9m old Jackson very sick owner gave to me

[rjazz]

Hello,

I work at an animal hospital and someone came in with a 9 month old Jackson Male that he had no money to take care of and he just wanted to put him to sleep and get another one. I took him instead. I know nothing about Jackson's and I have been doing my research but I thought you guys maybe have some tips or ideas. He came into the hospital with a swollen foot and swollen eyes. I have changed the husbandry and now his eyes are completely closed.

What he used to live in:
20 gallon glass tank, no thermostat, 100% crickets, misting with spray bottle 1-2 times daily.

Now I have him in:
ZooMed ReptiBreeze Open Air Cage
Heat Lamp 80 degrees
UVB light 10-12 hours daily
Misting with spray bottle 4-6 times daily (humitidy is only at 30%) need to get a misting system
Trying to feed gut loaded crickets, mealworms and waxworms but now have to force feed Carnivore Care and water as his eyes are closed and he can not see anything.
On Metacam (Nsaid) for only a few days for pain/inflammation
Baytril oral for 30 days
Had an injection of Vitamin A,E & D

Does anyone have an ideas why his eyes and foot are swollen and if there is anything else I should be trying. I am also trying to handle him as little as possible and have him in a room that has no traffic.

 

[leedragon]

Hello,

I work at an animal hospital and someone came in with a 9 month old Jackson Male that he had no money to take care of and he just wanted to put him to sleep and get another one. I took him instead. I know nothing about Jackson's and I have been doing my research but I thought you guys maybe have some tips or ideas. He came into the hospital with a swollen foot and swollen eyes. I have changed the husbandry and now his eyes are completely closed.

What he used to live in:
20 gallon glass tank, no thermostat, 100% crickets, misting with spray bottle 1-2 times daily.

Now I have him in:
ZooMed ReptiBreeze Open Air Cage
Heat Lamp 80 degrees
UVB light 10-12 hours daily
Misting with spray bottle 4-6 times daily (humitidy is only at 30%) need to get a misting system
Trying to feed gut loaded crickets, mealworms and waxworms but now have to force feed Carnivore Care and water as his eyes are closed and he can not see anything.
On Metacam (Nsaid) for only a few days for pain/inflammation
Baytril oral for 30 days
Had an injection of Vitamin A,E & D

Does anyone have an ideas why his eyes and foot are swollen and if there is anything else I should be trying. I am also trying to handle him as little as possible and have him in a room that has no traffic.

View attachment 80796

I don´t know about the foots but the eyes can be a reaction to too strong light

 

[Lovereps]

Welcome to the forum!

While only a few here are veterinarians, many of us are familiar with common cham health issues.
You seem to have taken care of the medical interventions and most of the husbandry changes have been made but I do have a few suggestions.

An urgent issue that I see is in having a montane chameleon on Baytril in a too dry environment.
Jackson's are a bit more delicate than some other types of chams and need conditions to be right--especially when they are trying to recover and heal from illness or injury.
Despite what some vets say, many cham keepers' experiences lead us to view Baytril as being hard on cham kidneys.
It is crucial to ensure that a cham on Baytril hydrated enough both from access to drinking water--via misting and dripper--and humidity.
Kidney failure is a common cause of death of chameleons.

The immediate change I would make is to get the humidity up to 70%-80%.

Jackson's are from cooler mountainous areas and 30% humidity is extremely low.
If you hang plastic sheeting from 3 sides of the cage it will help retain humidity.
A live plant or two will further help humidity.
Plants should be washed with dish soap and water,then thoroughly rinsed before using with your cham, to remove pesticide and/or fertilizer residues that could poison a cham.
At the bottom of this linked page are 2 links to lists of plants known to be safe for chams:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/enclosures/

You can use a cool mist humidifier or an ultrasonic humidifier to get the humidity up.
Here is a video by Jackson's keeper and forum member explaining exactly how his Jackson's setups are---
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKTbUaOQ0aA
Automatic misting systems, like the Mistking and Aquazamp are very helpful with chams.

As leedragon said, too strong a UVB bulb is known to cause eye issues in chams.
An often recommended UVB bulb here is the linear Reptisun 5.0- not a desert strength bulb and preferably not a compact UVB bulb.

Vitamin A deficiency is another known cause of cham eye troubles and the injections he received should have that covered.
Please be aware that Jackson's, like other montane chams, can't tolerate as much vitamin supplementing as many other chams.
A good supplement schedule for Jackson's is about 1/2 as often as that of Panther and Veiled chams.

For Jackson's and other montane chams, a supplement schedule such as this:

Plain calcium without any phosphorus or D3 every other feeding
Calcium with D3 once a month
Multivitamin once a month


It is also possible that the swollen eyes are an extension of a sinus infection.

My chams' vet prescribes antibiotic eyedrops as well as an oral or injectible antibiotic for chameleon eye infections.

Another way to help is to indirectly shower your cham on a plant with warm never hot water, as detailed in this link:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/water/
It may help your cham to have his eyes rinsed with Bausch and Lomb. Sensitive Eyes or CVS Sensitive Eyes saline rinse.
They have been used by many to help chams' eyes.
I don't know how long he has been in your care or has been receiving antibiotics, but it is also possible that his infection(s) is not treatable with Baytril.

An excellent caresheet about Jackson's:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/jacksons/

The swelling on the foot can be injury and/or infection or gout.

Please don't hesitate to ask more questions and you're welcome to PM me, if you'd like.

 

[kinyonga]

Regarding the foot...it is likely infected...and if so it needs to have the infection cleaned out of it thoroughly, a culture and sensitivity test done on the exudate to determinate best antibiotic to put him on. Just giving him antibiotics won't get rid of the infection. Can't tell you about the eye except that if it occurred after the foot issue it might be that the infection spread to the eye.

Good luck with it!

 

[carol5208]

Oh my! Poor little fellow. I think you just got some of the best advice that can be offered. So, I really have nothing to add but wanted to say good luck with everything and thanks for giviing him a chance.

 

[rjazz]

Thank you guys so much!
I will do those changes and talk to the doctor about the baytril. On Friday the doctor did stick a needle around the eye and reddish discharge drained out of both eyes. But by the next day the eyes were swollen again. He said he may need to clean out his tear ducts but wants to wait a little to give him a chance to get a little better with the husbandry before surgery.

It is hard I hope he makes it.

 

[Andee]

Just wanted to wish you good luck with your little one here's hoping for him and that he pulls through <3

 

[kinyonga]

What did the vet do with the foot??