DanoHeinkel
Member
◦ Your Chameleon - Male Ambilobe Panther, 6 month old. 5.5 inches N/V; 88 grams. Growing like a weed. I bought Mingo 4 1/2 months ago from Kammurflage Kreations. I’ve had a stellar experience with them! They have been incredibly helpful!
◦ Handling - About once a week.
◦ Feeding - Feeding 10-12 PetCo Crickets 6 days a week. Gut loading using Repashy Bug Burger, Oranges, Melon, Zucchini, Grapefruit, Carrots, Apples and Bananas. I always have Bug Burger, one veggie and one fruit in the cricket enclosure at a time. (In the last few weeks I have stopped using carrots due to their high vitamin A content.)
◦ Supplements - Repashy CalciumPlus. Initially, I dusted at every feeding for the first 3 months. When the Edema formed, I stopped supplementing entirely 6 weeks ago to see if I was over-supplementing (per the breeder’s advice).
◦ Watering - 1 nozzle Mist King system set to shower 10 minute at 8:30, 5 minutes and 12:30 and 4:30.
◦ Fecal Description - Stool is firm with white urate. Just had a smear and float done: negative for bacterial infection and parasites.
◦ History - About 2 months ago, Mingo’s urates were slightly yellow for about a week. He’s had previous health issues that I know of.
Cage Info:
◦ Cage Type - 18x18x36 all screen enclosure. Pictures below.
◦ Lighting - Up until last week, this was my lighting setup: 50 watt zoo-med basking bulb; 12” zoo-med t5 HO 5.0 UVB bulb. Last week, I changed to a 75 watt basking bulb, and swapped UVB bulb to a 26watt zoo-med 5.0 CFL bulb. Lighting is on a 12 hour timer (7am-7pm).
◦ Temperature - Cage floor sits about 75, with the basking spot at 94 (the basking spot was 85 before the recent bulb change). Lowest overnight temp is 70. Measured using dial thermometers.
◦ Humidity - Humidity ranges from 30% to 55% after mistings. Measured using a dial hydrometer.
◦ Plants - 1 live heart-leaf philodendron. Mingo went though a stage about 2 months ago that he wanted to shoot the water droplets that fall from the leaves; he bit off the tip of 2 leaves. Is it possible for him to have an allergic reaction to this? 1 Croton Nervia at the bottom of his enclosure. He doesn’t have much contact (if any at all) with this plant.
◦ Placement - Mingo’s enclosure is located in a spare bedroom that doesn’t receive much foot traffic. The air vent is across the room, about 10’ away. The top of the enclosure is 6 feet from the ground.
◦ Location - Nashville, TN.
Current Problem - Gular Edema, and swelling of the inside of his mouth are the issues that I’ve been trying to diagnose for months now. It especially seems to flare up after feeding and when he is introduced to stressors (handling, loud noises, etc). 6 weeks ago, I stopped using my supplement (Repashy CalciumPlus) to see if it was hypervitaminosis A. His Edema actually worsened, slightly affecting the use of his tongue. Then, 9 days ago, I changed the UVB bulb to a CFL instead of a HO t5 to see if that was the issue. No change yet…
I’ve seen a vet twice. On the first visit, he proscribed .1 MLs of Furosemide to reduce swelling and .15 MLs of Baytril to kill a possible infection. I wasn’t confident in his solution (felt like we were not treating the root of the problem) but decided to go with it. 4 days later, Mingo was looking pretty exhausted—He didn't leave his sleeping spot until 2:30. But, thankfully, He came up to bask and ate 6 crickets. I called the vet and he suggested that we stop the furosemide since the swelling wasn’t receding. I saw him again yesterday for a fecal smear and float (it came back clear of bacterial infection and parasites). His main concern was that the possible infection would become abscessed, so he gave me the option of giving him a prednisone steroid shot... I declined. Didn't want to cocktail of drugs to overwhelm Mingo, especially if we weren't sure that it was an infection in the first place. And, again, it felt like he was trying to treat the symptom but not the cause. I asked if he could do a blood test to find the root cause but he didn't want to do that yet due to the stress it would cause Mingo. So… That’s all the pertinent info I can think of at the moment. Clarifying questions are welcome! Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated!
