Additional tips

BABs said:
He has already been seen by a veterinarian and is currently getting Baytril by mouth once a day.
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Did the vet clean out the gland area?

As I said before..."With chameleons the pus is like cottage cheese in texture and the antibiotics won't penetrate it to get rid of the infection. The glands will need to be cleaned out and flushed likely while the chameleon is on the antibiotic. You may want to do a culture and sensitivity test of the exudate to make sure he's on the right antibiotic."

As @Sonny13 said..."The eating is probably the infection, this is really painful for them"...the bug juice should be more liquid so he won't have to chew it.
 
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kinyonga said:
Did the vet clean out the gland area?

As I said before..."With chameleons the pus is like cottage cheese in texture and the antibiotics won't penetrate it to get rid of the infection. The glands will need to be cleaned out and flushed likely while the chameleon is on the antibiotic. You may want to do a culture and sensitivity test of the exudate to make sure he's on the right antibiotic."

As @Sonny13 said..."The eating is probably the infection, this is really painful for them"...the bug juice should be more liquid so he won't have to chew it.
Click to expand...
No, the veterinarian did not. I have been gently massaging and the mouth and lip areas with cotton tipped applicators moistened with chlorhexidine or with saline solution.
 
Ok so you’ve already gotten a lot of awesome advice from people on here, thanks guys! I’m really worried for your guy. He doesn’t look good and I’m unsure what the outcome will be. Try to handle him as little as possible. I know you have to handle him to give him his meds but let that be all that you handle him. Do you have a window air conditioner? You might try putting him in a room alone with that and set it for about 65 at night. That will give him the low temp he needs at night. They could be lower but we all have to live with our critters right? And we can’t freeze to death! Lol! The air conditioner will lower the humidity in the room so at night youre going to need a humidifier that you can connect some pvc pipe to the top and then add an elbow piece with another short pipe to go over the top of your enclosure. This when turned on will send a cascade of fog down over your guy at night and give him the cold humid air he needs. This is very important. Your temps at night need to be 67 degrees or lower in order to do this . If you provide fog in temps higher than this you are setting him up for a respiratory infection so make sure your temps at night are below 67. Jackson’s chams are very sensitive to almost everything it seems. They are a very laid back, slow moving, easily frightened chameleons. They do best if not handled, only observed. They need thick foliage cover in order to feel safe. I use a ficus Benjamina for my guy that fills his cage and he likes to hide in it. Sometimes I can’t even see him in there and that’s okay. you will need to get a long linear t5ho light fixture w8th a long linear reptisun 5.0 or Arcadia 6% bulb. To put across the top of his cage. Those compact bulbs don’t put out enough uvb beyond 2-3 inches below them so it doesn’t even reach the Cham. Now with the long linear bulb, you want his basking branch to be 9-10 inches below the bulb For the correct uvb levels. He’s going to eventually need a 2x2x4 foot cage eventually if he makes it so you’ll want to buy the size bulb you need for that now. I recommend the 24 inch fixture with the 22 inch bulb that fits in it.
 
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You might try to offer a variety of feeders to entice him to eat. My guy loves dubia roaches, bsfl (black soldier fly larvae), crickets, and occasionally a wax worm or two or a meal worm or two as treats. Feed him every other day. I only dust my feeders with plain calcium 3 times a week and once a month I use a vitamine and D3 supplement dusted on his feeders. You want to only very lightly dust his feeders as they are verysensitive to supplements. If he is in pain with his jaw infections you might feed him everyday but less feeders. Actually if he will eat I would give him as many as he’ll take since you said he’s underweight. Please do get rid of the carpet and keep a bare floor, it’s easier to see his droppings that way and its easier to clean. I think you said you have plastic around 2 sides of his cage, maybe wrap the third side as well and only leave the front open. You want his humidity to be 40-50% during the day and 80% or higher at night. It’s believed that chameleons absorb the water from the air through their lungs at night when temps are low and humidity is high. I sure hope this helps and I pray he gets better but it sounds like he’s had many months of sub standard environment and care. You are wonderful for taking him in and nursing him! I applaud you! It isn’t easy to do. If you have any other questions, just ask and I will try to watch for them. Again I’m sorry I wasn’t around sooner!
 
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I really appreciate everyone's help and information, over the weekend I handled the chameleon (Trevor) only to give medication and some of the bug juice. I made as many changes from the suggestions you all had as I could and I managed to get his enclosure down to 67 last night while I was experimenting on how to get it lower.

The swelling in his lips seemed to be going down and he seemed like he was doing well over the weekend. Yesterday when I checked on him after work, he was very weak. I still gave him his meds and a little bit of food. He is very bad off this morning so I am taking him to work to humanely euthanize him.

If I dare to get a Chameleon in the future, I will definitely come back to seek all of your help! Thank you again for helping me...
 
Really sorry you need to take this difficult decision, but sometimes it´s indeed the most human thing we can do for them. Keep Trevor close in your heart and don´t let you get off track for another chameleon, you got a green heart. Keep strong 💚
 
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