Puffy Skin?! Infection? Help

laurenx

New Member
Hello there chameleon friends,

I could really use some advice about my veiled chameleon, he is a male and he is about a year and a half old. This morning I woke up and noticed that he has a puffy spot on his front left arm, right above the place that his arm meets his front hand. It is a brownish yellowish color and kind of looks like sap from a tree. I touched it and it was a little sticky and a little gooey. I took a warm rag to see if I could wipe it off but it is attached to his skin. It is about 3 cm long and 2 cm wide. I'm thinking it's some kind of infection?

I just took him to the vet about a month ago because he had a sperm plug that he needed to have removed. The vet gave him antibiotics because he bled a little when they removed the plug but other than that she said he looked very healthy. Should I start giving him the antibiotics they gave me again? I would like to avoid going to the vet because I'm a broke college kid and they are very expensive, but if I need to go back to help my baby feel better then I will go back. You have to do what you have to do.

I am at work right now but I will post pictures of his arm once I get home.

Any advice you may have would be GREATLY appreciated! Thank you! :eek:
 
We need pictures to try to help.

Also, you don't have to see a vet each time he gets a sperm plug.

most of us remove them ourselves.

Ive pulled out (gently) several of them)
 
We need pictures to try to help.

Also, you don't have to see a vet each time he gets a sperm plug.

most of us remove them ourselves.

Ive pulled out (gently) several of them)

Thank you so much for your reply.
I did not have time to take pictures this morning but I plan on going home during lunch to take some so I will have them up in around 2 hours.

It was my first experience with a sperm plug. I was not 100% sure of what it was. I soaked him in warm water, it was very large and I could not seem to remove it easily so I took him into the vet. I now know how to do it and feel like I could remove it myself if it happens again. Thank you :)
 
Did you not finish the course of antibiotics you were given?

Thank you for your reply! No I did not finish all of the antibiotics. They gave me a large amount and told me that he only needed to take .02 every other day for 10 days. I quit giving it to him after 10 days and there was still a good amount left.
 
When you get pics, post them up.

WHat plants are in your cage

I definitely will. I will also take some pictures of my set up.

His cage has no real plants, only fake. They were all bought from petco or local pet shops. Some stand on the ground and some suction cup to the side. He also has 3 branches to climb on that were also bought from a local pet shop.

These are the plants he has:

http://www.amazon.com/Petco-Araceae...id=1376403927&sr=8-15&keywords=reptile+plants

http://www.amazon.com/Exo-Terra-Pla...qid=1376404021&sr=8-1&keywords=reptile+plants

http://www.amazon.com/Hagen-Exo-Ter...qid=1376404021&sr=8-2&keywords=reptile+plants
 
I definitely will. I will also take some pictures of my set up.

His cage has no real plants, only fake. They were all bought from petco or local pet shops. Some stand on the ground and some suction cup to the side. He also has 3 branches to climb on that were also bought from a local pet shop.

They suction to the side? If he's in glass, I suggest making a screened enclosure for him. Glass enclosures don't provide the right ventilation or proper ranges in temperatures for them to choose from.

Along with pictures, could you fill out the form from here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ ? It will give us a better idea of your husbandry, and see if any of that could be the cause.
 
They suction to the side? If he's in glass, I suggest making a screened enclosure for him. Glass enclosures don't provide the right ventilation or proper ranges in temperatures for them to choose from.

Along with pictures, could you fill out the form from here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ ? It will give us a better idea of your husbandry, and see if any of that could be the cause.

Thank you for your reply, here is my form and pictures will be posted soon.

My Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon: Veiled Chameleon. Male. Around a year and a half old.
Handling: I handle him around once a week, I take him outside during the summer about every other week to let him enjoy natural sunlight and humidity.
Feeding: I feed him crickets every other day. He usual eats around 10 crickets a day. I feed him horn worms once in awhile and meal worms on rare occasions.
Suppliments: Calcium without d3 every feeding, and calcium with d3 every other week. I also give him multivitamin every other week. I give him all of these by sprinkling it on his crickets.
Watering: I mist his cage with a spray bottle at least five times a day. He likes to drink the water dropplets off the top and I plan on buying him a humidifier my next pay check.
Fecal Description: His droppings are liquidy white with black in the middle. He has never been tested for parasites.
History: I took him to the vet about a month ago because he had a sperm plug that he needed to have removed. The vet gave him antibiotics because he bled a little when they removed the plug but other than that she said he looked very healthy.

