Under-eye swellings in pygmy

[lisa h]

One of my female brevs has had swelling under both eyes for about a week. Initially I thought she was going to start a shed, but that's not happened. Today I took a closer look and it looks almost like she has pockets of fluid under both eyes and possibly a small one under her chin. Any ideas? Any treatment I can try for her? Our "exotic" vets here are a sad lot, and they
know next to nothing about chameleons ("you're keeping it in GLASS?! You can't do that! ). As for history, I've only had her since February (I think), and I know she's wc.

Thanks for any suggestions/ideas!

 

[pssh]

A female I got who had eye problems had a similar pocket. It turns out that it was very infected (as was her jaw.) If you pushed on the bubble, puss would seep into her mouth. It was very nasty.

She had already had antibiotics for the issue multiple times, so I tried some reptaid and BAM she was just about normal in a week. I also used an antimicrobial rinse a few times while I was waiting for more reptaid to come (Mine had gone bad so i needed to order some more.) I always rinsed it out with her head pointing down so she wouldn't eat/inhale any.

edit:
I've also had reptaid work for some pygmies that were having some issues. That's what you risk when you buy WC though.

 

[lisa h]

Thanks for your reply. The vet I have used for the last 20 years for my warm blooded critters refuses to diagnose and treat my chameleons because he says he is not qualified. Having said that, if I needed a scraping or some lab work done, he would do it. If I find a suitable treatment on my own, he is more than willing to give me the supplies I need to treat it myself. So, today I got some lances and some BNP ointment, and I will try that. The BNP is safe if it gets in her eyes. I will get some Reptaid tomorrow (the reptile shop is closed Sunday and Monday). Wish me and my wee pygy some luck!

 

[pssh]

Your reptile shop sells reptaid? I can only get it online. I believe Chameleons Northwest is the main supplier of it.

 

[lisa h]

Yup, they sell it here, which is surprising. It's actually a really great shop. They always get the newest products, and carry stuff I can't find anywhere but online. They order in great feeders weekly/biweekly (depending what it is). They don't sell a lot of reptiles, but they will get things in upon request. The reptiles they have are cared for very well.

I lanced the swellings and applied some ointment. Nothing came out of the swellings, so either I didn't go deep enough, or ... ???

Kara, I really appreciate your help with this. I'll update as things go on. I don't suspect she'll make it, but I'm not going to give up on her.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

What is your supplementation schedule? Could it maybe be hypervitaminosis causing edema? Especially since you mentioned the gular swelling as well? Just a thought, I don't have any experience with it. I don't supplement my pygmys as often as my bigger species fwiw. Can you get a good picture?

 

[lisa h]

Well, a not so good update. I actually thought she was dead this morning, but she's still alive. Put some more ointment on the lumps, and tried to get her to drink by soaking a Qtip and holding it to her mouth. I'm pretty sure she didn't take any in. It's pretty clear she's not going to make it, but I don't have the heart to kill her.

One of the males in her enclosure is trying to mate with her. She's lying there almost dead, and he mounted 3 times! Ugh. I put a barrier between her and the rest of them so she should be safe from more advances and the crickets I fed to the others.

As for over supplementation, if anything I'm guilty of undersupplementing this group. I used to supplement once a week, but found these guys started having the powder come out their nostrils, so I only supplement every 3weeks. The others all seem healthy and fine.

Can't say much more. Don't know if she was a sick wc, or I screwed up somewhere. It's a colony of 2.5 (huge enclosure), and all the others seem to be doing well.

 

[lisa h]

I found her dead just now. RIP little one

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

So sorry to hear that. With the wc ones it's so hard to know what could be wrong. Very sad to hear regardless.