Meller in BAD shape!!! HELP PLZ

[CauseNAffect]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male adult melleri, about 23 inches from snout to end of tail, almost a year old.
Handling - Rarely
Feeding - Gut loading live large crickets a week, 1-3 crickets daily. Horn worms and super worms
Supplements - Flukers calcium orange gutload, herpitive dusting, repashy, and reptocal with d3
Watering - 4 minute long misting sessions every day, hydration chamber (steam shower) an hour every other day. Humidifier makes condensation on plant leaves
Fecal Description - runny, smelly urate and brown poo....bad news. probly parasites
History - rescued him from a guy in brooklyn and took on his care, didn't realize all of his issues till he began to acclamate and the stress brought out some issues

Cage Type - NO CAGE, I free range
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 UVB light, ZooMed 100 watt Basking light,
Temperature - basking spot is 95-100
IN WHOLE APT: average temp stays around 54F-78F
Humidity - Main humidity is caused by a humidifier and a habba mist sprayer.
Plants - He lives on a 6 foot reflexa that takes up a huge space in the room and has the option to travel to other plants
Location - New York City


Current Problem -
My chameleon came into my care with a few nails missing and damage on his nose. After seeing the runny stinky poo he created, i put him on panacure and he is almost done with that treatment.
THE NEW PROBLEM: is that there are yellow / brownish crusty looking spots / on his skin that are spreading. started with just his head and now it's going to multiple areas. I don't know what to do. I have baytril which i am thinking of administering in small doses.?

I NEED EXPERIENCED ADVICE, i'd prefer to not hear about my humidity or basking temperatures, it's past that point and i need treatment information on someone who has experienced a similar problem. I do not have money for a vet because NYC rent is crazy money and I'm doing the best I can. I rely on fellow cham lovers to send me medications under the table. Not the best idea but it's better than nothing.

 

[camimom]

it could be a fungus.
or a burn.
how close can he get to his basking light>
aside from the skin being discolered, is there anything else weird about it, texture, flaking, peeling. etc?

 

[CauseNAffect]

No, he's about 9 inches from his light, no peeling, but it has spread, dont know how to treat

 

[camimom]

No, he's about 9 inches from his light, no peeling, but it has spread, dont know how to treat

whoever you have been getting meds from, i would suggest askin gthem if have anything to treat a fungus.
I know there are some human creams work for fungi, but i dont know if they are cham safe.
hopefully someone sees this and can help.

 

[JackP308]

I NEED EXPERIENCED ADVICE, don't tell me to check my temperature or humidity or what not, i need treatment information on someone who has experienced a similar problem. I do not have money for a vet because NYC rent is crazy money and I'm doing the best I can. I rely on fellow cham lovers to send me medications under the table. Not the best idea but it's better than nothing.

Wow good luck with that response. Could be a number of things bruising, burns, infection.

 

[CauseNAffect]

apologies for being brash I just need some treatment ideas

ITS NOT A BURN. it wouldn't be spreading and a lil spot on it's knee wouldn't just come from a burn, just trust me that im fairly certain they aren't burns since they are sporatic in position and coming up new daily.

I believe it's a fungus

 

[camimom]

apologies for being brash I just need some treatment ideas

ITS NOT A BURN. it wouldn't be spreading and a lil spot on it's knee wouldn't just come from a burn, just trust me that im fairly certain they aren't burns since they are sporatic in position and coming up new daily.

I believe it's a fungus

because its spreading, and its not from him touching his basking light, I do believe it is a fungus.
for now, i would put neosporin on it. (cant hurt)
and see if you can figure out waht fungal cream you can get that can help.
there has to be at least one human fungal cream that will treat it.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Human fungal creams treat easy things like ringworm and yeast, neither of which would affect a chameleon. If this is fungal (likely) you'll need to know what type to know what to treat it with. Not all fungi are treated the same, and it will probably need to be an oral medication, not a topical, since it is spreading. I know you don't want to hear it but a good reptile vet is needed here. I realize how painfully expensive it is to live in New York but when you take on an animal it is part of your responsibility as an owner to be able to provide medical care for it, with any pet, but especially with exotics. Can someone (friends, family?) loan you some money to get your guy looked at?

 

[KarmaChameleon1337]

What I wrote in red.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male adult melleri, about 23 inches from snout to end of tail, almost a year old.
Handling - Rarely
Feeding - Gut loading live large crickets a week, 1-3 crickets daily. Horn worms and super worms He should be eating quite a bit more than that
Supplements - Flukers calcium orange gutload, herpitive dusting, repashy, and reptocal with d3
Watering - 4 minute long misting sessions every day, hydration chamber (steam shower) an hour every other day. Humidifier makes condensation on plant leaves
Fecal Description - runny, smelly urate and brown poo....bad news. probly parasites Can you describe the color of the urate?
History - rescued him from a guy in brooklyn and took on his care, didn't realize all of his issues till he began to acclamate and the stress brought out some issues

Cage Type - NO CAGE, I free range
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 UVB light, ZooMed 100 watt Basking light,
Temperature - basking spot is 95-100 That is way too hot. Try 80-85.
IN WHOLE APT: average temp stays around 54F-78F
Humidity - Main humidity is caused by a humidifier and a habba mist sprayer.
Plants - He lives on a 6 foot reflexa that takes up a huge space in the room and has the option to travel to other plants
Location - New York City


Current Problem -
My chameleon came into my care with a few nails missing and damage on his nose. After seeing the runny stinky poo he created, i put him on panacure and he is almost done with that treatment.
THE NEW PROBLEM: is that there are yellow / brownish crusty looking spots / on his skin that are spreading. started with just his head and now it's going to multiple areas. I don't know what to do. I have baytril which i am thinking of administering in small doses.?

