18 mo. old Veiled Bump on nose

[rickd5]

Hi guys brand new here, but love all the information I have been getting from reading on this site. My concern for my chameleon has stressed me out beyond belief at this point...

Anyways I recently rescued this 18 mo. old Chameleon, who I took upon myself to name Sherman. He was rescued from a friend who obviously wasn't the best owner in the world. My first Cham.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled Male Chameleon, been in care for 3 weeks
Handling - about 2x a week so far haven't moved him much since I got him
Feeding - 4-5 Crickets daily, 2x Meal worms/wax worms/superworms once every couple days
Supplements - Rep-cal cal with d3 2x a week, rep-cal multivitamins once every 2 weeks. Exo-tera calcium without d3 almost every feeding. Gut loading all insects with collard greens, mustard greens, carrots, sweet potatoes.
Watering - Misting 4-5 times a day usually. Humidity stays above 50% at all times and goes around 70-80% when i mist.
Fecal Description - black with white droppings. from other pics ive seen of healthy chameleon droppings it looks ok.
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? No
History - Idk how good of an owner the previous person was. I new the chameleon appeared skinny/unhealthy when I got him.

Cage Info:
Cage Type Screen 18x18x36
Lighting - reptisun 5.0 18 inch tube on top of cage. 71 watt house bulb for basking. B
Temperature - Basking spot 95-100 degrees, temps in cage range 75-85 degrees during the day. Digital therm in basking spot.
Humidity - above 50%. 70-80% when I mist. Use a hand mister for now.
Plants - Benjamin Ficus for now. Plenty of foilage for him to hide in
Placement - Cage is on ground in my room. no one is in it but my gf and I
Location - Southern California. Seal Beach about 4 miles inland.

Current Problem - I noticed this bulge between his eyes and assumed it was a Sinus problem. It has been there since I got him. I took him to a vet in Long Beach named Dr. Palazzolo and he gave me some Neo Cal Glucon droplets and said to give it to him once a day. He weigned 50 grams. The vet wants me to come back in 2 weeks for a checkup because he says removing the abscess could cause more stress on him than its worth if he has been living with it already. He said Sherman looked healthy.. to my surprise.

I want to take him to Dr. Tom Greek in Yorba Linda because I have heard nothing but good things about him.
I will take him in the next few days but are wondering what you guys think of him in the meantime...

Hes active usually.. lounges on branches with one leg off sometimes which I hear can be a bad thing. since I took him to vet he has stopped eating infront of me. only when I put it in dish and leave room.

 

[lancaster0861]

First off it is a good thing you are doing with this guy, taking him in and all! I am sorry but I unfortunately cannot tell you what the bump above his nose is. I believe you have started in the right direction with the vet visit and just with that have probably given this guy a great new beginning. I do however, see a couple of things i would like to point out in order to help you out. It's good you are starting him on supplements right away, but the calcium with D3 only needs to be given about twice a month. I don't remember what multi-vitamin you are using but if that contains D3 in it and your giving that twice a month you can probably do without the calcium with D3 all together. My guy is about the same age and looks a little bit thicker with a bigger casque, so your guy may be a little on the thin side. That may not be the case as all lizards grow at different rates though. He looks a little on the darker side but that could be due to the new environment and should change in time considering the care it looks like he may be receiving now. I would look into a bigger cage for him pretty quickly as most veileds need the 24x24x48 screen enclosure by the time they are 10-12 months roughly. All in all I would stick with the plan that you have with the vet, give him his privacy, provide ample water, and continue to feed well gut loaded and varied insects. I think he will turn out pretty good with ya! good luck and welcome!

 

[rickd5]

Thanks for the prompt reply. Yes one of the first things I will be doing then is buying a bigger cage. Hmm so you think I should give him this neo cal glucon it's a calcium and phosphorus oral drop. I wanted to point out how I didnt like the first vet much so I will be going to Dr. Green soon. I just want this guy to be as healthy as possible. I hope this bump on his nose isn't extremely serious.. Since the first vet didn't even want to remove it yet

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

It looks like an infection of the sinus cavity. You can read a bit more about it here:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/healthx/head-neck/

Sinus Infection: Swollen Eyes, Bump on Head
The sinuses of chameleons are located on the top part of the skull between the eyes and nostrils. You can see bumps appear over them when there is an infection of the sinuses because of swelling and pus formation, possibly secondary to an upper respiratory infection. Pus in reptiles is very thick and not liquid like in mammals, so while antibiotics are usually started for the infection that caused it, they won't get rid of the pus in the sinuses causing the swelling. Usually the sinus needs to be opened with minor surgery by a veterinarian to remove the pus from the infection.

 

[rickd5]

Thank you, that is what I told the vet and this guy didn't want to do it yet. Im going to take him in as soon as I get a chance.

 

[camimom]

The vet isn't going to remove the bump.

Most likely the vet will lance it, remove the pus that has filled it up, and give an antibiotic injection, then send you home with some oral antibiotics.

 

[rickd5]

I just want this guy to be healthy going to do whatever it takes. First vet trip was 83 dollars so Imagine getting in lanced will be even more. Going to Dr. Greek this time.

 

[rickd5]

Apt is at 430 today I hope all goes well. I'm doing everything I can for this poor guy