My Mellers is sick. Need help

scchameleon

scchameleon

Member
I've had Taco, a Mellers Chameleon for a year now. Same cage, set-up and location. Never handle and same diet. over the past week he has stopped eating. He just completed a full body shed so I thought that might be the reason for the fast, but over the past 3 days he is acting strange. He is sleeping and hanging out with his head raised. I did a search and saw where is is a symptom of respitory issues. I went and bought a hot humidifer and started blowing it on him. He is sleeping this way as well.

I need help on other treatments. I have no reptile vets within 2 hours of my house. Can someone with a good vet that has had same issues give me feedback so I can then take this feedback to my local vet. Maybe that would help the vet give me the right medicine.

Color and eyes are all looking normal. Check out picture. Thank you for your help!




Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Male Melleri, I have had him for a year, I think he is about 2 years old, LTC from guy I got him from last year.
  • Handling - Don't handle him.
  • Feeding - He eats a mixed diet of gut loaded Dubias, superworms with romaine lettace, and some crickets. These feeders are sprinkled with Repashy Calcium LoD once a week.
  • Supplements - Repashy Calcium LoD once a week
  • Watering - 3 cycles of water a day from MistKing. 10-20 minutes each
  • Fecal Description - Normal Fecial
  • History - LTC that I got a year ago. Previous owner did not know how long he had been in states.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Mesh Cage, 6ft tall, 4 ft wide, and 3 ft deep
  • Lighting - Have a normal heat lamp on for 12 hrs, a UV 10 amp Reptisun for 12 hours, and 54 watts of grow lights for plants for 12 hours.
  • Temperature - temps stay pretty steady at 76-80. Basketing is probably 85-90
  • Humidity - I keep it humid being in South - 50%-80%
  • Plants - Live Plants - Pathos
  • Placement - Cage is in my classroom. High traffic for small times during day. Students keep here distance per my rule. Placed high off ground.
  • Location - South Carolina
 

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I know you don't handle him but try to take him out of his cage and look inside his mouth for mucus, that's a sign of an upper respiratory infection!
 
Man he's pretty. I wish I could give you the advise you need but I've never had a melleri. I'm only just now starting to research what they need. There are a few member here that have them, I hope they can help. @jpowell86, I know you'll see this without my tagging you but ya know, trying to help.
 
Taco is beautiful - I really couldn't help but to say so. Stunning actually. I know this is pretty much a useless comment, since I know nothing about Melleri and am offering nothing of substance, but I am sending SO many positive vibes to both you and Taco for a speedy recovery (if something is indeed ailing him.)
 
I'm not expert but his/her neck looks swollen which could be a sign edema. Even though the closest vet is 2 hours away it's worth the drive. A blood test is in order I believe.
 
I've never owned a mellers but have done extensive research on the species as I plan on purchasing one of jpowell86's babies. I agree with your assumption of a respiratory infection but I do want to see what people that own the species have to say. A vet trip and antibiotics are probably in order.
 
So, in addition to sleeping with their heads pointed up, chams with respiratory infections can also have blocked nostrils, take heavy gulps of air over and over, inflate their gular and "puff" the air out over and over, sit with their mouths open, and produce more sticky saliva even when not actively drinking. Also, the inactivity and loss of appetite too. Is "he" spending a lot more time basking and staying a darker color? Is your photo current? I don't see stress spotting at all. Given that your normal humidity level and temps are OK, I don't quite see why you are using a warm humidifier too. That might promote more bacterial growth in his vicinity which isn't a good thing right now. Could a local vet take some swabs from his mouth and try culturing for bacterial count? A commonly prescribed broad spectrum antibiotic is Baytril, but be very careful....have the local vet consult with one of our known cham vets on this forum. I have treated melleri with Baytril and some animals reacted very badly to it.
 
Carlton said:
So, in addition to sleeping with their heads pointed up, chams with respiratory infections can also have blocked nostrils, take heavy gulps of air over and over, inflate their gular and "puff" the air out over and over, sit with their mouths open, and produce more sticky saliva even when not actively drinking. Also, the inactivity and loss of appetite too. Is "he" spending a lot more time basking and staying a darker color? Is your photo current? I don't see stress spotting at all. Given that your normal humidity level and temps are OK, I don't quite see why you are using a warm humidifier too. That might promote more bacterial growth in his vicinity which isn't a good thing right now. Could a local vet take some swabs from his mouth and try culturing for bacterial count? A commonly prescribed broad spectrum antibiotic is Baytril, but be very careful....have the local vet consult with one of our known cham vets on this forum. I have treated melleri with Baytril and some animals reacted very badly to it.
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Have you ever heard of Ceftazidime? I treated a chameleon with an URI before with it. It worked great! And all the other talk and results I've seen with it were good to. Anyways, to the OP, I would recommend asking your Vet about it. The only notable side effect I found was a loss of appetite. Apparently it's easier on them than vs. Baytril. But that's only with one chameleon of mine. Doesn't hurt to ask though!
 
