Chetbojangles
New Member
Hello,
My Panther Chameleon, Rufus, had a clean bill of health with no problems until Feb 2010 (turned 2 yrs old). His left eye started to close.
Was then seen by local herp vet and the diagnosis was a mouth infection(he found a black lesion in his mouth, cleaned out the puss). He prescibed piperacillin, amikasin injections, and gentamicin gel orally.
Got better then a few weeks later relapsed and had a small growth growing on his head above nostril. Brought to vet again he opened up the growth and cleaned out the puss. Then prescribed same treatment but this time putting gentamicin gel also on growth site.
He was doing well then started noticing he was rubbing his eyes constantly and had yellow-brownish secretions coming from his lips.
He now only eats 2 mealworms every other day. He tries to shoot tongue but misses and tries stabbing at it with a short flick of the tongue but now he doesnt even try, I have to place the worms directly in his mouth.
In the morning he is VERY slow to wake up and has that yellowbrown drool leaking out of his mouth. I have been giving him the leftover gentamicin gel orally until he can be seen by vet (this friday).
In the meantime since I have had NO luck at all getting rid of this pesky infection and have spent well over 1500 dollars, I was hoping to reach out to this knowledgable communitity and see if I can bring any additional helpful info to my vet. With your help I hope to finally resolve this as my poor chameleon has been suffering with this miserable problem for the majority of 2010!
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Blue Barred Male Ambilobe Panther Chameleon 2.5 years old that I have owned since he was 8 weeks old. Purchased from Screameleons.
Handling - I usually take him out once every other day for about 10 minutes.
Feeding - Used to feed primarily crickets until Feb 2010 when problem first occured. Have since switched to giant mealworms. Normally he would eat 8 worms every other day when NOT sick.
Supplements - Reptical Calcium with D3 3 or 4 times a month by rolling worms in the powder. Reptical Reptile Vitamin 1 time a month using same technique.
Watering - I use a McDonalds Supersize Plastic Cup with a pinhole at bottom to allow for a steady drip onto plastic leafy vines. I water him approx. 5 times a day. I mist the enclosure for 30 secs. 2x a day. When healthy I would see him drinking. Now I give him water orally with a syringe just in case since i dont see him drinking.
Fecal Description -Usually had 3 bowel movements a week when healthy. Now is down to once a week. Usually brown white and orange.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Reptarium Screen Cage 4ft x 2.5 ft.
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 UVB 15 Watt 18" tube AND a Powersun 100w UVA UVB and Heat bulb ALL-IN-One. My lighting schedule is 9:30am to 9:30pm
Temperature - cage floor = 75f basking spot = 85f Lowest overnight temp = 72F. I measure with a thermometer that I keep at the basking point.
Humidity - Varies from 50% to 60% I do not use a humidifier. I measure with a hygrometer.
Plants - Homegrown grape vines that have been baked at 150F to disinfect. 2 Fake plastic leafy vines(for water to drip off)
Placement - Cage located in my bedroom (low traffic area most traffic is in my living room) It is near 2 windows and the air conditioner (never set below 72F). The top of the cage is approximately 5 ft. off ground level.
Location - I am located 45 minutes upstate from NYC
Picture Number 1 is of his thick saliva. See the corners of his mouth?
Picture Number 2 is of his enclosure. See anything I should change?
My Panther Chameleon, Rufus, had a clean bill of health with no problems until Feb 2010 (turned 2 yrs old). His left eye started to close.
Was then seen by local herp vet and the diagnosis was a mouth infection(he found a black lesion in his mouth, cleaned out the puss). He prescibed piperacillin, amikasin injections, and gentamicin gel orally.
Got better then a few weeks later relapsed and had a small growth growing on his head above nostril. Brought to vet again he opened up the growth and cleaned out the puss. Then prescribed same treatment but this time putting gentamicin gel also on growth site.
He was doing well then started noticing he was rubbing his eyes constantly and had yellow-brownish secretions coming from his lips.
He now only eats 2 mealworms every other day. He tries to shoot tongue but misses and tries stabbing at it with a short flick of the tongue but now he doesnt even try, I have to place the worms directly in his mouth.
In the morning he is VERY slow to wake up and has that yellowbrown drool leaking out of his mouth. I have been giving him the leftover gentamicin gel orally until he can be seen by vet (this friday).
In the meantime since I have had NO luck at all getting rid of this pesky infection and have spent well over 1500 dollars, I was hoping to reach out to this knowledgable communitity and see if I can bring any additional helpful info to my vet. With your help I hope to finally resolve this as my poor chameleon has been suffering with this miserable problem for the majority of 2010!
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Blue Barred Male Ambilobe Panther Chameleon 2.5 years old that I have owned since he was 8 weeks old. Purchased from Screameleons.
Handling - I usually take him out once every other day for about 10 minutes.
Feeding - Used to feed primarily crickets until Feb 2010 when problem first occured. Have since switched to giant mealworms. Normally he would eat 8 worms every other day when NOT sick.
Supplements - Reptical Calcium with D3 3 or 4 times a month by rolling worms in the powder. Reptical Reptile Vitamin 1 time a month using same technique.
Watering - I use a McDonalds Supersize Plastic Cup with a pinhole at bottom to allow for a steady drip onto plastic leafy vines. I water him approx. 5 times a day. I mist the enclosure for 30 secs. 2x a day. When healthy I would see him drinking. Now I give him water orally with a syringe just in case since i dont see him drinking.
Fecal Description -Usually had 3 bowel movements a week when healthy. Now is down to once a week. Usually brown white and orange.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Reptarium Screen Cage 4ft x 2.5 ft.
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 UVB 15 Watt 18" tube AND a Powersun 100w UVA UVB and Heat bulb ALL-IN-One. My lighting schedule is 9:30am to 9:30pm
Temperature - cage floor = 75f basking spot = 85f Lowest overnight temp = 72F. I measure with a thermometer that I keep at the basking point.
Humidity - Varies from 50% to 60% I do not use a humidifier. I measure with a hygrometer.
Plants - Homegrown grape vines that have been baked at 150F to disinfect. 2 Fake plastic leafy vines(for water to drip off)
Placement - Cage located in my bedroom (low traffic area most traffic is in my living room) It is near 2 windows and the air conditioner (never set below 72F). The top of the cage is approximately 5 ft. off ground level.
Location - I am located 45 minutes upstate from NYC
Picture Number 1 is of his thick saliva. See the corners of his mouth?
Picture Number 2 is of his enclosure. See anything I should change?
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