Swollen vent issue

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - 4' x 2' Screen Enclosure
* Lighting - 60W Bulb in dome above cage. 5.0 UVB 2' tube Bulb?
* Temperature - ~85 basking ~80-70 depending on cage location
* Humidity - Usually around 20-40%
* Plants - Hibiscus, Pothos
* Placement - Bedroom, not high traffic. Cage ceiling is roughly 6' off the ground
* Location - Virginia


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - Male Panther 1.5 years
* Handling - ~1 - 2 times per month
* Feeding - Currently on superworms, and having a little bit of a hunger strike. Will also eat waxworms, doesn't like crickets, hasn't taken one in months.
* Supplements - Repcal supplements, don't have them in front of me.
* Watering - Misting 1 - 3 x per day, Drip setup 2 x per day
* Fecal Description - Last fecal had quite a bit of yellow / orange to it.
* History - Doesn't like crickets, hasn't been a voracious eater lately. Took 2 superworms yesterday. Drinks readily. Very active.
* Current Problem - Swollen spot on his vent which developed after his last poo.

Hey folks, I need a bit of advice.

My Nosy Be Rygel is a tad dehydrated. I know this. This is probably just a result of poor husbandry on my part, overestimating how much he'd been drinking (I see him drink often, so I assume he's getting enough), and perhaps his larger cage that I got for him a couple months ago.

He's been on a bit of a hunger strike, but I think the hunger strike is likely being caused by the fact that he's dehydrated. He took in two superworms yesterday.

His last poo was pretty yellow/orange, and there was no fecal, only urate. Afterwards, I noticed that he seemed to have a tiny bit of urate sticking in between the folds of his vent. It wasn't anything huge, just enough that I could see it. We're talking about a splinter-sized piece of urate between the folds of his vent here, not a large piece of urate that was sticking out of his vent.

I didn't want to cause problems by plucking it out, so I left it like it was, assuming he'd either rub it off himself, or he'd pass it with his next poo.

I've been working very hard at being better at misting him more often, and putting much more water in his drip system so that he always has water, and get him hydrated. I've been keeping my eye out for future fecals, but so far I haven't seen any. He's in a large cage, so there could be one on a leaf somewhere I'm not finding, I'm not sure. Like I said, he hasn't been eating a lot, so a lack of a fecal isn't surprising me too much.

However, it's the bit of matter in his vent which is causing me to post now. I noticed yesterday that the side of his vent that had the particle stuck in it is a little swollen and little bit red now. It doesn't look horrible but it does look worse.

My thoughts were that tonight I'd take him out and soak his vent in some warm water for 10-20 minutes and try to loosen it so the particle can come out. Afterwards I was pondering the wisdom of attempting to remove the bit of matter in his vent or not. I'm hoping it won't get to that point, and the water will soften it and it will come out on its own.

Any other advice other than "take him to the vet"? I don't think it's to that point yet, but I certainly am going to do that if it doesn't improve.

I'm also making an investment in a Mist King system so that he'll get water more regularly while I'm at work. I just bought an engagement ring and we're buying a house, so finances have been tight and I've been putting it off a couple months

A picture would be helpful.

I think a warm water soak is worth a try. Are you sure you are seeing urates? Other possibilities are a retained sperm plug or a partially prolapsed hemipene. The soak should help if its either of the first two, but the prolapse is serious and needs attention ASAP. You can also keep the area moist with a bit of Polysporin.

I'm fairly positive it's not a prolapse. I'd have gone to the vet in a nanosecond if that'd happened. Right now it's just that one side of his vent is a little bit red and swollen. The little piece of urate that was in his vent looks like the size of a small hangnail.

I don't know what a sperm plug looks like honestly, but unless it looks identical to an orange urate, I'm pretty sure it wasn't one.

I'll snap a picture this evening.

Okay now I have no idea.

I went to go give him a bath last night, and take pictures. There was no swelling whatsoever. He was squirming a lot while I was trying to take a look at him, but I repositioned his tail as much as possible to get a good look, and I couldn't find any evidence of swelling or blockage at all. Everything looked normal to me.

I'm wondering if I imagined the swelling and it was just because of how he was sitting on his branch the other day, or if he passed whatever it was, and everything went back to normal on its own.

Either way, I still gave him a soak in some warm water for about 10 minutes. He hated it, and kept trying to get out of the bin I had him in. I'd seen chameleons turn black or brown when they're really unhappy before... but he turned white? Especially the top of his head got this glazed white look to it that I'd never seen before. Hopefully I won't have to do it again to him.

