White bumps??

[gremlin980]

My Panther has these raised bumps I am concerned about. The short arrow’s bump is white, hard, and flaky. The long arrow’s bump is raised (similar to a pimple) and grayish. He came from a private vendor who gave breeding a shot and only had one clutch. He is all around healthy otherwise. Eats well, drinks well, not lethargic, and recently had a shed.

Anyone have an idea what this might be or have caused it?

 

[nightanole]

Sorry you are in for a ve visit. Its either a virus/bacteria growth, or its squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Either way, its not going to go away on its own.

 

[haydenm14]

just like nightanole stated the vet is gonna be visited sadly. hope you got some money put away for your cham hope he gets better.

 

[Fiona's Mom]

Please keep us posted as to what the vet says. Hope he gets better. He looks beautiful.

 

[gremlin980]

I paid a visit to the vet yesterday. Their determination is his skin was punctured in his youth by another cham trying to establish dominance. These wounds, now abscesses, subsequently became infected and never fully healed. There is a pattern of marks on the opposite side of the chameleons back as well that I hadn't previously noticed. The vets don't think a virus/bacterium is present because he shows good health and behavior. His immune system isn't as robust at this age and if had the vrius, it would already be obvious through various symptoms.

They cut out the smaller abscess and cut open/carved a little out of the larger one. This was followed by a thorough cleaning. I was told to keep an eye on it and return if they don't heal or symptom worsen.

In the meantime, they have kindly sent photos to colleagues who have worked in chameleon viral research for confirmation. Hoping to get a call back today and will post an update.

 

[Fiona's Mom]

I paid a visit to the vet yesterday. Their determination is his skin was punctured in his youth by another cham trying to establish dominance. These wounds, now abscesses, subsequently became infected and never fully healed. There is a pattern of marks on the opposite side of the chameleons back as well that I hadn't previously noticed. The vets don't think a virus/bacterium is present because he shows good health and behavior. His immune system isn't as robust at this age and if had the vrius, it would already be obvious through various symptoms.

They cut out the smaller abscess and cut open/carved a little out of the larger one. This was followed by a thorough cleaning. I was told to keep an eye on it and return if they don't heal or symptom worsen.

In the meantime, they have kindly sent photos to colleagues who have worked in chameleon viral research for confirmation. Hoping to get a call back today and will post an update.

Thanks for the update. Glad you had it checked out before it turned into something serious.

 

[kinyonga]

Did they put him on a medication to kill the bacteria in the abcesses??
They don't look like any abcesses I've seen...they're too white.

 

[gremlin980]

Did they put him on a medication to kill the bacteria in the abcesses??
They don't look like any abcesses I've seen...they're too white.

They thoroughly cleaned the wound and said it should clear on its own. I asked about medication, but they said topical won’t be very effective and that if it worsens then come back for ingested or injection meds.

 

[kinyonga]

The vet is right about topical meds not likely working...but they usually need oral or injected meds to get any bacteria released into the system due to the cleaning out of the area. The meds are sort of a precaution because by the time you find out it's returned it's already setting up house somewhere else.

 

[gremlin980]

The vet is right about topical meds not likely working...but they usually need oral or injected meds to get any bacteria released into the system due to the cleaning out of the area. The meds are sort of a precaution because by the time you find out it's returned it's already setting up house somewhere else.

Hmm... any guess why they wouldn’t have prescribed meds in this scenario?

 

[kinyonga]

Was it an exotics vet??

 

[gremlin980]

Was it an exotics vet??

Yes. One vet was an avid reptile owner and has kept chams. The other had been seeing exotics and reptiles for 30+ years. They seemed quite confident in their diagnosis.

 

[kinyonga]

Thanks. I hope they are right!

 

[gremlin980]

Thanks. I hope they are right!

As do I. I’ll keep this updated if I hear otherwise.

 

[agdrac8]

I hope your cham heals perfectly!! Keep us updated, I know how stressful it can be not being certain about their health. I actually had a similar question, my panther chameleon has started having white bumps as well. I'm not sure if it's the same thing yours had. We already had a routine checkup scheduled March 3rd but I'm wondering if we need to go in sooner. We first noticed almost a line of raised white something. Then he shed normally and that area was the last to go and it's still doesn't look healed. We had been applying a topical spray but it did nothing. Then we noticed another one come up and now a third one. They're quite small and they don't seem to have liquid coming out or really cause him any pain. But I'm just concerned that there's multiple now. Other than that he's seems super healthy (drinking, eating, shedding, active, etc.). I just wanted to see if anyone had any input. I've attached pictures below of it.