◦ Handling - About once a week.
◦ Feeding - Feeding 10-12 PetCo Crickets 6 days a week. Gut loading using Repashy Bug Burger, Oranges, Melon, Zucchini, Grapefruit, Carrots, Apples and Bananas. I always have Bug Burger, one veggie and one fruit in the cricket enclosure at a time. (In the last few weeks I have stopped using carrots due to their high vitamin A content.)
◦ Supplements - Repashy CalciumPlus. Initially, I dusted at every feeding for the first 3 months. When the Edema formed, I stopped supplementing entirely 6 weeks ago to see if I was over-supplementing (per the breeder’s advice).
◦ Watering - 1 nozzle Mist King system set to shower 10 minute at 8:30, 5 minutes and 12:30 and 4:30.
◦ Fecal Description - Stool is firm with white urate. Just had a smear and float done: negative for bacterial infection and parasites.
◦ History - About 2 months ago, Mingo’s urates were slightly yellow for about a week. He’s had previous health issues that I know of.
Cage Info:
◦ Cage Type - 18x18x36 all screen enclosure. Pictures below.
◦ Lighting - Up until last week, this was my lighting setup: 50 watt zoo-med basking bulb; 12” zoo-med t5 HO 5.0 UVB bulb. Last week, I changed to a 75 watt basking bulb, and swapped UVB bulb to a 26watt zoo-med 5.0 CFL bulb. Lighting is on a 12 hour timer (7am-7pm).
◦ Temperature - Cage floor sits about 75, with the basking spot at 94 (the basking spot was 85 before the recent bulb change). Lowest overnight temp is 70. Measured using dial thermometers.
◦ Humidity - Humidity ranges from 30% to 55% after mistings. Measured using a dial hydrometer.
◦ Plants - 1 live heart-leaf philodendron. Mingo went though a stage about 2 months ago that he wanted to shoot the water droplets that fall from the leaves; he bit off the tip of 2 leaves. Is it possible for him to have an allergic reaction to this? 1 Croton Nervia at the bottom of his enclosure. He doesn’t have much contact (if any at all) with this plant.
◦ Placement - Mingo’s enclosure is located in a spare bedroom that doesn’t receive much foot traffic. The air vent is across the room, about 10’ away. The top of the enclosure is 6 feet from the ground.
◦ Location - Nashville, TN.
Current Problem - Gular Edema, and swelling of the inside of his mouth are the issues that I’ve been trying to diagnose for months now. It especially seems to flare up after feeding and when he is introduced to stressors (handling, loud noises, etc). 6 weeks ago, I stopped using my supplement (Repashy CalciumPlus) to see if it was hypervitaminosis A. His Edema actually worsened, slightly affecting the use of his tongue. Then, 9 days ago, I changed the UVB bulb to a CFL instead of a HO t5 to see if that was the issue. No change yet…
I’ve seen a vet twice. On the first visit, he proscribed .1 MLs of Furosemide to reduce swelling and .15 MLs of Baytril to kill a possible infection. I wasn’t confident in his solution (felt like we were not treating the root of the problem) but decided to go with it. 4 days later, Mingo was looking pretty exhausted—He didn't leave his sleeping spot until 2:30. But, thankfully, He came up to bask and ate 6 crickets. I called the vet and he suggested that we stop the furosemide since the swelling wasn’t receding. I saw him again yesterday for a fecal smear and float (it came back clear of bacterial infection and parasites). His main concern was that the possible infection would become abscessed, so he gave me the option of giving him a prednisone steroid shot... I declined. Didn't want to cocktail of drugs to overwhelm Mingo, especially if we weren't sure that it was an infection in the first place. And, again, it felt like he was trying to treat the symptom but not the cause. I asked if he could do a blood test to find the root cause but he didn't want to do that yet due to the stress it would cause Mingo. So… That’s all the pertinent info I can think of at the moment. Clarifying questions are welcome! Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated!
). Get some calcium with no D3 and no phosphorus. You can continue vit carrots.. carrots only contain beta caroten, there is no vitamin A at all in carrots it the "dangerous" form. 
