Closed eye and bump on skin

[emersonc]

Hey all I am hoping that you can help me out with my chameleon. Here is what I can tell you.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - See picture. Homemade of wood and wire mesh. Rather large for her, about 4' tall.

Lighting - She is next to a east facing window so she gets the morning rays. And has a heat lamp at the top which turns off when the sun goes down and turns on when the sun rises.

Temperature - I have a digital thermometer to measure the temps. It doesnt get below about 65 in her cage, and right under the basking lamp it reaches around the 90's. Average is around 80F

Humidity - Again I have a digital gauge to measure humdity. it stays around 40%

Plants - I have live plants. One umbrella plant, and one plant that looks like an umbrella plant but with larger and fewer leaves, probably same family but different species. I also have some dead branches I got from the old growth rain forest with lichen on them.

Location - Next to a east facing window

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - A 3.5 year old female panther.

Handling - Used to hold her nearly every day, she loved it. But lately I have been very busy and hold her about once every 2 weeks or so.

Feeding - I feed her crickets that are gutloaded with whatever I have. Currently they are feeding on walnuts. I try to feed her every day when she is cooperating. She recieves between 1-3 crickets depending on her receptiveness.

Supplements -I know this is bad but I have not been giving her supplements lately, honestly I have forgotten. But I will start again. I have a calcium w/o phosphorus supplement and reptivite from zoo meds she recievec her calcium today and will get her vits tomorrow.

Watering - I have a dripper ontop of the cage, and I try to mist her multiple times a day. But there are some days where I do not mist her because of work and school. I do see her drink on occasion, but not everyday.

Fecal Description - Never been tested for parasites. Feces is brown and white with a slight hint of yellow.

History - She is blind in her right eye (got bit by a mealworm, very sad); As seen in the pictures on her left side she has a burn mark (about 1cm long near her belly) it has been there for about 6 months or so. I believe it to be a burn mark as it has gotten better with every shed, but lately it has not changed much. I have been told that she is a very happy chameleon, especialy for a female.


Current Problem - Twofold: She has been keeping ger left eye (the good one) closed a lot. And when she does open it it is only for a second or two then she closes it again. Often when it is open it looks like it is not "in the right place" As in her pupil does not match up to where her eye slit is. Does that make sense? This is making it very hard to feed her.

Second: take a look at the pictures. She has a small bump that is pratruding from her skin on the left side above her belly. It is dark in color and has been ther for about a week now. It has not changed. When I touch it she moves like she is in discomfort.

Any ideas???

 

[jannb]

post a picture....that will help

 

[kinyonga]

Can you post a couple of pictures please?

Its not a good sign that she is keeping her eye closed most of the time. I'm not sure what the mark is but under the circumstances, I would be taking her to the vet.

The following is not necessarily part of the problem...but I think should be mentioned...
You said..."She is next to a east facing window so she gets the morning rays"...if the rays are coming through glass or plastic they are doing no good for her.

You said..."I know this is bad but I have not been giving her supplements lately, honestly I have forgotten. But I will start again. I have a calcium w/o phosphorus supplement and reptivite from zoo meds she recievec her calcium today and will get her vits tomorrow."...phos.-free calcium should be used on most feedings. Vitamin powder should only be used a couple of times a month. If she is truly getting direct sunlight from the window (not through glass or plastic) then she shouldn't need D3...but if that's not the case she should.

 

[wheresstimpy]

when i first got my cham, she would not open one of her eyes as well. Being a college student and having just dropped a ton of cash on the chams and their setups i was reluctant to take them to the vet the first day i had them. Proper husbandry will go a long way! MORE WATER! that will be a start to helping her get better. Short of a vet visit (which you should do if you are able to) i would increase the amount of water given to her, and also as mentioned before she needs to be getting plenty of uvb light from either the direct sunlight or a reptisun bulb(or equivalent) this will not penetrate the glass or plastic of a window though. The bump..., im not so sure. Really the only way to tell would be a vet visit, or at least some good pictures for us to see(although i am not very qualified to determine what it would be, there are several people here that are) Good luck!

