Sick Oliver on Ceftaz

Oh man. I'm so sorry for your loss. :( I was really pulling for him (and you) and thought you had maybe turned a corner. The problem with fungal disease is that it's often spread more than you can see and the meds are hard on their systems regardless. Such a shame though. You did everything you could for him and I applaud your effort and great care you gave him. My most sincere condolences for your loss of Oliver. :(
 
My vet heard from the specialist today and it is indeed CANV. She said the fungus wouldn't gross at the vets office and that's why we didn't see it. :(
 
No wonder poor Oliver had such a hard time.
I know how difficult it is for you, since you did everything possible for him.
 
Thank you. :( I'm glad he passed on his own, knowing this. It seems that this disease is usually fatal and I know he was in a lot of pain. I don't know if I could of been able to euthanize him.

I still need to figure out where he caught it from and if it can be transferred to humans or not
 
Again...so sorry for your loss.

I should have mentioned that CANV is hard to identify by a regular lab unless they are familiar with it. If I remember correctly it takes a different/special stain to identify it.

When it was first diagnosed in my Parsons chameleon we were told it was trichophyton (ring worm) and we all had visions of getting it. When the lateralis was diagnosed a short time later we had all smartened up and didn't handle it without gloves. As it turned out we didn't need to worry anyhow. Its my Parsons and lateralis that are mentioned in the original study. It went through several misdiagnoses before finally being named. It can kill quite quickly in some chameleons.
 
I knew it looked fungal. :( CANV can be extremely difficult to get rid of. Both in animals and their environment. If you ever decide to get another chameleon throw out everything that was in Oliver's cage and do not use it for another chameleon or any other reptile. It would be best to throw out the entire cage itself too and just start completely over. But you can potentially disinfect it enough for reuse.
 
I just brought all of his stuff out of my room today :( I had to get a chair to fill the empty space in my room...it was just too depressing.

I will definitely not be getting another chameleon soon...at least not with college next year :( so in the mean time I will throw out his branches and such,they were staring to wear anyway.

Is bleach enough for the cage?



What I can't figure out is why the fungus appeared after the antibiotic treatment? I'm assuming this is an opportunistic fungus and maybe erupted due to stress and being immuno comped?

All I know is this whole thing just has made my desire to be a vet stronger and I really owe that to Ollie
 
Yes, bleach has been shown to kill it at a 1:10 dilution. Let it sit about 15 minutes and then rinse. I would do that a few days in a row. Pay special attention to the joints and crevices.
 
ferretinmyshoes said:
I would continue the antibiotics. There is definitely some ulceration of the skin and if there is some conjunctivitis present then those can be challenging to treat. So antibiotics are definitely going to be an ally, and ceftazidime has few side effects. I am concerned that there may be a significant fungal component as well. The moist looking crusting covering larger areas can be more consistent with fungal, although not always. If it is not starting to clear with antibacterial options especially that worries me for something fungal. The best course of action would be a skin biopsy of one of the abnormal areas, which would be a quick little sample of the full thickness of the skin sent off to the lab to look for bacterial, fungal, and viral components. Then you'll have a much better idea of what you're trying to treat rather than just continuing blindly and hoping for progress. Whatever is affecting the skin can also affect internal organs as well, whether it's fungal or bacterial, which is most likely why he's feeling so crummy. Sun is always great, as is keeping him hydrated. There's nothing wrong with pedialyte but also get just good old water in there too.
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I had a question about my Cham if you could message me back would be awesome.
 
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