Upper respitorie infection URI ?? anybody have some input?

dakotakleiner

New Member
Current Problem - A upper respiratory infection (URI)


Chameleon Info:
My chameleon is a veiled aprox. 5 1/2 months of age hes been with me for about 3 months

i try not to handle him much as i want him to be as happy as possible and not stressed out but about 3-5 times a week but now that he has a uri il be handling him daily until hes better

i feed him crickets sometimes every day but he never goes longer than two days without crickets since hes a baby, I usually gut load with potatoes wheat bread apples and sometimes lettuce, i plan on getting some flunkers gut load as it sounds more convienent but im not so sure on how effective it can be id rather by a bunch of different healthy things for chameleons and crickets to eat blend them up in a blender and make my own cubes and freeze them in a vaccum sealed bag

Supplements - i use rep-cal and herpvite i was using them both every feeding but then i figured out i was only suppose to do the herpvite once a week

Watering - i was using the dripper for the first month or so along with misting for 30 seconds 2-4 times a day i ended up getting rid of the dripper and just misting alot because i never see him drink and i watch him alot since he got sick i put the dripper back up and i see him take like a drop or two of water in a day....im not sure what it is with him

Fecal Description - black and kind of yellow recent droppings have had a clear liquid gel with them until drying up brown black and most of the yellow has started going away

History - a few weeks ago i just got rid of an eye problem he had his one eye was closed alot and he wasnt using it i bought a bottle of refresh tears for 10$ and had to poke a hole in the bottom to squirt it in his eye since a drop wouldnt go in i did it for about two days then he wouldnt open his eye at all so i got him to open it and get a few drops in for the next few days and then i stopped putting it in and he had like a little scab and his eye was opening fine but it was alot smaller than normal and over time his little white scab crusted off and everything was normal.

Cage Info:
-my cage is fairly large for him its Length 24" depth 24" Height 30" its aluminum screen except the bottom and the front are plexiglass but the bottoms covered in newspaper
-for lighting im using a r-zilla 17watt 24" bulb a exo-terra 75w sunglo and a flunkers 75 watt black light running night and day considering with out it the temps will drop below 70 a night
Temperature during the day in the mid tank ranges from 75-82 with the basking spot of 85-95 degrees at the top of the tank i measure it with one wired thermometer that i can place the probe where i measure
Humidity - I do not currently measure the humidity alls i have is a dripper and a spray bottle that i depend on my vet says i need more humidity and i need to soak him in a shallow bowl of warm water until hes better i just bought a pothos plant hoping it will boost it some i plan on buying another and a humidifier for my room within the next few days and a humidity gauge or whatever they are called probably a digital one -----can any one tell me a good range of humidity for my baby veiled ?? thanks
Plants - one pothos
-my cage is in the corner of my room next to my bed about two feet off the ground, near the heating vent for an extra source theres not much traffic in my room usually just me at night all day hes in private , the top of his cage is about four feet from the ground
im located in michigan its winter and its cold thats why i run two 75 watt bulbs on his cage during this weather and considering he has already caught an upper respatoriy infection


the vet gave me this medicine Tobramycin, to drop once into each nostril twice daily for 14 days well the drops are about 100 times as big as his nostril and basically cover his nose to where no air is going in or out which i dont feel comfortable with either..... can any one please email me and tell me if they have had this medicine before and used it or just some feedback posts or anything im going to just start putting it on a qtip and cleaning his nose with it..

he also gave me baytril which ive heard of and feel safer using if any one could just help me with some advice i really like chameleons and i dont want to fail please help me
Thankyou, Dakota



i can upload more pictures let me know
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0052.JPG
    IMG_0052.JPG
    141 KB · Views: 113
  • IMG_0058.JPG
    IMG_0058.JPG
    98.8 KB · Views: 109
  • IMG_0048.JPG
    IMG_0048.JPG
    125.7 KB · Views: 118
Last edited:
Hi,
I don't blame you for being upset at the vet. I think i would have hit him myself. I do believe you have a URI but it's been some time since any of mine have had one. I'm sure one of the other guys on here can help you out but i do believe Baytril is the drug they use. Also remember to use a probiotic once he has started on that stuff. Baytril is brutal on the poor little things. Make sure you answer all the questions when you get home and it probably would be a good idea to show a pic of your baby. Make a few calls around and double check for another vet. One that is a little gentler with your baby. Don't forget to ask questions of them, BEFORE, you make a appointment with them. And tell them why you are switching. YOU are paying the money, and YOU should get what you want. I've had to switch vets 3 x before i got one i was happy with. And believe me in NH just finding 3 vets that work with reptiles is difficult.
 
