Swealing of Hemi-bulge and irritation.

Before I begin I want to make you aware that I have a vet appointment scheduled, however the herp specialist is on vacation until the end of next week (figures).

A background on me first of all, I’ve been keeping Chameleons for about 3 years, stared of with vields and worked my from there. I can pick up on most chameleon illnesses but this one has be a bit confused, it seems like a case of impaction, however its location is what has me scratching my head. Apollo is a 1.25 year old Nosebe/blue bar mix, he was a mutt I picked up because he was so damn cute. He’s never had any health issues today and aside from my area of concern is in excellent health.
About 2 days ago I noticed swelling around is Hemi-penal bulge and upon closer inspection it appeared that there was fecal matter that had not been excreted completely and it was causing irritation. I let it be and watched it over the next 24 hours. This evening i took the time to do a closer inspection, cleaned the area with warm water. The area surrounding the “matter” is very firm (like stone) and the matter itself is firm also. There is a small amount of blood in the area which I am associating to the corresponding irritation. The matter itself is light in colour (brown/tan) and is pours. I would like to apply polyporen to help the healing, however I do not want to take any action until I get some advice. I brought up compaction as a possible cause, but I have never seen it in this form before. I am also wondering if it is in infection of the hemi-penis itself?

Below are some pictures i took during my makeshift exam.

thanks in advance
cheers

Really looks like the hemipenes are being pushed out by the swelling in the tail base. If that is the hemipenes, I really don't like the color I'm seeing and you really shouldn't wait for the herp specialist to get back if that's when the appointment is.

If I were you, I would let him soak in some warm water for a while. 20-30 minutes at least. See if it loosens up anything. It is a bit difficult to tell from the pics but it looks like something is coming out of the hemipenes on both sides (the whitish stuff near the sides of the cloaca.)

Edit: How does the area around the tail base where the hemipenes are stored feel? Is that hard now or still soft?

Howdy Kosmo,

Although I too am worried about what those photos appear to show, it is possible that it is a case of hemipenal plugs. Here's an article that that talks about them in Iguanas. If it isn't plugs then the hemipenes are in trouble. If it looks like plugs, you could try to gently remove them. BE CAREFUL .

http://www.anapsid.org/seminalplugs.html

What part of the world are you located?

hairfarm67 said:

Really looks like the hemipenes are being pushed out by the swelling in the tail base. If that is the hemipenes, I really don't like the color I'm seeing and you really shouldn't wait for the herp specialist to get back if that's when the appointment is.

If I were you, I would let him soak in some warm water for a while. 20-30 minutes at least. See if it loosens up anything. It is a bit difficult to tell from the pics but it looks like something is coming out of the hemipenes on both sides (the whitish stuff near the sides of the cloaca.)

Edit: How does the area around the tail base where the hemipenes are stored feel? Is that hard now or still soft?

Click to expand...

The base is also firm, and as for waiting... what else do you suggest. i live in a small center. sudbury ontario dog and cat vets wont cut it.

Dave Weldon said:

Howdy Kosmo,

Although I too am worried about what those photos appear to show, it is possible that it is a case of hemipenal plugs. Here's an article that that talks about them in Iguanas. If it isn't plugs then the hemipenes are in trouble. If it looks like plugs, you could try to gently remove them. BE CAREFUL .

http://www.anapsid.org/seminalplugs.html

What part of the world are you located?

Click to expand...

This was indeed the case, I took the time to examine and read. I was able to remove the blockages with very little effort with the right technique. Although the example was extremely helpful it does not apply the same way with a chameleon as it does with an iguana. By putting a small amount of pressure at the base of the hemi-bulge you will force a small amount of the blockage out. By applying pressure and removing it you are able to push the blockage out slowly. Once removed the Hemi-Penis is exposed but as stated it returns into the body. Once removed I was able to apply a small amount of PolySporun to out irritated area of the fold. I will monitor him to insure no infection or swelling insures. He is also going into the vet Tomorrow.

Here is a picture of his grossness; I put a guitar pick in there for size reference.

Thanks Very much for the replys

Cheers.

Good job looking after your little man. The two of you must be very relieved. Let us know how the recovery goes.

How did the flesh of the hemipenes look? I'm guessing from your description it was not necrotic as I had feared? Glad you removed the material from it though, hopefully it wont happen again.

There's a possibility it could be old white blood cell matter from an infection rather than sperm plugs. Sperm plugs should pass easily rather than swelling up like that. Also, the hardness of the tail base imo would warrant taking a good look at that as a possible cause. On the plus side, as long as the tissue is ok it should be manageable if it happens again.

Look like a prime example of large seminal plugs.

At that size I am surprised that they weren't passed during a poop.

Well done Ken. Mind if I save these photos for examples? (c) to you of course.

Howdy Kosmo,

Excellent job! As Will mentioned, your photo would be a good one to be able to share with other chameleon keepers as this kind of thing gets asked about every year or two . Even better, if you can take another photo and see if you can get one fully focused, that would be even better. Try your camera's macro setting and it mgiht focus on close-up things better.

Thanks for all the positive feedback, everyone here is welcome to use the photos how they like, I posted them for public use. I know they aren’t the best quality, my camera isn’t the best and it’s really hard to hold a cham still, upside down as I fiddle with his private parts and take a picture at the same time… I think I did a pretty good job.

cheers

Congrats and you sure have a lucky cham. Some people wouldn't have removed it themself. Luckily, my guy passed his first plugs last week when going to the bathroom.

I cannot imaging having to remove that material. I cannot hold my guy still long enough to remove shed skin around his eye, let alone do a delicate proceedure like that.

I am glad it worked out.

A most excellent job!

Excellent job of documenting and removing those plugs......Watch him carefully for the next month to see if he will excrete stuff in a normal manner from now on. Watch for signs of blood in the poop and urates. There are some conditions that cause the formation of these hardened plugs. Infection and a vitamin A deficiency can cause them. I'm not saying to change your vitamin A supplementation. Just consider underlying issues if this happens again. The material should eject every week or so on it's own. You should find it near the poop or on branches. Hopefully this was a one time issue

Just a question to bring up, as this was a link in another issue.

At what age do you find these plugs typically? I want to start looking for these, and my guy is now 7 months old. Thanks, Stephanie