Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just purhcased a small Veiled chameleon a few days ago. After giving her a chance to settle down, I gave her a thurough inspection last night, and noticed what appears to be small bumps along the ribs on one side of her body. These bumps look almost like they are directly on the ribs, appx 2-3mm from the spine, and there are appx 6 bumps total. This is very small veiled - about 3" total length (including her tail.) I'm not totally sure on the history of this animal, as I have only had her for a couple of days. She appears to eat well, but is a little lazy and doesn't move around her habitat the entire "day" cycle of her lighting setup.

Is this something I really need to be concerned about? Could this be early signs of some kind of bone disease or possibly broken ribs? Or could she perhaps have just eaten one too many crickets, causing her ribs to stick out?

Thanks...

p00ka

Two ideas. First, cham ribs are sort of "jointed" and each rib is shaped more like a sideways "V" with the open end facing forward. Are you seeing the tip of the V? Second. What is the cham's age? If she is very small but old enough to be considered an adult (9 months to 1 year) she may have a history of MBD. Bumps from small healed fractures due to MBD can show up on ribs. Even though cham ribs are cartilaginous they can still fracture from disease. Look at her legs too, if she has MBD they may look bowed and not symetrical. When she's sitting on a perch her back should generally be arched. If she crouches or lays flat along the branch even when alert it may be another sign of MBD.

Metabolic bone disease (MBD) cripples and eventually kills more than 75% of all Chamaeleo calyptratus (veiled chameleons) born in captivity. The juvenile form of this disease is called rickets. This disease is caused by an imbalanced diet that is either deficient in certain key nutrients, or when there is an oversufficiency of some nutrients, and when there is a lack of adequate UV-B irradiation, preferably from unfiltered sunshine. The bones either become rubbery and bend causing the front legs to look bowed, the jawbone to become misaligned and rubbery, and the casque bent, or the body metabolizes calcium from the bones causing them to become so thin they spontaneously fracture under the weight of the chameleon. Ribs often break and may partially heal, forming the kind of bumps you can detect in this chameleon.

A veterinarian can x-ray the skeleton to look for signs of other fractures and to assess bone density. In the presence of multiple fractures and poor bone density, euthanasia is the kindest course of action to end the chameleon's suffering from this painful condition. Euthanasia is also indicated in cases where the chameleon cannot feed or drink independently or cannot perch without losing it's grip and falling.

If there are no unhealed fractures and an improved diet and adequate UV-B exposure are effective in halting the progression of MBD under a veterinarian's guidance and care, spaying is advisable for females as they frequently die eggbound because they are unable to expel eggs, particularly if the pelvis has been deformed by MBD. The quality of life for a chameleon that has been deformed by MBD is usually very poor and the chameleon lives in constant fear because it is handicapped. A veterinarian can help you determine whether it would be kinder to euthanize a chameleon that force it to survive in stressful, and therefore, inhumane conditions.

I have had a similar experience. I got a veiled about 2 months of age or so and then after keeping it for about a month or so its joints started to swell and there were a few small bumps on the spine and tail. I took it to the vet and he sed the bumps were cause by TOO much calcium. It wasnt life threatening, as long as i supplemented less. Before i took my cham to the vet i was dusting the crickets liek everyday. Now i only dust the crickets once a week to two weeks. It is doing fine and the sweeling has gone down and teh bumps have dissappeared. Also, you must gut load the crickets with fruits/veggies cuch as sweet potatoes and oranges, bran and leik a Flukers powder gut load, im not exactly sure what its called. Also, you MUST atleast have a Reptisun 5.0 bulb. I have done fine with this. Could you post some pictures and liek what the care is leik u are giving it leik the heat, how much you feed and how much you dust, watering, etc. That would help me out a lot to help you.
Nathan