Well forget what I said before. Turns out he's just really good at hiding the issue, depending on how his tail is positioned. I saw him when his tail was curled up and he was sleeping last night, and saw the redness and swelling again.

This morning, I took him and soaked him again for a few minutes. Afterwards I was able to get him to cooperate a bit, and show me the problem. I gently squeezed the sides of his vent, and got it to pop out a bit.

It doesn't look normal to me, but then again it could be a sperm plug or hemipen, or something? Any ideas? Is a vet visit in order now, or should I soak him some more, and wait and see? I didn't go so far as to try and manually remove whatever blockage is there.

Murrdox said:

Well forget what I said before. Turns out he's just really good at hiding the issue, depending on how his tail is positioned. I saw him when his tail was curled up and he was sleeping last night, and saw the redness and swelling again.

This morning, I took him and soaked him again for a few minutes. Afterwards I was able to get him to cooperate a bit, and show me the problem. I gently squeezed the sides of his vent, and got it to pop out a bit.

It doesn't look normal to me, but then again it could be a sperm plug or hemipen, or something? Any ideas? Is a vet visit in order now, or should I soak him some more, and wait and see? I didn't go so far as to try and manually remove whatever blockage is there.

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I am almost completely positive that is a sperm plug, if you can get a hold of it with some tweezers or something along those lines and gently pull it should come out. His hemipenis ma come out a bit when you do this, and as long as you aren't pulling too hard/yanking the thing should come out with no harm done. You could have a vet do this if you want, but it is a fairly common issue with reptiles and a good thing to learn how to do.

Good luck,

Todd

Wow! I'm new to the chameleon game, but that does not look good to me. I would definitely get him into the vet. Hopefully some else will chime in here and help out. Good luck.

I wouldn't thke any chances with my chams. I'd take them to the vet.

Todd, thanks a lot for your input!

I took Rygel to the vet tonight, and indeed it was a sperm plug. He had two of them in fact. The vet was great and knew exactly what he was doing, and got both of them out. He's got a bit of irritation going on, but that's to be expected. Man they were big! The vet said he'd seen a lot worse though, and recommended I get him a girlfriend.

So I got out of the vet's office without having to put Rygel on any antibiotics or crazy medicine, and it only took about 15 minutes. I think if it happens again, I'd be able to do it on my own after watching the vet.

Rygel was great, he held still throughout the whole thing. I hope he feels a lot better now! He also gave me a fecal today, which is still a little more pale orange than white, so still working on getting him nice and hydrated.

Hope this thread can stick around, those pics I posted might be useful for other Panther owners if the vent of their chameleon looks like that. Definitely sperm plug!

Howdy,

Might as well top-off the post with the usual photo of a seminal plug :

Dave, your pics are the best!

A personal favorite is the action poop shot.
My kids and I were especially amused by that lovely close-up
Seriously, though, your pictures are a tremendous help.

Lovereps said:

A personal favorite is the action poop shot...

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Howdy,

It's one of my favorites too . It appears to just float there, in mid-air, in all of its glistening glory . Like the timeless classic that it is, it never fails to delight and inspire .

wow,

reading through this thread really opened my eyes! im getting a male panther in a few weeks so looking for all the information i can get. i never even heard of a sperm plug. what exactly is it and how often do you need to remove them? do you always have to remove them or do they do it themselves?

Benton1576 said:

wow,

reading through this thread really opened my eyes! im getting a male panther in a few weeks so looking for all the information i can get. i never even heard of a sperm plug. what exactly is it and how often do you need to remove them? do you always have to remove them or do they do it themselves?

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p.s, the cham in my profile pic is the father of the baby im getting. he is only 3 months old but hopefully will look like daddy once he grows!

Gee...bet being able to post that picture again made your day, eh Dave??!

Glad it was so easy for Rygel!

Benton1576 said:

...i never even heard of a sperm plug. what exactly is it and how often do you need to remove them? do you always have to remove them or do they do it themselves?

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Howdy Benton,

Some chameleons never get an actual "plug". Instead you'll only see their normal little stringy bits of condensed seminal excretions wiped onto branches once in a while. These stringy pairs are often deposited after pooping. Plugs occur for various reasons. It is possible (likely) that plugs may be triggered by husbandry issues. Chameleons who have had a case of actual plugs are likely to have them again and again but many months apart. In that case, just watch out for them and if they are not coming out on their own, you may have to assist from time to time .

(Kinyonga: It always puts a smile on my face .)