADIAN CHAMELEONS

Hey,

Well im glad you managed to cut off MBD before it got bad! On another note i have to similiar questions as Will. How big is your cage? If your cage is too small than your chameleon will not have a temperature gradient at all. A gradient is defined as an area with different tempertures. You should have a basking site of about 90 degrees. The cooler part of the cage should be in the mid seventies. Your chameleon is probably having a hard time cooling down.

This is very bad because this causes stress, dehyradtion occurs quicker, and his metabloism increases too much. Lizrds recive alot of their energy from the heat. If too much heat enters the body and cant escape, then the chameleon needs to eat LOTS more and drink more too. This causes the chameleon to grow quicker than his body is ready. This can lead to a chameleon that grows to quickly and develops joint problems.

What is the wattage of your bulb? Even in a large enclosure the wattage of the bulb matters. Post pics if ya can and good luck with your little dude!

Here is a link that will provide you with good amount of information on veilds!
Click here!

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eric

How do you know that your chameleon has MBD?

You asked "Will he rid of this disease or do i need to take him further into treatment through a vet????"...whatever damage has already been done will likely remain (in the way of deformities,etc.) but he could still go on to live a long life if the proper balance in calcium/D3/vitamin A is returned. It might be possible for you to bring things back into balance by yourself, but since this is your first chameleon, I would recommend seeing a good reptile vet.

There are some articles you might like to read about calcium/D3/vitamin A on this site...
http://0www.chameleonjournals.com/vet/

These two sites have good information too...
http://adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/index.html

You said that you have been treating him with vitamin supplements and UV exposure...what do you mean by vitamins? (Brand?) Do you gutload your insects? What temperatures do you keep the chameleon at? (Temperature plays a part in his ability to digest and use the nutrients that you feed him.) Are you giving him any liquid calcium?

You said..."just recently hes been launging around with his mouth open"...two of the most common reasons for an open mouth are he might have a respiratory infection or he may be too hot....but it may be a sign of other problems too.

Hope you can get him back on track!