Are you sure he isn't a she? The scallops look more female than male to me but I'm no melleri expert. S/he looks fabulous. I'm so used to seeing battered and broken freshly imported wild caughts, it is such a pleasant surprise to see a round one..

@jpowell86 you need to comment on this! Joel can comment on the seriousness of the gular edema, which could be a reaction to the supplements, the commercial feed the feeder insects were fed or it could be serious major organ failure.
 
Defiantly a male. I caught him pooping and man parts were pushed out. This and eggs in females are only visual signs of sex in Melleri.

Took Taco to vet this evening. My local general doc listened to the research I discovered on this site and did his own examination. Said there was a little wheezing during breaths when he listened and with how I told him he was acting came to conclusion of a respitory infection. Hopefully I got it early enough. He has great color and good weights. Taco weighted 257g today and that is with about 7 days of fasting. Eyes look great too.

Doc give me a generic form of Baytral. 2.5 ml for next 3 days and .5 ml from day 4 to 10.

I'll keep y'all posted.
 

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Baytril is dangerous to adult melleri! Please do not use it! I have pictures of my own animal declining, then coming back from baytril treatment. Use Ceftazadime! Please stop, even if you've already given a dowse. Baytril is sometimes acceptable in smaller melleri, but for some reason the adults react badly to it.

The LoD needs to be given less. Try plain calcium 3 times a week, Lo D twice a month, and Repashy vitamins with A or some Dendrocare, twice month. Romaine lettuce is very poor nutritionally. You need to use collards, mustard, and dandelion greens, nopali, parsnips, butternut squash, figs, blue berries, oranges, mangos, turnip greens, kale, watercress, and sweet potatoes. A commercial gutload is fine, if it's reputable, but be mindful of vitamins and calcium in the gutload, being passed on through the feeders.
The color look pretty great, and the edema is minor, but is indicative of kidney damage, probably minimal, but it builds up over time and supplements make things worse, if overdosed, so have a light touch and keep your hydration right where it is!
 
It sounds like Toco needs a vet visit with a vet that has experience with chameleons. There's other medical conditions that can cause them to hold their hear up besides an RI.
 
Hello @scchameleon. Sorry I haven't been around today to see this.

Yes, his color looks good, but don't be fooled by this. Melleri are one of the last species you want to use their color as reference towards health. If he were on his last leg, yes, he would show putrid coloration. But, being in an area with students and heavy foot traffic, he will put on his strongest colors at all times. This isn't an opinion. I have been working with them and watching their behavior via camera feed for years. Now this is more directed to newly imported WC's and during their acclimation process. I have walked in the greenhouse and they look vibrant and robust. I get back inside and take a look via camera, and they are deflated and blanched. So, even a weak WC will put on the show. I know your guy is long term captive, but he will still react to the amount of foot traffic you have. These stressors reek havoc on their health. Even though it may be minor at the moment, it can get worse. Just food for thought.

So, I wouldn't doubt if he has a respiratory infection, but I would want a more experienced vet to make that call. If you feel confident in the vet that looked at him today, then that is fine. But don't always go with first opinions. There are very few quality vets out there with experience treating chameleons.

NO BAYTRIL!! This being the medication offered to your melleri is why I question the judgement of the vet who saw him today. No offense...nothing personal. Baytril is rough on the kidneys as is. But, an animal that probably already has/had renal issues(because the majority of imported melleri have gone through pure hell prior to sell regardless of the present physical condition) would not be a candidate for this med. Like Andrew said, it is particularly rough on melleri. Plus, the gular edema is indicative or renal issues and can be exacerbated with excessive supplementation. Now, funny Baytril is the topic, because I was having a conversation with another keeper last night about Baytril not being as effective orally as given sub-q. This being the recommendation of a vet she was seeing with experience in treating chameleons. But, that is getting slightly off topic. I would go with Ceftazadime too. I have had nice results with this medication and have seen many crashes with the use of Baytril.

I agree with Carlton about the warm mist humidifier. Not a great idea right now. One thing I have noticed that always make melleri with an URI feel better is to really warm up their misting water. I keep fish tank heaters in the water reservoirs I use to ensure that the water comes out warmer.

Enrofloxacin is a broad spectrum antibiotic that I have heard of, but have never personally used. I would PM @ferretinmyshoes about the effectiveness of that particular antibiotic and if there are any bad effects associated with it's use.

I hate that your guy is not feeling and a week without eating is not the norm with melleri. They are eating monsters. I go through more food with my 12 melleri than the rest of my collection combined. So, he is surely not feeling good.

Like Jannb was saying above, I would seek out a different vet. Having a vet handy that knows chameleons and how to treat properly is hard to find but necessary when having them. Or, if nothing else, finding a vet that isn't too egotistical to consult with a vet that does have experience. It happens...I used to work for one.

One thing I would suggest, while you are treating him, I would take him home and give him a place with no visual stressors. This will make his recovery much easier and faster!! Also, I think it is great that you have been supplementing your guy. There is not a ton of definitive info for supplementation schedules for this species so it is not easy to get it right. I will PM you about that topic!

Please keep us up to date on his progress!
 
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