Diagnosed with gout

bobbydigital

bobbydigital

Avid Member
So I took Moe to the vet today to get his knee checked out ( https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/avoiding-using-leg-gout-mbd.156327/ here is my previous thread that includes his previous issues) and he was diagnosed with gout. It came as no surprise as previous forums and other members led me to believe that's what he had. Attached is a picture of what came out of his knee. I don't feed him or his feeders a high protein diet so I'm not exactly sure how he got it.

Anyways I was just wondering if any members out there have chams who are living with gout and have any tips for me. It seems to be in an early stage which is good. I'll be giving him allopurinol daily. Can he still have a few more years of life or should I expect a slow decline?

Thank you in advance, and a big thank you to chameleonforums and all it's members for helping me learn to be a good chameleon owner. I wouldn't have made it this far without y'all. :)
 

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bobbydigital said:
That's unfortunate. Hopefully they caught it before it was really severe.
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Well unfortunately I believe it was. He wasn't using his back leg for a few weeks so she took him in and they said he had crystallization in his hip.Only spot, but its basically like arthritis for them. Not much you can do to reverse it but really watch the diet the rest of his life. Not sure if surgery could do much about it. It may be something she would do in the future.
 
bobbydigital said:
That's unfortunate. Hopefully they caught it before it was really severe.
Click to expand...
Well unfortunately I believe it was. He wasn't using his back leg for a few weeks so she took him in and they said he had crystallization in his hip.Only spot, but its basically like arthritis for them. Not much you can do to reverse it but really watch the diet the rest of his life. Not sure if surgery could do much about it. It may be something she would do in the future.
 
Best thing for her is try her best to get as much greens in his system to help fill his tummy instead of insects. She has to go off of alot of high protein insects for a while. Fortunately her chameleon really does love hibiscus. He has been eating the blooms on his little tree. Also herbs would help too. I know turmeric would be good to get into his system.It helps with inflammation.
 
Sorry to hear it but at least you have a diagnosis to work with. All I know, and that is not much, is to support them with good hydration. Hope some others can give you more helpful info.
 
You want a lot of hydration as secondary gout can be caused by low grade dehydration for prolonged periods. As far as pain management and inflammation there are tons and tons of herbs and spices that works for it to gutload your feeders with. I use turmeric for anti-inflammatory (make sure to get organic as it has the highest curcumin amount) add a few grinds of black pepper to the turmeric powder as it allows for it to be absorbed easier. If you can find out a way to do a golden paste and get either you insects to eat it or a small amount into your chameleon (he would need less than an 1/8 of a teaspoon for sure) you could reduce it even better. The paste is the best way to boost the anti-inflammatory properties. I also use small amounts of garlic for pain management. Ginger is an antinflammatory and so is oregano. Holy thai basil is one of the best natural pain managements out there about 1/8 to 1/4 of a teaspoon daily for him would be equal to 400 mgs of ibuprofen. So honestly there is a lot of natural benefits (that won't screw with his prescription meds) that could help.
 
Andee said:
You want a lot of hydration as secondary gout can be caused by low grade dehydration for prolonged periods. As far as pain management and inflammation there are tons and tons of herbs and spices that works for it to gutload your feeders with. I use turmeric for anti-inflammatory (make sure to get organic as it has the highest curcumin amount) add a few grinds of black pepper to the turmeric powder as it allows for it to be absorbed easier. If you can find out a way to do a golden paste and get either you insects to eat it or a small amount into your chameleon (he would need less than an 1/8 of a teaspoon for sure) you could reduce it even better. The paste is the best way to boost the anti-inflammatory properties. I also use small amounts of garlic for pain management. Ginger is an antinflammatory and so is oregano. Holy thai basil is one of the best natural pain managements out there about 1/8 to 1/4 of a teaspoon daily for him would be equal to 400 mgs of ibuprofen. So honestly there is a lot of natural benefits (that won't screw with his prescription meds) that could help.
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I will share this with my friend.
 
