skin problems fungus/bacteria infection?

[Joe A]

my 9month old male panther had a rough shed then i noticed some funny lookin gray-black spotted skin that looked a little like mildew mostly on his thighs and he developed a small sore on his side where his back leg would rest against himself and he hasn't had an apitite but is drinking,3 days ago I started him on sulfatrim antibiotic twice a day, povidone-iodine scrub and soak a few times daily, and silver sulfadiazine cream on his sore after iodine treatment, I also mashed some crikets up with water and some cal and vitm powder and gave him that with a medicine dropper for nuttrients and extra fluids, He seems to be doing ok besides no apitite and the skin patches seem to be drying up and coming off when gently scrubed and his small sore seems to have started healing
Not sure how long to continue treatment if skin looks healed, when should his apetite come back and how long is safe for him not to be eating even if I give him some criket mash

Does what im doing seem correct Please any advise on skin infections

 

[kinyonga]

Can you post some pictures please?

 

[Eltortu]

my 9month old male panther had a rough shed then i noticed some funny lookin gray-black spotted skin I started him on sulfatrim antibiotic twice a day, povidone-iodine scrub and soak a few times daily, and silver sulfadiazine cream on his sore after iodine treatment,

Does what im doing seem correct Please any advise on skin infections

Did you go to a vet?

 

[Joe A]

Here are 2 quick pics he was sleeping so i took them fast he still has a little cream on his sore

 

[kinyonga]

I would take it to a vet.

 

[morpheon]

... And i would do what Kinyonga says!

 

[VeiledOwner87]

this is not something that is hard to treat at all. ange loves chams and i, just took her WC Fischer's to the vet yesterday, for an eximation for this reason, two little fungal growths on the stomach, and the vet knew exactly what it was (ps we switched vets and found a great one, a little farther but worth it), anyways, she gave us a baytril treatmeant, 0.5mg each day for about 2 weeks, and a antibacterial wash to rub on the infection. We also had a fecal test done, the first one since she's had it. she has had the cham for about 2 months now and guess what... negative. so we have gotten both of our WC Multis from two different sources and both are negative for parasites. went of topic abit, lol, but yes this is something easy to treat

 

[ange loves chams]

Yep thats all true. My chams spots looked a bit whitish and raised up out of the skin tho. But none the less there are tones of different bacterial infections that a cham can pick up. But as easy as it is to treat with some oral biotics and a topical, IT CAN BE FATAL IF LEFT ALONE. If you do not get the proper treatment as soon as your able to and you keep putting it off it can most deffinatly affect the cham in numerous different way and or be fatal. My cham was doing the same thing too, loss in appetite but still was drinking. He seems to be doing a lot better now

 

[ange loves chams]

Yep from the looks of the pic its deff a fungal or bacterial infection. How has his breathing been and is there any sores anywhere else?

 

[Joe A]

no sign of a respiratory infection he does have a small patch by the base of his tail just past his genital bulg but it isnt an open sore, he is on the oral antibiotic sulfatrim twice a day, i wash his whole body with povidone iodine 2-3 times a day now to kill anything on the surface of his skin, the silver sulfadiazine cream i use on his sore is effective against bacteria as well as fungus it says , It seems to be getting better not worse, I havent taken him to the vet yet because i already have these meds and didnt really have the time or money to take him the last few days. If he needs a vet i will have to take him i was trying to get by without it if possible , i have read good treatment advise on this forum before so that is why i am asking the experts on this website, thank you everyone for all of your advise

 

[kinyonga]

If its a normal fungus then the silver sulfadine might work...but if its CANV it won't. There is also a pox-type lesion that looks similar to that and it can contain fungus, bacteria or a virus and is also not likely to be cured by "surface" treatment.

ange loves chams said..."Yep from the looks of the pic its deff a fungal or bacterial infection."...its important to know if its fungal or bacterial (and which fungus or bacteria it is)...both are treated differently. I don't think baytril or sulfatrim will kill fungal infections either.

Hopefully what you are doing will work.

 

[Chameleon Company]

Joe,
I was poking around and found your thread. By all means, follow the vet's regimen. But as fungus was discussed, I wanted to add a few learned experiences.

Most of the common fungus issues that can occur with chameleons are relatively easy to spot and cure. Your's looks mostly healed, although your earlier descriptions indicated it was not always so. It is our belief that most, if not all, fungal issues are not natural, i.e. rarely occur in the wild, but happen instead in captive situations where there is too much moisture, or too much plastic, or both. I mention plastic as many use it to create perches, and when the chameleon sleeps on it at night, if there is moisture between the feet and the plastic, it does not wick-away. This creates a situation where fungus can set-in, causing a lesion in the grip area of each foot, not unlike athletes foot in humans. If this is the case, switch to real wood unpainted perches. Bamboo is OK, or real branches, or untreated dowels. See below for medication.

Lesions that may occur up on the body are usually also the result of too much moisture. This might be too much spraying, a lack of air-flow to dry the cage out, or both. It creates the brown areas you described as looking "moldly", and can cause skin to slough off, and infections to follow. When this happens, the moisture regimen usually has to be adjusted down, and more ventilation, especially such as a fan to create slight breeze through the cage, will help to dry things out daily, and eliminate the source.

