Do Chameleons Lose Their Nails?

Losing – well, isn’t it quite normal for chameleons, especially when it comes to their skin? After all, not losing that can simply pile up new health hazards for them. But what about losing their nails?

Well, they do lose their nails but not willingly, unlike their skin. Incidents like improper handling, accidental injury, and infections can make chameleons lose their nails. Along with that, climbing in the cage and digging too can trigger this issue.

But do they grow them back? And if they don’t, then does it cause any additional health issues? Well, there are lots of questions out there about this that you might love to know the answer to, and it’s time to find them out.

How Chameleons Might Lose Their Nails?

The reasons chameleons might lose their nails depend a lot on where they’re living. While living in the wild, they can lose the nails in a way, and in captivity, they might lose them in a different way. So, why not knowing all of them? Let’s start with –

1. Accidental Injury

Whether a chameleon is living in the wild or captivity, it’ll spend most of its time on a branch on the top. And we all know what a fall from a place like that does to a chameleon.

Like any other injuries, their nails too can get injured in such kind of circumstances, and they might lose their precious nails during that time. Even during hunting, they can lose their nails.

2. Improper Handling

This can possibly happen to any chameleons that are kept captive. Not all chameleon owners are experienced enough to know how to handle their reptile without injuring or stressing it out.

So, in such times, they accidentally put additional pressure on their toes and end up damaging or losing their nails. Some even handle their chameleon so roughly that they can’t help struggling and losing their nails. That’s why rough handling and frequent handling, are both suggested to avoid by vets and experienced breeders.

3. Infections

Like any other animals out there, chameleons too are not immune to infection. These infections can be both external and internal. The internal ones are hard to recognize, but we can’t say the same thing for external ones.

Sometimes the infections can get to the nails of reptiles, especially bacterial and fungal infections. These can make the nails so weak that they comparatively become more prone to breaking and falling off.

4. Metabolic Disorders

A chameleon having stronger limbs and nails to a huge extent depends on its nutritional intake. But they fall short on them, and issues like nutritional deficiencies or metabolic disorders pop up. As a result, their nail health deteriorates and becomes weak or brittle. Once the nails reach that stage, they can break down anytime.

5. Metabolic Bone Disease

Not only insufficient nutrition, but certain health conditions too can also mess with the nails of chameleons. The one name that comes to our mind first here is MDB, which you know as Metabolic Bone Disease. Under this condition, the body fails to metabolize calcium.

Along with causing deformation of the bones and weakening muscle, it can also make the nails weak and brittle. This disease can take the nails’ shape to a level where they can easily break off.

6. Issues in Shedding

As we said before, MDB isn’t the only health issue that can make the nails fragile. Issues in shedding too drop a negative impact on nail’s strength. When it comes to retained sheds, the reptiles fail to shed their skin properly.

As a result, the build-up of dead skin piles up around the nails. This means, with those dead skin around, the growth of nails will surely be interrupted, which later on might lead to nail loss.

By the way, along with that, issues like poor husbandry practices can also cause make the chameleon nails go bad. So, it’s suggested to ensure regular check-ups and proper care to prevent any health issues that can trigger nail loss.

7. Climbing Wood

A chameleon’s nails are strong enough to leave permanent marks on wood or branches. As they’re sharp, it’s nothing but a piece of cake for the reptiles to hook them into the wood while climbing up on any branch. Plus, sticking to a spot in a rigid way for a longer period of time becomes easier for them, especially when there’s a predator around and they need to stay still as a part of their camouflage.

But in all these, there’s always a chance of snapping their nails accidentally in the wood. It depends on two things, though – one, the location of the break, and two, depth. A broken nail can take months to heal. But if anyhow it’s broken from the root, the nail might never grow back again.

8. Screen Walls

Sometimes, calling the screened wall the ‘bear trap’ for chameleons doesn’t sound that much wrong. After all, this is among the most common causes for these reptiles to lose their nails. Actually, you can’t blame them for that too, as they’re not habituated to this yet.

There is no wiggle room for a hooked nail to work its way out of the screen’s tiny perforations. Even if your chameleon pulls harder on the screen, it won’t be able to break it, no matter how sharp its nails are. And the worst-case scenario? Your chameleon’s nail might shatter or be completely ripped from the root if pulled too hard.

9. Digging

As temperatures get too high, pregnant chameleons start digging to locate a cool area to relax and lay eggs. During digging, they can come across obstacles like stones or pebbles, and hitting anything that hard or abrasive might make the reptile lose its nail. Even digging too much can damage the nail gradually.

Why Chameleons’ Nails Are So Important For Them?

