Veiled Chameleon Aspirated Water, PLEASE HELP

[archerandelliot]

A few nights ago I was giving my veiled chameleon Archer medicine that was given to me by my vet for possible parasitic infection due to a high bacteria count in her feces. The medicine was a thicker liquid to be administered orally with a syringe for seven days. On the last day, I gave her her medicine, and then some water shortly after. My chameleon aspirated the water and instantly went into panic mode, running around her cage with no regard for her own safety and stretching her belly. I took her to the animal hospital right away and they told me she had aspirated water and they gave me 29 doses of an injectable antibiotic (ceftazidime).

My chameleon just received her second dose today, but she seems to be in a lot of pain. She is lethargic at times, but at other times she goes into panic mode and flails around in her cage. She doesn't seem to have much strength as her walking and climbing are labored and odd. Additionally, her breathing is quite labored and every so often her eyes will bulge to a concerning degree.

I already changed her enclosure around quite a bit to make it shorter and safer as she was falling and seemed to be hurting herself. Recently, she has been laying on the bottom of her cage, sometimes on her side.

She seems to be in a fair bit of pain and I am quite honestly heartbroken. I notice a lot of people on this forum being very judgemental when it comes to people who need help with sick chameleons and I just want those people to know that I am a great lizard owner. I have owned lizards for nearly ten years and I have never run into a problem I couldn't fix (besides this one). All of my lizards are very robust and healthy, and my chameleon was doing just fine seconds before she aspirated. She has laid two clutches of eggs no problem, she sometimes greets me when she isn't grumpy, and she seems to enjoy being handled.

What can I do to help her recover? Any advice or lessons learned from a similar experience would be colossally appreciated.

 

[Kaizen]

A few nights ago I was giving my veiled chameleon Archer medicine that was given to me by my vet for possible parasitic infection due to a high bacteria count in her feces. The medicine was a thicker liquid to be administered orally with a syringe for seven days. On the last day, I gave her her medicine, and then some water shortly after. My chameleon aspirated the water and instantly went into panic mode, running around her cage with no regard for her own safety and stretching her belly. I took her to the animal hospital right away and they told me she had aspirated water and they gave me 29 doses of an injectable antibiotic (ceftazidime).

My chameleon just received her second dose today, but she seems to be in a lot of pain. She is lethargic at times, but at other times she goes into panic mode and flails around in her cage. She doesn't seem to have much strength as her walking and climbing are labored and odd. Additionally, her breathing is quite labored and every so often her eyes will bulge to a concerning degree.

I already changed her enclosure around quite a bit to make it shorter and safer as she was falling and seemed to be hurting herself. Recently, she has been laying on the bottom of her cage, sometimes on her side.

She seems to be in a fair bit of pain and I am quite honestly heartbroken. I notice a lot of people on this forum being very judgemental when it comes to people who need help with sick chameleons and I just want those people to know that I am a great lizard owner. I have owned lizards for nearly ten years and I have never run into a problem I couldn't fix (besides this one). All of my lizards are very robust and healthy, and my chameleon was doing just fine seconds before she aspirated. She has laid two clutches of eggs no problem, she sometimes greets me when she isn't grumpy, and she seems to enjoy being handled.

What can I do to help her recover? Any advice or lessons learned from a similar experience would be colossally appreciated.

First, ceftaz is as safe an antibiotic as you’ll find, so good job there. However, all antibiotics and some anti parasitics (metronidazole) can be really hard on the kidneys. I don’t know what anti parasitic you were prescribed, but it’s a bit surprising that your vet prescribed anything without identifying the kind of parasite. The exact species probably isn’t important, but knowing whether you’re dealing with roundworms, strongyls, flagellated Protozoa, Coccidia or filarial worms is important. Roundworms require fenbendazole, which is pretty safe; flagellates require metronidazole, which is hard on the system; Coccidia is best handled with ponazuril; and filarials need praziquantel. Again, though ceftaz is safe, it does still take a toll on the system, and if it followed a course of metronidazole, there could be problems. I’d definitely talk to your vet, and figure out what other drugs besides ceftaz he has prescribed. Book another vet appointment as soon as you can.

 

[archerandelliot]

First, ceftaz is as safe an antibiotic as you’ll find, so good job there. However, all antibiotics and some anti parasitics (metronidazole) can be really hard on the kidneys. I don’t know what anti parasitic you were prescribed, but it’s a bit surprising that your vet prescribed anything without identifying the kind of parasite. The exact species probably isn’t important, but knowing whether you’re dealing with roundworms, strongyls, flagellated Protozoa, Coccidia or filarial worms is important. Roundworms require fenbendazole, which is pretty safe; flagellates require metronidazole, which is hard on the system; Coccidia is best handled with ponazuril; and filarials need praziquantel. Again, though ceftaz is safe, it does still take a toll on the system, and if it followed a course of metronidazole, there could be problems. I’d definitely talk to your vet, and figure out what other drugs besides ceftaz he has prescribed. Book another vet appointment as soon as you can.

She was on metronidazole for the bacteria and Panacur for the parasites (or at least that's what my vet said). I doubt the problem is parasitic at this point, as her feces was back to normal last week. I think its more likely that she has a RI from the aspiration as her breathing is labored and her right lung has fluid in it. The problem here is that my normal vet was not open so I went to the emergency room at an animal hospital. Of course I told them about the metronidazole and Panacur and they didn't seem to think that was an issue.
Are you aware of anything I can do at home right now to help her, or do you think a vet appointment is the only way? I've been to the vet with her the past two days and it feels like flushing money down the drain.

 

[snitz427]

She was on metronidazole for the bacteria and Panacur for the parasites (or at least that's what my vet said). I doubt the problem is parasitic at this point, as her feces was back to normal last week. I think its more likely that she has a RI from the aspiration as her breathing is labored and her right lung has fluid in it. The problem here is that my normal vet was not open so I went to the emergency room at an animal hospital. Of course I told them about the metronidazole and Panacur and they didn't seem to think that was an issue.
Are you aware of anything I can do at home right now to help her, or do you think a vet appointment is the only way? I've been to the vet with her the past two days and it feels like flushing money down the drain.

Can you call the vet or email instead of making another trip? Sorry I dont have any advice to give but I can understand - I gave my guy his first taste of a fruit, and he acted in a way that made me think he aspirated, too.

He was over it within a few seconds, and may have just been surprised by what he ate (strawberry). It was very unnerving.

I think with humans, the concern with aspirating - aside from drowning - is infection / pneumonia. At least that was true for a family member.

 

[kinyonga]

@archerandelliot why do you think she's in pain? How is she acting that makes you think that. How much water did you give her in the syringe and did you squirt it into her mouth or ease it in slowly?

 

[archerandelliot]

Can you call the vet or email instead of making another trip? Sorry I dont have any advice to give but I can understand - I gave my guy his first taste of a fruit, and he acted in a way that made me think he aspirated, too.

He was over it within a few seconds, and may have just been surprised by what he ate (strawberry). It was very unnerving.

I think with humans, the concern with aspirating - aside from drowning - is infection / pneumonia. At least that was true for a family member.

I wound up finding a fantastic reptile specialist who gave me the right advice. Ther original vet I saw had my cham on TRIPLE the dosage necessary which would have most likely killed her. My cham seems to be doing a bit better, she's still struggling, but I see more of her old self in her every day.