Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Looking for advice:

My boss owns a 6 year old male veiled chameleon.
Priary diet is crickets, fed and dusted, mealworms secondary.
He's well hydrated, still eating, and defecating. Weight has not changed.

For the past week he has been falling off his branches/vines.
He just can't seem to hang on and thump, down he goes.
Muscular weakness? Old age? Any ideas?

The womans' husband is a vet, but doesn't know much of anything about reptiles. So if there is something anyone can think to test for,( blood, x-rays, fecals, etc.), he could probably do it (if he knew what too look for!)

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Nbelval

Can you post any pictures of him?

Well, no. He's not mine and I don't have any photos of him.

I actually got more info though. Seems he's not just "falling" off. He is grabbing his front leg with his hind leg and won't let go. He seems to think he's holding on to a branch and then when he decides to lift his other hind leg he loses his balance and down he goes. Don't know if this helps or not.

I DID also ask her when she changed her UVB bulb and it had been almost a year, so she has a new one in and everything else that would normally pertain to husbandry seems to be in order. So any thoughts?

Thanks for the reply!

You said..."Seems he's not just "falling" off. He is grabbing his front leg with his hind leg and won't let go. He seems to think he's holding on to a branch and then when he decides to lift his other hind leg he loses his balance and down he goes"..could be MBD. A vet could tell your friend for sure and if it is give the chameleon injections of calcium to get it back in line quickly.

You said..."I DID also ask her when she changed her UVB bulb and it had been almost a year, so she has a new one in and everything else that would normally pertain to husbandry seems to be in order"...could you find out what brands and types of supplements are used and how often with each? She needs to look at what is fed to the insects too. Is the new UVB a tube/linear bulb or a compact?

Does/can the tongue shoot out fully?
Does the chameleon have any deformities to the legs/arms?