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Possible leg problem in our Veiled......

static28 Jan 06, 2007 06:34 PM

We noticed today that our veiled Chameleon was not using one of her back legs, she has been sitting on her vine with the leg kind of just resting off the side, it looks like it may be a little bit swollen compared to the other but its still kind of hard to tell... We did not notice her fall or anything and there was someone basically right next to her cage all day, although I guess it could be possible. When cleaning her cage though we noticed that some super worms had gotten out of their dish, and some had even climbed up the sides on the mesh cage, I'm not sure if one of them having bitten her would be a possibility?? They have all been removed and were trying a deeper dish this time... We use calcium powder and herpivite on her worms at each feeding, and once a week we use D3... she has a heat lamp and UV light as well... she has her vines she likes to climb around on and some plants, she also tends to climb the mesh walls of the cage alot. Also recently I purchased a brick of substrate, made of coconut husk i believe it said, and have a bucket of that in the corner for her in case she wants to dig or lay eggs, however I am wondering if this material could be harmful to her? The bottom of her cage is just lined with newspaper. Her appetite does not seem to have been affected, we did observe her eat a few worms earlier today. We purchased her from her original owner, she's about just over a year old, we have followed all the instructions that the previous owner provided as to how she had been cared for all along. We have done some research but are unsure if she has any of the problems listed on the web pages we read. We wanted to see if anyone had some ideas... we will be observing her for the next couple of days to see if we need to take her to a vet. Any info would be great. We are attaching some pictures as well... Thanks!

Pics

Replies (2)

Carlton Jan 08, 2007 12:51 PM

I don't know about the leg itself, but she looks either overweight or gravid. She may be hanging her leg because she is uncomfortable around her pelvic area. Did her former owners say she ever produced eggs? She can produce infertile eggs regardless of being around a male. Not likely that anything bit her. Is she roaming around on the cage bottom or pawing at the newspaper? If she starts doing this she is looking for a laying site and is ready to get rid of her eggs. The cocoa fiber substrate is not what most cham breeders use for a laying site, but probably won't hurt her otherwise. There are some good articles on veileds, breeding, egg laying preparation etc. on this website that will probably help you help her when the time comes:

http:www.chameleonnews.com

static28 Jan 08, 2007 07:54 PM

She climbs all over the place in there.... she doesn't paw at the bottom that we have seen, but when she is climbing she does walk across the bottom quite a bit.... we are trying what you suggested, putting a bigger laying box in there right now because we have a bucket in there that I'm not sure was big enough..... Thanks for your reply and any other insight that you or anyone else can give would be appreciated.....

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