I took her out of the tall Reptibreeze cage and put her into a small one with no climbing branches. This is the same thing I had to do with Newt years ago because his coordination was so bad.
While I was swapping out the cages, I had my girl hold Kiwi. Kiwi is super happy to just sit, curled up in a ball. It's very adorable, but very tragic.
I added in a tiny bed that Newt used to love for her. She wasn't thrilled with it and tried to climb the mesh instead. At one point, she even reached out flailing with her front arm and latched on to her eyeball instead. It looked just like Newt! So sad!
I've been chatting with my chameleon expert friends so I can get a better idea of what to do with Kiwi. Until today, she didn't seem that bad. Her legs were a little wobbly yesterday, but I thought she was okay. Today I can see how bad it is. Our guess is that she has poor coordination and mobility due to Metabolic Bone Disease and possibly some nutritional deficiencies.
She's got a brand new Mercury Vapor bulb on her tank and today I gave her some carnivore Critical Care mixed with Repashy's Calcium Plus powder. I'll keep doing that every day for awhile so we can get her calcium levels back up. I may or may not take her to the vet this week.
I know people think chameleons are cool, but they are HARD! Especially in Utah where it's so dry. I'm glad this little girl is with me now. I'll work my hardest to get her all better and then she'll go to my friend in California who has Lotus, Akime, and Hazel (the last female cham who I never named). California's climate is much better for chameleons than Utah's is.
