I've been to a vet looking for another opinion

[Rookie1911]

Ok so this might be lengthy we purchased our Gloria a year ago from a boxed store to save her from the conditions she was being kept in, the day after we bought her I took her to the vet because I was concerned about her breathing and she was diagnosed with a respiratory infection and was put on antibiotics she was 8grams. Fast forward to today she is 120grams and has been very good and healthy until a week ago.
So in Dec I knew she was carrying eggs I chose to do an ultrasound on her to check on the eggs for complications as I know with her previous history and potentially weakened immune system she might have had complications, however the vet assured us everything looked good all eggs were uniform size the vet did not see any reason for complications. Her cage was fully prepared lay bin and all the vet looked over all information I provided, temps, lights, I even had a sample of the dirt and she said everything looked great.
For 2 weeks Goria dug and dug she worked so hard but at the end I only ever found 3 eggs, (i only looked for eggs after I decided to bring her back to the vet). After the 2 weeks and she seemed restless we went back to the vet and had another ultrasound which showed all the eggs were gone but 4 which the vet said were surrounded by fatty tissue and would most likely be re absorbed by her body? Within a week of that vet visit she started with this skin discoloration???

 

[Rookie1911]

She went back to the vet on Thurs. The vet looked at this skin discoloration under a magnifying lens and said it did not look like a skin infection, however a Betadine solution was given to me to try but she is scheduled for a check in 2 more weeks. She is drinking and eating and acting like her normal self and I am basically trying to find out if anyone has ever seen this before?I am concerned however the vet might be missing something I was hoping to get some additional information.

 

[Rookie1911]

The discoloration is not raised it is not flaking all the actual skin cells r intact my concern is that could this possibly be connected to her unusual egg cycle or some type of peritonitis symptoms? The vet dosen't think so but I have spent too much money nursing this poor animal back to health and too much money to turn a blind eye to this unusual skin discoloration

 

[Rookie1911]

With regards to questions about husbandry Gloria basically has her own room. We have a larger skyscraper glass enclosure that has a lay bin with a custom screen door, a small one we use when cleaning the others and transport to the vet ECT. We made a large 4 ft custom screen enclosure she uses mostly, and she free ranges in her indoor hibiscus tree. All enclosures have been fitted with double guages for more accuracy I also have a temp gun. All lighting is Zoo Med 5.0 linear bulbs that get changed ever 6months heat lights r standard and the temps r all kept 82ish in the closest basking spot plus she has access to sit in front of a window which I know does not let enough UVB in but I am very careful to monitor UVB access and adjust accordingly, humidity I have tried 3 different machines the room is kept no less that 49 no more than 72. I use real live plants in all enclosures plus plastic. I am very careful about supplements I use Repashy calcium plus, Repti Calcium with and without D3 on a regimented schedule, all feeders r fed nothing but the best including bee pollen, spirulina, kale, acorn squash, sweet potatoes, Repashy superload and whatever fruit I have at home. Cricket bins r cleaned every 2 days all worms, wax worms, butter worms and horn worms r used within a week of purchase. I've had xrays done, ultrasounds done, blood work done and fecal samples taken all were normal and her urates r normal. She uses drippers as her water source which she uses regularly, Misting is usually 1-2 times a day once in the morning once mid afternoon. My husband thinks I am worrying too much because the vet does not seem to be concerned but I have yet to find any other information on skin discolorations like this so if nothing else to help others that might come across the same thing.

 

[jannb]

She’s a beautiful girl. I don’t really see anything that abnormal. Her skin looks a little dry under the arm. My girls look like that sometimes too. Just put a little cream on it to keep,it moist for a few days. I use Zymox tropical cream that I got from my vet for a different issue one of my chameleons had but it works well for this dry skin too. It may go away with her next shed.

 

[kinyonga]

I'm not sure what the skin discoloration is from...sorry.

Your husbandry seems to be good. I have heard of the odd veiled that has resorbed eggs...but if she shows signs of going down hill make sure you get her back to the vet to check on things.

Please keep us updated.

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

When chameleonshe eats butter worms, on occasion they will get odd skin discoloration that is permanent and not reversable (sometimes it might improve a little overy time). Do a Internet search. There are quite a few picture examples. Hope this helps. Beautiful girl, by the way!

 

[jajeanpierre]

Wow @Rookie1911 you have really gone the extra mile with this girl. Skin issues are really hard to diagnose just looking at them.

A couple of things come to mind. I'm not a vet and pictures can be very deceiving but here are some of my thoughts.