Cage Info:
Cage Type: 30 gallon glass cage.
Lighting: He has three lights. One is a long uvb bulb, and the other is a 75 watt heating bulb both made by exo-terra. He also has a 75 watt red heating bulb for night time. His lights turn on at 8 in the morning and turn off at 9 at night. I just bought him all new lights because his lights were 6 months old.
Temperature: I have a thermometer by his basking spot which is usually around 85 during the day and 80 durring the night.
Humidity: I have a humidity thermometer which I try to keep at 60-80%. If I have not sprayed him in awhile sometimes it gets down to 30%
Plants: No live plants. He has 3 branches to climb on and plants that are on the ground and some suction cuped to the side.
Placement: In a quite corner of my room. The top of the cage is probably around 4 feet high.
Location: Michigan, 45 minutes north of detroit.

Current Problem: This morning I woke up and noticed that he has a puffy spot on his front left arm, right above the place that his arm meets his front hand. It is a brownish yellowish color and kind of looks like sap from a tree. I touched it and it was a little sticky and a little gooey. I took a warm rag to see if I could wipe it off but it is attached to his skin. It is about 3 cm long and 2 cm wide. I'm thinking it's some kind of infection.
 
They suction to the side? If he's in glass, I suggest making a screened enclosure for him. Glass enclosures don't provide the right ventilation or proper ranges in temperatures for them to choose from.

Along with pictures, could you fill out the form from here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/ ? It will give us a better idea of your husbandry, and see if any of that could be the cause.

Did you not finish the course of antibiotics you were given?

When you get pics, post them up.

WHat plants are in your cage

I appreciate all of your help so much! Here are some pictures.

160t18w.jpg


2hmea0x.jpg


149s84k.jpg


10gimwh.jpg
 
That looks nasty. I would say he needs to see your vet. If you already have a course of antibiotics you will only have to pay for consultation. You don't need a heat source at night. He needs a temp drop of at least 10f in order to slow down his metabolism so he can sleep, a bit like us, also he can see the red light and it could disturb his sleep. Chams are quite happy at 60f at night.:)
 
You really should look in to a larger cage for him. The minimum recommended is a 2x2x4 foot cage. Ventilation is also important. I can't tell if that is a glass terrarium or an aquarium, but either way its too small.

Definitely get rid of the red light, they prefer cooler temps at night. I can also confirm for a fact that red light wakes them up as I have a red flash light that I use when feeding my frogs and it wakes up my chameleons if I shine it on therm to look at them.

Try cleaning the wound and putting neosporin on it until he can see a vet.
 
That looks nasty. I would say he needs to see your vet. If you already have a course of antibiotics you will only have to pay for consultation. You don't need a heat source at night. He needs a temp drop of at least 10f in order to slow down his metabolism so he can sleep, a bit like us, also he can see the red light and it could disturb his sleep. Chams are quite happy at 60f at night.:)

You really should look in to a larger cage for him. The minimum recommended is a 2x2x4 foot cage. Ventilation is also important. I can't tell if that is a glass terrarium or an aquarium, but either way its too small.

Definitely get rid of the red light, they prefer cooler temps at night. I can also confirm for a fact that red light wakes them up as I have a red flash light that I use when feeding my frogs and it wakes up my chameleons if I shine it on therm to look at them.

Try cleaning the wound and putting neosporin on it until he can see a vet.

Thank you, I will remove his red light and I will start shopping around and find him a terrarium for better ventilation. Do you have any idea what would cause his skin to get like that? Is there a certain kind of neosporin I should use? Also, do chams ever need to get their nails trimmed? Thanks ;)
 
Thank you, I will remove his red light and I will start shopping around and find him a terrarium for better ventilation. Do you have any idea what would cause his skin to get like that? Is there a certain kind of neosporin I should use? Also, do chams ever need to get their nails trimmed? Thanks ;)

I really cant tell what that skin problem is. The only thing I can think of since it isnt sap from a live plant, is maybe puss coming out of a wound. He could have gotten bitten by a cricket or something and it has puss coming out that is drying on top of the skin? Its hard to tell. I would try to wash it with warm water or warm water with diluted peroxide to try to see if it loosens up. Then use the regular neosporin, not the pain relief one.

Edit: I just thought of another possibility. is it a blister? That could be a burn. If he got too close to the light he could have gotten a burn. It would still be the same treatment with neosporin, but I would check your temperatures and how close the light is.
 
I don't think it is pus as the pus in reptiles is quite solid. It's more like serous fluid as in what would come out of a blister.
 
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