Adopted Chameleon

[PSimons]

Hello everyone!

Today I adopted a veiled chameleon from the pet store I work at. The chameleon is atleast 6 months old and I believe it is a female.SHe was adopted out duetoseveral issues. First of which is a case of mouth rot that has been treated by the vet three times without success (I will get the vet record when I work again). You can see the right side of her mouth is pushed out so that you can see the gum. She also has absesses on her head at the area between her eyes and also has two absesses near her eyes. They have been drained atleast two times and treated with a topical medication and have returned despite treatment. She has also recently shed and has remaining pieces of shed on her arms and side. On her side she has a brown spot that appears to be a scab, I am uncertain.

I have done research but I am new to chameleon care and ailments. I just brought her home today and she has begun settling into her Reptibreeze cage. She has a flourescent tube which is a Reptisun5.0 as well as a day basking lamp. Her cage is full of decorations (lots of vines with leaves for climbing and hiding) as well as bedded with ecoearth soil. I am in the process of getting a digital thermometer and and hydrometer but she will be misted twice daily and has previously been fed a diet of mealworms and small crickets.

The conditions at my store were less than ideal and she was kept in the hospital room for atleast 3 months. I am a transfer from another store so I do not know what their routine for her was. I know she was seen by an exotic vet 3 times over the past three months and her condition has not improved. She eats every day and has deficated since I've had her. At the store she was not provided a UVB bulb.

Please tell me where to start with her care/treatments. I would only like to provide the best for her. I will post pictures later!

Thanks everyone!


I am Paula btw.

 

[jannb]

Welcome to the forums Paula. This is a great place to learn about chameleons. Where do you live? Someone here might be able to recommend a really good chameleon vet. Males have a spur on their back heels and females do not. I have a couple of links for you below. The first is general care for a chameleon with a section for females. Second is my egg laying/laying bin blog because females can and often do lay eggs without a male even being around and she will need a laying bin set up for her now since she's 6 months old.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html

 

[PSimons]

Welcome to the forums Paula. This is a great place to learn about chameleons. Where do you live? Someone here might be able to recommend a really good chameleon vet. Males have a spur on their back heels and females do not. I have a couple of links for you below. The first is general care for a chameleon with a section for females. Second is my egg laying/laying bin blog because females can and often do lay eggs without a male even being around and she will need a laying bin set up for her now since she's 6 months old.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...-keepers-young-veiled-panther-chameleons.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html

I am from Philadelphia, Pa. The chameleon has been taken to Rhawnhurst vet hospital but I would prefer to take her somewhere else because that vet has seen her three times already and none of the treatments have been successful.

 

[laurie]

Paula you have a hard road ahead. Can you get the meds you need from the stores vet? I just finished a 2 week course with a male panther who had mouth rot. This is not something for a beginner. It takes 2 people each time & you stand a very good chance of getting bit. I will tell you is was not fun for either my cham or me. My vet knows chams very well & here is what I was instructed to do in the order I was told to do it in.

Take very wet q-tips and scrub out his mouth, that means both upper & lower gums

Rinse with Chlorahexidin using a curved tip syringe inserted just inside the gums ( rx from vet)

Using another curved tip syringe try to get water in his mouth very tiny amounts at a time (4 or 5 drops each time) Give him time to sallow each time (rx from vet)

Using regular syringe put chloramphenicol in mouth, again give him a few minutes to get it down while slowly dripping water on his nose (there are cautions to use this med) ( rx from vet)

Put silver sulfadiazine cream lightly on the inside of his gums.

Do this 2 times a day for 7 days then 1 time a day for 7 days.


You need to get the cham to eat prior to treatment as they will be upset and not eat afterward.

Make very sure the cham stays hydrated


So if you are willing to attempt all that, good luck. I have had chams for years and this is the hardest procedure I have ever had to do with one of them.

 

[jannb]

You may have to travel a ways (my cham vet is over 2 hours away) but here's a thread where members here list their vets.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/area-area-country-vet-list-32880/

 

[PSimons]

Update

The chameleon has been doing well, it eats fantastically and it has been drinking. It's cage is now covered in vines with many places to hide. We also just invested in a little dripper. I finally got the opportunity to take pictures so if you guys wouldn't mind taking a look at them and making suggestions.









These pictures show the mouth rot, and the dark spot on his side that I believe is a scab.

It also appears that he is about to shed. Is there anything I can do to assist him? His colors seem pretty dull.

 

[camimom]

Its a girl.
So youll need info on laying bins. jannb has a blog on that.
Second, the mouth rot as you know needs medical treatment.
I cnat decide if its a scab on her side, or a skin fungus. maybe needs a vet for that too.

 

[kinyonga]

The vet may not have been doing a bad job. Mouth rot and abcesses can often take several treatments. The bacteria often involved (pseudomonas) is opportunistic and difficult to get rid of.

Both mouth rot and abcesses need to be cleaned out and flushed out thoroughly and a culture and sensitivity test done to determine what antibiotic the chameleon needs to be put on.

Good luck with her.

 

[Elizadolots]

You're a good person for taking this animal. I'm sure you will be amply rewarded because chameleons are wonderful.

I just wanted to say that if your vet doesn't provide a curved plastic syringe, you might check with your dentist. They hand them out for patients that need to irrigate "pockets" where teeth have been removed.

She's really cute. I love that first picture of her. She's totally giving you the stink eye.

 

[Synapse]

G00D Karma to you!!! Thank you for taking care of this poor animal.

 

[Crewdogg15]

What pet store did you buy her from? Since she is vieled i bet another Petco,petsmart adoption?

There needs to be a big advisory to never buy a chameleon from these stores. I got my first from Petco and it was sick and died. The staff new nothing and these petstores concentrate on cats and dogs. Everyone i see has issues from these stores including me. Sorry, makes me mad they stock pile animals/reptiles like bags of chips.

I hope the best