Waterbubble looking thing on Spike's knee...what is this???

spikesmom

New Member
Your Chameleon - Male veiled, have had him since September last year, he was 2 weeks hatched when I got him

Handling - Rare to never

Feeding - 8-10 crickets daily, gutloading them as often as I can with carrots, cucumber, tomato or apple.

Supplements - herptivite daily

Watering - Hand misting and a dripper, see him drinking sometimes

Fecal Description - Large brown piece and usually a fair bit of urate, white to yellow in color, never been tested for parasites.

History - He's been having a bit of a hard time shedding lately and I have been seeing some dark blue to black spots on his belly.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - I have attached a picture
Lighting - 75 watt day light and a uv tube can't remember the wattage
Temperature - slightly over 80 in his basking spot down to 70 at the bottom of his cage
Humidity - Around 60%
Plants - Ficus and pathos
Placement - Off to the quiet wall of our living room
Location - Vernon, BC, Canada


Current Problem - I just looked at his knees this morning and it looks like the skin is almost see through and there is a bubble filled with fluid there?! Any ideas of what this could be and what I should do would be greatly appreciated. It almost looks like the skin around where the bubble is is black. I have attached a few pictures to help for reference.
 

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It is in the cage but he NEVER goes near it. I was very mindful in setting up the ficus so that it is way below it. I'm in the process of researching vets here locally.
 
the only thing i see that i would prob change is your supplimenting repcal herptivite really should only be used twice a month and a calcium w/d3 twice a month and a plain calcium at almost every feeding. seem to be the norm
 
I am taking him to the vet tomorrow. It's going to be his very first vet visit. It's going to be a half hour drive and he is one mean goober. How do I go about the whole taking him to the vet process without him dropping dead of stress and me having a heart attack???
 
I am taking him to the vet tomorrow. It's going to be his very first vet visit. It's going to be a half hour drive and he is one mean goober. How do I go about the whole taking him to the vet process without him dropping dead of stress and me having a heart attack???

when i transport my guy to the vet i put him in a small tank with a towel inside as well as a towel covering the top. you could also use a shoe box
 
Here is some information that I hope will help....but none of it likely has anything to do with the knee. I can't tell what's going on with the knee...sorry. Vet is likely the best option. IMHO you need to make some changes with the supplementing and the gutloading.

Appropriate cage temperatures aid in digestion and thus play a part indirectly in nutrient absorption. Temperatures needed can vary with the species and age. For hatchling panthers I keep the temperature in the warmest area in the low 80's. For older panthers I keep it in the mid to high 80's for the most part.

Exposure to UVB from either direct sunlight or a proper UVB light allows the chameleon to produce D3 so that it can use the calcium in its system to make/keep the bones strong and be used in other systems in the chameleon as well. The UVB should not pass through glass or plastic no matter whether its from the sun or the UVB light. The most often recommended UVB light is the long linear fluorescent Repti-sun 5.0 tube light. Some of the compacts, spirals and tube lights have caused health issues, but so far there have been no bad reports against this one.

Since many of the feeder insects have a poor ratio of calcium to phosphorus in them, its important to dust the insects just before you feed them to the chameleon at most feedings with a phos.-free calcium powder to help make up for it. (I use Rep-cal phosphorus-free calcium).

If you also dust twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder it will ensure that your chameleon gets some D3 without overdoing it. It leaves the chameleon to produce the rest of what it needs through its exposure to the UVB light. D3 from supplements can build up in the system but D3 produced from exposure to UVB shouldn't as long as the chameleon can move in and out of it. (I use Rep-cal phos.-free calcium/D3).

Dusting twice a month as well with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A will ensure that the chameleon gets some vitamins without the danger of overdosing the vitamin A. PrEformed sources of vitamin A can build up in the system and may prevent the D3 from doing its job and push the chameleon towards MBD. However, there is controversy as to whether all/any chameleons can convert the beta carotene and so some people give some prEformed vitamin A once in a while. (I use herptivite which has beta carotene.)

Gutloading/feeding the insects well helps to provide what the chameleon needs. I gutload crickets, roaches, locusts, superworms, etc. with an assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, zucchini, etc.)

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are important players in bone health and other systems in the chameleon (muscles, etc.) and they need to be in balance. When trying to balance them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed the insects and what you feed the chameleon.

Here are some good sites for you to read...
http://chameleonnews.com/07FebWheelock.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200605020...Vitamin.A.html
http://web.archive.org/web/200406080...d.Calcium.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/
http://web.archive.org/web/200601140...ww.adcham.com/
If you can't access the sites above that have the word "archive" in you can do it through the WayBackMachine.
 
Vet appointment is in two hours... I'm scared :( I've set up a cardboard box with a hot water bottle in the bottom that I am going to fill with hot tap water, covered with two hand towels and shoved a stick through one end so he can hang on for dear life. Looks like an ok setup for me....hope it's nothing too bad
 
SO, Spike definitely left an impression on the vet...lol. I have to say she took his constant lunges at him quite gracefully and with good humor. Took a bit of wrangling him with a towel to actually be able to check his legs out, which led to him chomping on a good piece of the towel.

It looks to her like both the black spots on his belly and the watery looking bubbles on his knees are shedding problems. She popped the things on his knee and helped him out a bit with a damp q-tip with some of the left over skin.

Starting tomorrow we are going to apply a moisturizing creme on the few spots that are giving him trouble to help it along and continue watching them to make sure they don't get infected or grow any fungi.

Also we are going to try and mist him A LOT over the next few days. RAIN SEASON HERE WE COME!

I'm glad its nothing terrible and hope it goes away soon. I was quite proud that she said he was the healthiest chameleon she had ever seen :)
 
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