How badly should I panic?

[lzoronz]

Our Panther Cham just went to the toilet and there was a couple of spots of blood after the faeces. The faeces itself had no blood in it but his vent looked sore and red when it was exposed.

I think he had got deyhydrated because there was no water in the matter. He has not been eating terribly well over the last few days.

I have had a lot of troubles with food in the past as he won't eat crickets or locusts. He has settled on Morio Worms, and beetle grubs... could the skins of the Morios be making him compacted? There is no substrate in the bottom of the cage by the way.

Cheers

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy,

Parasites are always a possibility. If you haven't had him tested before now would be a good time. It is very rare to see post about blood from a chameleon's vent. Along with a vet visit for the parasite testing, post answers to: https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ to help spot any issues.

What part of the world are you located?

 

[lzoronz]

Cage Type - 2.5x4.5ft Homemade clear acrylic front, mesh sides.
* Lighting - ubv 20watts 80watt basking
* Temperature - 80-90 day 60-70 night
* Humidity - Humidity gauge broke but should be fairly good.
* Plants - Pothos, ficus, fake vines
* Location - Lounge, gets some direct sunlight but only early morning and late evening


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - Male pather 1 year old nosey blue
* Handling - Unusually appears to love it, comes out a few times a day when we are watching TV we leave the door open and he comes to us, I'm gonna youtube this cos no one ever believes me!
* Feeding - ridiculously fussy, after much research we settled on Morios, beetle grubs, wax worms and the occasional freshly shedded locust... He only eats white food!!
* Supplements - calcium daily, calcium plus vits once a week, reptoboost in water if he looks listless (once a week or so) t.rex calcium plus, oranges and carrots gutload for morios
* Watering - how long to you mist? twice a day 15 mins and dripper, seems to drink ok, if he licks his surroundings we spray again.
* Fecal Description - Large brown, small orange lump, small white lump and clear goo, occasionally huge (2x1/3 inch).
* History - .Arrived 3 months ago from private collector, it appears as though he cut his nails, consequently they have never grown back better than little nubs so his grip is a bit rubbish.
* Current Problem - Blood spotting after toilet, sore looking vent when exposed. Gone off food. looking in great heath except for that.

We are in the UK and struggling to find a reputable Reptile Vet in Wiltshire area.

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[lzoronz]

Update on the situation-

There is still a couple drops of blood after his faeces when he goes to the loo and his vent looks super sore and red at the end and takes a bit of time to retract. It also makes little popping noises when he goes which is very weird. I'm trying to find a vet that specializes in reptiles because last time we took him we had the pleasure of paying to have him confirmed to be a chameleon and weighing in on dog scales at 0!!

On the upside he has started to eat again but looks a bit greyer than normal .

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated, has anyone else had this problem?

 

[HmC]

http://www.herpvetconnection.com/uk.shtml

hope this helps...

 

[lzoronz]

Thanks! I will ring tomorrow. I have just been having a look at him, I have a horrible feeling that one side of his rib cage feels different to the other but I am too cautious to really have a poke about.

 

[jmyeager]

I hope you are able to find a reptile vet through the link above. I think that he will absolutely need one to get better. Blood in droppings can be caused by a number of different causes, however I would first of all be highly suspicious of a parasite infestation. Other causes could include bacterial overgrowth (which is usually secondary to some other health problem), obstruction or trauma to the GI tract due to ingestion of too large of a prey item, or a bacterial or viral infeciton. If the blood is associated with the urine/urate portion, then it could be related to a kidney issue. Has he been rubbing is vent on any objects in the cage? It is also possible that this could cause irritation and inflammation of the vent/cloaca, which could also lead to bleeding of the local tissue.

Your vet will probably recommend checking a fecal. It would be a good idea to bring a fresh one with you, if it is passed longer than 3-4 hours before you leave put it in the fridge (sealed off so you don't contaminate other things in the fridge, of course). Depending on what else your vet finds on physical exam, blood work or radiographs may be recommended to rule out such things as a blockage in the GI tract, assessing kidney and other organ function, among others. More than likely your little guy will go home on some meds too, perhaps an antiparasitic or antibiotic, depending on what is found.

Good luck with him