For both of the above type situations, after addressing the cause, the fungal areas usually respond to standard human anti-fungals, such as tinactin, gold-bond, etc. Topical creams or spray. If a simple infection is a concern, topical antibiotics can be used in conjunction with the anti-fungals. If its near the head area, a cream is better, as you do not want the spray getting into the animal's eyes or mouth.

However, as noted, if these simple measures do not work, and the infected area does not respond, or expands after treatment has begun, then a trip to the vet is a must.

Hope he bounces back.

 

[Chameleons Lover]

vet asap and follow the vet directions so you can know what is that

 

[Joe A]

What is canv how is it spread? Is there any sure signs of it, does my cham look generally healthy from my pics? Does he look dehydrated or anything else? Should i change out his branches or just sterilize them? How long is it to be expected or safe for him not to have an appetite? ANY INFO ON THIS SUBJECT IS GREATLY APPRECIATED , IF HE GETS WORSE I WILL DEF TAKE HIM TO THE VET, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR HELP EVERYONE!

 

[Syn]

How much experience do you have with chameleons? It may be in your best interests to take him to the vet.
Jim offered you very solid advice.... but it does not seem as if you are following?

 

[Joe A]

Im sorry if anyone thinks im being disrespectful i am greatly appreciative to all the info everyone has given me , Jim did give me very good advice, This is my 2nd cham my first was years ago but i am experienced with snakes and monitor lizards, For any skin problems i would do almost the same that i am doing for my cham, oral antibiotics, povidone iodine treatment, and an antimicrobial ointment if needed (in this case sulfatrim-oral antibiotic 1:1H2O two drops in mouth twice a day 10 to 14 days, povidone iodine wash 2-3 times daily 5 to 10 days and silver sulfadiazine cream applied after iodine wash 2-3 times daily to sore on skin-antibiotic/antimicrobial 5-10 days)

 

[kinyonga]

CANV is "cutaneous anamorph of Nannizziopsis Vriesii"...and it is found in the wild and in captivity and is not cured by treatments used for most "normal" fungii...it goes deeper into the dermis and the organs (particularly the liver) as well. It needs to be treated with an oral anti-fungal medication as well as "surface" treatments.

Its found in crocodiles, certain (brown, garter) snakes, ameivas, girdled lizards, etc. In captivity its found in bearded dragons, iguanas, chameleons, etc....
http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a727767614
http://www.jstor.org/pss/20095688
http://www.devonian2.ualberta.ca/uamh/UAMH_Pub_pdf_files/2005 Bertelson et al FinalTentsnake.pdf
http://www.curehunter.com/public/pubmed16805090.do

What is shown in these bearded dragons in the way of lesions is quite different than what is found in chameleons...
http://www.wildlifehealth.org.au/AW...w Fungus Disease (CANV) 18 Aug 2009 (1.0).pdf

In chameleons the lesions look similar to what your picture shows...but the other one I mentioned also looks somewhat similar. CANV is often misdiagnosed and as a result not treated properly....and believe me...it is a killer.

As I also said though...hopefully whatever your chameleon has is not that.

 

[Joe A]

thank you everyone , I got paid today and im taking him to the vet first thing in the morning, I wasnt trying to be hardheaded I just didnt have the money. All the info i have received will help when discussing my chams illness with the vet , I will be sure that my vet is aware of CANV, witch is my biggest concern I think at this point, I didnt Know fungus could get into the blood and organs like this CANV does.Thanx for the info kinyonga I really hope its not that, I will post what the vet says about him after our visit , thanks again everyone

 

[kinyonga]

I'm definitely hoping its not CANV...but its best to be aware that it could be and eliminate it.

Good luck!

 

[Joe A]

OK after talking with the vet she took a tissue sample from his sore. Said of course there is some bacteria present but couldnt see any spores wich is what they look for to identify a fungus, the only way to know for sure is to do a biopsy of the sore and send it out to a few labs and see what they say witch would probably stress him out and cost me about $300 after all said and done with, she said that the oral meds for fungus is really hard on chams and could be fatal so she never recommends it unless she knows for sure it is fungus but she found no spores, so thats good at least, she said that silver sulfadiazine is one of the best creams out there to use and to keep up with that 2-3 times a day, she said that the sulfatrim may be effecting his appetite and decided to try baytril instead, the iodine wash is great but we switched to a chlorhexiderm wash instead because it does the same thing as the iodine but is less toxic to the animal so i can get it in his face without worrying to much about him swallowing a little or getting a little in his eyes, witch I will still try not to do of course, she also said yes to sterilize his whole cage 1-2 times a week now until problem is gone then just spot clean after that, I asked about liquid food for him since he hasnt been eating but is still drinking and unlike a snake or monitor he cant go long periods without eating and be fine, so she gave me some lafeber's emeraid psittacine-omnivore elemental diet witch i guess is made for birds but she said it will work just fine for chams, its a powder you mix with water, she recommended to try and give him 3mls of that if possible per day if hes not eating, today i got about 5.5mls in him. Overall I think he is doing ok and looks like hes healing ,I just pray its not some strange fungus like canv or something else, again thanx everyone and i will keep posting info about his condition