Signs of kidney disease?

[Canny Chams]

Hi, One of my panthers died recently from Kidney failiure, the vet was unable to tell what the cause was of it. I have other panther chams and i am concerned if it may be an issue for them too. What I am asking is the signs of early - late stages of kidney disease. The Necropsy results showed uric acid in the heart, and throughout the organs, the damage was pretty serious, i know the causes, Dehydration and Vit A defitiency, I dont know which one it would be, i give him repashy calcium plus daily, but vit A is a tricky supplement, i also give a fair ammount of water. I just want to know signs to see if my other females have it

 

[Canny Chams]

im just bumping it up

 

[lslcronk]

I know in other animals some of the early signs are simple as weight loss and excessive drinking/urination. They progress - not eating, change in attitude - quiet, hiding, general behvior change ie: the dog that greets its owner at the door everyday suddenly isn't.

With chams I am sure the urates being orange consistantly, not eating well, weight loss, I read in one post that gular edema or swelling of the joints (which would be gout, caused by the build up of uric acid) can be a sign of kidney issues. Also, I would think with Vit A issues - tongue problems - not shooting or missing.

Hope this helps, if anything is incorrect I would love to know. I am pretty confident with dogs/cats as kidney failure is something we diagnose on a regular basis.

 

[Olimpia]

Does anyone know why vitamin A would be a cause for kidney damage? My research says that Vit A overdose leads to liver problems, but doesn't mention kidneys (at least in any of my sources) so I'm curious if your vet explained the why's and how's to what she told you.

And unless you were providing an excessive amount of the all-in-one supplement, I have a hard time thinking you overdosed any of them. And under-dosing wouldn't ruin the kidneys either, from my research. So the vitamin A as a culprit doesn't quite sit well with me, I don't think that's the problem. I would email other, more reliable vets for a second opinion, honestly.

Edit-
I'd like to suggest another possibility, just something to consider. Acute kidney damage in mammals can occur from a body-wide infection that reduces the blood flow to the kidneys. Do you think it could be possible that at least Blue maybe did have some type of infection that went unnoticed and that's what led to the kidney failure?

 

[Canny Chams]

no no, the kidney disease is caused by vitamin A defitency not Overdose. I have no idea, but now im broke and i need to see a vet about my other chameleons since they might ahve a similar issue. I didnt see any orange urate even right before blue died. nor did he have gout. I suspect it could be dehydration that may have caused it, i always found it hard getting him to drink, i gave him plenty of mistings, but he wouldnt drink much when i was around. Im concerned my others may have a similar issue.

 

[Olimpia]

I did some more research but I says that if the patient already has renal failure that they cannot excrete the excess vitamin A and that vitamin A toxicity can be a result. But again, the vitamin A itself is not the cause of the kidney damage, it just can't be managed properly by the body afterwards. It's usually a vitamin associated with vision, bone health, cell division, and the immune system, that's why I don't see a connection.

I'm not trying to be annoying, I just still don't think you got an accurate diagnosis, so I'm worried that it's going to waste you time when trying to figure out what, if anything, is wrong with your other two.

 

[Canny Chams]

the vitamins A defitiency i also saw on multiple websites

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

There is often not a clear reason for kidney disease. It's not something you can really trace back to a specific source or problem except for rare cases of known serious toxicity. All you can say is that there is kidney failure. There's no way to determine why. Just chronic mild dehydration is enough to cause kidney damage and lead to kidney failure. Lack of sufficient water seems fairly innocuous but can have longterm consequences, and it's not something you can detect after the fact. You can only diagnose kidney failure and everything else is just speculation. Remember there does not have to be a specific reason for kidney failure. Cats get kidney disease all the time it's just something that happens as a result of age - there's no particular cause. What was said above about the signs in dogs and cats is true, however reptiles do not show these signs. Often the only way to detect kidney disease is to do regular bloodwork. Reptiles with kidneys that lie in their pelvic canal may show constipation and bloating due to enlargement of the organ itself. But chameleons aren't really built like that.