Kali has a mystery bump 😟

[MissSkittles]

I found this the other day on my cutie patootie, petite purple princess. I’m not sure how long it’s been there, but it can’t have been too long without me noticing it. She’s usually way above my short little head and I guess usually facing so that it would be behind her. Anyhow, it’s quite hard and I really don’t like the irregularity of its surface. I can’t help but think of the C word. I only know that it isn’t a burn or a bite and I’d think an abscess would have a smooth surface and be squishy. It also doesn’t look like a papilloma to me. I’m going to take her to have it checked, but have to wait until mid January for a good chameleon vet to be available. In the meantime, I thought I’d ask if anyone has seen anything like this.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

I would definitely take your female Furcifer pardalis to a vet. That bump looks like a cyst. You are probably going to have to have that cyst lanced and your female Furcifer pardalis put on antibiotics.

Happy Holidays!

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[Carlton]

I would definitely take your female Furcifer pardalis to a vet. That bump looks like a cyst. You are probably going to have to have that cyst lanced and your female Furcifer pardalis put on antibiotics.

Happy Holidays!

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

We all know how difficult trying to diagnose with just a photo can be. I had a WC F. verrucosus that developed a similar lump on his snout above and in between the nares. It wasn't a discolored or open sore, no obvious inflammation, it wasn't a papilloma, an old injury or bite from the wild...at least it didn't appear to be old. He'd been in captivity for over a year when it became noticeable. It kept growing slowly but didn't seem to cause him much discomfort (or he was doing his best to hide his vulnerability). The vet xrayed the skull but couldn't really detect any bone involvement. He tried a needle aspiration with no result. Next, he numbed the skin and opened it with a scalpel and started removing swab after swab of that caseous material herp abscesses form. The more he probed, the more came out. Finally, a gentle push broke through into the poor cham's mouth. He could push a sterile swab all the way through a well-defined tunnel between the surface of his snout and his mouth (when the cham gaped at us you could see the tip of the swab protruding from between his upper jaws). It was quite a surprise. We wondered just how long that thing had been there. Cleaned all the caseous material out, flushed the tunnel, filled the cavity with antibiotic ointment. We planned to watch how it healed before resorting to systemic antibiotics. It healed without any further treatment at all.

 

[MissSkittles]

Thanks @Motherlode Chameleon and @Carlton for your feedback. I’m really hoping it is a cyst or something fixable. The almost eroded-looking appearance of the surface has made me quite nervous. My beloved Dr Bogoslavsky recently retired and I just don’t have the same faith in the other Orlando (or anywhere else) exotics vets. There is a vet who @jannb says is excellent, (Dr Ivan Alfonso) but he lacks an office…he’s a mobile vet. He does set up in a pet store every month or so and I’m going to make an appointment for Kali.

 

[Motherlode Chameleon]

We all know how difficult trying to diagnose with just a photo can be. I had a WC F. verrucosus that developed a similar lump on his snout above and in between the nares. It wasn't a discolored or open sore, no obvious inflammation, it wasn't a papilloma, an old injury or bite from the wild...at least it didn't appear to be old. He'd been in captivity for over a year when it became noticeable. It kept growing slowly but didn't seem to cause him much discomfort (or he was doing his best to hide his vulnerability). The vet xrayed the skull but couldn't really detect any bone involvement. He tried a needle aspiration with no result. Next, he numbed the skin and opened it with a scalpel and started removing swab after swab of that caseous material herp abscesses form. The more he probed, the more came out. Finally, a gentle push broke through into the poor cham's mouth. He could push a sterile swab all the way through a well-defined tunnel between the surface of his snout and his mouth (when the cham gaped at us you could see the tip of the swab protruding from between his upper jaws). It was quite a surprise. We wondered just how long that thing had been there. Cleaned all the caseous material out, flushed the tunnel, filled the cavity with antibiotic ointment. We planned to watch how it healed before resorting to systemic antibiotics. It healed without any further treatment at all.

Woww! That is amazing the your Furcifer verrucosus healed after all that the chameleon went through.

Great story thanks for sharing.

Best Regards
Jeremy A. Rich

 

[Sonny13]

I’m sorry Vikki, you and Kali are going through this. Hopefully it turns out to be nothing harmful and Kali keeps living her happy life with you