Flapneck chameleon mouth prob and not eating

[Suzieszoo]

I have a flapneck chameleon, not sure how old he is. He is about 4 inches not incl. tail. We call him a "he" but do not know m/f . I have had him 6 months. We rarely handle him. He eats crickets 2x daily with reptivite 3x weekly, won't eat the mealworms. We mist 2x daily. He drinks drops off the screen top or plastic plants. Last fecal was brown with yellowish white urate. Not tested for parasites. Cage is arboreal with wood, plastic and real plants-phalenopsis orchid and a broadleaf rubbery "foliage plant" according to label. Glass with screen cover 24hx18wx18d Lighting UVB fluker 10.0 75 w day basking 100w night red on the Hygrotherm (Zoo Med) with the fogger. 10 hours daylight on timer. Have temp gauges top and bottom, hygrometers top and bottom. Sensor is hanging in middle away from droppings area. Warm spot 85-90 75 near floor. 70 min at night. Cage in moderate traffic area. No vents or drafts, late afternoon dappled sunlight. I am in South central VA. Looks like his lip detatched from gumline? Gum lower jaw looks dry and brown. Teeth look fine. On enrofloxacin..... today is day 5 no improvement and I am very concerned.

 

[cmrush88]

Have you taken him to the vet?

 

[Suzieszoo]

Yes, should I bring him back?

 

[cmrush88]

I don't know. I don't have a lot of information about this, but I was curious what your vet thought about it? I'm sorry that this is happening. I know it can be frustrating not knowing what is going on. There are a lot of threads on here with mouth problems, so if you look in the search bar on the site or type into google, "chameleon forums: mouth problems" then you'll probably find a lot of good information. I hope this helps you!

 

[Suzieszoo]

Helpful opinions welcome

I went to a reptile vet this time and got metacam and silver sulfate. I am still concerned because I can see his tongue thru his bottom jawbone with the lip the way it is. Does anyone feel this will resolve? He is eating again and drinking, and the vet said there may be a scar. We keep his house very clean- I think he got the stomasis from his food bowl because spray got it wet and the dead crickets were not removed quickly enouph. We are more cautious with the spraying now! So unhappy but glad he feels well enouph to eat, hopefully the injury does not permanently affect his quality of life

 

[jojackson]

How are you administering the enrofloxacin.? Looks to be a secondry infection in the mouth/gum, that may respond to topical treatment such as Gentamycin opthalmic solution applied daily.
Ask your vet about this if you feel the animal is unresponsive to enrofloxacin. alone.
Meanwhile applying something like betadine (iodine) solution to the effected area will help kill off surface bacteria.
Dugs take time to be metabolised by reptiles, longer than mammals. Increase its temperature by a few degrees while your treating it, this will increase its metabolism and work to utilise the treatment faster.