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I adopted a chameleon who had metabolic bone disease setting in reasonably bad, I didn't notice it as I was not as familiar with chameleons and she was much smaller, she has trouble perching on things, elbows are slightly deformed and a bit knobby (more noticeable now that she is bigger), otherwise she is in great shape. Since I had her she's gained in size considerably, doubled even, and has improved her diet also. She eats crix, mealies, waxies and I've just started feeding her roaches, thank god for the new specialty store here! She gets her food dusted twice a week, not too much and not too little... sprayed semi-frequently. Good humidity, right temps and I got a new light in case my last UVB was 'going out.' She looks brighter, saucier attitude... HOWEVER, she still has trouble grasping... it seems to have gotten worse as she's gotten heavier, and now since she doesn't make it to the food dish succesfully and cannot perch above prey well, I've been hand feeding her and making sure to give her water by hand with a bit of electrodize supplement in it by exoterra for hydration and because the box said it helps with the MBD. She is perky, just shed, but still has imbalance. I've checked her for other problems, no bugs, her stools are fine... more frequent since I've assisted in feeding, her mouth is not gummy, crusty, or anything that might imply mouth rot, her tongue is the same and is not discolored.
My question, I guess, is what more can I do? I want to start giving her fruit/veggies that I've read are good for her, but I wonder if she will reject them, having never been fed anything but crix when I got her and none since I've had her because I was unfamiliar with doing so (I've heard some people aren't even aware of such a thing and their chams seem to be fine, but I like to consider everything with my pets.) I have an iquana, it would be easy to chop up a bit of his food finely and let her get a sniff at it. Can I do anything to attempt to 'fix' or better her knees? She seems to hold on better to my hand than her branches and trees, I've tried to offer a variety of sizes for her, to make gripping easier, but the bigger she gets, the more awkward and depressing it seems to me... am I doing anything wrong? I didn't handle her all that much, cuz she hated it, until I worried about her not getting around to the food on her own... she takes it from me with very little prompting now, and even when she puffs at me a bit, she calms and accepts the pampering now.
Recommendations anyone? Will she be a 'special' child forever because of her previous ailments? I can handle it, but if I can fix it... I will. I do not believe at this point, after the malady has hit and left its mark, a vet can do anything more... no herp vets in the area and I know more than the ones I've talked to about reptiles. She does not appear to be sick in any other way. If anyone knows anything, it will be you guys.
Thanks for reading my small novella, any advice helps...
Steph

I'm sorry that you ended up with a chameleon that had problems. I understand how it happened though.

You said you give her..."electrodize supplement in it by exoterra"....I'm not familiar with it...can you tell me what it says about vitamins D, A and calcium in it...if anything...please?

You said...."She gets her food dusted twice a week"...with what?? My veileds rarely get sunlight, so because they are under UVB/full spectrum lighting, for adults I dust the insects two or three times a week with calcium powder, twice a month lightly with a vitamin/mineral powder, and twice a month lightly with a vitamin D3/calcium powder. I'm sure that you know that there should be no plastic or glass between the chameleon and the UVB since you have an iguana?

There are three main "players" in MBD...vitamin D3, calcium and vitamin A. Temperature plays a part too. There are some articles at this site about it that you might like to read...
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/vet/

Here are some other sites that have good information about veileds too...
http://adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/

Do you gutload her insects?

You said..."sprayed semi-frequently"...not daily? No dripper? Hydration is important in chameleons.

Does her tongue extend fully?

Re: starting her on greens, fruits and veggies...I usually take a wedge of apple and impale it on one of the branches or hold it so that the chameleon (when its mouth is open) bites a bit off it when it closes its mouth. I then place a lid of mixed chopped greens, etc. on the floor of the cage and the free-ranging insects go there to eat...and the chameleon eats the insects and gets the taste (or even pieces) of the food on her tongue. The greens, veggies and fruits that you feed your iguana should be fine for the chameleon too.

Speaking of eating greens...any plants that you use in her cage should be non-toxic and well washed. I cover the soil in the pots and don't use any substrate with chameleons because they can eat either and some of them can cause impaction.

Does she have a basking area? How hot is it there? What is the temperature in the rest of the cage?

You asked..."Will she be a 'special' child forever because of her previous ailments?"...the crooked bones are not going to fix themselves. There can be some organ damage that might not be reversible too. She should be able to get her strength back and live for almost the normal number of years if the internal damage is not too bad and the balance is corrected.

Female veileds can lay (infertile, of course)eggs, so its important that she be provided with a suitable place to lay them or she could end up eggbound. To some extent, IMHO, the number of eggs can be controlled and even whether she lays them or not by altering her diet.

Calcium plays a part in the egglaying process too...so its important to get it back in balance.

A vet should be able to bring the balance in line faster than it can be done by us. The chameleon can be given injections of calcium and then calcitonin which draws the calcium back into the bones. IT HAS TO BE DONE BY A VET BECAUSE IF ITS DONE IMPROPERLY, THE CHAMELEON CAN DIE OF SHOCK IF TOO MUCH CALCIUM IS REMOVED FROM ITS BLOOD SO THAT IT LEAVES THE BLOOD SHORT.

Calcium gluconate (liquid)can be used to provide calcium to the chameleon too....but be careful. Its thick and they can have difficulty swallowing it, so do it a bit at a time.

Hope I haven't swamped you with information. If you have any other questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

YOUR SUCH A BIG HELP AROUND HERE KINYONGA (It does NOT go unnoticed, believe me)

Thank you,
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PHEve / Eve

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I hate to see people having problems so I do the best I can to give them an answer. Your comments made my day! Thank you PHEve!

Your very welcome, It is a good thing to help people thats for darn sure !

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PHEve / Eve

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