Help with rescued female Jackson chameleon

[ReptileRampage]

I was at the petstore today buying crickets for my male panther baby chameleon. As i was on my way out i looked at the reptiles quick and saw a female jacksons in a way to small cage. After looking at her farther I noticed an eye issue, and multiple burns. The biggest is a burn on her stomach, the end of her tail, and her limbs. They are black patches, some have what seems like old shed coming off, but possibly are scabs? I live in south dakota and reptiles aren't very popular here. My main concern is her eye issue and possible ways to treat it, if it is possible to do on my own. Other wise i will find her a vet. She is actually in okay shape, she has good coloring, a very strong grip, no signs of MBD. I put her in my babes enclosure to try and feed her, she ate 3-4 crickets right away, so i know her tongue is working good too. She is quite plump and seems to be healthy besides the eye issue, ( also seems a little sunken, possible dehydration?) I will attach pictures and any advice at all would be appreciated. Normally I don't buy reptiles from pet stores because of the fact that most reptiles are wild caught, and riddled with parasites, and buying reptiles means they are selling them and they will keep bringing in replacements. I saw all her burns and her eye problems, her standing water dish, and i felt terrible i just wanted to give her a new home. So needless to say she is home with me and my girlfriend, here are the pics, please comment any advice or concerns

 

[Carlton]

I was at the petstore today buying crickets for my male panther baby chameleon. As i was on my way out i looked at the reptiles quick and saw a female jacksons in a way to small cage. After looking at her farther I noticed an eye issue, and multiple burns. The biggest is a burn on her stomach, the end of her tail, and her limbs. They are black patches, some have what seems like old shed coming off, but possibly are scabs? I live in south dakota and reptiles aren't very popular here. My main concern is her eye issue and possible ways to treat it, if it is possible to do on my own. Other wise i will find her a vet. She is actually in okay shape, she has good coloring, a very strong grip, no signs of MBD. I put her in my babes enclosure to try and feed her, she ate 3-4 crickets right away, so i know her tongue is working good too. She is quite plump and seems to be healthy besides the eye issue, ( also seems a little sunken, possible dehydration?) I will attach pictures and any advice at all would be appreciated. Normally I don't buy reptiles from pet stores because of the fact that most reptiles are wild caught, and riddled with parasites, and buying reptiles means they are selling them and they will keep bringing in replacements. I saw all her burns and her eye problems, her standing water dish, and i felt terrible i just wanted to give her a new home. So needless to say she is home with me and my girlfriend, here are the pics, please comment any advice or concerns
View attachment 95375

View attachment 95376

View attachment 95377

View attachment 95378

View attachment 95379

I'm not sure all of those spots are burns, as some of them are not in the typical areas that get exposed to heat bulbs (particularly the underside of her tail). You may be seeing several different problems. That eyelid looks infected but can't tell if it is the skin of the lid or swelling from inside the orbit. A vet could probably tell more with scope examination. For areas with discolored rough patches...might be scabs from injuries, so topical treatment with something like Polysporin or Silvadene would probably help.

She's most likely imported, and as she's very plump, could well be gravid.

She's very stressed and probably dehydrated, so I'd really focus on letting her drink as much as possible. Misting will help her get rid of old skin patches too.

 

[deadhd5]

Thank you for giving her a shot, she is beautiful.

I agree with Carlton that the spots may not be burns, more likely bruises or scabs. I have not seen burns on a Jackson, but burns that I have seen on panthers and vields are usually very bright in color as opposed to black.

I would put money on her being gravid.

I would advise that you seek out an exotic vet. After getting her hydrated, the eye is probably the most urgent issue and you will definitely need a vets guidance on treatment.

Good luck and keep us posted!!!