You should get a new vet who is experienced with chameleons, since this one doesn't seem to know about them. He could have hurt or killed your chameleon. And that does sound like URI.
 
probiotic?

What's is a probiotic exactly? I already started him on the baytril one dose today
And about the tobramycin they have me dripping it in his nose twice a day I'm thinking maybe because of the crust he had coming out of there I'll probably quit as soon as the crust stops or maybe just drip it on a qtip and clear it up for him well
Hi,
I don't blame you for being upset at the vet. I think i would have hit him myself. I do believe you have a URI but it's been some time since any of mine have had one. I'm sure one of the other guys on here can help you out but i do believe Baytril is the drug they use. Also remember to use a probiotic once he has started on that stuff. Baytril is brutal on the poor little things. Make sure you answer all the questions when you get home and it probably would be a good idea to show a pic of your baby. Make a few calls around and double check for another vet. One that is a little gentler with your baby. Don't forget to ask questions of them, BEFORE, you make a appointment with them. And tell them why you are switching. YOU are paying the money, and YOU should get what you want. I've had to switch vets 3 x before i got one i was happy with. And believe me in NH just finding 3 vets that work with reptiles is difficult.
 
Hi I'm so sorry to hear about your baby and the treatment he received from the vet. When I first got my Jackson's chameleon he contacted a URI probably because it was stress related. My father is a veterinarian who used to specialize in exotics and told me what to do. But, I'm sure if I posted it here I'd probably be jumped all over by the members. Not exactly orthodox. But, it worked. The most important thing is to keep your baby hydrated. I added unflavored pediolyte to the water in a warm spray bottle and sprayed him down 2-3 times a day in order to keep him hydrated. Just like people, if we get dehydrated in the winter we are more susceptible to getting a cold because our nazal passages dry out. Good luck to you and your baby.
Natalie
 
The nose crusties you are describing sounds like an over-supplementation issue. What are you using for supplements and how much are you using each time? Most times the crusties will go away with lowering the amount of supplements as well as bumping up humidity. I moved to Nevada from MI, so I am familiar with how crummy the weather can be. You may want to invest in a humidifier in the room your cham is housed in.

Also, here is a good thread for you to read regarding the possible URI.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/treating-lri-uri-warm-mist-recommended-22945/
 
quote

i was using herpvite and rep-cal everytime i fed him i stopped on the supplements for about a week and fed him a few times just plain crickets now ive been dusting them in just calcium after about a week of rep-cal i dusted them in repcal and herpvite and i plain to continue dusting them in rep-cal until he reaches about 6 1/2 months of age hes very small his body is prehaps about the size of a bic lighter ( not including his tail )


The nose crusties you are describing sounds like an over-supplementation issue. What are you using for supplements and how much are you using each time? Most times the crusties will go away with lowering the amount of supplements as well as bumping up humidity. I moved to Nevada from MI, so I am familiar with how crummy the weather can be. You may want to invest in a humidifier in the room your cham is housed in.

Also, here is a good thread for you to read regarding the possible URI.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/treating-lri-uri-warm-mist-recommended-22945/
 
vet gave me this medicine Tobramycin, to drop once into each nostril twice daily for 14 days well the drops are about 100 times as big as his nostril and basically cover his nose to where no air is going in or out which i dont feel comfortable with either....

Dont be dripping it into his nose, your cham needs to breathe and it wont be effective.
If its indeed a URI, then By mouth will work better. Get a second op on the baytril though, its very harsh, more particularly with a smaller animal, best given orally also.
I dont know what your basking temp is but Id recommend 85f (max) for the time being.
If/when the problem is resolved you can re-lower it to 80f.

Please fill out the ask for help questions fully, leave nothing out and describe history and symptoms carefully for a clearer picture of whats going on.
Your setup is sub-optimal and we can better advise youon long term care. :)
 
iam giving the baytril orally once daily il update my ask for help questions tomorrow when i have time thanks though il discontinue the tyrobmyicn in the nose a vet specializing in chams contacted me through here hopefully i can get ahold of him soon he said he wanted to talk to me about the meds thanks though

Dont be dripping it into his nose, your cham needs to breathe and it wont be effective.
If its indeed a URI, then By mouth will work better. Get a second op on the baytril though, its very harsh, more particularly with a smaller animal, best given orally also.
I dont know what your basking temp is but Id recommend 85f (max) for the time being.
If/when the problem is resolved you can re-lower it to 80f.

Please fill out the ask for help questions fully, leave nothing out and describe history and symptoms carefully for a clearer picture of whats going on.
Your setup is sub-optimal and we can better advise youon long term care. :)
 
Back
Top Bottom