help!!

[vikki]

hi,
I have a chameleon who ha developed a pea sized lump on his side.
He fell off his branch, and has caught the lump and it is now bleeding and he has taken the top half off, but where the lump is he keeps catching it with his back leg.
Is there anything i can do and what could it be?
thanks, vikki

 

[Carlton]

I don't think I understand what you mean by "catching the lump" or "taken the top half off". Do you mean he now has an open wound that is bleeding because he is scratching at it?

If it is an open wound you can protect it from infection by putting some Polysporin ointment on it. You can get this at almost any drug store or grocery store. If the lump was there before he scratched at it there may have been an abscess that has broken open. Another possibility is a broken rib. Chams' ribs are not true bone, but are mostly cartilege. He may have some MBD (metabolic bone disease) going on due to calcium deficiencies. We'd need to know a lot more about his care to help you with that. He will need help from an experience reptile vet to treat this. Most vets won't be able to help much so ask around for one.

Please read the sticky about "how to ask for help" and answer the questions for us.

 

[hallenhe]

Is there a good reptile vet you can get to? (I realize, depending on where you are and with the weekend coming on, that may not be an immediate option, but it would be my first thought).
Lumps can be tumors (not necessarily malignant, but possibly so), indications of subcutaneous parasites (probably not too likely, at least if yours is captive-bred). I don't know what to suggest to keep his feet catching on it; moving him to a smaller "hospital enclosure" where he can't fall probably wouldn't keep him walking around, and he might keep catching it. If you're getting into evening, he'll settle down for the night and maybe it can start to heal a bit while he sleeps. I wouldn't try an adhesive bandage on a reptile, but if it's bleeding a lot, and if you can hold him, you might gently press a sterile pad to it to help stop the bleeding.