I'm guessing an abcess, but what now?

kmakani

New Member
From looking at the other posts, I'm going to guess my Zeus has a mouth abcess but wasn't sure. I noticed it yesterday. I looked on the vet resources guide for Hawaii, but there was only one that is for the Honolulu Zoo. Does anyone know if there is a local vet outside the zoo for chameleons? Any input would be so helpful. Zeus is an awesome little guy and I would hate to do the wrong thing with this bump...Mahalo!
 

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I'm not a local.
but, looked what i got from herpvetconnection.com

Kaneohe
Jed Rogers, DVM
Dr. Hashimoto, DVM
Vca Kaneohe Animal Hospital
45-608 Kamehameha Hwy
Kaneohe, HI 96744
Tel: (808) 236-2414

Mahalo :D
 
kmakani-

Waimanalo, Oahu right....?:D

I hope so. there is a douglas chang

Aloha Animal Hospital
4224 Waialae Ave
Honolulu 96816
808-734-2242

MY sister in law is a vet and she thinks that he will handle reptiles.

I have a call into him for a referal closer to you if there is one...

sorry hard to find these guys in the islands.:D

HOPE that helps and I ll post back when I have the info.

OPI
 
I had a wc come in with the exact same thing in the exact same place. My vet drained it with a syringe from the mouth going up into the abscess. There was kind of a white pussy substance that he drained (a build up of white blood cells). Then I administered Fortaz for the next few days and it was gone basically two days after he drained it.

Here is a pic when he came in:
dsc01869fz0.jpg


Now he is perfectly fine.

-chris
 
Last edited:
Thank you for the info. I set up an appointment for 8:30 tomorrow morning in Manoa. After calling around, the two doctors that I was told about were:

Dr. Kaya
VCA Clinic
University/Manoa
988-2111

Dr. Hashimoto
VCA Pearl City
484-9070

I hope this helps others here in Hawaii/Oahu. I will post outcome, poor little guy.

Much Mahalos....
 
CleanLineChameleons,

Did you find out how this happened so hopefully I can correct the possible problem? Thanks...
 
Basically an abscess is a build up of white blood cells, so for some reason the chameleon's body is sending white blood cells to that area to help fight something. It is not uncommon for WC chameleons to have an abscess, it is likely that stress lowered the immune system allowing an infection. It shouldn't come back after a few rounds of Fortaz. I would give him about .04 CC once every other day few a week and a half, but definitely ask your vet because it is based on the weight of the chameleon.

-chris
 
I know you guys said mouth rot but my jacksons got bit by a cricket that led to an abcess like that. the vet lanced it and gave me some drops to put on it. Later I found out it was eye medicine but it worked so that is besides the point. That isnt my vet anymore either. Do you free range your crickets. I cup fed mine but what I think happened is he barely snagged one and then it bit him on the cheek while hanging in his mouth. Finding a vet is definatly the thing to do. Good luck.
 
I know you guys said mouth rot but my jacksons got bit by a cricket that led to an abcess like that. the vet lanced it and gave me some drops to put on it. Later I found out it was eye medicine but it worked so that is besides the point. That isnt my vet anymore either. Do you free range your crickets. I cup fed mine but what I think happened is he barely snagged one and then it bit him on the cheek while hanging in his mouth. Finding a vet is definatly the thing to do. Good luck.

"Infectious stomatitis usually occurs as a response to stress such as an inappropriately temperature-regulated environment, overcrowding, internal or external parasites, trauma, or especially, poor nutrition. Vitamin C deficiency and inappropriate calcium/phosphorous levels in the diet have been implicated. Any of these stresses suppress the immune system of the reptile and make it much more susceptible to infections."

a "cricket bit/scratch" is usually how stomatits is brought to attention but the underlying issue is usally stomatits... im no vet though... just a metalhead with a pink camera...
 
I just wanted to say that i hope you get a hold of a good vet and get him taken care of. He is one beautiful chameleon and i am not a fan of the horned species but boy, i'll tell you, after seeing this guy i might change my mind. He's gorgeous!! Let us know what the vet says.

Good luck,
Debby
 
Thank you for your thoughts. I went to go see Dr. Kaya in VCA Manoa this morning. Has his own exotics at home. Good for all that live in Hawaii to know about him. Anyway, Zeus has an infection, some kind of rod bacteria. He weighs 57 grams and has been put on Enrofox .05ml a day for 2 weeks. For the details, it was pretty gross, really thick, green pus. He said other than his lump, he looks really good compared to most of the chameleons that have been to his office lately. He said usually with this kind of lump on the mouth, it is due to diet, just to provide more variety (I give him mostly crickets, but also give him black millipedes, fruit flies, earth worms, aphids) I just need to mix his meals up more than I have. Any easy way suggestions to syringe the meds into him would be great. If not, I was thinking of trying to give him an earthworm and placing the meds in when he opens his mouth...Thank you all for the information!
 
That's what my husband said too. How is a sensitivity test done? I'm going to say no unless he did the test in the back area of the clinic...
 
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