Jakedn
New Member
Well I have been wondering for a while why Waldo would consistently have completely orange urates even though I watch him drink plenty of water. Wondering about this got me into researching causes for an orange urate other than dehydration and the only other things I found that could be a cause was diet, kidney failure, or medication.
His diet consists of crickets and an occasional superworm if he will accept it (he is a very picky eater and crickets are the only thing I have found that he will eat with any form of consistency). They are gutloaded on greens, fruit, and cricket crack. They aren't fed anything that is orange. I do not suspect his diet is a cause for an orange urate.
He has recently been on panacur and then shortly after started reptaid. However, I believe this information is irrelevant as the problem started before these medications.
After eliminating those two possible causes I looked to kidney problems. I started to research other kidney failure symptoms and here is what I found:
"Chameleons that stop eating and become weak are often found to be suffering from kidney failure. This disorder should be suspected in any chameleon that has two or more of the following signs: a lump just in front of its pelvis, inability to defecate (or pass eggs), fluid beneath the skin under its jaw or neck, dehydration even with plenty of water offered, a foul odor to its breath, swollen joints, bloodshot eyes, or white shiny deposits in the lining of its mouth."
http://www.arizonaexoticanimalhospital.com/Care-Sheets.asp?id=116
Waldo has two lumps, one on each side in the same location, just in front of the pelvis. I have not seen a picture of the lumps they are speaking of so I do not know for sure if they are the same thing but the location matches up perfectly.
He has shown very little appetite for over a month now, this could be because of parasites that he just finished treatment for.
He has been defecating alot less regularly, it took him over a week to defecate the last time he went. This could be because of the small appetite, however the last time he went, it was very large, smelled very bad, and was coated in a mucous-like substance (he was undergoing parasite treatment at the time).
He has exhibited edema twice, each time it took a while for it to go away.
He has orange urates despite drinking copious amounts of water, as previously noted.
As you can see, he is exhibiting many of the symptoms though some could be explained from other problems, some of them have not or can not.
So, I am wondering if anyone thinks this is indeed a kidney problem or if it is something else. Hopefully someone with experience in this area could offer me some advice or input.
Thanks in advance,
Jakedn
His diet consists of crickets and an occasional superworm if he will accept it (he is a very picky eater and crickets are the only thing I have found that he will eat with any form of consistency). They are gutloaded on greens, fruit, and cricket crack. They aren't fed anything that is orange. I do not suspect his diet is a cause for an orange urate.
He has recently been on panacur and then shortly after started reptaid. However, I believe this information is irrelevant as the problem started before these medications.
After eliminating those two possible causes I looked to kidney problems. I started to research other kidney failure symptoms and here is what I found:
"Chameleons that stop eating and become weak are often found to be suffering from kidney failure. This disorder should be suspected in any chameleon that has two or more of the following signs: a lump just in front of its pelvis, inability to defecate (or pass eggs), fluid beneath the skin under its jaw or neck, dehydration even with plenty of water offered, a foul odor to its breath, swollen joints, bloodshot eyes, or white shiny deposits in the lining of its mouth."
http://www.arizonaexoticanimalhospital.com/Care-Sheets.asp?id=116
Waldo has two lumps, one on each side in the same location, just in front of the pelvis. I have not seen a picture of the lumps they are speaking of so I do not know for sure if they are the same thing but the location matches up perfectly.
He has shown very little appetite for over a month now, this could be because of parasites that he just finished treatment for.
He has been defecating alot less regularly, it took him over a week to defecate the last time he went. This could be because of the small appetite, however the last time he went, it was very large, smelled very bad, and was coated in a mucous-like substance (he was undergoing parasite treatment at the time).
He has exhibited edema twice, each time it took a while for it to go away.
He has orange urates despite drinking copious amounts of water, as previously noted.
As you can see, he is exhibiting many of the symptoms though some could be explained from other problems, some of them have not or can not.
So, I am wondering if anyone thinks this is indeed a kidney problem or if it is something else. Hopefully someone with experience in this area could offer me some advice or input.
Thanks in advance,
Jakedn
. Try Dr. Greek in Yorba Linda if you don't have an expert chameleon vet already. Dr. Stein in Beverly Hills is also very good with chameleons. If you are out in the "Valley" then there is Dr. Molnar in Calabasas.
