Black tail getting worse

[Ceilli3]

Hi, first time on here really need some advice quick. My panther chameleon has an infection on his tail where it didn shed properly. It has been there 4 a while & seemed 2 b getting better(more grey wiv speckles of colour coming thru) I was keeping it moist with some water & Vaseline every day. Went vets a few days ago & got some germicidal barrier cream. Since I have been putting this on his tail has got worse. It is really black again & has spread around the other side(was originally just on right side). There r also some black speckles further up. I'm really worried & don't kno what to do. Our vets is about 2hrs away & I don't drive(my partner not bk yet). I'm going 2 phone them but I'm so scared he will lose his tail. He is such a lovely, friendly little thing. When the vet saw him couple days ago he said he'd seen much worse & from what I said bout it getting better he thought it would go away & he wouldn't lose tail. Jackson seems ok other than the tail although I noticed this morn he was bit lower down in enclosure & had tail slightly curled, eyes open though. Could i have spread the infection when applying the cream? Please please help.

 

[Ceilli3]

Just to clarify his name is Jackson but he's a panther cham

 

[BocaJan]

If there is shed on his tail I would want it to be dry so it will come off. If you are putting on vaseline the shed will stay stuck to the tail. (thinking out loud) Does anyone agree with that? Can you post a picture? I would take off the vaseline and keep soaking the tail to get the shed off. Once the shed is off then I would put the antibiotic cream on the tail.

 

[Olimpia]

I have a panther who broke the end of his tail and after a few weeks it became necrotic. By the time it looked like it was spreading above the break point I took him in to get it amputated. No medication prior to this had helped. But we amputated above the back and he has been fine ever since, and has lived just perfectly a whole year without a good half of his tail.

It's possible that this may be the best course of action now. Reptiles, and chameleons in particular, are very slow to heal. And while you may be able to treat this with a heavy dose of medication, it may take weeks for the infection to get better, and I worry it will just keep spreading in the meantime. At least while it's in the tail you can amputate and cut it off at the source.

That said, I don't know without seeing photos of the tail and knowing more about what the infection is. So I'm just speculating at this point, but from my experience with Daedalus removing the section of tail was the best choice.

Also, I do not think you needed to keep the tail moist. It's possible that this let it fester more. I know here in Florida we barely put band-aids on anything because just the humidity in the air is enough to keep a cut from scabbing over, especially under a band-aid! But this I don't know for sure, a vet would have to tell you.

Edit - Missed the shed part. They didn't mention if it had come off or not later so I totally dismissed it. In that case keeping it lubricated was the right thing to do.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Actually I think the retained shed should stay moist rather than dry so that skin doesn't shrink down and constrict further. If you look at shed skin it usually shrinks once it comes off because it dehydrates. Well it can dehydrate while still on the body once it separates enough.Keeping it moist allows the skin to stretch a little so it's not constricting the tail as much. And when the shedding skin is attempting to separate it does so by building up fluid between the old skin and new skin. If this process goes wrong (which it sounds like it has) the body doesn't continue to put fluid there, so artificially moisturizing it helps maintain that fluid barrier in hopes that the skin will eventually shed off like its supposed to.

Raising humidity is often key to preventing shedding problems. I am concerned this might be more than just retained shed at this point though, if it was just constriction from stuck shed then the area under the shedding skin should be the only area affected. If it is spreading then an infection might have taken root in the devitalized/damaged tissue and now it may be spreading. Unfortunately it sounds like you might need to go back to the vet. An infection spreading might mean the tail has to be amputated. But it might be salvageable - I can't see it so it's hard to say. I would definitely at least call the vet and let them know about the change you're seeing.

 

[BocaJan]

Thanks for your opinion guys. I guess I was thinking healthy shed.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

In healthy shed you are correct that moisturizing could interfere with the normal process.

 

[Ceilli3]

The skin that didn shed was pulled off & was advised by vet over phone at time 2 keep tail moist. When he went to reptile vet he didn't say this was wrong. The tail has been getting dry wiv little flakes which I think are from his scales coming off. I thought mayb it needs 2 dry & come off but when I used the water & Vaseline it was getting better. With the cream I have just been washing off the residue from the previous day then drying it & putting on the fresh cream but tail has still been moist from the cream. It's since doing this it has got worse & gone really black. His tail has been like this for a couple months which I know is very long time but we had been vets previously & told just keep eye on it & then it almost went completely but came bk. it was so hard 2 tel at first as in some lights & if Cham bit darker it was really hard 2 see & kept thinking I was imagining it but then it went right up half his tail. That's when we took him & got cream

 

[Seeco]

What type of cream? If it is silver based it may cause discoloration.

 

[ibdragons]

I would keep it moist but easy on the application of the cream ur putting u don't want it not to heal because its always wet but enough so it doesn't dry out. ,goodluck

 

[kinyonga]

Can you post a photo of its tail please?

 

[Ceilli3]

Thanks everyone for all the advice. Have just got bk from the vets & have now got antibiotic injections for Jackson which we have 2 inject into his leg every 3 days. He has to go bk in a week 2 have it checked. The vet said he's still got circulation & feeling in his tail so we need 2 try & save it. If it was really dry it would b dead & he would amputate but it isnt. He said if it goes up anymore we wil have 2 amputate but hopefully it won't come to that. The cream we had does nt say anything bout having silver in it, it contains benzalkonium chloride & polihexanide. The vet said it wouldn't make it worse & that it would prob have got worse anyway but I do find it strange that it was getting better b4 that & within 2 days of applying the cream it got worse. However the vet was v gd & seemed 2 kno what he was talking about.

 

[Ceilli3]

Sorry it wouldn't let me post photo earlier. Wil try again 2moro as dnt want 2 disturb him too much now after the long journey

 

[kiimzi]

Please Help!!

My veild chameleon recently fell into an empty bucket and was found about 30 minutes later as he was found in the sun shade. recently it is very healthy although its tail is becominng lighter and it is not moving it at all.
what should i do as i am very concerened about this situation???
thanks again.. hope to hear from someone soon@!!

 

[Elizadolots]

Kiimzi, I strongly suggest you start a new thread. It never works out well when we try to deal with multiple chameleons in the same thread. Please also clarify the situation as this is a bit confusing. He fell into a bucket but was found in a sun shade?