Clarrrrrkkkkk! Early mouth rot?

[rshaffer]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Nosy Be panther chameleon from Kammerflage Kreations sired by Elladan and Ava. DOH 6/21 - 7/3/13. I've had him since 11/15/13.
Handling - Once or twice each week. Normally he is awake but in his covered sleeping spot when I get home from work at 6PM M-F.
Feeding - 8-12 crickets gut loaded with Repashy Bug Burger and dusted with Repashy Calcium Plus 6 days each week. No food on Sunday.
Supplements - Above
Watering - Mistking for 7 minutes 4 times each day starting 1 hour after lights on and every 2.5 hours.
Fecal Description - Consistently well hydrated and normal coloration.
History - None

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen - 18" x 18" x 36".....moving to 24" x 24" x 48" in a couple months
Lighting - reptisun 5.0 UVB, zoo med 100 watt powersun uvb. on 12 hours each day 9AM to 9PM EST
Temperature - 93F basking area, 65F at coldest area of cage
Humidity - mistaking running 4 times per day for 7 minutes each time
Plants - Fake plants and vines, manzanita branches horizontally throughout cage
Placement - Spare den off main living room in a corner. Not high traffic at all. Top of cage is 6ft off ground.
Location - Ohio

Looks like he might be developing a slight case of mouth rot given the bump on each side of his mouth. What do you guys think? He's very active and has no problems eating.

 

[ataraxia]

Hi, you definitely will want to take a peek at his mouth.

Not pertaining to his mouth but for the future health of your kid. I would start using different gut loading options other than strictly using bug burger. It is a good product but with chameleons i strongly recommend using a variety of ingredients. Ive said this before and it fits. Never use the same thing day after day, week after week. Its ok to use a certain fruit or vegetable till it is gone but the point is to use a variety as often as you can. I would also pick up some plain phos free calcium and use it at every feeding. Use the cal plus twice a month.

The reason behind this your boy is nearing adult hood where his body is going to slow way down on growing not utilizing nutrients at the rate he is now. Using products with preformed vitamins day after day, week week after will build up in the body causing health issues.

 

[nj011908]

as these guys say, the calcium everyday without d3 every day is ok in small amounts. all vary the insects as well as usea good variety of plant based gutloading, the best supplements out there are 1 drop of liquid calium on a insect then hand fed once every other week and a drop of liquid poly vi sol infant vitamins every other week and reptivite with d3 every couple of weeks , this is not a perfect regime and anyone on here that claims to have the perfect recipe for success id full if poop, these animals arent like dogs that have been pets for thousands of years, they are fairly new and we a pet keepers are constantly learning, this recipe is just what seems to work for some of us, you might recieve 20 other answers as well. oh and the liquids should be given at about 1-2 drops per 100grm every two to three weeks, not everyday, you will kill the animal or at best give it gout.

 

[nj011908]

also why does everyone seem to thing that they need to drown their chameleon every day, I hand mist untill all leaves are full of droplets twice a day and my cham has healthy hydrated poop.this is the same way that my breeder who breeds 100's of these a year does. if you think about it, everytime you mist for 7 minutes and all that water goes down the drain, it was literally wasted water, when you watch them drink they get their fill off of one leaf maybe two, they rest goes to raising the humidity, but the water you guys send down the drain, doesnt do any good for any factor really, unless someone says they do it to clean their chams cage 4 times a day, like a dishwasher or something.

 

[nj011908]

These are the golden quadfecta

 

[ataraxia]

Nj here is a thread to answer your question. https://www.chameleonforums.com/if-...bitats-youre-doing-wrong-over-watering-79468/

 

[nj011908]

Nj here is a thread to answer your question. https://www.chameleonforums.com/if-...bitats-youre-doing-wrong-over-watering-79468/

i do also run a dripper at one drop per 5 to 10 seconds, maybe thats what keep my cham healthy although i have never seen him drink from it ever. but like i said i never really nedd drainage, like once a week i over do it and have to soak up the water with a rag. That isnt on purpose, i just get carried away. Also my cham sheds with ease

 

[nj011908]

Nj here is a thread to answer your question. https://www.chameleonforums.com/if-...bitats-youre-doing-wrong-over-watering-79468/

i read that thread and i am just saying as an observer that you were trying to shove your method down others throats slightly, one post in that thread was describing how the chameleon company guy said misters are a waste of money and junk, that guy is named jim and he is my breeder. he told me the same thing on the phone, i trust him, he has been doing this for ovfer twenty years, the way i hydrate replicates his which has successfully bred thousands of chams.

I am not saying that my way is perfect, again different species, personalities, cage setups, etc. this is just what works for some of us. this is not a debate, someone asked for help here and i found this to work for me.

 

[ataraxia]

Look, im not going to argue with you about it. Go with his ways.

 

[nj011908]

Look, im not going to argue with you about it. Go with his ways.

I am not saying that my way is perfect, again different species, personalities, cage setups, etc. this is just what works for some of us. this is not a debate, someone asked for help here and i found this to work for me.

 

[ataraxia]

also why does everyone seem to thing that they need to drown their chameleon every day

I am not saying that my way is perfect, again different species, personalities, cage setups, etc. this is just what works for some of us. this is not a debate, someone asked for help here and i found this to work for me.

AND 7 minute sprayings are working for this keeper. Do you understand now?

 

[nj011908]

i am assuming through text that was a humble reply as my last was, but sure if it works it works, as long as they are all healthy, now as for the mouth rot issue, ... long story short, take it to a vet. A lot of people come here as a vet replacement. Dont be that guy/girl, i have read a lot of cham deaths because people were trying the chameleon forums home remedy when a vet visit would sure help out a lot, that being said make sure the vet you choose has a fair amount of cham experience.

 

[rshaffer]

Update

For those of you that offered criticism about my watering techniques, thank you, but this setup works for me, Clark get's plenty of water, and I have an excellent drainage system. Any standing water evaporates within an hour after the mist goes off. This area of the country is especially dry during the winter months.

SO Clark had his first vet experience today. A chose a new vet this time with significantly more reptile experience. I took in a fecal sample and it came up clean, no coccidia or other parasites could be found. Now on to his mouth, the doctor suggested he has a slight case of chameleon "gingivitis." His teeth are healthy, his bone structure and skin health are excellent, and overall this should be pretty easy to treat. He gave me a take home topical prescription of Chlorhexidine (blue color, mix 50/50 with water, and apply once daily with cue tip to the gums).

When I returned home from the visit I applied the solution and the yellow flaky "scabs" on both sides actually rubbed off with little effort. Take a look at the before and after pictures attached. Oh and he weighed in at 48 grams today! The little guy has put on 8 grams in less than two weeks!

Where do we go from here? I'll use the solution for the next two to three weeks. If there is no improvement we'll be back to the vet to get checked out once again and move to more aggressive treatment if necessary (I'd like to avoid this because of the added stress). Also, I'm going to change out the reptisun 5.0 and power sun uvb bulbs for new ones since they are both right around six months old.

I'll update you guys soon!

 

[rshaffer]

getting better already!