Area swollen around eye

[TXChamKeeper]

Hi everyone! I'm a new chameleon keeper, and just want your input on the situation. My chameleon (Jackson, female, 9ish months) got an abscess under her left eye, probably from a feeder biting her. I took her to the vet and they put her on 0.1 ml metronidazole once a day. Around a week and a half later the skin around the eye became swollen so I took her into the vet again and now we are going to drain the abscess on Tuesday under anesthesia. Do you have any experience or input on this? She's also been opening her mouth and tilting her head back when I try to get her to drink in the shower (picture provided) and I don't know what that means. She also does it after I give her meds.

Background info:
-Female Jackson chameleon, around 9 months old, had her for 3 months now.
-I handle her at least once a day.
-I was feeding crickets and superworms, now she has Dubia roaches she seems to be eating. I feed her in the afternoon, around 10 of them. They came gut loaded and I recently dusted them with vitamins without d3.
- the vitamins are zoo meds reptivite reptile vitamins without d3. I dust the feeders 2-3 times a week.
-i spray mist her 3x every day for 30 seconds. I never see her drink so I may have to switch methods
- she has formed stools with white in them. She has been dewormed once, probably due for another deworming.

Cage
-mesh rectangle cage, unsure of dimesions... pretty sure it's a starter cage.
-I use a linear UVB 5.0 light with a 40w heat lamp. I do 16 on 8 off with the lights.
-temp according to digital thermometer is high 81 low 72, moisture is high 50 low 40.
-i have some house plant that was approved from the Florida cham page I think dracaena
-cage is in a low traffic area away from a vent but next to a blinded window that only some light gets through.
-we live in Texas.

-concered about eye abscess and her opening mouth tilting head back behavior. She only does it at certain times when handled or when I put her in the shower to hydrate her. She doesn't breathe weird or anything so I'm not concerned about an uri and her habitat should be good so it wouldnt of caused an uri.

Thank you!
Last pic is of the skin swollen around eye, just taken.

 

[TXChamKeeper]

*uri upper respiratory infection

 

[Rogue]

The white part of her stool is actually urate, not poop. Are they solid white or do they have a yellowish tinge? Has your vet considered or mentioned a possibility of mouth rot?

Also don't rely on the gut load that the feeders "come with". They often lack the full nutritional value that your cham needs. I would suggest reading some blogs and forums for nutritional gut loads and there is a blog post in the forums written by a veterinarian member. I don't have the link handy but if you do a search for gut loads, it should pop up. If you want me to get you the link, I will be happy to do so for you. I hope she gets better soon!

 

[TXChamKeeper]

I'm curious to see why mouth rot would be a concern, it's just the left side under her eye that had pus and I squished some out and got her on antibiotics. I'm not familiar with mouth rot, I just figured that a feeder bit her on the inside of her mouth and it got infected.

I haven't noticed a yellow tinge in her stool.

I'll read about gut loading. The Dubia are being fed butter squash right now.

Thank you for your help!

-update. I read up on mouth rot and she is a newer reptile vet so she doesn't have much experience. I'll bring it up to her. Thanks again.

 

[Rogue]

I'm curious to see why mouth rot would be a concern, it's just the left side under her eye that had pus and I squished some out and got her on antibiotics. I'm not familiar with mouth rot, I just figured that a feeder bit her on the inside of her mouth and it got infected.

I haven't noticed a yellow tinge in her stool.

I'll read about gut loading. The Dubia are being fed butter squash right now.

Thank you for your help!

-update. I read up on mouth rot and she is a newer reptile vet so she doesn't have much experience. I'll bring it up to her. Thanks again.

No problem! I'm not saying it IS mouth rot (and I pray it isn't) but better to rule that out Here is a wonderful thread on do's and dont's on gut loading I mentioned earlier.
http://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/supplementation-mbd-1.2451/

 

[Rogue]

Here is a picture of healthy poop and urate. The urate (the white part) is actually urine. Chams and many other reptiles such as snakes, etc. Have a solid urine as they absorb all moisture in their intake. The urate is solid and tends to have a chalky texture (you'll notice when you go to clean it that it may leave a wet, chalky residue behind that obviously needs to be cleaned up as well). White urates are wonderful and a sign that your cham is well hydrated. If it starts to show signs of yellow or worse, orange coloring then the cham is dehydrated.
Our cham is currently on a low-protein diet temporarily so his urates are small but yours will likely be larger in size. While your little one is sick, definitely keep an eye on her poops and urates for good hydration. Check any foliage and sticks in case that's where it landed. I hope this helps and may her condition inprove! She is lucky that you have her in a veterinarian's close care.

 

[Kaden]

She may not be getting the proper hydration she needs. The humidity shouldn't drop into the 40s, 60%-80% is ideal. You need to be misting her a lot more than what you are. Keep misting three times a day, but you need to be doing it for 3-5 minutes each session. I'd also suggest you get a dripper to ensure she has a constant supply of water. You also may need a fogger if the humidity stays too low. I hope she recovers soon!

 

[carol5208]

She has a temporal gland infection in the corner of her mouth from what I can see. Very common in Jacksons. It looks like it is progressing up into her cheek and may now be effecting her eye. Did your vet not see her mouth was not right in the corner? You must be very careful when administering water or meds as not to squirt down into their throat. They can aspirate into their lungs from that and that may account for why she is holding her head up in the air as she is having trouble breathing.

 

[Rogue]

She may not be getting the proper hydration she needs. The humidity shouldn't drop into the 40s, 60%-80% is ideal. You need to be misting her a lot more than what you are. Keep misting three times a day, but you need to be doing it for 3-5 minutes each session. I'd also suggest you get a dripper to ensure she has a constant supply of water. You also may need a fogger if the humidity stays too low. I hope she recovers soon!

An auto misting system is well worth the investment if you aren't home daily to make sure she gets plenty of access to water.