Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ive been supplementing my crix with herpcare (calcium and d3 supplement) and repcal herptivite with beta carotene *advanced formula* multivitamins since i got him 2-3x a week with the herpcare and once a week with the multivitamin..... you think i should only use the repcal herptivite 1x a month now?? he gets a decent amount of sun. today i am putting him back in a reptarium with the dusted crix so i can see how many he eats and so that he can actually find them because he hasnt been eating them out of the dish... any ideas on why that is... he does eat out of my hand on occasion, but not all the time and it is only with silkies and wax worms, not with crickets at all, i cant keep feeding him wax worms and i dont have enough cash right now to order silkies from mulberry... any help would be great

IF he was 5" long when you got him, odds are the problem started before you got him. I don't know what's in herpcare, but when I said Rep-cal, I meant Rep-cal, the calcium with D3 powder, not Rep-cal(brand) herptivite--which is something you want to use SPARINGLY, once every 2-3 weeks.

The reason I said to give him Calcium with D3 only once a month is that he is getting UVb from the powersun, and the reptisun, and possibly from THE sun. That should provide him with the UVB light needed to synthesize D3, and absorb calcium.

Here's an interesting fact you might want to knwo. Too much D3 causes the same problems as too little. Especially if you gutload your bugs, and give him sunlight(or a MV bulb), vitamin supplementation, Rep-cal & herptivite(from the Rep-cal company) should be very very light.

Now, I doubt yours has too much D3. I raised dozens of veilds from eggs, giving them WAY too much Rep-cal, every DAY, and I never had any problems.

I'm sure that he was Calcium deficient when you got him, it's really common, especially if you bought him from a store.

MAybe the vet should do blood work, to determine calcium levels, prior to giving neocal glucon.

Has he always had this bend in his arm? Is he behaving sluggishly, or acting weak? Is he holding himself up on the branch, or the ground. Put him on the floor, see if he holds hmself right up, or if he's kinda sprawled out. Are his feet swollen. Try to move his Casque side to side VERY GENTLY, does it mush back and forth like it's cartilage? Is his casque rounded in the front, or is it more triangular, and not smooth. Does he have any little bumps on his ribs? Does his tongue work fine? Can he ohold onto your finger with one leg and pull himself up?

The reason I'm asking is that from your care, he shouldn't have MBD. However, he definatly has at least HAD it, and maybe has recovered.

When I first got him he did not have it. I noticed it awhile back and just thought maybe he had fractured both arms somehow and i tested him to see if he could still use them both and he showed really no signs of weakness when i first had identified the deformity, He can still hold on by both arms for long periods of time, he exhibits this when walking around and making a long reach. I can hold him in my hand and turn him upside down and he can stay like that for a couple mins too. However, he has been seemingly overly sluggish lately, I just assumed it was because of his new cage, but he did start moving around a lot more a couple days after he became used to it, but than the last 3 or four days he has been sluggish again. He shed maybe 2 weeks ago and a little before that he could eat the large crickets like they were nothing, having as many as 10-12 a day, and he had been eating that many per day for the entire month of july. I just tried to make him pull himself up on my hand from one arm and he struggled greatly, first by grasping his other arm around me, than he tried to use his tail to wrap around my wrist, but I wouldn't let him, then he tried to whip his hind legs up to my fingers and it took him 25 secs to do so and he just had a lot of trouble. no bumps on ribs and tongue appears fine, his casque movied a tiny bit from side to side and his casque is shaped like an L except the angle is at 105 degrees so it is not triangular shaped. His feet are also swollen a tad too. Thanks for all the help so far it means a lot that you are trying to help save him

It sounds like it's not too late. I'd take him to the vet. MOST vets that do chameleons will automatically charge you for a fecal. I wouldn't bother, as he's a young CB animal. I'd spend the money on a blood test, to make sure the levels are LOW, not too HIGH. The vet will probably give him neocal glucon, and your chameleon should probably recover within a wee. I would also go and buy Rep-Cal with D3. I don't know about the stuff you have, but most other calcium products have too much phosphorus, not enough D3, etc. I have also used minerall, but I know I can trust Rep-cal. I raised dozens of veilds(from a mother I raised froma baby) with NO gutloadeing of insects(except fish food) and NO natural sunlight. The only supplementation I used( and I used it Too much, I might Add) was Rep-cal with D3. Never had a problem with MBD. But I also fed my animals less than other people did, and my veilds didn't reach ful size till 18 months. The slower, more natural growth may have also lessened the problem of MBD.

You priobably can treat him without a vet. BUT, you cannot be absolutly sure that the problem is D3/calcium deficiency without bloodwork. Regardless, give him as much unfiltered(through glass) sunlight as possible, keep him hydrated, and he should be fine. IF it is too little D3, give him rep-cal every week or so for the months following the neocalglucon treatment, then reduce it to once every 3-4 weeks when he's an adult.

My big male is under a MV blb, and has filtered sunlight through a window, I have not given him D3 more than once a month. He seems to be stronger than ever, as their bones develop stronger with "natural" d3 synthesis through UVB light.