Hemorrhoids? What do you think?

MzLaurie11

Avid Member
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Veiled, Male, 1/1/2 years old in my sole care 11 months.
  • Handling - Everyday I put him in his window and then back in his cage. 3-4 times a week we go for a little walk outside and I let him climb around in his favorite bush.
  • Feeding - Hornworms, crickets, superworms, dubias, mealworms, and collard greens. Has to be hand feed due to eye injury from breeder. Feed at 10 - 11 am daily. Offer a variety adn he tells me how much and what he wants and doesnot want and when he is done. Around 3pm I offer him snack. I put greens out and change daily. He will eat a few pieces 3-4 times a week. I usually have most of my list on hand and offer him each type of feeder until he eats. If he is not hungry he doesnt eat but I offer everyday.Some days he wants only crickets and will eat about 5 large. Some days its a mix of everytihng. I gut load dubia and crickets with bug burger, hormworms with replashy all other worms are kept in wheat germ.
  • Supplements - Flukers Reptivite every other week and Repta calcium daily . I have liquid calcium from the vet that I inject into horn worms if I feel he hasnt gotten enough
  • Watering - Reptifogger and hand mister. Cham does not drink but every morning after I put him back in the cage He will open his mouth real wide and breath in while twisting his body. I have taught him to take drips from a cotton ball and only after when I see him thirsty.
  • Fecal Description - droppings are usually the same either one log brown or dark when he eats the collards greens and urate is white at the end or if he eats a lot of hookworms there is water like fluid with calcium flem in it. Like a tortoises pee. Yesterday there was a very small dark soft log with white urate. This is not normal. I test his feces for parasites about every four months unless it looks odd or he is asking different. Last test at vets about three months ago was normal. He has never had parasite but I bagged yesterdays and will take it in today.
  • History - When he was purchased by my son for his grilfriend when he was about three months, there was a large scab on his forehead and they told them that it was from teh other chams picking on him. They felt for him and is why they got him.. after I got invovled, I saw that teh mid section of his left eyebrow was gone and there is a scar and teh base of teh casque ridge is gone. Something very heavy same down on his forehead at an engle and casued this injury, The older he got he less he was able to hunt which is why I hand feed him now. about 11 months ago my son left his gorlfirnd and stayed here temp adn then found out he was not being fed or misted so I told him to go get him now. He was severly stressed under weight adn dehydrated. This when I got invloved. 2 months later, I came home and my son said he had him out and could not find him and he ahd been missing for an hour. I had him turn everythgin off in the apt and I listened. about 3 minutes later I heard a noise in the heater. I opened the bottom dorr and saw a ltille bit of his face, he was stuck. I got him out, but he had gotten injured intitaly I tought I might have scraped his back and crest against the metal bottom when I was trying to get him out even tough I didnt feel him hit anything. But it soon turned out to be severe burns so he must have been wedged agsinst the pilot light area as the heater was not on. I immeidalty started to cvoer each area with silver sulfante as I tought if woudl be mild enough but still have an antibiotic element to it. Hes topped eating and it is the only time I have seen him drink water. I took him to the vet and was told to keep doing what I was doing and that it takes a long time for burns to heal on chameleons and the spikes would eventually die and fall off and the ridge too on his casque but would probably never grow back. I Continued to nurse him back to health and am happy to say that the spikes and top part of the ridge is growing back and the side of his casque that was white and thin is starting to get smaller iwth each molt. The only other issue was Respiratory Infection from sitting under the fogger at night. Vet gave him baytril and Ornax as well as inject5ions of all vitamins. He is very attached to me now and wants to be with me all the time.;

Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - Reptibreeze XL 2x2x4 with back and one side covered
  • Lighting - Reptisun T5 HO 24", 75watt Basking with dimmer, Sansi white grow light. 8am to 8pm
  • Temperature - gradient 70 to 82 have temp guage in cage at level of basking spot alos use a temp gun. Night set room heater to 70-75 depednign on how cold it will be overnight.
  • Humidity - standard 50% increases to 80% during fogging and misting times. humidity gauge at midway area of cage. Mornng I take him out and let him sit
  • in his jungle window Then I put fogger on high and then fully mist cage/plants right before I put him in. Once in I turn fogger down to low until he finishes eating then I turn off. Turn back on about 3pm on medium for about 30 minutes. Before lights out at 9pm I mist entire cage. Cannot put fogger on at night as he will try to sleep directly under it and get too cold.
  • Plants Live only. Swiss cheese and large jade.
  • Placement - On top of a standard desk near corner of room in no traffic area and across the room from teh wall heater.Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? Top of care about 7-8 feet off floor.
  • Location - Los Angeles, CA
Current Problem - Three days ago I saw that he was straining to get the feces to drop from his butt so I grabbed a kleenex and took it off. I have never seen that happen to him before but he had been refusing crickets and hornworms and was eating only dubias, superworms and mealworms. so I thought he might be constipated. The next evening is when I saw what looks like a pics of poo in his vent but after covering it with a warm wet compress, I realized it is not poo. If felt hard and dry and I looked at all pictures of prolapse, hemepenes and intestine and bowel as well as plugs and it looks nothing like any of the pics. I tried to soak him in warm water with sugar in it but he was not having it. So I kept dumping cups of the warm sugar water on him while he was on my arm. Then I flushed the area iwth saline solution and put a lot of vaseline on it and a gauze pad and wrapped it with eh stretchy bandage covering. I kept in covered on my bed and once he was asleep I got a iced gel pack and positioned it so just that area was sitting on it, I covered it of course so it woudl not cause a cold burn. Yesterday when he woke up I removed the bandage and it was still there but a bit smaller. I could not get iwth the vet who only comes in on Friday and Half Saturday until I was done with my chemo and CTs so I called about 3pm as I was driving home and explained everything to Dr. Flanagan's aid said I would get him in the car the minute that I got home and would drive to culver city if the doctor would see me. She asked me to email pics of the area in and she would get with DR. Flanagan and call me back. Once home I did this immediately and sent 2 pics from the morning and explained everything I had noticed and done. After that I got him out and took two more and sent those too. When she called me back in about an hour, she said that Dr. Flanagan said it is not a prolapse of any kind but something similar to a hemorrhoid and to keep neosporin on it and flush it after bowel movements and if it didn't resolve by next Friday to call and come in or if I was not comfortable doing this to come at 1:30 today. I have never heard of hemmrhoids in chams, but it does make sense. Since the straining to defacte incident, I have been givng him only hornworms since they have no exoskelton and are soft. HIs bowel moviment was closer to normal today. Sorry for this Novela, but it said the more details the better! I want ot get everyone's take on this.
 

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So sorry to hear you're having chemo and CT scans... and having to deal with the chameleon issues as well. I hope all goes well with your treatment.

One comment...don't use Vaseline on the butt protrusions in a chameleon....use KY jelly instead.

Sounds like you've tried your best to get this poor chameleon back to good health. I've never heard of hemmeroids in chameleons myself. I don't know what else to add to what the vet has said...sounds like they should know and have likely given you the best advice. (I'm not a vet ...so I can't tell you what's going on for sure.)
 
Thank you. He keeps me sane! Love this little guy he is a trooper too. He has bern through a lot and such a cool.personality. i am going to buy some more neosporin today as i have the cream kind. thsnks for the advice on vaseline. Ill buy some ky so i have it here for future. too.
 
Well decided to take him to the 1:30 appt bevause if it is not what she thinks and he gors downhill she not in until next friday. Got ready went to get him out of the cage and the vent was closed! I can see swelling underneathbut at keast its not exposed! What a relief! She said it was kind of like a hemrhoid and after scouring the web it looks to me like it might be partail colon prolaspe. Anyway keeping fingers and toes crossed that it resolves.
 
Im sorry that this is happening! I hope he heals! A thing I would change is not feed when ever he wants but on a schedule. 4-5 feeders 3x a week.
 
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