Mystery Affliction

[scut]

So Cassius hasn't been feeling well. He has been pretty lethargic, lost interest in food, and closing his left eye more than normal. I visited an exotic vet a week and a half ago, and she started him on antibiotics (Fortaz) injections and assist feeding with a liquid solution (carnivore care). His fecal sample was negative for parasites/bacterial infections. His blood sample came back a bit high on calcium and high in the white blood cells but normal in phosphorus and uric acid.

She said my husbandry was excellent, so we are having a hard time diagnosing the problem. She believes it could be some type of kidney infection, so a second blood test is being done. He is not improving, and may be worsening ever so slightly. I feel powerless because I can't seem to help him.

Has anyone any suggestions or have they experienced a similar situation with a Captive Bred Veiled chameleon?

 

[Carlton]

Wouldn't the higher white cell count indicate some type of systemic infection? These symptoms are so common it's hard to tell what might be going on. What is your general humdity level? Often chams go downhill during our winter when homes tend to be drier due to heating. Even healthy chams slow down eating somewhat in winter.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Run through everything again......

Higher white blood cell count is a sign that his body is fighting off an infection. The situation with the one eye may be part of that or something separate. Not sure what the higher than normal blood calcium is...possibly excess D3? What I suggets is that we run through everything with the form below to rule out caging/feeding issues. It will help you feel like you are doing something positive and proactive. You never know what someone else might see......

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Also, I would suggest some sort of special "shower" outside the cage. A gentle spray in the sink while he is sitting on a small artificial branch might help him clean out his problem eye better. You also need to make sure he is getting extra hydration. If he is not stimulated to drink during the shower I would give him a syringe full of water with waterever the vet has you feeding him with. Did the vet explain how to feed without causing the cham to aspirate food into his lungs? The same would apply to water.

Unless I see all the information filled out for that form it is hard to suggest anything else you can do for him....

 

[scut]

* Your Chameleon - Captive Bred, 1 yr, Male Veiled Cham
* Handling - Only when absolutely necessary
* Feeding - 5-6 crickets every other day. Calcium 2x week, cal d3 once every other week (in place of normal cal), multivit every other week
* Supplements - see above for schedule. cal= flukers, cal d3=zoomed, multivit=repcal
* Watering - Used to use a dripper but he never drank from it so now I'm misting 5x day or more for at least 1 min. I have ordered a misting system.
* Fecal Description -brown, normal. urates a bit darker than usual, he is dehydrated
* History - no history of illness


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - screen, 4 feet by 3 1/2 by 2/12
* Lighting - UVB reptisun 5.0, incandescent 40 watt (about 9 in from top), basking spot 15 watt (about 15 in from cage top)
* Temperature - 90 basking, 80-85 in corner, 70-75 towards front and lower part of cage. overnight is no less than 68 F
* Humidity - a little above 50%
* Plants - Yes, oak leaf croton, he hasn't eaten any of it.
* Placement - there is a heat register nearby
* Location - Northern VA


Current Problem -Lethargy, loss of appetite, eye blinking more than normally


I forgot to mention I am doing daily soakings (more like a sauna... no drowning issues) and that is is a systemic infection and he is on antibiotics (intramuscular injections) so we are trying to see if they have helped any.

 

[scut]

Also, I would suggest some sort of special "shower" outside the cage. A gentle spray in the sink while he is sitting on a small artificial branch might help him clean out his problem eye better. You also need to make sure he is getting extra hydration. If he is not stimulated to drink during the shower I would give him a syringe full of water with waterever the vet has you feeding him with. Did the vet explain how to feed without causing the cham to aspirate food into his lungs? The same would apply to water.

I'm doing soakings to hydrate him and misting more often until the misting system comes.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Thanks for info....

Thanks for the information....He's not eating much but that could be the seasonal slowdown. The urate coloration sounds like he is a bit dehydrated. You need to make sure that he is actually drinking a lot of water. If not you are going to have to manually hydrate him. Could we get a picture of his cage set up and some pictures of your boy from all sides? This will put it all together for us.....