Melleri pododermatitis

[Smithy]

Hi, I have been keeping my 3 mellers in a free rang set up for over a year and they have been really healthy. Over the past 2 weeks I have noticed that the 2 females have developed ulcers on their hind feet and I have started them on injectable amikacin and topical iodine daily. I feel however that the wounds appear to be progressing despite treatment. I am unsure if there is any other treatment options? I am sure some husbandry issue is at fault, but I have setup everything as suggested on the melleri discovery website, but possibly increased humidity is at fault? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[summoner12]

Please post some photos of the feet and maybe even the free range.

I would use silvadene cream daily on the skin and cleaning it daily.

What part of the world do you live in?

 

[kinyonga]

What are they walking on? Since that could be what's causing the ulcers, maybe it needs to be changed so the ulcers can heal?

 

[Smithy]

Thanks for the advice. I will get some photos and post them. I have kept them a combination of artificial reptile vines and natural branches. They have been fine on this for over a year. I have some silver salazine cream so I will use this! Has antone had mellers with this problem and have healed them successfully? It worries me that I have read that some need euthanasia with this condition. My trio has been really happy indoors and have breed successfully and I have 66, 3 month old eggs incubating, so will hopefully have hatchlings soon. I am living in London UK, so the climate makes keep them outside only very occasionally.

 

[FFSTRescue]

Amikacin can be nephrotoxic so make sure you are giving more water than normal and offering it via syringe so that your chameleon is getting fluids whether wanted or not. Also, Amikacin is not completely effective by itself. It is one of those antibiotics that should be used in conjunction with another antibitiotic, more specifically Metronidazole (Flagyl). I have also used Lincomycin successfully for pododermatitis. So talk with your veterinarian about using Amikacin/Metronidazole combination (they work synergistically) or Lincomycin instead. I'm not sure if you mentioned this already, but also occasionally clean the feet with chlorahexadine before applying the topical ointment. This isn't medical advice, it is a "medical suggestion" that you need to discuss with your veterinarian. Good luck

Oh, I forgot to mention, is the cream you are using SSD (Silver Sulfadiazine)? I'm not sure what the one is you are using. The SSD cream is great, I usually alternate between SSD and Neosporin so they don't get too much sulfa in their system, if you are applying it several times a day.

 

[kinyonga]

Amikacin can also affect balance and hearing.

 

[FroggtheCham]

If you are suspecting fungal involvement, you can alternate SSD and miconazole. This is an OTC topical antifungal cream. It won't penetrate too far into the skin, so if deep tissue is involved, you will still need to add the flagyl. Flagyl is used as an antifungal as well.

 

[kinyonga]

Flamazine is also a good cream to use because even if it gets into the chameleon's eye or mouth it won't be a problem...and its antifungal and antibacterial (for gram negative and positive bacteria). (BTW...I would not use it for the eyes even so.)

 

[FroggtheCham]

Flamazine is also a good cream to use because even if it gets into the chameleon's eye or mouth it won't be a problem...and its antifungal and antibacterial.

Ah ha!! Good one!! Very versatile too!! Most of the other topicals can't be ingested. Using one cream instead of two is nice too

 

[kinyonga]

Only downside to flamazine is that you will likely need a prescription for it.