It could be retained shed. Sometimes if they are kept really dry, they won't shed a spot properly and layers of skin can build up. It doesn't look like you think it would. The spots even shed, but if you do a biopsy you will find layers of crushed skin. It looks more like they have calcium dust on their skin. It's hard to describe. I've included a picture of an animal like that. It's taken years to get most of his skin normal. This is often seen in montane imports that have been kept too dry. It's a humidity issue. You have a veiled and a glass cage so that doesn't make a lot of sense but I thought I would bring it up anyway. Retained shed can also be caused by damaged skin and scars so I wouldn't rule it out.

It could be a fungal or bacterial infection. Last year I experimented with how I keep babies and ended up with some babies with fungal infections that in the beginning could look like what you are seeing under her arm. I've had pathology done on one baby and it was a fungal infection from a common fungus found in the environment. I give lots of fresh air and natural sunlight. I will put a little silver sulfadiazine on lesions sometimes. I've used an antifungal ointment.

I notice you say you have a glass cage with live plants which, if it is what I dealt with, is problematic.

I would get her out in sunlight and increase the air circulation in the cage somehow. Real sunlight triggers sheds so if it is a small patch of retained shed, the sunlight might help. My babies with the skin lesions responded really well to sunlight and I think it was very instrumental to clearing their skin. I would give two long misting sessions, morning and night and let the cage dry out in between. I would also give her a dose of Vitamin A. I give one drop of human grade Vitamin A from an 8000IU gel cap on a feeder bug once a month. It won't hurt.

 

[Rookie1911]

Wow @Rookie1911 you have really gone the extra mile with this girl. Skin issues are really hard to diagnose just looking at them.

A couple of things come to mind. I'm not a vet and pictures can be very deceiving but here are some of my thoughts.

It could be retained shed. Sometimes if they are kept really dry, they won't shed a spot properly and layers of skin can build up. It doesn't look like you think it would. The spots even shed, but if you do a biopsy you will find layers of crushed skin. It looks more like they have calcium dust on their skin. It's hard to describe. I've included a picture of an animal like that. It's taken years to get most of his skin normal. This is often seen in montane imports that have been kept too dry. It's a humidity issue. You have a veiled and a glass cage so that doesn't make a lot of sense but I thought I would bring it up anyway. Retained shed can also be caused by damaged skin and scars so I wouldn't rule it out.

It could be a fungal or bacterial infection. Last year I experimented with how I keep babies and ended up with some babies with fungal infections that in the beginning could look like what you are seeing under her arm. I've had pathology done on one baby and it was a fungal infection from a common fungus found in the environment. I give lots of fresh air and natural sunlight. I will put a little silver sulfadiazine on lesions sometimes. I've used an antifungal ointment.

I notice you say you have a glass cage with live plants which, if it is what I dealt with, is problematic.

I would get her out in sunlight and increase the air circulation in the cage somehow. Real sunlight triggers sheds so if it is a small patch of retained shed, the sunlight might help. My babies with the skin lesions responded really well to sunlight and I think it was very instrumental to clearing their skin. I would give two long misting sessions, morning and night and let the cage dry out in between. I would also give her a dose of Vitamin A. I give one drop of human grade Vitamin A from an 8000IU gel cap on a feeder bug once a month. It won't hurt.

 

[Rookie1911]

Thank you so much for the information even though the vet did not seem worried personally my gut is telling me to push for more testing sooner rather than later. I noticed over the course of the weekend it seemed to spread but it seems the Betadine has kept it at bay at least for now I also notice her trying to scratch it the last 2 days which is telling me it is starting to become bothersome so Monday morning I'm gonna try to bring her back in depending on the vets schedule but I'll definenty keep everyone posted. My biggest concern at this point is I don't like waiting on things especially with her I've spent a year nursing her initial problems caused by the pet store and trying to get her immune system healthy enough to get her through her egg process I've literally spent thousands so I can't really give up now lolz....i will definitely keep adding to this to let everyone know what is going on with the weird skin it might be useful for others.

 

[Kawasaki]

What type, "brand name" was the substrate she layed eggs in? And would it be beneficial to take a soft tooth brush, dip it in the betedine or chlohexidine bath solution and gently scrub those areas....

 

[Rookie1911]

So update on this condition Gloria was admitted back to the vet on an emergency visit as she is now declining in health and scratching her skin raw. She is on Ceftazidime 0.03 ml injected under her skin every 3 days, cause of the skin irritation is still unknown but is pending lab work. She had her first dose today and goes back to the vet Thurs. I will continue adding to this post as this situation continues.

 

[Rookie1911]

Updated photo March 20/2018

 

[kinyonga]

Wow...that has progressed very quickly. Have they tested for fungal infection??
I've never seen anything quite like that before. If you have other critters be very careful!

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

I to feel very impressed with you as a chameleon keeper! You are a good person! Sooo proud of you!

 

[jannb]

Updated photo March 20/2018

That looks bad. I didn’t even notice that the other day from my phone. I was looking under her arm where my girl had dry skin before. I hope the Cectazidime helps. Please keep us posted.