Hard bumps under skin

[alee]

Hi all,

I picked up an adult male oustalet from someone who posted him on Craigslist a few days ago. He has several hard bumps under his skin, a couple are the size of a dime. They don't seem to bother him at all. He is active, has a very strong grip, and eats like a piggy. He looks to be wild caught. He has a few broken ribs, and parts of those ribs are missing! It is like a hole in his rib cage about the size of a quarter, and the skin on top of it looks like a bad burn/bruise. The previous owner got him from a friend several months ago. He seems to have been well fed.

I was wondering if anyone would have have idea what these hard bumps are? I read that they could be calcification or gout?

Thanks!

 

[jessica]

A picture would be helpful

 

[alee]

A picture would be helpful

Here's a pic the previous owner sent me, which shows his good side. You can see a couple of bumps on his tummy, and one near his hind leg (old shed on this bump). There are more, but they are not showing on that picture. I can take more pics later when I get home from work. They are hard, round bumps.

 

[jessica]

Its hard to tell with that picture, when you get home can you try and get a closer pic of at least one of the lumps.

Being a WC it could be a few different things. He looks to be in good shape other wise.

 

[Carlton]

Here's a pic the previous owner sent me, which shows his good side. You can see a couple of bumps on his tummy, and one near his hind leg (old shed on this bump). There are more, but they are not showing on that picture. I can take more pics later when I get home from work. They are hard, round bumps.

If he was a wc adult could be several things including encapsulated parasitic worms under the skin, abscesses (the material in herp abscesses is not liquid but more like cheese so they would feel harder), benign tumors or cysts. Have a vet sample one. He's beautiful!

 

[alee]

Here are 2 pictures of his bumps, they look pretty bad. They were very hard to see in the pictures she sent. My husband went to pick him up for me, I wish I had gone with him. She told me she took him to the vet for a check up, his fecal was clean, and the vet said he was healthy and did not comment on anything else, including the bumps. Therefore, she did not think much of them, and did not tell me about them. The large on on his tummy is actually soft, but the rest are hard.

This picture shows the hole in his rib cage on the other side. She just told me he had a burn mark. I believed her until I saw it and felt it.

He had his first poop today, it is so runny...

As I have mentioned in my first post, he has a healthy appetite, a strong grip, and is active. He is also a VERY nice chameleon. I knew he was a rescue, and possibly a wild caught, but I find it very hard to believe her vet did not comment on his bumps and the big hole in his rib cage.

 

[Carlton]

This picture shows the hole in his rib cage on the other side. She just told me he had a burn mark. I believed her until I saw it and felt it.

As I have mentioned in my first post, he has a healthy appetite, a strong grip, and is active. He is also a VERY nice chameleon. I knew he was a rescue, and possibly a wild caught, but I find it very hard to believe her vet did not comment on his bumps and the big hole in his rib cage.

He looks like a wc...a bit battered but a survivor. That scar could be a burn, but IMHO more likely a healed injury from his earlier life in the wild. If its healed and there's no sign of infection it will just add to his character. Some Silvadene cream on it will help healing, keep any scabbing flexible and clean, prevent secondary infection. The smaller lumps may well be mature parasitic worms (speculating of course). When some parasites reach maturity they can migrate out of the GI tract into other organs or come to rest under the skin. You won't know unless a vet dissects them. They can be removed. The softer lump could be a fluid filled cyst around one. Again, the vet could investigate. They may or may not indicate a lot of other systemic parasites. A clean fecal doesn't always mean there aren't some parasites...just that none happened to be shedding larvae or eggs at that moment. Runny poop can be a sign of parasites, but can also be due to heavy drinking if he was dehydrated before you got him.

Before you decide to treat for any be aware that he may have quite a few and the medication can kill them ALL at once, overwhelming the cham. It may be safer to hold off on treatment or use a less toxic probiotic supplement as long as he's doing OK in other ways...and maintaining his weight, activity, etc. Just my opinion...maybe others who have treated older wc adults could chime in.

You can't really believe all the seller said about him, but if he's a recent import he might be hiding his normal nature because he's stressed and a bit run down. He might just be a very mellow older guy which would be great!

 

[alee]

He looks like a wc...a bit battered but a survivor. That scar could be a burn, but IMHO more likely a healed injury from his earlier life in the wild. If its healed and there's no sign of infection it will just add to his character. Some Silvadene cream on it will help healing, keep any scabbing flexible and clean, prevent secondary infection. The smaller lumps may well be mature parasitic worms (speculating of course). When some parasites reach maturity they can migrate out of the GI tract into other organs or come to rest under the skin. You won't know unless a vet dissects them. They can be removed. The softer lump could be a fluid filled cyst around one. Again, the vet could investigate. They may or may not indicate a lot of other systemic parasites. A clean fecal doesn't always mean there aren't some parasites...just that none happened to be shedding larvae or eggs at that moment. Runny poop can be a sign of parasites, but can also be due to heavy drinking if he was dehydrated before you got him.

Before you decide to treat for any be aware that he may have quite a few and the medication can kill them ALL at once, overwhelming the cham. It may be safer to hold off on treatment or use a less toxic probiotic supplement as long as he's doing OK in other ways...and maintaining his weight, activity, etc. Just my opinion...maybe others who have treated older wc adults could chime in.

You can't really believe all the seller said about him, but if he's a recent import he might be hiding his normal nature because he's stressed and a bit run down. He might just be a very mellow older guy which would be great!

Thank you. I put Silvadene on him, but I don't know if it is a burn. There's a hole in the rib cage under it. There are no bones under the skin, it's just a big hole! Poor thing. I wonder what happened to him. You can see it better in this pic-

I will let him settle for a couple of weeks, and will take him to the vet. I have so many chams at home, those bumps are making me very nervous.

 

[Carlton]

The Silvadene , or OTC Polysporin will work regardless. A burn wouldn't go much below the skin, so its most likely an injury...could be from a predator (bird, lemur, snake), bad handling, accident during shipping or export holding, who knows. The skin may cover over a lot given time. He's a tough boy. Actually, looking again at your pic, I wonder if the larger softer lump is a collection of fluid resulting from his injury...it is sort of below it. Remnants of swelling and serum? Scar tissue? Blood?

I wouldn't worry too much about the lumps for now as long as he's eating, drinking, and acting OK. As you said, they are not bothering him now, so may not be an immediate crisis. Overwhelming him with a lot of meds right off the bat may be harder on him anyway.

 

[alee]

The Silvadene , or OTC Polysporin will work regardless. A burn wouldn't go much below the skin, so its most likely an injury...could be from a predator (bird, lemur, snake), bad handling, accident during shipping or export holding, who knows. The skin may cover over a lot given time. He's a tough boy. Actually, looking again at your pic, I wonder if the larger softer lump is a collection of fluid resulting from his injury...it is sort of below it. Remnants of swelling and serum? Scar tissue? Blood?

I wouldn't worry too much about the lumps for now as long as he's eating, drinking, and acting OK. As you said, they are not bothering him now, so may not be an immediate crisis. Overwhelming him with a lot of meds right off the bat may be harder on him anyway.

Yes, he is acting eating, drinking, and acting fine. I will let him be and see how he does. Thanks again, I really appreciate all your knowledge and advise!

 

[Carlton]

Yes, he is acting eating, drinking, and acting fine. I will let him be and see how he does. Thanks again, I really appreciate all your knowledge and advise!

I hope he does well. Nice to see such a great cham in kind hands after all he's been through! He'll just have one more photogenic side