Isn’t it kind of obvious that reptiles will have nails? Yes, it’s common in them. But the importance of their nails is often subject to variation as usage of the nails varies depending on the species. But what about chameleons? Why do they need the nails for? Well, for reasons like –

1. Grasping and Climbing

The most obvious function of the chameleon nails is to help the reptile to have a solid grip on the branches and any other surfaces. As the nails are sharp, curved, and long, having the perfect grasp on any branches becomes easier for these color shifters, no matter how tiny the branches are.

2. Hunting and Defense

Chameleons are expert hunters. Thanks to their long and sticky tongues for making prey catching part easier. But to throw that tongue to the target fast and hard, they need to have a stronger grounding for that. This is where the nails come in handy, especially when the prey is bigger than their mouth.

Not only for hunting, but the nails are also highly useful for defending themselves against predators. Plus, it assists them in asserting dominance over their territory when another chameleon tries to intrude on their area.

3. Tactile Sensing

Initially, you might not notice it that much, but chameleons do come with a well-developed sense of touch. This is something they usually utilize mostly for navigating their environment and locating their prey. In case you’re wondering, their nails do play a role here. They help these reptiles in feeling vibrations and textures.

4. Shedding

You’ve already got a bit idea over the fact of how shedding influences the growth of nails in these reptiles. But do you know that their nails help them in shedding too? Well, they make them useful in grasping old skin while shedding and peeling them away.

Do the Nails of Chameleons Grow Back?

Yes, the nails of chameleons do grow back once they lose them. It’s true that, like some of the common reptiles out there, they can’t grow their tail back, but we can’t say the same for their nails.

It might take weeks and sometimes months. But that depends on the injury and the chameleon itself. Hold on a second! There’s a condition that needs to be fulfilled first to grow their nails back.

These reptiles depend a lot on their claws for some of their regular activities, such as climbing, hunting, and defending themselves. So, getting seriously injured while doing these is nothing impossible for them. But if the nail gets broken from the root, there’s no chance of it growing back.

So, only if the nails are damaged or broken to an extent where the root is still intact growing them back is totally possible. Otherwise, the reptile will have to keep up without this essential part of its body.

How to Prevent Chameleons from Losing Nails?

Saving your chameleon from losing its nails isn’t always going to be easy. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. There are a bunch of ways you can try to save your reptile’s nail from falling off, including –

1. Providing a Suitable Habitat

Getting a suitable habitat for your reptile surely can take down the chances of them losing the nails. As the enclosure will come with a decently large size that includes perfect climbing and perching areas, the chances of the reptile getting injured will be at a minimum. By the way, in case the habitat falls short of climbing places, make sure you’re adding enough vines, branches, and twigs.

2. Maintaining Proper Humidity

When it comes to keeping a chameleon healthy, the first thing you need to take care of is its environment and that includes humidity as well. Otherwise, not only their health and skin will deteriorate but their nails walk on the same path. Make sure that you’re running enough misting sessions to keep the humidity on point.

3. Ensuring a Balanced Diet

It’s the Vitamin D3 and calcium that help the most in keeping the nails of a chameleon healthy and strong. So, no matter what, let them skip foods that come with these nutrients. Also, give them a variety of insects to keep their meals interesting and nutritious.

4. Handling Them Carefully

The one mistake lots of chameleon owners do while handling is not supporting their whole body. This creates imbalance and might put extra pressure on their nails, which might cause nail breaks. So, you better support the reptile’s entire body, including its nails and feet. And don’t even think about pulling them on their nails as this can detach the nail entirely.

5. Regular Check-ups

You’re not a vet yourself. So, understanding and keeping track of your reptile’s health issues is not going to be always easy. What you can do is run regular check-ups with a reptile vet. If there are any issues with their nails, the vet will let you know what to do next.

6. Avoiding Rough Surfaces

Rough surfaces are among the prime dangers for chameleon nails as coming in touch with them in a harsh way might make the reptile lose its nails. So, when you’re keeping a chameleon captive, make sure that they’re avoiding rough and abrasive surfaces, both inside and outside the enclosure.

Is it Important to Trim Chamaleon Nails?

We bet you’ve got this trimming idea from cats and dogs. After all, not trimming their nails on time might cause extra hazards for them. But guess what? You don’t need to walk in the same way for your chameleon. At least, you won’t have to do it yourself.

Chameleons are dependent on their nails or claws to hold onto twigs, branches, and vines. But even if their claws look too outgrown that makes the climbing troublesome, you better not clip their claws by yourself. The best thing you do is go to the vet and let them handle it. But make sure the vet is a reptile specialist vet.

Before You Go…..

By the way, to save your chameleon from hurting its nails, the first thing you’re going to need is a perfect cage. But figuring out the right size here surely is going to be challenging. So, let’s ease that up a bit for you with our blog How Big of A Cage Does A Chameleon Need?

Do Chameleons Lose Their Nails?