Food for thought.

[sbristow]

My male Oustalet has recently been diagnosed with infected pustules at the rear of his throat. He is almost fully grown so there are not many insects he cannot eat. Whilst he is being treated under antibiotic medicine I am considering how these pustules (or mouth ulcers) developed?

I think the highest probability is the back legs of the super adult locust. As he grew older he tended to gravitate towards the larger locust. I'm convinced it was their back legs that scratched his throat and allowed the infection to set in. Now in future I may remove these legs prior to feeding, however I'm wondering if any other collectors have experienced this themselves or agree/disagree with this post?

 

[MelissaB]

I honestly don't know, I think it's definitely possible that the legs could have caused it. I use 1/2 inch crickets for my adult panthers. I like that size because they don't chirp, they don't die off as quickly as adult crickets and they're small enough for my geckos. The adult crickets definitely look more "armored" than the 1/2 inch, but it's probably just the size difference. I also feed dubia roaches, green banana roaches, silkworms, hornworms and the occasional super worm.

 

[sbristow]

Melissa. Many thanks for responding. I have never experienced this problem before. My previous Panthers often ate adult locusts without any problems, however Nero is twice the size of most Panthers and really 'turns his nose up' at smaller insects. The vet had no idea how the ulcers grew and as far as I am concerned I will be more cautious in future. The vet bill was 200 Pounds Sterling... Ouch.

 

[MelissaB]

Ow, but I bet having him around makes it worth every penny. I do wonder what would have caused the ulcers, though. Especially if you never had a problem with your panthers. Does he chew his prey as much as your panthers did? Have you tried Dubia roaches? They don't have big legs, so they might go down easier while still being big enough prey that your guy would notice them.

 

[Carlton]

It seems odd that a robust powerful species would be so sensitive to the hard parts of insects damaging its throat. While it is possible, I tend to wonder if there is something affecting your Oustaleti's immune system making it more likely to develop an infection following slight abrasions like this. If this was my cham I think I'd review my gutloading and supplementation products to see if something might be missing. The infection could have nothing to do with its prey, but an underlying problem that happened to manifest itself this way.