Does this look concerning?

[ajs]

Noticed a darker bulge underneath my cham's front legs that isnt on the other side

He recently is getting over some edema, but I never saw it look like this

 

[ajs]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - ~5month old panther that I have had for about a month
• Handling - almost every day for 30 minutes to give natural sunlight exposure
• Feeding - Dubia roaches (gutloaded on dandelion greens, collards, papaya, sweet potato, mixed berries, squash, zucchini blend), BSFL, occasional hornworms and very occasional superworms
• Supplements - I have stopped supplementation due to his recent edema. Today was the first day in almost 2 weeks that i have given supplement and i only dusted 4 dubias very lightly with repashy calcium plus lod. I plan on doing this 1-2 times per week and calcium (exoterra repticalcium) on the remaining feedings
• Watering - Hand misting (mistking arrives friday) and dripper. I saw him shoot his tounge at the dripper today but havent seen him drink in a couple weeks since (I work 9-5)
• Fecal Description - normal fecal and 100% white urates always. Just received results from vet for parasite and ova testing - negative
• History - edema that is close to being gone I think (started about 2 weeks ago)

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - 18x18x36 screen
• Lighting - 5.0 T8 UVB and 100W incandescent dimmed to 75W. Lights are on for 12 hours a day
• Temperature - basking is around 80-85F last I checked. Ambient temps 70-75F. Thermpro and probe thermometer used
• Humidity - 40-60% during the day and 60-70% at night usually. Ultrasonic cool mist humidifier only on during the night
• Plants - pothos and plantain lily are hung. Umbrella on the cage floor
• Placement - next to a window in our open dining room/kitchen area. There is a vent maybe 2-3ft away from the top of his cage
• Location - raleigh, nc area

Current Problem - Dark smallish bulge under his front leg

 

[kinyonga]

I've seen that bulging under the arm a few times but I don't know what causes it...sorry. Hopefully someone else does.

 

[Beman]

@JacksJill @jannb Have you seen anything like this bulging under the arm?

 

[kinyonga]

I've only seen it in Panther chameleons.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/swollen-underarms.121523/

 

[Beman]

I've only seen it in Panther chameleons.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/swollen-underarms.121523/

You are able to dig up the best threads! Interesting that the people in the other thread were using repashy calcium plus as well. ?

 

[kinyonga]

I was thinking about the Repashy...but I gave no first hand experience with it.

Thanks...I don't know how I seem to find some of the threads.

 

[jannb]

I’ve seen girls have something similar around egg laying time.

 

[kinyonga]

That's interesting @jannb ...I've only ever seen it in males...but I've seen females with gular edema.

 

[ajs]

Hmm, would it be possible for this to appear so quickly? Today was the first day I've used repashy with him

 

[Beman]

Personally I would take him off the repashy... Get reptivite with D3 and give it two times a month rotating weeks. And just use a plain calcium no D3 at every feeding except when you use the reptivite. Seems like each time this pops up on the forum with an edema issue that repashy calcium plus or calcium plus loD is an issue.

 

[Beman]

@ajs what is the distance from your T8 fixture to your basking level?

 

[ajs]

@ajs what is the distance from your T8 fixture to your basking level?

About 5"

 

[Beman]

About 5"

View attachment 266188

Ok so look at this image... Your uvi levels will be slightly lower since your using a 5.0 bulb. Your probably at a 2 UVI level where he sits. I just want to make sure you know that your not getting a 3UVI. Make sure that uvb fixture is pulled as close to center as possible but still above a vine/branch. I put the image source below and it will give you more detailed info.

Source of image https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-cage-set-up-replicating-the-sun/

 

[Beman]

One thing to note about using the T8... Your basking has to be higher... that means your cham is even closer to the basking fixture. I would lift the dome up off the cage so he is not at risk of a thermal burn.

 

[ajs]

Okay, thank you for sharing this. Would you suggest I get a T5 UVB bulb and fixture in addition to raising the incandescent light? So he can have a wider range of UVB throughout his cage?

 

[ajs]

I feel like I've noticed him stay in the top 1/3 of his enclosure pretty much all day and this makes sense now

 

[ajs]

Also, do we think this issue could be related to insufficient UVB?

 

[Beman]

@ajs I am not well versed enough to know if that would be caused by lower UVI levels.

I would get the T5ho fixture. If you are going to have lots of plants get a dual at the least but you would still have to add additional plant lighting. You could get a quad as well which should support plant growth. The bulb strength is dependent on the fixture type and reflector. I love this link for info on it. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-cage-set-up-replicating-the-sun/

If you have any specific questions let me know.

 

[ajs]

@ajs I am not well versed enough to know if that would be caused by lower UVI levels.

I would get the T5ho fixture. If you are going to have lots of plants get a dual at the least but you would still have to add additional plant lighting. You could get a quad as well which should support plant growth. The bulb strength is dependent on the fixture type and reflector. I love this link for info on it. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-cage-set-up-replicating-the-sun/

If you have any specific questions let me know.

I have a pothos, plantain lily, and umbrella in his cage atm so I would probably want a 6500k light as well I think. However, based on that diagram the 6% Arcadia light in a dual bulb fixture seems to be not much better than what I have currently. Should I go for the 12% or 10.0 then?