 

[emersonc]

Okay so I have her UVB light set up again. it is running with the sun. Also I have been giving her calcium with her crickets. As for water I am spraying the cage multiple times a day, as often as I can being a full time worker and full time college senior. She is a little more active, but still is keeping her eye closed rather often. What else should I do? Sorry it took so long to get the pictures up, this dang Vista system has a lot of bugs in it. The first two pictures are of the spot I was talking about. The area on her belly has been there for a while and is not related to the round spot above it. The spot above that I am concerned about is round and bulges out, almost like a nasty pimple. Do ya think it is a parasite? The final picture is obviously of her cage so you can have an idea of what she lives in.

Also I have been thinking that maybe I should switch up her diet again, but we have noting other than crickets here in Ellensburg. Does anyone know of a good insect supplier that ships to the north west?

 

[jannb]

You need a UVB light ASAP. UVB will not go through a glass window. Your humidity needs to be higher for a panther 50 to 60. It's very important that you dust your feeders and she should be eating way more that 1 to 3 every other day. Your pictures are not very good but from what I can see your girl might be in need of a vet. Do you have a vet? Jann

 

[emersonc]

You need a UVB light ASAP. UVB will not go through a glass window. Your humidity needs to be higher for a panther 50 to 60. It's very important that you dust your feeders and she should be eating way more that 1 to 3 every other day. Your pictures are not very good but from what I can see your girl might be in need of a vet. Do you have a vet? Jann

The UVB is up and running.
The humidity has been around 45-55% I will try to get it higher. I have a hot humidifier, should I start to use that?
As far as a vet goes. We have one, but he really is not all that good. He works with cats dogs pigs cows horses and those kind of things. Plus he is pretty expensive. I am hoping that I can get some help from people on the forum.
I will try to get some better pictures.

 

[Sang]

Vet is always more qualified then ANY of the forum members ..maybe minus a few....i think....


ANWAYS, yes expensive, chameleons arn't a cheap animal and unfortunatly require sometimes expensive medical treatment, but in this case it is important that you take her to the vet, the advice from the members should be heeded.

 

[kinyonga]

I don't think you have any choice but to take her to a vet. Your picture isn't clear enough to see what it is for sure...but it could be fungal...just a guess...the vet is the only one who can be sure.

 

[emersonc]

well i got the humidity up to 60+ and i have been giving her more water via a spray bottle. But she is still keeping her eye shut most of the time. can I tell if shw is dehydrated by her feces? What exactly would I be looking for.

Also I have some other food that is coming soon; butterworms, the big goliath worms, and I will soon be starting a walking stick colony. Hopefully some new food types will make her lively up a bit.

 

[jannb]

I don't think you have any choice but to take her to a vet. Your picture isn't clear enough to see what it is for sure...but it could be fungal...just a guess...the vet is the only one who can be sure.

Did you take her to the vet???? If dehydrated the white part of the poop will be yellow/orange.

 

[Sang]

poop should be a brown turd with like a white dot, some of the others could give a better explanation then i could.


things to look for with hydration is orange, yellowish orangey colors.

you still need to get a UVB bulb, immediatly if you have not done so.

and need better photos of the growth on her belly. she doesn't look to be in good shape still from the old pics.

post some cleaner more current ones please.

 

[emersonc]

thanks Ill work on some picture tomorrow, but for now it is time for work!

 

[Sang]

do it asap man, this ain't some 5 dollar hampster.

 

[emersonc]

well these are the best that I can do. There is a picture and if I can figure out how to put on a video I will.
She has started to shed and I am hoping that the shed will help her out, but I dont know. It is more then just a white area, it is looks and feels like a bump.

Do the pictures help?
Any other description I can give?

Her humidity is up and is getting more water. But she is very difficult to feed because she is does not open her eyes often and when she does she is stiill not very interested.

 

[kinyonga]

How's the chameleon?

 

[emersonc]

Well not so good. I have not been able to get her to eat for three days. So just refuses to eat, she is not even interested in the food. I have butterworms, crickets, and gloiath worms for her. She still keeps her eyes closed most of the time even though she is getting plenty of water. Currently she is taking a shower.

The bump on her skin has not changed so I am taking her to the vet on monday. I will give you a update when I have more information.

Thanks