I NEED EXPERIENCED ADVICE, i'd prefer to not hear about my humidity or basking temperatures, it's past that point and i need treatment information on someone who has experienced a similar problem. I do not have money for a vet because NYC rent is crazy money and I'm doing the best I can. I rely on fellow cham lovers to send me medications under the table. Not the best idea but it's better than nothing. Sorry hun but humidity and temps can be PART of the treatment.

 

[whereswaldo]

am i the only one who thinks he could have had a fall and got bruised? is there any texture difference?
psst im not an experts sorry

 

[spadefish]

because its spreading, and its not from him touching his basking light, I do believe it is a fungus.
for now, i would put neosporin on it. (cant hurt)
and see if you can figure out waht fungal cream you can get that can help.
there has to be at least one human fungal cream that will treat it.

I agree with the neosporin. You can try the generic triple antibiotic cream, poly sporin, etc. Use a clean qtip. Before you smear that on, I would use some hydrogen peroxide on one of those cotton make-up rounds and dab it around on there to see if anything loosens up. Perhaps there is moisture underneath some unshed skin? When you say "crusty", do you mean that it crumbles when you touch it? Does it peel easily? Is it on top of the scales or do you think the scales are discolored? I would do these cleaninings twice a day. Make it as sterile as you ca -- wrap the bottle of peroxide with tin foil. Wrap the tube of ointment with tin foil. Wear gloves. Get everything out ahead of time and take the cham to where you have set up. When you are done, put cham back, then clean up by throwing everything away that you used and take the foil off the containers and wipe them down with alcohol. You don't want to spread whatever this is.

I treated a flapneck with abscesses which started out this way, and they eventually became raised, yellow and scabby-crusty. LEt us know if any of this works.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Cleaning it regularly as described is a good idea. But don't use hydrogen peroxide as it will actually kill off healthy cells that are trying to heal as well as the bad ones. A dilute iodine solution would be much better and can have some activity against fungi. I would try only dilute iodine cleanings once daily for a few weeks and see what happens. Smearing a bunch of ointments on it may create an anaerobic environment for whatever is already growing in it and that could make it worse. Remember they heal slowly so it will take time (weeks) to see any improvement. If it continues to spread or if he starts to feel bad then you need to take him to a vet.

 

[sdheli420]

sounds like it may be fungal as well imo...and others are right, you may need to lower humidity just a tad, and maybe get a lil more ventilation..and lower the basking temp just a tad..i would try the hydrogen peroxide with q-tips to see if you get a fizz, if it does it means its working..good luck, still a beautiful cham!!

also, is your cham able to be completly dry for 1 hour before the next misting??

 

[CauseNAffect]

Thanks for the advice so far,

****Let me say that its not a superficial coloring, the SCALES THEMSELVES are discolored, when he shows stressed colors the brown spots turn white, they are part of his skin***

I believe it to be a fungus, I just don't see burns happening like this sparatically.

Does anyone know of any treaments or medicines besides neosporin, it's spreading i just don't think topical ointments will do it, i'll give it a try to help him out.

Would reptaid or baytril be apporpriate here?

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Would reptaid or baytril be apporpriate here?

No. Baytril has zero activity against any fungi. It is purely antibacterial. Reptaid is an herbal supplement. It's not going to treat a fungus. Iodine is the best at home thing you can do as it can have some activity against fungi. The foaming of hydrogen peroxide is just catalase from blood or cells. Doesn't necessarily mean it's the right cells that are being damaged, and after the first few days of the healing process it is the wrong cells that are being damaged. The entire medical field is moving away from using hydrogen peroxide for more than a few days of initial treatment having realized this.

 

[CauseNAffect]

So iodine?

What would be the best thing for me to buy and where can I get it.

Are there any prescription meds that will do it?

 

[thephotoprincess]

I would try reptaid. It contains grapefruit seed oil which is an antimicrobial - it kills fungus bacteria, some viruses & parasites. I have used reptaid with sucess.

Grapefruit seed oil is reccomended on the melleri discovery web site for those properties listed above.

Also, 90 -95 is an appropriate basking temp for melleri as long as there are cooler spots as well. My warmest spots are 92-94 and they like that on chilly mornings.

All the advice I have given you is based on my actual experiences with keeping actual melleri that I have gotten in a wide variety of conditions. I have read and researched a great deal, spoken with many other experienced melleri keepers and had several vet visits and conversations.

The best advice is still a vet visit with a knowlegdeable vet.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

So iodine?

What would be the best thing for me to buy and where can I get it.

Iodine solution can be purchased at any grocery store. Dilute it about 10:1 before use.

Are there any prescription meds that will do it?

Who knows. Without knowing what it is you don't know how to treat it appropriately. You can't just treat anything with any drug.

 

[Texas Panther Man]

You really need to have those spots tested and have cultures done. I have heard about others using lotrimin for fungal infections. I personally havent used it.....

Fungals are very hard to treat in chams from what Ive read. Good luck and post results after your attempts at treating this. Would help others in your situation in the future......

If you have any chlorhexidine solution you can try diluting that and cleaning the area where the scales are discolored. If its truly a fungal the chlorhexidine wont work. Its more of an antibacterial solution. But its safe to use directly on the animal if its diluted a bit.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

You really need to have those spots tested and have cultures done. I have heard about others using lotrimin for fungal infections. I personally havent used it.....

Fungals are very hard to treat in chams from what Ive read. Good luck and post results after your attempts at treating this. Would help others in your situation in the future......

Lotrimin = Clotrimazole, which is a weak anitfungal used to treat yeast infections of the mouth, and skin such as athlete's foot, jock itch, and body ringworm. All of these are wimpy fungi. Chams don't get wimpy fungi. Like I and Texas Panther Man said, you need a vet to treat this properly.