Temporal gland infection - 3rd one this year!

How can I prevent my Jackson's from getting these infections? He has one now, he had one last month and had one 2 months before that! What am I doing wrong here? They have all cleared up nicely with Baytril but I don't want to give it to him so often.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Jackson's, male, 13 months old. Been in my care for 11 months
Handling - rarely
Feeding - Crickets, discoid roaches, mealworms 10 ish per day? Feed in the morning? Gutloading with tiki tiki's montane cricket crack and fruits/veggies.
Supplements - Repcal no D3 almost daily, repcal w/ D3 twice a month, repcal herptivite twice month.
Watering - Mistings and dripper. Have misting system that is on 3 times a day for 1 minute, I also hand mist twice a day. I see him drinking.
Fecal Description - Brown/White. Has been tested for parasites.
History - no history

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen, 16 x 16 x 20 (new larger cage is being built now)
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 UVB, 40 watt bulb? 7 to 7
Temperature - Basking spot is around 80, 74 at bottom of cage. overnight temp 73. Use thermometer and temp gun
Plants - Using live plants, schefflera pothos
Placement - Cage is in living room? no fans, vents, or traffic. It is about 4-5 feet off the ground
Location - Houston, TX

I'm no expert on Jackson chameleon care but what I have read while doing research is that they do not require that much supplementation. Hopefully someone with more jacksons experience will weigh in.

What are the humidity levels in the cage as well? Jacksons come.from mountainous regions and really like higher humidity levels.

Yes, the supplements are a bit much. Generally, they should be calcium a couple times a week, calcium with d3 every 4-6 weeks, and multivitamin once ever 6 weeks or so with that brand.

Have you had cultures done on the infections? He may need a different antibiotic if baytril is not completely getting rid of it each time.

Txherp said:

How can I prevent my Jackson's from getting these infections? He has one now, he had one last month and had one 2 months before that! What am I doing wrong here? They have all cleared up nicely with Baytril but I don't want to give it to him so often.

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The original infection is probably just resurfacing. They can be hard to get rid of completely especially if there's a pocket of bacteria left encapsulated somewhere.

I've read that increasing the amount of Vitamin C in your feeder gutloads (use citrus fruit in your wet mix) can help prevent them, either because this boosts the immune system response or because it changes the pH of the cham's saliva. It won't hurt the cham to try.

Thanks for all of the information. I bought some oranges yesterday and have started feeding them to the bugs. I will go back to the vet and either get a culture done or try a different medication.

Thanks again!

This Temporal Gland thing worries me a great deal as I have a wonderful Jackson boy myself. I remember reading that it can help to offer them smaller feeders as larger feeders that don't fit inside their mouths (ie wings or legs sticking out the side of the mouth) whole can result in wings, legs or guts getting lodged in the corner of their mouths and causing infection.

Miss Lily said:

This Temporal Gland thing worries me a great deal as I have a wonderful Jackson boy myself. I remember reading that it can help to offer them smaller feeders as larger feeders that don't fit inside their mouths (ie wings or legs sticking out the side of the mouth) whole can result in wings, legs or guts getting lodged in the corner of their mouths and causing infection.

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Hmmm, I do remember reading about that some where thanks for reminding me! I'll see if I can get him to eat smaller crickets but not sure that he will.

How were the previous infections in that gland treated?

He was treated with baytril last time

Miss Lily said:

This Temporal Gland thing worries me a great deal as I have a wonderful Jackson boy myself. I remember reading that it can help to offer them smaller feeders as larger feeders that don't fit inside their mouths (ie wings or legs sticking out the side of the mouth) whole can result in wings, legs or guts getting lodged in the corner of their mouths and causing infection.

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The owner of the reptile store I go to never uses larger than medium crickets because they can choke on the wings and cut their mouth on the sharp legs.