Jackson with colored lip and bump on jaw

[lagoon]

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Cage is metal mesh in a cylinder shape, 30" tall with a 18" diameter.
* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Cage is positioned next to a screen window where the upper half of the cage received direct sunlight for approximately 2 hours a day. The lower half of the cage is never in sunlight.
* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
I don't do anything in regards to humidity or tempature, natural humidity and temp here is high. At the moment(7pm) its 80 degrees with 85% humidity.
* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Artificial leaves and branches.
* Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Cage is about two feet away from a small fan, should I move it? Cage is in a medium traffic room but I have a divider so that he can't see the rest of the room. Top of the cage is about 5 feet from the floor.
* Location - Where are you geographically located?
Hawaii.

Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Jackson chameleon, male, age unknown. He has grown a little bit since I've had him so I assume he is fairly young. I've had him for 4 months.
* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Only for cage cleaning.
* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
A cricket on odd days and a mealworm or two mealworms on even days. Feeders are getting carrots, potatoes and rolled oats.
* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Dust crickets twice a week.
* Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Water once a day by drip. I don't mist; I was told that it isn't necessary since the humidity here is 60-90% all the time (Hawaii). I do see him drink but not everytime.
* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
Firm raisin sized droppings. Not tested.
* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
* Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.
I've noticed that his lip seems to be stained a redish brown color and his jaw on the left side had a bump or is swollen. It's been this way for about a week and a half. I thought the color might have been from something he ate but I tried dripping water onto his lip and it doesn't seem to come off. I also thought the bump might be from one of his feeders biting him but I don't see a corresponding wound on the inside of his mouth.
Behavior wise, his appetite and drinking pattern has not changed. There hasn't been any change to his activity level either.

 

[LBonawitz]

i would take him to a vet for a culture/sensitivity test right away. and would assume that bump is an infection and the discoloration might be mouth rot. i'm no expert though, just an over protective chameleon mom

but i would have a culture/sensitivity done right away no matter what because its abnormal.

 

[isaacrm]

I have got the same problem, after some weeks of observation and treatment i had to practice a surgery on my chameleon (I’m a veterinary)
There is a temporal gland on the comisure of their mouth, as far as I have read, sometimes that gland gets obstructed somehow, followed by an abscess and an infection. Causing anorexia and finally dead of the chamaleon.
Abscesses on chamaleons are not like in mammals, their immune system tends to encapsulate the infections causing a wax like abscess impossible to treat by pharmacology do to their limited blood supply.
I would strongly recommend you to take your chameleon to a nearby veterinary; let us know what does he tells you about it and the pharmacy treatment prescribed by him.
If you don’t detect any changes on his behavior do not practice any pharmacy or surgery, remember that if this doesn’t affect his life quality the best thing would be to let him be.
I did a surgery because mine had anorexia and the abscess wouldnt let him to use his tongue affecting his life quality, if I wouldn’t have treat him he would have died. But un your case it could be merely something esthetical and if that is the case I don’t recommend any treatment.

 

[kinyonga]

In my experience your chameleon needs to go to a vet to have it cleaned out and to have a culture and sensitivity test done so that the appropriate antibiotic can be prescribed. If its not cleaned out and treated its quite likely that the chameleon will die.

 

[Zach Valois]

I have got the same problem, after some weeks of observation and treatment i had to practice a surgery on my chameleon (I’m a veterinary)
There is a temporal gland on the comisure of their mouth, as far as I have read, sometimes that gland gets obstructed somehow, followed by an abscess and an infection. Causing anorexia and finally dead of the chamaleon.
Abscesses on chamaleons are not like in mammals, their immune system tends to encapsulate the infections causing a wax like abscess impossible to treat by pharmacology do to their limited blood supply.
I would strongly recommend you to take your chameleon to a nearby veterinary; let us know what does he tells you about it and the pharmacy treatment prescribed by him.
If you don’t detect any changes on his behavior do not practice any pharmacy or surgery, remember that if this doesn’t affect his life quality the best thing would be to let him be.
I did a surgery because mine had anorexia and the abscess wouldnt let him to use his tongue affecting his life quality, if I wouldn’t have treat him he would have died. But un your case it could be merely something esthetical and if that is the case I don’t recommend any treatment.

