Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Howdy folks, been a long time since i have posted here.My amib is looking awesoem will try to get soem pics up, but i can't say the say for my tamatave. For about 2 months now maybe longer he has had a difficult time climbing anything, he lays at he bottom of his ficus tree, and kinda of curls, he will hold his own feet also.He will walk around his cage but it is difficult for him to climb,and he will be fully stressed out in orange and white, i have some branches of his tree folded down so he can make it out of the planter.
I do strongly believe his tail is broken as he doesnt seem to be able to use it to grab very much.He has fallen a few times over the years but i think the last one may have broke it. He will be about 6.5 years old this december.He is eating approxx 3-5 crickets a day, and butterworms/waxworms, he will drink, but he cannot climb his tree, i have to hold the dripper in front of him.I will try to get a picture of him tonight and post it.
Since this is the longest i have had a cham to live for i'm just not sure wth is wrong.kinda helpess.Anyone have any thoughts? Is age finnaly settling in? because in the wild he would surely have been food for something already not being able to move round liek normal. anyway, sorry for the long post. any respone would be appreciated.

4got too mention he isnt too acurate with his tounge either.

6.5 is a good old age for a that species.

You said that he has trouble climbing things, lays at the bottom of the ficus, may have a broken tail and can't shoot his tongue out...could be that he lacks calcium or that he isn't absorbing it well due to his age.

A vet could do some tests to tell you if that's the problem.

You've done well to keep him to that age! He's still beautiful!

It could well be age related. I'm sure they can have arthritis and other joint or muscle problems old animnals get. After all, chams in captivity probably live longer (with good care of course) than they do in the wild and maybe their general systems just don't hold up into old age well. If he doesn't seem to be miserable, is trying to eat, drink, bask as he normally would he may not be suffering. Good job with him though!

Maybe you can alter his cage so he doesn't have to climb much to get around. Maybe a bushy compact potted pothos that he can sort of lie on top of instead of gripping branches? Make him a living couch so he might be more comfortable.

If you're sure your husbandry is perfect, yes this could all be signs of age.

Awhile ago, one of my panther chams began having trouble climbing, front foot grip was weakening, aim was becoming poor and weak. He was very old. He lived as a ground lizard for about six months, with easy to crawl up platforms that didnt go very high, a padded floor (for falls) and he was hand fed and watered. Only difficult thing was ensuring he got enough water, and the enclosure had to be quite large to allow him to thermoregulate in a mostly horizontal cage cuz he couldnt climb well. He seemed happy enough like this for months. But eventually he seemed to stop being happy to see his favourite foods, refused to drink enough, etc. so, with heart ache, I eventually had him put down. I didnt want to force feed him or make him live longer than he "wanted" to.

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Sandra
BC Canada