Help! Blocked up chameleon!

[laurenx]

About three days ago I noticed that my boy veiled chameleon had something hanging out of his bottom. He has never had this before, but I figured it was just dried up poop that hadn't fallen off yet.

When I got home from work today it was still there. It is yellowish brown, kinda hard and there's about 3 cm sticking out. I got a warm wet wash cloth and tried to brush it off but it wouldn't come off. I tried lightly pulling on it and it seems like it is stuck inside of him. Should I try pulling it out? Or will it eventually fall out by itself? I don't want to hurt him.

I have never dealt with an issue like this, and I want to do the right thing, but I have NO idea what I should do. I would really appreciate some advice!

Thanks

 

[Carlton]

It might be a dried sperm plug. Have you tried soaking him in shallow lukewarm water to help him get rid of it?

 

[VigilantSpearIII]

Warm soak, or warm mist on his body should help him out.

 

[carol5208]

If its still there post a pic and we will see if we can determine what it is. Sounds like a sperm plug as Carlton suggested.

 

[laurenx]

If its still there post a pic and we will see if we can determine what it is. Sounds like a sperm plug as Carlton suggested.

Thank you all for your reply! Here are some pictures.

 

[laurenx]

It might be a dried sperm plug. Have you tried soaking him in shallow lukewarm water to help him get rid of it?

I will try the luke warm water. Thank you for your reply! Please look at the picture I posted above. Does it look like a dried sperm plug?

 

[CNorton]

I don't think it would be possible for you to wear a more distracting bracelet.


The pics are pretty blurry and it's very difficult to tell.



The reason why we need to see pics is because it could be one of two things- 1) Sperm plug or 2) Hemipenes

That's right, occasionally the man part will prolapse and refuse to pull back in. I've had it happen several times with several chameleons in the past. If not treated, it could even lead to death via dehydration and/or infection.

Treatment? I would fill the sink with some warm water and soak his tail in there for 5-10 minutes. He's not going to like it so I would wrap him in a cloth or if you're brave just hold him steady with care not to get bit. After you feel he has been soaking long enough, gently try to dislodge the plug. You could even use tweezers if it grosses you out too much but I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO BE GENTLE.

Now if the "plug" hasn't come off, then you're probably convinced it's his hemipenes. CALL A VET AND TELL THEM IT'S AN EMERGENCY. Don't worry he has two hemipenes so he may even mate with his other one if this one needs to be amputated- by a vet of course. My vet wisely instructed me to dip a q-tip in honey and completely coat his hemipene in honey. This is cause an osmotic response and hopefully shrink his hemipene back inside. After well coated, put the chameleon in a ruibbermade container or some water holding tank WITH NO BRANCHES OR PLANTS so that his tail is forced into contact with wet paper towels lining the ground. This will keep his hemipenes moist which is very important.

Leave him overnight or at least for 6-8 hours this way. If he's restless and walking around, put him in a room/closet with no light and allow that honey to work.


IF AFTER ALL THIS HIS HEMIPENE IS STILL OUT, YOUR VET WILL MOST LIKELY AMPUTATE. I personally held males stil while the vet snipped off the hemipenes and the chameleon showed no reaction whatsoever...so don't act like it's the end of it's life. Poor guys don't really have much feeling down there




Okay, I hope this was helpful. Maybe someone someday will randomly find it and another chameleon will be helped. Hopefully it's just a sperm plug.

 

[carol5208]

Never heard of honey for a prolapse! Learn something new everyday on this forum!!

 

[CNorton]

Most use sugar water or KY Kelly but honey has 3 advantages: it's sticky and stays longer, has osmotic effect, and is naturally antibacterial.

 

[bugboy]

I got a prolapsed hemipene back in a 7 year old panther using a somewhat home-made saline solution. The salt in the water was supposed to create the osmotic effect. Granted I had to massage it back in for maybe an hour (DON'T LAUGH AT ME haha ). Has anyone tried this before? I was following the owner's advice as he was out of town and had me take the cham home to keep an eye on it. It DID go back in, but I don't really know what exactly caused it to, just assumed that what the guy told me worked. Can anyone shed some light on this idea?

 

[kinyonga]

"granted I had to massage it"...The things we are willing to do for our chameleons!

 

[laurenx]

I don't think it would be possible for you to wear a more distracting bracelet.


The pics are pretty blurry and it's very difficult to tell.