I have been using it with my arthritic service dog and have seen huge changes (that and he gets his glucosamine treats which are all natural) but honestly the major painkillers we use for him and anti-inflammatory stuff is are all the things I listed. He has yet to actually go on pain meds.
 
Andee said:
You want a lot of hydration as secondary gout can be caused by low grade dehydration for prolonged periods. As far as pain management and inflammation there are tons and tons of herbs and spices that works for it to gutload your feeders with. I use turmeric for anti-inflammatory (make sure to get organic as it has the highest curcumin amount) add a few grinds of black pepper to the turmeric powder as it allows for it to be absorbed easier. If you can find out a way to do a golden paste and get either you insects to eat it or a small amount into your chameleon (he would need less than an 1/8 of a teaspoon for sure) you could reduce it even better. The paste is the best way to boost the anti-inflammatory properties. I also use small amounts of garlic for pain management. Ginger is an antinflammatory and so is oregano. Holy thai basil is one of the best natural pain managements out there about 1/8 to 1/4 of a teaspoon daily for him would be equal to 400 mgs of ibuprofen. So honestly there is a lot of natural benefits (that won't screw with his prescription meds) that could help.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'll go to the store and see what I can find.

As for the basil would I be giving that to his crickets? And are you just using small pieces of garlic clove? Ginger and basil used as a gut load as well? Should I stuck to using just one of these at a time?
 
For the inflamatory response and the digestion of non living tissues (that can help!).. you can use serrapeptase (its enzyme from silkworm google it.. super nice!) and you can add silkworm in the top of your feeders list ;)
i know here its possible to buy serrapeptase from stargazerexotic but in usa, i dont know.
 
Does Holythai basil have to be in liquid form to work well or will the plant also work? My girl also has gout and I want to try the basil. The silkworms also work really well I noticed she feels a lot better eating them. Hope your Cham feels better soon. :)
 
#Chams4life said:
Does Holythai basil have to be in liquid form to work well or will the plant also work? My girl also has gout and I want to try the basil. The silkworms also work really well I noticed she feels a lot better eating them. Hope your Cham feels better soon. :)
Click to expand...

Dont know for Basil but silk is the best! full serrapeptase, hydrated and good ratio phosphorus-calcium.. superfeeder for cham with gout
 
Holy thai basil- Tulsi, does not have to be liquid (though it honestly might be easier to get into your cham directly that way) I use it as a powdered herb with my dog. For garlic I use granulated garlic, ginger I use with gutload. Honestly if you use the ginger, garlic, turmeric, pepper and whatever else in the gutload that is great. I actually recommend getting a liquid capsule for your chams, and then piercing it, and either putting a drop on a feeder you know your chams will hand feed with so they will specifically eat that one feeder. Or drop it on a q tip and wipe it on the inside of their mouth. Or if you want to be really careful, get an oral syringe (1 cc) drip it on the inside and then suck up water with it and mix it around,( only do .5 cc of water but it will make sure your chams get some extra hydration and their Tulsi for sure without vomiting issues).
 
@bobbydigital Gout is usually caused by kidney failure. From my understanding it is progressive and very painful. There is no cure and the efficacy of the of the drugs is not known and their use and dosage is just an extrapolation of known dosages for mammals. The crystal deposits will be elsewhere in his body--lungs, kidney, liver and digestive tract, not just in the joints. They don't normally show up on x-ray. The prognosis for patients with severe gout is poor. Patients with advanced gout can be kept going with drugs for a short period of time. Euthanasia is a very reasonable option. I'm sorry I couldn't give you hope of a cure.
 
@jajeanpierre I agree with everything you say, everything I am suggesting may provide relief for a very short period of time (a few months) may not. I have not yet actually tested it with my reptiles as I have had no need to. There is no cure, not even for people that I know of? And it will likely end in euthanasia because they will get worse, It's just *sighs* a horrible thing to have happen for sure. It depends on what way you want to go, OP.
 
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