:( Dali and his tumor

[seifer]

hey guys, just thougth i'd give you an update about Dali my 3.5 yr old veiled cham. I went to the vet and got the cells form the lump examined and eventually found out its a tumor and theres nothing i can really do other than radiation (its too big to be amputated) which is def. not an option.

The problem is that he's stopped pooping . I can tell he's trying and i see the white part (urate i think?) at the bottom with tiny little parts of black but nothing like his other beefy dumps. I've tried giving him a warm bath a few times but he was only in there for about 10-15 seconds and climbed out. I gave him a good warm shower the past few days and gave him a drop of mineral oil today in hopes that it'll loosen things up down there.

I'm worried that the tumor is affecting his digestive system or this may be a by-product of his antibiotics. He's been on Baytril for about 2 weeks now for a bacterial infection in his mouth but he hasn't pooped in about a week and a half and i havent really noticed his mouth get better or worse. The vet said she could take another look at him but i'd rather not put him through all that again.

i've been feeding him parsley (he loves it), dubia roaches, superworms, and i gave him some redworms today from our worm compost so they're gutloaded with a bunch of good stuff which he ate up (first time i've tried them for him).

Does anyone have any alteranative ideas for medicine before i bring him into the vet again? Should i keep him on the Baytril? i attached some pics of his tumor. it's pretty rock hard and he keeps on getting his foot stuck on it

 

[jannb]

I am so sorry to hear about Dali's tumor. He certainly is a handsome boy. Try giving him some small slivers of grapes. Grape always makes my guys poop and keep up the showers or longer very warm mistings.

 

[carol5208]

I do not have any advice you but just wanted to say I am sorry about your chameleon's illness and it seems like you are doing everything you can for him so you should feel good about the care you are giving him.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

While I have no personal experience with baytril in chams, I did some quick research and did not find any concerns with enrofloxacin (baytril) in chameleons conerning gut flora like you see with some other small exotics. Not to say it couldn't happen indefinitely... It is possible that the tumor is large enough to press on his intestines to interfere with passage of feces. You said that is was rock hard so if it's large enough it could be completely blocking him up.

As far as his mouth issue goes, if it hasn't responded to baytril after 2 weeks of treatment it may not at all. By that time I would think at least some response would be evident. It may be a strain of bacteria resistant to baytril and it might need to be cultured to know what it is susceptible to.

I'm sorry I can't be of more help, it sounds like you're doing everything you can to help him. If your vet is not terribly experienced with reptiles then maybe a different vet with more exotics knowledge would be more helpful. But if they're good with exotics you might want to at least discuss the lack of progress on the antibiotics and see if they have another suggestion. I hope he poops soon!

 

[Obama the cham]

I do not have any advice you but just wanted to say I am sorry about your chameleon's illness and it seems like you are doing everything you can for him so you should feel good about the care you are giving him.

i second this!

 

[PedroANDAshley]

That's really horrible. I'm sure he is in pain and if theres nothing you can do , and its defiantly not your fault, I suggest getting him put down.

 

[kinyonga]

Sorry to hear about your chameleon.

How was it determined to be a tumor?

You said the mouth has an infection...were the infected areas cleaned out and a culture and sensitivity test done to see which antibiotic would work best on the bacteria involved?

 

[seifer]

Thank you for the kind words. He still seems to enjoy life, rock hard grip and he climbs all around his cage and likes to even walk around and explore the room. i wish there was more for me to do but i'm at a loss.

My vet said she saw abnormal cells but she would need to get it double checked so she sent it off and got news back that it was a tumor and not just an infection. She didn't clean out or do a culture test done on the mouth, just said it was a bacterial infection and gave me baytril. I might try taking him to a different vet, she didn't seem to be the most knowledgable and i know theres got to be some better ones in the bay area. I just hate to put him through all the stress of getting felt up by the doc again, esp if there is nothing else they can do

 

[Elizadolots]

I'm so sorry.

On the poop...you're feeding him well. It's possible that he's using most of what you feed so hasn't worked up "waste matter". As he's producing urates, I suspect that whole "excretion" system is working well.

 

[Eltortu]

Hey seifer, how did the vet get to that diagnosis?

 

[seifer]

she drew a sample from the lump and said she looked at the cells underneath a microscope, she called me the next day and said she saw abnormal cells and it would cost $50 more for someone more specifically trained to examine the slide to see whether or not it was an absess or a tumor, so she sent it off and a few days later she said there was a tumor and the next step if i wanted to would be radiation.

 

[jannb]

Here's a vet in the Bay area: https://www.chameleonforums.com/veterinarian-bay-area-45056/