The reason why we need to see pics is because it could be one of two things- 1) Sperm plug or 2) Hemipenes

That's right, occasionally the man part will prolapse and refuse to pull back in. I've had it happen several times with several chameleons in the past. If not treated, it could even lead to death via dehydration and/or infection.

Treatment? I would fill the sink with some warm water and soak his tail in there for 5-10 minutes. He's not going to like it so I would wrap him in a cloth or if you're brave just hold him steady with care not to get bit. After you feel he has been soaking long enough, gently try to dislodge the plug. You could even use tweezers if it grosses you out too much but I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU TO BE GENTLE.

Now if the "plug" hasn't come off, then you're probably convinced it's his hemipenes. CALL A VET AND TELL THEM IT'S AN EMERGENCY. Don't worry he has two hemipenes so he may even mate with his other one if this one needs to be amputated- by a vet of course. My vet wisely instructed me to dip a q-tip in honey and completely coat his hemipene in honey. This is cause an osmotic response and hopefully shrink his hemipene back inside. After well coated, put the chameleon in a ruibbermade container or some water holding tank WITH NO BRANCHES OR PLANTS so that his tail is forced into contact with wet paper towels lining the ground. This will keep his hemipenes moist which is very important.

Leave him overnight or at least for 6-8 hours this way. If he's restless and walking around, put him in a room/closet with no light and allow that honey to work.


IF AFTER ALL THIS HIS HEMIPENE IS STILL OUT, YOUR VET WILL MOST LIKELY AMPUTATE. I personally held males stil while the vet snipped off the hemipenes and the chameleon showed no reaction whatsoever...so don't act like it's the end of it's life. Poor guys don't really have much feeling down there




Okay, I hope this was helpful. Maybe someone someday will randomly find it and another chameleon will be helped. Hopefully it's just a sperm plug.

THANK YOU SO MUCH MY CHAMELEON AND I APPRECIATE IT GREATLY!

I did as you said and soaked his tail in luke warm water for 10 minutes. I then gently tried to pull on it and remove it. It was very long, I could not see the end of it and I could not pull it out easily so I assumed it was hemipenes and made him an appointment.

The vet took one look at it, grabbed it and pulled it out. It was a VERY LARGE sperm plug. One of the nastiest things I have ever seen. Poor guy. I have a picture of it if anyone is interested in seeing it.

My baby is healthy once again. Thank you for your help

 

[CNorton]

Wow! Well I'm glad it worked out. The pics made it somewhat ambiguous as to what it actually was but now it makes sense cuz it did seem too big to be a plug. Hopefully the vet didn't charge too much!

 

[Supafly]

hi guys! i got directed to this thread from my post. my problem does involve something at the base tail opening. my senegal was actual humping my hand. i do not know whether it was trying to remove the plug if it is or it just wanted to hump. so here was what i typed before.

this was what happened. after a day out of sunbathing. i bought my senegal back to the room. i decided to tease my senegal by placing it in front of a mirror.

he went into dark mode. but no flaring. no hunching. no hissing. just dark mode. it did not seem to attack the mirror image. it looked, rocked back and forth, changed positions on my hand and what it did was nudged the mirror with minimal force using its mouth tip.

i did not want my senegal to hurt itself. so i took it away and placed my hand in the cage. usually what it will do is grab hold of anything quick and scramble away.

however, this time round, it clung to my hand rather tightly not letting go at all! it kept changing positions on my hand and i think it was HUMPING my freaking hand multiple times! i noticed something at the base of its tail where the opening is. and something slid in and out of there and i'm pretty sure it's not poop.

as hilarious as i thought it was, i am quite concerned as to whether my care is correct for this pet. i will post pictures of the underside base tail. had a video too but i am not sure how to upload that.

i hope someone may enlighten me as to what is happening so that i may learn more.

p.s. i do not know my senegal's gender. but judging by the humping i'm guessing male?

pictures are here. https://www.chameleonforums.com/something-weird-happened-my-senegal-114461/#post1022710

 

[Supafly]

Also, i do not see any solidly formed faecal matter thus far and appetite has been low. Could this be the effects of the blockage? Not sure to wait for it to come out by itself or...? Because i cannot i cannot confirm by myself that it is a sperm plug..

 

[kinyonga]

Supafly...your chameleon sounds like it was humping your hand and the thing going in and out of it would have been the hemipene.