...applause.

 

[philanddeb818]

...applause.

ditto.

I had a Cham that had a simple mouth infection complicated by URI, antibiotics and forst h20, plus vitamins...he was as good as new in no time. But the vet is who did the trick.

 

[sharkey]

he should go to the vet - preferably immediately (but not as an emergency). his jaw looks infected and the lower jaw looks misshapen.

the window that he is living by - does it have glass in it or just screen?

i live in a high humidity area but i still mist my jax - you may want to experiment to see how wet the cage becomes - they need the moisture not just for drinking but also for skin moisture to shed and to be comfortable.

good luck - hope the vet is able to get rid of the infection w/some simple treatment.

 

[xanthoman]

im not a big fan of uneccssary vet visits but, but sometimes they are necessary and this is one of them, i would see a exp cham vet asap http://web.archive.org/web/20040611201113/www.arav.org/USMembers.htm also i have noticed his cage uses hot dipped galvanized hardware cloth, hot dipped galvanize is zinc and is toxic in large enough quantities . it can be transfered by osmosis through the skin just from walking on the dry wire, but wet wire would be even more of a problem , espescially if he was drinking from it, because the zinc leaches into the water

 

[chamelisa]

Very Dehydrated

My first thought is that this chameleon is extremely dehydrated. You can see signs of dehydration in his skin, his limbs and his eyes. His color seems off, very yellow and light. It could be caused by a number of reasons. If it were my chameleon, I would increase hydration by adding a misting system or using a misting bottle frequently. Keep misting until he starts drinking then continue until he stops. It could help.

As far as finding a vet, you might want to get in touch with Mary Lovein through her website. She is a real sweetie and has had experience with vets in Hawaii. Maybe she has information to help you.

Good luck to you and your chameleon!

 

[lagoon]

Thanks for the replies. I took him to the vet the day I posted. The vet found that he had multiple infections in his mouth, the largest being the one on his jaw. The red bit on his lip was a scab which fell off when the vet was handling him. He said that the infections were initially inflicted by feeders but poor nutrition in his feeders and a lack of enough UV prevented him from fighting off the infections.

He excised the infections as much as he could and proscribed an antibiotic(Sulfatrim). He recommended feeding feeders green leafy vegetables/rabbit food and purchasing a UV. He said to force feed a cricket and water twice daily and the antibiotic once a day for the first two days then every other day. Cham seemed to improve physically under this treatment, gaining some weight and the infections mostly clearing up, but he still slept all day and wouldn't eat or drink on his own. He lasted a week longer but eventually died.

 

[chamelisa]

Thank you for the update. I'm very sorry to hear he didn't recover.

Do you have a lot of jackson's around where you live?

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

I am really sorry for your loss. I noticed that in the help sheet you filled out you sid you were feeding him a cricket on odd days and a meal worm or two on even days? that comes out to about 10 fedders a week at the most, thats only about 3 days of food at best. Were you feeding him more and just mistyped? It's a bummper you didnt catch it sooner, he was a very pretty cham.


justin

 

[lagoon]

@chamelisa: Jacksons are available in all of the pet stores that sell small animals here. There are also wild populations in quite a few rural areas. I might try again, after some grieving time.

@OldSkoolxReasons: I offered him crickets and mealworms daily but the amount on the help sheet is how many he actually ate. Mealworms were always available in a bowl, I would just count how many were missing each day. Crickets I would drop 1 or 2 in each day; if he hadn't eaten them after an hour or so I would fish them out (since they could escape the cage if I them left them in).

I would say that the max he'd ever eaten in a week was 4x crickets(medium) and 8 or so mealworms. If he ate a large cricket he wouldn't eat again for two days. This had been his appetite level since I got him so I assumed it was normal. Approximately how much should an adult jackson be eating?

 

[Olimpia]

Oh no! I'm so sorry for your loss. Poor thing

 

[Lovereps]

Sorry your cham didn't make it.