White around mouth and swelling

[Supramatt95]

Ok so I'm posting from my phone and can't provide the list that I usually fill out and is requested. Here is the run down of my little guys life. He's a 7 month old veiled, screen cage, fake veins a real ficus and a branch from petsmart. Fed crickets with calcium, a UVB and basking light, cage temps at 64-85 from night to day, I can provide more info if it'll help diagnose the problem.

PROBLEM:
My little guy has on one side of his face a white spot around his jaw as well as a tiny bump. He has no pus or bleeding or anything inside his mouth and everything seems find, he just shed a week ago. Below is a picture attached. Any suggestions like mouth rot or possible shedding again of dehydration.

 

[jannb]

I'm sorry to see your little guy's not doing well. Do you have a chameleon vet? If not where do you live and I might be able to help you find one. I would recommend a vet visit. Also please post more pictures of his entire body and legs.

 

[Supramatt95]

Do you think it's something that is life threatening? I want to take him to the vet ASAP if it's something that needs to be treated right away. I don't want to see him in pain or having his life be at risk.

I am new to where I live and don't know of any vets around, if you could locate one that would be great. I live in Hagerstown, MD.

Here is another pic of him a few days ago.

 

[jannb]

I recommend a vet visit and a fecal. He looks skinny and really needs to be checked out. One of our long time senior members uses Dr. Stahl. I hope this is within driving distance for you and if not there's another chameleon vet in MD.

Stahl Exotic Animal Veterinary Services
4105 Rust Rd.
Fairfax VA.22030
703 281 3750

 

[stacy76]

i'd definitely recommend a vet visit,and the lil guy guy looks pretty dehydrated.

 

[Supramatt95]

I put him in the shower on his favorite plant for the first time. He LOVED it and drank for a while. He turned bright green and some of the white around his mouth started to fade into green. I think dehydration was his issue. I'll still consult in a vet this week if another shower or two doesn't help completely.

 

[infernored16]

I put him in the shower on his favorite plant for the first time. He LOVED it and drank for a while. He turned bright green and some of the white around his mouth started to fade into green. I think dehydration was his issue. I'll still consult in a vet this week if another shower or two doesn't help completely.

That doesn't look like a problem a couple of showers will cure. Take him to a vet ASAP!!! He looks dehydrated, underweight and the lump in his face most likely is some kind of infection. Take a look at your husbandry. There is enough information in this forum to follow and everyone in here will give any guidance you need. Do not wait until he is really sick to have him checked. He can have parasites. Make sure you get a fecal test done. BTW if the ficus in the picture is the one you have, you really need to get a new one. It looks dead and when it dries up and decomposes it creates bacteria.

 

[symphonica]

I agree, he needs to see a vet, ASAP. Definitely get a fecal. Blood test to check for organ function and x-rays to detect signs of MBD would not be a bad idea.

He looks severely dehydrated, ill, and miserable in the first pic. Underweight in the other photos as well. He may need IV fluids and/or antibiotics if he has an infection. Get him to the vet ASAP and let us know how it goes.

And I agree with inferno, that dead ficus needs to get the boot.

What are you keeping your humidity at? Are you gutloading your crickets properly? Is your calcium with or without D3? What type of UVB bulb are you using? These are some additional questions that will help is determine if there may be a problem with your husbandry.

 

[Supramatt95]

I removed the Ficus; gave him a shower; I keep the humidity relatively medium temperate but it fluctuates it seems I can't seem to keep it at a steady temp either I'm not sure why. Here is a picture I took of him after his shower and after he went to sleep; the whiteness went away and he turned green as all can be. I will schedule an appointment to take him to a vet as soon as I can, it makes it tough because I work from 10-9 and most vets don't open early and also don't work nights where I live. I will have to schedule a day off work to take him hopefully by Wednesday. Does he look ok in this picture? Also what plants do you recommend I put in? How much calcium should I give him, and is 75watt UVB too much?

 

[Supramatt95]

Took wall-e to the vet today. She said it appears it's somewhat dehydration but mostly calcium isn't high enough. She have me calcium drops prescriptions and said to administer a drop a day on his lip as well as try to add more calcium to his diet. Any ideas on ways to keep the calcium up?

 

[symphonica]

You didn't answer any of the questions in my previous post, which were essentially the basics when it comes to calcium/nutrition. Please answer them if you want accurate help.

You should be dusting his feeders proper supplementation on a regular schedule. They should also be gutloaded properly. What type of supplementation are you using, what is the schedule, and how are you gutloading?

You should also have a good UVB bulb, which should be replaced every 6 months (12 months for Arcadia). 75W isn't a UVB reading. Wattage has nothing to do with UVB. Do you mean 75W for heat bulb? For UVB, you should have a 5.0 or 10.0 is ReptiSun or ReptiGlo, with T8 tube fluorescent being better than coiled bulbs. If you can afford it, T5HO bulbs are the best, with Arcadia bulbs being the best of the best.

There are bulb types and UVB output/strength.
Bulb types:
R-type
S-type
Coiled
T12
T8
T5

Output:
5.0
10.0
6%
12%


Here is the "how to ask for help" questions:

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
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?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
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?
Location - Where are you geographically located?

 

[Supramatt95]

Sorry, he's being fed dusted crickets, and a 5.0 UVB bulb it's a reptiglow. It's a curled bulb not a regular bulb. Is it safe to put calcium in his misting bottle? It's calcium without d3 from petsmart and he's being fed once a day 6-8 crickets (dusted) and they're being fed flukers powder and orange cubes.

 

[symphonica]

No calcium in misting bottle. Keep giving calcium with no D3 every day. You should be giving multi-vitamins with no D3 once a week or every other week, and D3 twice a month.

Fluker's powder and orange cubes have nothing beneficial for chameleons in them except water. They're basically just the pet store's way of getting you to spend money. It's much better (and cheaper) for you to feed them what you may already have in your fridge. You have to gutload them better or your cham won't get the nutrients he needs. Crickets themselves have no nutrition for the chams. It's what you put into the crickets that your cham gets. The crickets are just kind of like the cargo trains that deliver the goods to your cham. The good are what you put into your cargo trains that you want delivered, which should be fruits and veggies - leafy greens (like collard greens), squash, strawberries, etc. if you search "gutloading" on here you'll find a lot of resources about what you should and should not feed your crickets.

I would switch to a T8 (tube) if you can. The 5.0 coils don't give off much UVB, especially if it's a ReptiGlo (ReptiSun is better).