Sick adult male veiled - need help!

[MomofZulu]

This came in from my vet, who has been taking care of Zulu while I've been away for the holidays. Any thoughts, folks?
> Good news here, I think. *Zulu has been pretty active in his cage and has
eaten 4 (I think) worms on his own! *He does not appear to be "striking" *at
them, but he gets them in his mouth by biting them. He ate 2 worms at the clinic
on Thurs AM with Nicole's help, then 1 and 1/2 at my house on Friday. *Today
there were 5 in the dish, and then I found the dish tipped over and worms were
gone. *Cleaned out the entire cage bottom adn only found 2 worms! *And there is
a piece of 1 sticking out of his mouth (so I caught him in the act ;-) *). *His
color has been good and he hisses at me- tired of me messing with him, I am
sure!
>
> The culture did come back as Pseudomonas aeruginosa. *It is resistant to
Baytril (no wonder he didn't improve much the first week), but sensitive to
amikacin and ceftazidime- both of which he is getting now. > The main thing I am worried about now is his tongue- hopefully it is not
damaged. *You might post an update on the forum and see if anyone has any
thoughts about this. *It does sound like offering crickets would be a good idea
(I think they can be pinched so that they can't jump). *It sounds like the
vitamin A is a good idea too. *I would be interested to know where the person on
the forum gets theirs, ie what strength is it, etc. > Hope you are having a good Christmas. *Again, I don't want to say we're out of
the woods yet, but I think he has made definite improvement!

 

[kinyonga]

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is almost always the bacteria involved with mouth infections in these creatures....and it is resistant to baytril as a rule.

Glad to hear that he seems to be improving! Hope it continues!

 

[wsbishop91]

he seemed professional and said they were healthy, below is his contact information and websites. I cant believe he would send them to me in this shape

Thank You Steve
Toll Free: 800.385.4050
www.theveiledchameleon.com
www.veiledchameleon.net
www.veiledchameleoncare.com

 

[Elizadolots]

Mom of Zulu, it sure sounds like he's doing much better! That's great. Keep us posted.

 

[MomofZulu]

Thank you all, for your support.

Here's the latest with Zulu:

He's interested in food and has eaten quite a few worms on his own. I've offered him small crickets as well, and I'm pretty sure he's had some of those too. Today he's not very interested.

He can open his mouth about 1/3 inch. Yesterday he was using his tongue. It doesn't go out far.

He seems kind of depressed. The most interesting has been when I've taken him in the shower. He doesn't like the water if it's lukewarm --only if it's chilly. I wouldn't have thought. He actually seems to get kind of excited by it. Thoughts? I'd love to hear what you all have to say.

The previous owner left standing water for him only. He was an adult by this time, so I'm guessing he figured out how to drink standing water, or else he would have died, despite the fact that everything I've read says they don't. I have him on a bird stand in the shower, with the water pointed at the wall. It fills up the cup. After I turned off the water, he went over to the cup and hung on to it. I don't know if he drank or what.

My vet took him off Baytril. He's got the bacteria that causes mouth rot. She's injecting him with a different med -- didn't catch the name. The stringy stuff in his mouth is now gone, but that crusty, hard glaze around his gum line is still there. Does anyone know what that is and what to do about it?

I don't know if he has lock jaw, but I'm guessing, if that's a proper medical condition. Any thoughts about this?

Thank you all for your help and input. I really appreciate all of your expertise and wisdom that you share.

Happy New Year to all,

All best,

Mom

He

 

[MomofZulu]

Correction: Today he's really digging the warm water. Go figure. Which is better for him?

 

[MomofZulu]

I should tell you, on this bird stand, Zulu has the option of being in the water or not, so he gets the steam either way, but it's choice to be under the spray. When I've sprayed him with room temperature water in the past, he's never seemed to like it, so this is surprising to me that he's going straight under the water. I'm happy if he's happy! I just wish I knew better what makes him happy!

I took that plant out of his cage, and I have read that silk plants are a better option than the live ones. Do you all agree?

Thanks again. I'm hopeful! I'm really trying hard to be a good mom.

Mom

 

[jojackson]

Still trying to help, but it looks like the plant you have in there is toxic:

General
Schefflera actinophylla is a commonly found plant that is often confused with Schefflera arboricola. It is not unusual to find the two plants sharing the same common name. Unfortunately, Schefflera actinophylla is too toxic for use with captive chameleons. This is a good example of why it helps to know the full scientific name of the plants you are looking for.


Toxicity and Irritants
notes: minor toxicity when eaten, dermatitis, calcium oxalate crystals

Further research shows the difference in toxicity between the two is negligible
Unless the lizard eats significant quantities. Least of her problems.

and I have read that silk plants are a better option than the live ones.Do you all agree?

Not really, live plants improve humidity and can be digested if eaten, not so silk or plastic. Stick to live. See above.