snitz427
Chameleon Enthusiast
My veiled Charlie is closing in on 7.5 years and has had a variety of health issues in the past 6 months… thought we were saying goodbye a few times, but he has rebounded and continues to go back to his routine (eating, drinking, basking, enjoying the window view).
He’s been on allupurinol for a few months for a flare up of swollen joints, but he has also developed URIs at least 3x during this time frame. His temp and enclosure variables are fine… but I realized with the most recent URI that he is having trouble swallowing and I suspect the URIs are due to aspiration (of both water and meds).
I am familiar with proper technique for oral meds, but with Charlie having issues swallowing, I think he was holding his meds in the back of his throat for a bit before swallowing, which he would then aspirate. Once I realized he was not swallowing it fully, I changed technique to keep him upright and gently pet his gullet until Im sure he’s swallowed it. He’s a very good boy and takes his meds and this process w/o issue.
In the middle of his round of antibiotics he had a day where he went downhill fast. We thought he passed or was in the process of passing, on a towel on my lap for an hour. He hacked up some fluid which I thought was vomit, initially… he couldnt spit it out, so I gently held him face down for a few seconds and he coughed up what I think was a lot of mucus. He did that two or three times during his decline. I put him in his hospital bin for an hour, thinking he was/had passed, and to my surprise I came back to find him up and seemingly normal!
He finished his course of antibiotics a few days ago and has been doing pretty well, but I still hear some gurgling occasionally. We are going back to the vet tomorrow (for maybe the 5th visit?)…
Yesterday and today, I noticed what looked like aspiration when drinking from the mistking. I believe he is still very slow to swallow, so while he is seemingly drinking normally, he is collecting some of that water in his mouth. When he is finished or wants to swallow (by tilting head up), he is only taking on more water and then he slightly panics to move out of the mist (he is slow).
Ive made some adjustments and he really does not seem to want to quit. I realize I am going to need to make a decision at some point to prevent suffering… but he is very persistent. I’ve noticed when he eats, it takes him much longer to get the silkworms down - several “swallows” before his throat is clear. I am convinced this is causing his respiratory issues / aspiration.
Sorry for the very long back story - but I am curious if anyone else has experienced difficult swallowing in very senior chameleons? Most of my chams have (thankfully) made it well into senior years, but I have never experienced this and am having trouble finding info.
Pic from a recent visit
He’s been on allupurinol for a few months for a flare up of swollen joints, but he has also developed URIs at least 3x during this time frame. His temp and enclosure variables are fine… but I realized with the most recent URI that he is having trouble swallowing and I suspect the URIs are due to aspiration (of both water and meds).
I am familiar with proper technique for oral meds, but with Charlie having issues swallowing, I think he was holding his meds in the back of his throat for a bit before swallowing, which he would then aspirate. Once I realized he was not swallowing it fully, I changed technique to keep him upright and gently pet his gullet until Im sure he’s swallowed it. He’s a very good boy and takes his meds and this process w/o issue.
In the middle of his round of antibiotics he had a day where he went downhill fast. We thought he passed or was in the process of passing, on a towel on my lap for an hour. He hacked up some fluid which I thought was vomit, initially… he couldnt spit it out, so I gently held him face down for a few seconds and he coughed up what I think was a lot of mucus. He did that two or three times during his decline. I put him in his hospital bin for an hour, thinking he was/had passed, and to my surprise I came back to find him up and seemingly normal!
He finished his course of antibiotics a few days ago and has been doing pretty well, but I still hear some gurgling occasionally. We are going back to the vet tomorrow (for maybe the 5th visit?)…
Yesterday and today, I noticed what looked like aspiration when drinking from the mistking. I believe he is still very slow to swallow, so while he is seemingly drinking normally, he is collecting some of that water in his mouth. When he is finished or wants to swallow (by tilting head up), he is only taking on more water and then he slightly panics to move out of the mist (he is slow).
Ive made some adjustments and he really does not seem to want to quit. I realize I am going to need to make a decision at some point to prevent suffering… but he is very persistent. I’ve noticed when he eats, it takes him much longer to get the silkworms down - several “swallows” before his throat is clear. I am convinced this is causing his respiratory issues / aspiration.
Sorry for the very long back story - but I am curious if anyone else has experienced difficult swallowing in very senior chameleons? Most of my chams have (thankfully) made it well into senior years, but I have never experienced this and am having trouble finding info.
Pic from a recent visit
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