Abscess on Snout

Myou

Member
My veiled has developed something on his snout/nose/face.
I have booked an appointment with a vet but it won't be until Nov 26th. I will be monitoring the growth to make sure he is not getting worst- should I worry about an appointment a week away? How long do these usually progress?
He is also not shedding lately and now seems to be having a hard time with a stuck shed on his face - I'll be talking to the vet about this as well.


My information is below. I also have pictures - I know the lighting is weird but I was trying to highlight the swollen part on his nose, also the cham is not cooperative when doing a photoshoot - he likes to climb onto the camera.

The growth is the yellow raised part on the left of his face
He is just starting to recover from a very long picky hunger strike so I know his diet is a little unconventional he is getting better. The vet had told me as long as he is not losing weight and as long as he is energetic and hydrated to keep doing what I am doing.


Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon -Male Veiled. 8-9 months old. I have had him for about 6 months now
  • Handling - 1-2 times a day- he is constantly demanding to come out of his Viv. We only take him out when he wants to, never force him to be handled.
  • Feeding - Just getting him back onto circkets -he is eating 7 or so a day of three week old crickets and one hornworm a day
  • Supplements -Exoterra Calcium ever feeding, Extorra Multi Vitamin once every two weeks and Zoo Med Repti Calcium with D3 once every two weeks
  • Watering - Mistking system mists 3 times a day for 5 minutes each and 2 times at 3 mintues
  • Fecal Description - Poops pretty regularly, fecal looks firm and a little moist, urate is usually white and a little watery at the moment - probably due to the hornworm diet
  • History He is coming out of a hunger strike as stated above, I worried about a lung infection a couple of months ago so he was on antibiotics back then. He is usually energetic and friendly despite his varying food intake.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type -Screen 24x24x48
  • Lighting Mega Ray Mecury Vapor Build 75 watt - I am aware these can get high in heat and UV but where we were climate wise we were haven't a really hard time with the incandescent freezing him. The MV bulb was recommended by a specialty reptile supplier in the area
  • Temperature -basking is between 82-86, ambient is between 75-80 and our house goes down to about 68 at night
  • Humidity - 30-60% I try to keep it up there but our climate it can prove difficult
  • Plants - live plants, a big weeping pothos plant
  • Placement - Cage is in our bedroom so limited traffic and none during the day. HI cage sits on an interior wall on the floor.
  • Location - Alberta Canada
  • Issue - see above, growth on nose i think could be an abscess or indication of sinus infection. Vet appointment is a week away- any advice on what to do in the meantime?
 

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At this point for any mass that is generally subcutaneous, all you can do is wait for the veterinarian to examine the area. Sometimes these masses similar to people and dogs/cats can grow at their own rate. Ultimately they may recommend sampling the area of the abscess for a send out to determine if there are any cancerous processes in the mass. The other option is for a removal of the mass.

I have had this occur with one of my female veiled chameleons years ago and the veterinarian requested for it to be removed. After that they prescribed antibiotics and I regularly flushed the area. Your veterinarian will determine the appropriate course of action based upon exam and potentially provide medications. Unfortunately you will have to wait until that appointment, if you become more concerned try to get in sooner of course.
 
My veiled has developed something on his snout/nose/face.
I have booked an appointment with a vet but it won't be until Nov 26th. I will be monitoring the growth to make sure he is not getting worst- should I worry about an appointment a week away? How long do these usually progress?
He is also not shedding lately and now seems to be having a hard time with a stuck shed on his face - I'll be talking to the vet about this as well.


My information is below. I also have pictures - I know the lighting is weird but I was trying to highlight the swollen part on his nose, also the cham is not cooperative when doing a photoshoot - he likes to climb onto the camera.

The growth is the yellow raised part on the left of his face
He is just starting to recover from a very long picky hunger strike so I know his diet is a little unconventional he is getting better. The vet had told me as long as he is not losing weight and as long as he is energetic and hydrated to keep doing what I am doing.


Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon -Male Veiled. 8-9 months old. I have had him for about 6 months now
  • Handling - 1-2 times a day- he is constantly demanding to come out of his Viv. We only take him out when he wants to, never force him to be handled.
  • Feeding - Just getting him back onto circkets -he is eating 7 or so a day of three week old crickets and one hornworm a day
  • Supplements -Exoterra Calcium ever feeding, Extorra Multi Vitamin once every two weeks and Zoo Med Repti Calcium with D3 once every two weeks
  • Watering - Mistking system mists 3 times a day for 5 minutes each and 2 times at 3 mintues
  • Fecal Description - Poops pretty regularly, fecal looks firm and a little moist, urate is usually white and a little watery at the moment - probably due to the hornworm diet
  • History He is coming out of a hunger strike as stated above, I worried about a lung infection a couple of months ago so he was on antibiotics back then. He is usually energetic and friendly despite his varying food intake.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type -Screen 24x24x48
  • Lighting Mega Ray Mecury Vapor Build 75 watt - I am aware these can get high in heat and UV but where we were climate wise we were haven't a really hard time with the incandescent freezing him. The MV bulb was recommended by a specialty reptile supplier in the area
  • Temperature -basking is between 82-86, ambient is between 75-80 and our house goes down to about 68 at night
  • Humidity - 30-60% I try to keep it up there but our climate it can prove difficult
  • Plants - live plants, a big weeping pothos plant
  • Placement - Cage is in our bedroom so limited traffic and none during the day. HI cage sits on an interior wall on the floor.
  • Location - Alberta Canada
  • Issue - see above, growth on nose i think could be an abscess or indication of sinus infection. Vet appointment is a week away- any advice on what to do in the meantime?
I recommend getting a different supplement brand from Exo Terra, like Repashy (Calcium Plus LoD every feeding), Zoo Med (calcium without D3 every feeding and Reptivite with D3 every 2 weeks), or Arcadia (use the insectivore schedule off of their website). What do you gutload with? Mercury vapor bulbs aren’t the best for uvb intake. Get a higher wattage white light heat incandescent bulb from the hardware store (lasts longer than reptile bulbs and cheaper, get a higher wattage since you’ve had trouble heating with them before and your basking is too low, it needs to be between 90-95*F- I use 175 watt incandescent heat bulbs in winter, play with the wattages until you get the right temps) and either a t5HO or T8 linear uvb bulb (Zoo Med 10.0) and fixture. Adding more live plants and wrapping the sides of the cage with painters plastic or PVC panels will help with humidity. I don’t see the growth you’re speaking of, could you circle it in a picture, please? As stated above, a vet will know more than us.
 
At this point for any mass that is generally subcutaneous, all you can do is wait for the veterinarian to examine the area. Sometimes these masses similar to people and dogs/cats can grow at their own rate. Ultimately they may recommend sampling the area of the abscess for a send out to determine if there are any cancerous processes in the mass. The other option is for a removal of the mass.

I have had this occur with one of my female veiled chameleons years ago and the veterinarian requested for it to be removed. After that they prescribed antibiotics and I regularly flushed the area. Your veterinarian will determine the appropriate course of action based upon exam and potentially provide medications. Unfortunately you will have to wait until that appointment, if you become more concerned try to get in sooner of course.


Thank you for the advice. I'll have to wait and see and just monitor in the meantime
 
I recommend getting a different supplement brand from Exo Terra, like Repashy (Calcium Plus LoD every feeding), Zoo Med (calcium without D3 every feeding and Reptivite with D3 every 2 weeks), or Arcadia (use the insectivore schedule off of their website). What do you gutload with? Mercury vapor bulbs aren’t the best for uvb intake. Get a higher wattage white light heat incandescent bulb from the hardware store (lasts longer than reptile bulbs and cheaper, get a higher wattage since you’ve had trouble heating with them before and your basking is too low, it needs to be between 90-95*F- I use 175 watt incandescent heat bulbs in winter, play with the wattages until you get the right temps) and either a t5HO or T8 linear uvb bulb (Zoo Med 10.0) and fixture. Adding more live plants and wrapping the sides of the cage with painters plastic or PVC panels will help with humidity. I don’t see the growth you’re speaking of, could you circle it in a picture, please? As stated above, a vet will know more than us.

Thank you. I'll take a look and research the supplements a little more. I gutload the crickets with a combo of potato, carrots, kale and mandarin orange - sometime with rapashy gutload and bee pollen for variety. The hornworms get a diet from the hornworm breeder I buy with. It is a superload as they call it.
The issue is supply for incandescent bulbs. If any other Canadians can chime in that would be great but you can not find anything higher than a 40 watt on store shelves any more. I'll look at buying internationally. I spoke extensively with a local shop here that takes care of reptiles exclusively in this climate and say the MV bulbs are what they use both in the shop and with their chams at home. I'll continue looking for a better set up. Of course if I get rid of the MV bulb I will be going with a Tube UV bulb.
I have edited pictures and attached - sorry if is really hard to see in pictures for whatever reason, it is definitely raised from the rest of the nose though and quite noticeable in real life and under his light

thank you for the advice I really appreciate it
 

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Thank you. I'll take a look and research the supplements a little more. I gutload the crickets with a combo of potato, carrots, kale and mandarin orange - sometime with rapashy gutload and bee pollen for variety. The hornworms get a diet from the hornworm breeder I buy with. It is a superload as they call it.
The issue is supply for incandescent bulbs. If any other Canadians can chime in that would be great but you can not find anything higher than a 40 watt on store shelves any more. I'll look at buying internationally. I spoke extensively with a local shop here that takes care of reptiles exclusively in this climate and say the MV bulbs are what they use both in the shop and with their chams at home. I'll continue looking for a better set up. Of course if I get rid of the MV bulb I will be going with a Tube UV bulb.
I have edited pictures and attached - sorry if is really hard to see in pictures for whatever reason, it is definitely raised from the rest of the nose though and quite noticeable in real life and under his light

thank you for the advice I really appreciate it
Thanks! I see it better now, a vet will be most helpful. There’s a list of great gutload items here in the gutload section of food and nutrition in the resources tab. Or you can add in a quality commercial gutload, like Repashy, Cricket Crack, Pangea, Mazuri, or Arcadia more often, as well. Can you get higher wattage incandescent bulbs online?
 
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