Penicillium

[sandrachameleon]

Anyone familiar with Penicillium fungus on skin, possible causes, possible cures?
This is what my Trucker may have.

See this thread for background and photos: https://www.chameleonforums.com/skin-lumps-what-does-15328/

 

[kinyonga]

Did your vet say which species of penicillium it is?

Penicillium...I think this family is the same family of molds that grow in blue cheese.

Here's one site about penicillium molds...
http://www.doctorfungus.org/Thefungi/penicillium.htm

Its mentioned in this article as a contaminant...
http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache...llium+AND+chameleons&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=ca

 

[sandrachameleon]

Great, Trucker is growing stinky cheese mold.
I dont yet have any details (the vet is away until Wednesday, so all I have right now is a short voicemail). I guess I'll be taking Trucker in for a biopsy next. Poor boy!

thanks for the links

 

[kinyonga]

Some of the fungi that I have heard of that chameleons get are not hard to get rid of and don't cause problems quickly. Others cause serious problems and can kill the chameleon.

Did the vet talk about treatment?

 

[kinyonga]

I did some searching...penicillium is from the genus ascomycetous (sac fungii)...this is a large family.

 

[sandrachameleon]

kinyonga thanks for taking the time to do that searching! I appreciate the effort very much.

Did the vet talk about treatment?

Vet left me a voicemail on Friday afternoon, then went on a mini-vacation. She's not back until Wednesdsay. So I have to wait until she is back before i will know more. She wants to take a biopsy before starting any treatment. Apparently the penicillium that grew in the culture could be a contaminent, rather than what Trucker actually has growing on him. Vet says the treatment is nasty, hard on them, so we dont want to do it unless we are sure.

It is so very frustrating not knowing for sure what the problem is an how to treat it!
I dont like seeing him unhappy. He's a dark unhappy green all the time now, none of his usually prettier colours and so less active. I worry.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

My understanding is that this is a very common fungi. I would ask the question: if it is readily in the environment , why one cham succumbs to it and others do not? Your cham may have an immune issue also.

 

[kinyonga]

From what I have read, generally any fungal species is able to cause infection under favorable conditions. Fungal (yeast) infections also occur when an animal has been on antibiotics. Immune problems could cause it to grow too, I'm sure.

I had a Parson's that was treated for a fungus. The treatment did cause some problems, but the fungus would likely have killed him.

Is she going to test for bacteria, virus and fungus?

 

[sandrachameleon]

There was no specific test for bacterial or viral (should there be?) but the first treatment was an ointment for bacterial and viral, while waiting for the fungal culture to grow. That didnt help, in fact things appeared worse. then we did the antibiotic. Trucker remained unhappy, and nothing improved. Next she wants to do a biopsy.
If there is a specific test I should ask for, feel free to let me know.
This vet is doing the best she can, but she is no way a chameleon expert. There are NO chameleon experts in my region. There are only two vets who say the deal with exotics/repitles. One of them is an a$$h0-- who I will no longer deal with (was very evil to a cat of mine). Thus my choices are limited. Im not unhappy with this vet, she is reading up and consulting with vets on the mainland. She is open to my suggestions and questions. So let me know please if you have a suggestion I should pass on

Im not sure how to tell if Trucker has an underlying immune system issue that may be making him suseptable where the others are not. In truth he had previous to this been the biggest, most active, most friendly of the lot. Basically, I thought he'd be the LEAST likely to get sick.

 

[kinyonga]

Here's one chameleon of mine that had "pimples"...it was determined to be viral (pox) but other "pimples" with this same look have proved to be bacterial and/or fungal in other lizards.

 

[kinyonga]

You said..."There was no specific test for bacterial or viral (should there be?)"...I think the tests would have to be done with a biopsy unless there was an exudate that could be collected from the marks....but don't forget, I'm not a vet. I know that the "pimples" on the one in the picture I posted were tested for bacteria, virus and fungus.

You said..."the first treatment was an ointment for bacterial and viral, while waiting for the fungal culture to grow. That didnt help, in fact things appeared worse. then we did the antibiotic. Trucker remained unhappy, and nothing improved. Next she wants to do a biopsy"...I would think that is the next logical step.

You said..."If there is a specific test I should ask for, feel free to let me know"....I don't know what to tell you on this....except that testing for bacteria, virus and fungus I would hope would lead to some results.

You said..."she is reading up and consulting with vets on the mainland. She is open to my suggestions and questions. So let me know please if you have a suggestion I should pass on."...she sounds like a good vet! I don't know what to suggest aside from what has already been said. The only other comment I can make is that some of the fungi will only show up with particular stains...but I can't tell you much more than that about it. Also, some fungi require more than just a topical treatment.

I hope you and the vet can figure out what's going on and bring your chameleon back to good health! Keep me posted! I'll try to post more about that type of lesion "pimples" later. It will require me doing some searching for the articles about it.)