Swollen limbs

About a week ago Rens back left hind leg was swollen but it ended up going back to normal somewhat quickly..and now today I noticed his back right leg looked swollen. I have pictures of both times his legs were swollen. Also I've learned from his behavior that he will close his eyes when he begins to shed because those are usually the first thing to shed. I used to think he was getting eye infections but it always turned out that he was beginning to shed.

The first photo is from the 23rd and the other two are from today.

Chameleon Info:
• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?Panther Chameleon 1yr 4months
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Everyday
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?Crickets gutloaded with carrots, apples, grapes, sweet potatoes, potatoes and then I mix cricket crack and repashy super gutload and pour it over the fruits/veggies. I get him silks and horns every couple of months as well.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?At first I would use herptivite 2x a month, calcium with d3 2x a month and then calcium without d3 at every other feeding but he started showing signs of gular edema, so I stopped giving him dusted crickets until the edema went away and then only used calcium plus at every other feeding once the edema went away. Now that he’s been having problems for the past 2-3 weeks I’ve only given him calcium without d3 at every other feeding and then I think I’ve given him calcium plus one time in between that.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?I have a mistking and two little drippers. I see him drink every morning pretty much. The mistking goes off 4 times a day for 2-3 minutes.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?Normal fecal only a little dehydrated from me taking him to the east coast this weekend.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Before I took him to the east coast he would close one of his eyes at around 5 o’clock while he normally closes both eyes and falls asleep around 7:30. Then he would do this earlier and earlier until one day he did this at 1-2 o’clock. But the thing is he would only do this in his cage. If I were to put him outside on his free range he would show no illness and hang out fine. So from then on if I ever saw him do this I’d just put him outside. Then I ended up going to the east coast and brought him along and set up a temp cage that he stayed outside in for 4 days straight I would bring him in at night though. He showed no signs of illness, I brought him home on Monday and now on Thursday he has swollen limbs again.

Cage Info:
• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 2x2x4 reptibreeze
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?Dual fixture 6.0 arcadia 6.5k grow light and two basking bulbs.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? One hotter basking spot is around 86-89, the other a little cooler 80-85. I set my thermostat at 76F all day then to 74F on some days where its hot. I had a digit thermostat probe but now its broken.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is always over 60%
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Hes got an umbrella plant and a hanging pothos
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?Located on a stand in the living room in my apartment, it is somewhat close to an air vent.
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Fort Myers FL!

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So what's going on with my poor cham? :(
 
It looks like gout, but to my knowledge gout(a build up of uric acid crystals in the joints) does not come and go as you described. If it remains, you might want to have some bloodwork done to have his uric acid levels checked.
 
Thanks for replying Carol, I too thought it was either gout or edema in his legs. But it has definitely not been permanent. I've wanted to take him to the vet but I've always been slow to pull the trigger.
 
I hear ya. I am not sure of edema showing up in the joints like that, but I could be wrong. My one chameleon that passed away got gout in his knee. It never went away and when they did bloodwork the uric acid levels were super high. The strange thing was, from what I have learned, gout usually effects multiple joints and not just one. He had other issues going on and not just the gout. There is also gout that can effect their organs. Maybe you could pm Ferrit or Dr O and pick their brains on this. I always thought once they got gout, it just doesn't disappear. I know if it is bad, the uric acid crystals can be surgically removed.
 
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