3 year old male veiled lumps on body and tail

[lainezor]

For the last couple weeks I have noticed my chameleon developing hard bumps all over his body. They are not discoloured and he doesnt seem to mind them being poked at.

He started to lose grip in his front right leg and is a bit swollen in his hands so I rushed him to the vet today.

I had orignally thought it might be gout from my research but the vet said that it might be calcium being deposited into the skin because after doing the xrays he noticed there was a bit of bone loss in the knee of his front leg which seems to be causing the range of motion problems.

He said that it could be a couple of different things such as gout or Calcinosis cutis causing the lumps. He took several pictures and a few x-rays and is going to do extra research to make sure that he diagnoses it properly. He said if it is kidney related there isnt much I can do and that he wants to be sure that he doesnt make a false diagnosis and cause more harm to kidneys. I was given metacam to give for the next 3 days as an anti inflammatory and I modified his cage to have the floor raised up so he cannot fall very far.

I will include some pictures and maybe there might be more ideas about what is wrong with him.

you can see the inflammation/lump on his elbow as well as bumps on the foot.

largest bump on his body right before his tail starts

full body shot from other side

the good news is that he is not lethargic and is still eating. He is active and despite the issue with his one arm is moving all around. He is approximately 3 years old and weight 260g. All of my supplements and my cage setup have all been confirmed as excellent many times in the past 5 years of my chameleon experience and I can say with confidence that his enclosure is set up properly.

 

[brownie64]

Did he mention if it could be cyst. I know you said your supplementation was correct, but could you humor me and tell me how much calcium with d3 you are giving.

 

[lainezor]

He gets the fluckers calcium with d3 every other sunday.

 

[kinyonga]

The elbow looks like it might be the result of MBD. Don't know what the rest of the lumps are. Please tell me specifically what supplements younare using and how often for each and what you feed / gutload the insects with.

 

[lainezor]

I use the zoo med repti calcium without d3 monday to friday, saturday is plain crickets and sunday I alternate between the herptivite multivitamin and the fluckers calcium with d3. I gutload the crickets with dandelion greens or collard greens.

 

[kinyonga]

Did the vet not mention MBD? To correct MBD the chameleon needs extra calcium until it's blood calcium levels are back to normal and the bones are strong again.

 

[kinyonga]

The bmps might be abcesses. A vet can tell you and test for it.

 

[lainezor]

Eugene has a history of MBD from when I first got him. Abscesses were not mentioned. He took x rays and pictures and said he would do more research and get back to me. The bumps are really hard, they feel like little lumps.

 

[alphakenc]

When you feel the bump,is it hard or soft??

 

[lainezor]

It is solid like rocks and he doesnt seem to be at all bothered by me pressing on them really hard.

 

[lainezor]

No word back from the vet yet. I am very worried about him.

 

[brownie64]

Could be a papilloma, or abscesses don't think it's a calcium build up because your supplement schedule looks fine. I wouldn't panic until you hear back from the vet he will just probably have them removed. They get these some times without real reason might be genetics. Good luck

 

[lainezor]

He seems to be getting weaker and weaker as the days progress. His front arms are not really holding his head up any more.

picture from this morning. he seems alert and sassy but isnt moving around a whole lot and seems to be leaning on things when he does.

 

[kinyonga]

IMHO you need to get him to a good chameleon vet ASAP.

 

[lainezor]

The vet said he suspects its renal and there is nothing I can do. Should I look for another vet?

 

[kinyonga]

What tests did the vet run to determine its renal...or did he/she just guess? Did he do I biopsy on the bumps?

 

[lainezor]

he took xrays, no bloodwork or biopsy, I am unable to find another vet so i guess I will ask him about it when I see him.

 

[alphakenc]

Xray only can determine ITS THERE,but it wont be able to tell u WHAT IS THERE,so please get an second opinion from a different Vet...sometimes a gynecologist will mistaken a bump for a breast cancer

 

[lainezor]

The vet did aspirate two of the bumps with a needle today and found a white powdery substance in one bump (both bumps near the base of the tail) he said that he is going to consult with an american vet expert and see about her opinion on the slides before he takes any blood. The bumps are transparent on xrays which is a bit odd if it is gout.

He has been eating and pooping, poops look good, urates are chalk white and he is alert. He wouldnt stand still during the entire hour of the vet examination and kept climbing all over me. If he didnt have these bumps and keep slipping I dont think anything would be wrong.

here is a picture of his tail from today after the vet did the biopsy:

as you can see there are a bunch of tiny bumps around that spot and the vet said that the bump closest the the end of the tail seemed to have clear fluid come out of it and not white powdery stuff. So he took the sample of the one up higher and it had a white ball which could be crushed up into a powder. He said theres no evidence of anything fungal at all in the sites. He mentioned that he suspects it might be something called "cutaneous cutis" but hes never seen that before in a chameleon.

 

[Carlton]

he took xrays, no bloodwork or biopsy, I am unable to find another vet so i guess I will ask him about it when I see him.

I don't think its possible to diagnose renal problems without bloodwork. I can see why you're worried. Looks like something is wrong...not much body fat either.