What should I do?

Well I informed you guys a few months back that my nephew and I had bought Veiled Chameleons at the reptile show. He bought a female and I bought a male. I did all my research before i got mine and knew what he needed. My nephew said he did his research and he also asked the breeder tons of questions.

I would call him every weekend and ask how his chameleon is doing and he would say fine or good or great, the usuall response you expect. I would remind him of things he had to do like letting her get some sun and some natural light by taking her outside.

Well yesterday he called me at around 10 am in a panic saying that there was something wrong with her and that she was on the ground and that her legs looked broken. I asked him if she was moving around and he said yes and that her eyes were open and she was alert. So I drove over to his house and was stunned to say the least. Her front legs were fractured and everytime she put weight on it it would break more.\

I rushed my nephew and the chameleon to a reptile vet that I know personally. I showed him the chameleon and gave an immediate diagnosis. METABOLIC BONE DISEASE (MBD). He said that she has not gotten any UVB for at least 4 weeks. He mixed up some liquid vitamin D3 to give her twice a day.

Knowing in my mind that MBD doesn't happen overnight I did some further "investigating" into how this could have happened. I talked to my sister (nephews mom). And she gave me the truth. She told me that lots of times he dont turn the lights on till after noon time and he forgets to turn the lights off at night sometimes. He hasn't been observing her and handling her because he was scared that she would bite him so it was imposible for him to notice a change in her bones. When he would take her out to get some sun he only left her out for like 15 minutes then bring her back in. Then my sister said the classic first herpers line "I guess he will just have to learn his lesson" then i said that its not a lesson that the chameleon should have to learn. Then they go to petsmart and are told that the lights they need are 100 watt daytime bulbs with UVA and no UVB.

I want that chameleon in my care at least I know what to do with it and what it needs to survive. I don't think she will survive because she cant eat with her soft jaw. But i know that in my care she has a fighting chance.

How should I ask for her? I know in my heart that in my nephew's care she will certainly die. Help me. :cry: It just breaks my heart to see her like that.

P.S. Sorry for the long post but I had to give everyone the whole story.

I would tell him that you are going to take her until she gets well because it's obvious that he is not responsible enough to take care of her. Just put your foot down and explain that it's for the benefit of the animal and it's the right thing to do. Hopefully he'll understand, if he doesn't too bad. Will your sister support you?

id say that you talk to the nephew and tell him you want to take in his cham. and that you know itll be in better shape then, and he could come visit it all he wants (how old is he, BTW?)

or you could talk to his mom about it, depending on how old he is, if he is young enough he might not put up so much of a fight with it.

i hope that cham will be alright

My sister will support me in that decision and he is turned 17 in May.

if the kid freaks out when you tell him you want that chamelion, offer to buy the propper lights, and put them on timers for him, and have your nephew or sister pay you back whenever they can. mabye offer to take the chamelion, and replace it with an easier to care for reptile??

~Will.

i was also thinking maybe suggesting to him to get something that isnt as difficult as a cham.

well, maybe he will understand since he is kind of older, and maybe more mature, or maybe he will have a big fit

either way, i suggest you make a deal with him of some sort

I agree that you should talk to your sister and explain how dire the situation is and that the chameleon's life depends on your either taking her in or setting up proper lighting on timers. That is truly a shame for the poor cham.

I know. Marla I explained that if he wanted a reptile he needed a colubrid of somesort or a ball python something that relatively low maintanence. But I think he still lacks the maturity to care for any reptile. He is more of a fish person i think.

Damien, good luck with the 'take over'. Please keep us posted!

even under the right care is the little girl going to be able to heal all of the broken bones? i can't even imagine how terrible that must be. i hope that you can get him well. :cry:

Good luck, Damien. Definitely update us. I know exactly where you are on this because I had a similar situation with my cousin's 16 year old daughter getting a ball python in January and not caring for it properly despite detailed instructions, verbal and written and demonstrated. Fortunately she only made fixable mistakes before I convinced her mother how important proper care was.

Just wanted to throw in here also you mentioned liquid D3 but did not mention an emergency source of calcium the D3 only helps process the calcium , something you may want to check out with the vet to see if he added a source of calcium to the Drops after all she can not process calcium she doesent have.

I'm so sorry to hear this Damien. Good luck and let us know whats going on! I'm pullin for the little guy :)