Temporal Gland info please!

Miss Lily

Miss Lily

Chameleon Enthusiast
Chameleon Lady (Monty's breeder) was telling me that Jacksons are prone to temporal gland infections. Can anyone point me in the right direction for more information on this? How does it present itself? Does it look like mouth rot? Monty is fine (before anyone starts wondering) but I just want to be prepared and armed with the best info possible, just in case! If anyone has had a Jackson treated for this could you please share your experiences? What medication did the vet use for this?
 
Hope it helps!
They don't all have to be removed...usually debriding and putting the chameleon on appropriate antibiotics will solve it eventually.
 
Thank you Kinyonga - that article was interesting and definitely worth remembering in case I ever need to use the meds info! I understand that the temporal gland is the one in the corner of the mouth where it 'hinges' - is this correct? Does the conditions present itself as swelling at the corner or does it spread more along the jawline?
 
It presents as swelling in the corner of the mouth where the upper and lower jaw meet....but I would think that it could move along the gum line or start up in other spots along the gum line. I don't know if I can find a photo of it or not...I'll try.
 
Thank you, that would be very useful. Why does it seem more common in Jacksons? Does the shape of their mouths vary to other species?
 
Woah! Thanks for the image links - they are really helpful! I do believe that when I first got Monty he may have had a problem there, but it didn't ever look that bad and it didn't bother him and certainly didn't interfere with him feeding! I think he may have got a fruit fly wing stuck there as he would get a flaky bit of stuff on his mouth right in the corner, that I bathed away on just 3 occasions. I didn't take him to the vet as I wasn't worried about him overall - he was so small, only about 5g at the time. Had he shown any signs of being ill with it I would have taken him in. Being so small I doubted that the vet would be able to do anything and I certainly didn't want him too stressed or even crushed by a man vets large hands!

Like I said, Monty is fine now, but since my friend mentioned that it's been at the back of my mind.
 
Temporal Gland again

Today, I saw Monty yawn and I was looking at the side of his mouth where he had the problem as a tiny baby. I can see there is a bit of dried up dark yellow crusty stuff right in the corner , but he also opened up further than I have seen before and in the actual fold of the mouth was a patch of yellow. Now, I only got a quick glimpse of this and wondered if this is actually the gland itself or whether he might have a problem.

Now I want to check his mouth out - any ideas on how I can get a tiny chameleon to open his mouth that wide again? I can hold him, but he is still so small that I can close my hand around him with him inside! He is very wriggly and puts up a fight if I try and hold him still. I need about 4 pairs of hands! Any ideas would be good, or would I be better off getting the vet to put him under and take a look and give it a a good clean? There is a slight redness there on the outside, but doesn't appear to be any swelling, and it still doesn't bother him - in fact he snagged two crickets at once this morning!:D
 
If you look closely you can see flaky stuff a the corner of the mouth where the temporal gland is on this picture of Buster with his mouth open:
full

Like little waxy wings sticking out...

Here's another one:
full

Kinda looks like a mini potato chip stuck in there. ;)

Those are pretty much always there, and usually not visible unless he's opening his mouth. It sounds like that might have been what you saw with Monty? If that's the case I'd say normal! If it looks a little irritated try to shower him some to help rinse out that area. You could also put just a dab of dilute iodine over the corners of his mouth, even if it is closed. I'm sure some of it will seep into the crevice. No need to try to remove the waxy crusts though. They don't interfere with anything and it would be more stress than its worth to try to get them out.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thank you so much Dayna! Yes, it does look like that - right in the fold as well as the crust just inside his mouth. I have been bothered by this for a while, but since seeing the yellow waxy bit this morning it prompted me to ask further! I am so glad I did and that it's normal! Boy, these Jacksons are so different to Veileds! I'll add a couple of pics of Monty's mouth just to double check. I would hate to think that it's normal when actually it may not be.

You can see the bit of crust right in the very corner of his mouth in this one.
Widemouth.jpg


Inside of his mouth.
Bigmouth.jpg
 
Yay! Thank you so much! I was even considering taking him to the vet to get the stuff cleaned out! So glad I asked on here first! So is the wax a build up of secretions from the gland? How does the gland get infected? Sorry for all the questions, but I need to know and be prepared - at least I know that how his mouth looks now is normal and I have something to compare it to should things change. This is always at the back of my mind since we see quite a few on here with temporal gland issues. So glad my boy is normal though! A great weight has lifted today!
 
Yes, I believe the wax is just a buildup from the gland. That makes the most sense. As for how they get infected, I don't think there's one thing that causes it. I think it's kind of like asking what causes mouthrot. Some chameleons are just more susceptible than others. Good husbandry is the best defense. ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Unknown the Jacksoncham
!!Temporal gland infection on my Jackson Cham, please help!!
Replies
7
Views
545
Lindasjackson
L
lubben
temporal gland infection? Treatment?
2 3
Replies
42
Views
3K
jacksonchamnew
jacksonchamnew
D
Bottom Lip Sticking Out
2
Replies
20
Views
1K
Beman
Beman
SueAndHerZoo
Will she recover? The battle continues . . .
2
Replies
36
Views
3K
Shauna_T
Shauna_T
L
Please help! Vitamin A Deficiency? Closed eyes, respiratory infection, lethargy
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
JacksJill
JacksJill
Back
Top Bottom