Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ive got a yemen chameleon that is about 4 months old, and as she is climbing or moving she keeps grabbing her face with ehr front feet, also when she moves around when i am holding her she doesnt seem to walk on her front feet but on her knees...
anyone got any ideas whats wrong with her and any advice on sorting it out???

thanks very much
andy

This is usually seen when the chameleon has developed metabolic bone disease (MBD). Its caused by an imbalance in vitamins/minerals in her diet in which UVB plays a part.

Do you provide her with full-spectrum light including UVB. (It can't be through glass or plastic or the UVB rays are no good.)

Do you gutload the insects that you feed her? There is one that is recommended in the ADCHAM site below.

Do you dust them with calcium powder?

If she doesn't get any direct (not through glass or plastic) sunlight, do you dust the insects a couple of times a month with a calcium/D3 dust?

Does her vitamin A come from a preformed source or beta carotene? (Beta carotene can't be overdosed. Be careful with the D3 because it can be overdoses too.)

If you can get her calcium/D3/vitamin A back in balance, and the damage hasn't been too bad yet, she could still go on to live for quite a few years....but you need to do it as quickly as possible. I would recommend that you take her to a good reptile vet so that he/she can make sure that things are back in balance.

Its also important that she be kept at the right temperatures to ensure that digestion is proper. Does she have a basking area of at least 80 to 85F?

Here are some sites that have information about the imbalances that cause this problem as well as other good articles that might help you to keep your chameleon healthy....
http://www.chameleonjournals.com/vet/
http://adcham.com/
http://www.chameleonnews.com/index.html

One more thing...it has nothing to do with this problem, but is something that I want to mention too....female veiled chameleons can produce eggs even when not mated, so after the age of 5 months, its strongly recommended that you have a container of washed sandbox sand in the cage so that she has somewhere to lay them or she could become eggbound.

Sorry to hit you with so much information at once!
If you have any further questions, just ask.