 

[ReptileRampage]

*UPDATE* I was leaning towards her eye just being bruised, and turns out we took her to the vet and he said its bruised as well. He gave us some ointment to put on her eye to help it heal. So far she's doing great. Eating like normal, getting hydrated again, i just finished her cage as well

 

[deadhd5]

Thanks for the update Sounds like she had a really rough transit from Hawaii to the states... Glad she is in caring hands now!

 

[Juliaf3]

*UPDATE* I was leaning towards her eye just being bruised, and turns out we took her to the vet and he said its bruised as well. He gave us some ointment to put on her eye to help it heal. So far she's doing great. Eating like normal, getting hydrated again, i just finished her cage as well

Where exactly in South Dakota? Is she from Sioux Falls by any chance?

 

[ReptileRampage]

Where exactly in South Dakota? Is she from Sioux Falls by any chance?

Yep well, I'm sure she isn't from sioux falls, but thats where she ended up. I live in sioux falls and we got her at the petsmart here. We actually took her to the vet on our own and the doctor told me all expenses were covered by petsmart. It really shocked me, but it made me respect them more. She is getting better and seems in good shape excluding her eye and bruising.

 

[Juliaf3]

Yep well, I'm sure she isn't from sioux falls, but thats where she ended up. I live in sioux falls and we got her at the petsmart here. We actually took her to the vet on our own and the doctor told me all expenses were covered by petsmart. It really shocked me, but it made me respect them more. She is getting better and seems in good shape excluding her eye and bruising.

I use to get my crickets from there but I switch to buying online. It's ridiculously cheaper. As in, I get a thousand crickets, over nighted for $37!!

As for that poor jackson. Let me tell you something. I seen that poor girl over a month ago and noticed her eye. It didn't look NEAR as bad as it does now, but there was definitely something wrong with it. I pulled a manager over and had her get her out for a closer look. She agreed something was definitely wrong as well as another worker and they said they were sending her to the vet. Were going to pull her back from being purchased until she was better. Clearly they didn't. Shame on them! Glad you saved her! I wanted to so bad but I just do not have the space! And that is actually a little known fact about petsmart! Most people do not know that they cover any vet visits for health concerns for so many days.

 

[ReptileRampage]

I use to get my crickets from there but I switch to buying online. It's ridiculously cheaper. As in, I get a thousand crickets, over nighted for $37!!

As for that poor jackson. Let me tell you something. I seen that poor girl over a month ago and noticed her eye. It didn't look NEAR as bad as it does now, but there was definitely something wrong with it. I pulled a manager over and had her get her out for a closer look. She agreed something was definitely wrong as well as another worker and they said they were sending her to the vet. Were going to pull her back from being purchased until she was better. Clearly they didn't. Shame on them! Glad you saved her! I wanted to so bad but I just do not have the space! And that is actually a little known fact about petsmart! Most people do not know that they cover any vet visits for health concerns for so many days.

I feel bad for most of the reptiles they keep there. Tarantulas they do okay, pythons and corn snakes they are okay, their fish tanks are actually very well cleaned, but they need to do research on their tortoise and chameleon care in particular. I know that these are not permanent homes and are meant as temporary enclosures, but there are basic needs these animals require and they don't meet them. I feel sorry for chameleons, standing water in dishes, that poor girl was in the smallest enclosure and she's not a baby she's good size. I saw all her bruises and her eye and i felt terrible! my girlfriend talked me into purchasing her. We put together a beautiful cage for her, and when she is all healed she will be staying with my girlfriend. But for now she is under my care until her eye is healed and she is hydrated. My girlfriend also has a panther chameleon so she is knowledgable as well. I make sure she does her research, she is just starting out in reptiles. I wanted to take a job at petsmart, because i think i could provide proper care with their reptiles and teach customers proper care, but i have heard that some stores actually won't let you add things to their cages to benefit their health. They make you try and sell things that are either wrong or unnecessary. A friend of mine added moss to an enclosure at a petco once and was fired for it. I hate big chain pet stores when it comes to reptile care, but as long as people are buying from them they will keep on selling.