MBD? Mouth rot?

summerseeking

Avid Member
Hi All,

I’m slightly freaking out and need guidance about my girl Panther Cham, Iba. I’ll start by saying she has a vet appointment scheduled for 9/3. Today I noticed her bottom jaw is not aligned. I’ll attach photos.

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She has been with me since 8/3, so not even a month yet. I've done a husbandry review here and got a thumbs up. None of my other chams are having issues. Including the Cham that lived in her enclosure before her. I sent photos to the breeder for advice and they pointed out they also think she may have mouth rot. These are the areas they pointed out as potential mouth rot. I'm kinda freaking out. She has only been with me for less than a month. How can this happen this fast? She is being raised with all the same husbandry as my other guys. I'm pretty sure from the breeder's response they don't think they shipped her to me with issues in the making. I'm not sure what to think.

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I thought from this pic they originally sent me it looked like she had signs of jaw alignment issues. But they said when you zoom in it's aligned. I'll add the help form at the bottom. Please help :(

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Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Panther Cham, Girl, DOH 4/18, she has been with me since 8/3
  • Handling - 3 times since she has been with me
  • Feeding - Mostly dubias everyday, about 6 a day, gut loaded with a dry mix that's dehydrated greens of all kinds
  • Supplements - Repti-cal brand, calcium every day, d3 twice a month, multi-vitamin twice a month, outside time about 30 mins a week
  • Watering - Automatic misting, 30 mins before and after light turn on and off, another spray at 2 am for one minute before the fogger runs. the fogger runs from 2:01 am - 6 am
  • Fecal Description - from what I have seen her poops are small with a white urate
  • History - She came from a reputable breeder, I'm really confused about whats happening

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Screen, 2x2x5
  • Lighting - linear arcadia 6%, 24", heat lamp
  • Temperature - Hot spot 83, lower temps low 70
  • Humidity - 80%+ at night, 50-60% during the day
  • Plants -All live, ivy, hibiscus, palm, a few others, all cham safe
  • Placement - In a guest room, low traffic,
  • Location - the bay area California
 
Hi 30 minutes seems like a lot imo for misting do you keep your humidity at the high level constantly. What are your night temps?
I could easily be wrong, but I think they are saying that they mist for (X duration) thirty minutes before the lights turn off and then another (X duration) thirty minutes after lights turn off. I could be wrong though. But I do agree that misting for thirty minutes straight would be a lot for one duration.
 
I could easily be wrong, but I think they are saying that they mist for (X duration) thirty minutes before the lights turn off and then another (X duration) thirty minutes after lights turn off. I could be wrong though. But I do agree that misting for thirty minutes straight would be a lot for one duration.

Yes, that’s what I meant. Sorry for the confusion.
 
It looks like the hinge part of the jaw is sticking out quite a bit just below the casque. I’m not sure that’s anything to worry about. Is it the same on the other side?
 
It looks like the hinge part of the jaw is sticking out quite a bit just below the casque. I’m not sure that’s anything to worry about. Is it the same on the other side?

I think it’s the same on both sides. My breeder said it’s not vet worthy…I’m not sure. Her Protruding jaw worries me.
 
Update on my little girl Iba. We are currently at the vet and she has a mouth infection. The doc thinks she likely came to me with it. We’re getting her on an antibiotic and weekly weight checks because she is underweight because of it.

Trying to give a Cham an oral antibiotic is gonna be great fun! 😩🤦🏾‍♂️😅 I’m grateful to be treating the issue tho ❤️
 
I'm not a vet ...just speaking from experience and what I have learned along the way...
Generally mouth infections involve the bacteria pseudomonas which is opportunistic and if not cleaned out just comes back. Also, chameleon pus is like cottage cheese and the antibiotics don't penetrate it to kill it. Because of both things, it's usually recommended that it be cleaned out and flushed so it won't be as likely to return.

https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-medical-stomatitis-mouth-rot/

https://www.madcham.de/en/maulfaeule/
 
Last edited:
Just want to point out a few things.... Glad your getting her treatment. IME most breeders are not going to take any liability for what they send you. Most will say it happened in your care regardless.


Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Panther Cham, Girl, DOH 4/18, she has been with me since 8/3
  • Handling - 3 times since she has been with me
  • Feeding - Mostly dubias everyday, about 6 a day, gut loaded with a dry mix that's dehydrated greens of all kinds.. Really want to add some diversity to her food... Dubias have a higher uric acid level so if that is all your feeding she has to process more uric acid out of her body. Also for being so young at almost 5 months old this is not much food each day.
  • Supplements - Repti-cal brand, calcium every day, d3 twice a month, multi-vitamin twice a month, outside time about 30 mins a week. What multivitamin are you using?
  • Watering - Automatic misting, 30 mins before and after light turn on and off, another spray at 2 am for one minute before the fogger runs. the fogger runs from 2:01 am - 6 am... How long are your misting sessions and are you providing a dripper during the day?
  • Fecal Description - from what I have seen her poops are small with a white urate
  • History - She came from a reputable breeder, I'm really confused about whats happening

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Screen, 2x2x5
  • Lighting - linear arcadia 6%, 24", heat lamp.. What is your distance to basking branch from the bottom of the fixture?
  • Temperature - Hot spot 83, lower temps low 70... Too hot at basking. This is going to speed up her metabolism making her more hungry. You want to reduce this back to 78-80 max. I am assuming when you do breed her your wanting smaller clutches, correct?
  • Humidity - 80%+ at night, 50-60% during the day What are your night time temps?
  • Plants -All live, ivy, hibiscus, palm, a few others, all cham safe
  • Placement - In a guest room, low traffic,
  • Location - the bay area California
 
She gave me a demo. I helped her administrator the first dose. Iba is so small, 11oz, so that makes it a challenge. She is definitely gonna not trust me after these 14 days.
Ok..so don't tell the vet I said this :)

When I had to medicate chams in the past, I had a super easy method. Draw meds in a syringe with a needle, and then changing needle obviously, inject it into a small bug. You want to make sure the cham is hungry, and he or she will eat bug and all. This means feeding the cham every day for the course of treatment which is another reason for one small bug.

For naysayers..I know..there is a chance a tad of the med could come out when cham squishes the bug..that is why I say a small bug that is taken virtually whole. There is also a chance that if cham tastes the med, he/she will be put off that particular feeder. I never had that happen fortunately. Still doesn't hurt to feed a cricket one day, silk the next, then dubia, etc.

I assume she is 11 grams? Otherwise she is nearly 3/4 of a pound? I ask because based on that and what type of med would determine how large the dose is. This would not work with say a big dose of clavamox, but with Baytril the doses are small.
 
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