Swollen vent? Impacted?

Hey friends, it's been awhile and recently I've noticed Renley's bulge has become rather large and I am unsure of whether or not it's natural or if his vent is actually ballooning due to impacting. He was having trouble expeling sperm plugs from his right hemipene about a month ago but I was able to get it out. Currently he has fresh sperm coming from both hemipenes but they do seem to be pushed out, closer to the vent, rather than in the tail. The only thing he comes in contact with other than crickets and worms is organic potting soil, which I have not seen him interested in since about a year old. I am thinking he may be impacted due to the fact that he's been eating large crickets and has only been expelling one to two small poops with a white urate. I am thinking of ordering him some silks and hornworms and hope that does the trick. I also wasn't able to find a recent post about such a subject so I hope there may be some new info that people may have come across recently.

Pics:
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Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
- Panther chameleon 3.5 yr, In my care 3yr.
  • 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?
- Only crickets recently, he eats 5-8 large a day. They are gutloaded with fresh fruit/veggies and cricket crack + repashy superload.
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
- He gets cal w/o d3 everyday. Cal w/ d3, herptivite and vit a every 2 weeks.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
- I've been misting him less and less lately, I am in Florida so its always humid here but I at least spray him once a day.
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites
- Nice and healthy just not a lot of volume for his consumption rate. Hasn't been tested for parasites since he was 2.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
- 2x2x4 screen
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
- T5 output. 60w basking-maybe 100..he gets lights from 8am-6pm. Whenever the sun starts to go down usually so does he.
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps
- 90F basking, 77 ambient I'd say, it's what I keep the temp at. Overnight maybe 73? I've got a probe to measure temps with.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
- 50% & spikes when misted.Probe
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
- Hanging pothos that spreads throughout the cage
  • 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?
- away from air vent and cage sits on a stand about 4ft off the ground.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?
- Florida!

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
- See top.

Hopefully some veterans can give me some insight. He is my first chameleon, although I do my research I still do not have enough experience to say that it looks normal. Thanks in advance!
 
I would recommend taking him to the vet right away please. He may have fluid build up that needs to be removed from the area. I am not an expert, but my first thought is, 'is that infected?' I hope he gets better soon!
 
Yes it does look consistent with impacted hemipenes. Right now there's no outward sign of infection so if you take him to a knowledgeable reptile vet now it may be a pretty easy fix versus waiting and then they get infected.
 
I was able to get him into a vet yesterday. The lump has grown since last updated and it looks like it is actually an abscess that grew and not anything related to his hemipenes. The vet tried to get a sample and told me that all she found were some red bloods cells, neutrophils and sheets of bacteria =/. She also said it is difficult to tell what could have happened and said he'd need surgery just to remove the abscess. She did not sound to sure if the surgery would even fix the problem because there could be some underlying problems that we cannot see until surgery. If anyone could recommend a specialist for surgery preferably in SouthEast Florida or if not somewhere in North Florida, I would greatly appreciate. Thanks guys.
 
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