Help! Local vet doesn't do chams

[dig414]

My Lil guy has been very lethargic the few days. Never had a sick cham. He's around 8 mo. Put him in the shower earlier hoping the steam would help perk him up hes always liked it. Now he's coughing up bubbles. Did I do something wrong?

 

[jannb]

It sounds like he has an RI and will need a vet. Where do you live? I might be able to recommend a vet with chameleon experience.

 

[dig414]

In mt.vernon illinois

 

[dig414]

And is there anything I can do to help make him feel better for now?

 

[jannb]

You can warm him up some and put a warm mist humidifier on him. If located vets in Naperville, Downers Grove and Indianapolis. Would you be able to get him to either of these? If you can I'll post the address and phone number. You might could call these vets and see if they know anyone closer to you.

Here's some good links about RI: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/theres-no-such-thing-as-uri.14277/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/back-from-the-vet-medication-questions.39302/

 

[jannb]

Dr. Todd Gray
Arboretum View Animal Hospital
2551 Warrenville Road
Downers Grove, IL 60515
630-963-0424 - phone
630-963-0537 - fax
www.avah.org


Springbrook Animal Care Center
2759 Forgue Drive Naperville, IL 60564
(630) 428-0500


Avian Exotic Animal Clinic of Indianapolis
9330 Waldemar Rd, Indianapolis, IN 46268

 

[dig414]

Thanks for the great info. All those vets are over 4 hrs away so I'll see what I can do. He has a regular humidifier but I'll be buying a warm mist one first thing in the morning.

 

[jannb]

Thanks for the great info. All those vets are over 4 hrs away so I'll see what I can do. He has a regular humidifier but I'll be buying a warm mist one first thing in the morning.

He needs a culture and sensitivity test to see what kind of infection he has and which antibiotic will work on that type infection. It will not go away on it's on and will only get worse. Call those vets and see if they know any reptile vets closer to you and I keep looking too.

 

[Carlton]

Or, its possible one of Jannb's vets could consult with your local practice to get some treatment going sooner. There are a lot of tests and meds both will probably have available with coaching.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

Thanks for the great info. All those vets are over 4 hrs away so I'll see what I can do. He has a regular humidifier but I'll be buying a warm mist one first thing in the morning.

Just from the one photo you posted, he's jacked. You'll need an antibiotic to help him overcome the infection, fixing his environment by itself won't work.

Also, these animals tend to only catch a respiratory infection because something in their artificial habitat is off or wrong. Until you identify that and correct it the infection won't go away even with medications.

 

[WAMBO]

Or, its possible one of Jannb's vets could consult with your local practice to get some treatment going sooner. There are a lot of tests and meds both will probably have available with coaching.

Agreed. An x-ray would be revealing to determine if there is pneumonia vs an URI, and a consult for the correct meds and dosage from a college could work.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

Agreed. An x-ray would be revealing to determine if there is pneumonia vs an URI, and a consult for the correct meds and dosage from a college could work.

While I'm not the heartless bastich some would think, my next comment could be taken as such.

We're talking a Jackson here. Yes It's a living animal and all that, but I'm being practical in an attempt to save it. X-rays and all that might be well out of the range of what the OP will be able to afford.

There are all kinds of things that would be ideal for the OP to be able to do, like what Wambo posted, however I highly doubt there is the time for any of that. The animal is in bad shape imo.

I'd suggest effort put towards correcting whatever environmental issue caused this followed by going to any decent vet and asking for a 20 day dose of oral Baytril. Any vet can weight the animal and make sure the med's dosage is correct. I don't like shotgun methods, but I do know when to use one.

 

[dig414]

Found a vet but sadly she won't be in until the day after tomorrow and even more sadly idk if the poor Lil guy will make it that long. He'll climb on my hand if prompted but won't open his eyes or move around except to hold his head upwards.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

Animal has good body weight.

Keep warm, 82-85F, and shower in warmish water once daily. Don't worry about feeding him for the next day or two. He has plenty of weight on him in that photo. Make sure his night temps stay high for now as well. 78+. I've saved more than a few over the years that look like that. Do not handle him beyond the simple shower once a day.

If he's still here Thursday, get him over to your vet.

Also you need to evaluate your habitat and figure out what caused the RI. Or else the meds won't help at all.

Too little ventilation with too much humidity is a common issue. Not enough humidity is another, there's a balance.

Day temps, night temps... those are other factors.

 

[Andee]

I agree on all the above care. Don't try to feed, he honestly doesn't need it and I would say he's a bit heavy so I wouldn't worry about him losing a few grams. What you need to worry about is keeping him safely hydrated and keeping him warm so it's easy for him to breathe. If he is in a screen enclosure I do recommend do warm mist treatments too. The warm air humidity will make it easier for his air way and lungs to work. I haven't dealt with huge amounts of respitory infections in montane species but any animal with respitory infections be it mammal or reptile usually does better with warm mist treatments.

 

[Decadancin]

Keep warm, 82-85F, and shower in warmish water once daily. Don't worry about feeding him for the next day or two. He has plenty of weight on him in that photo. Make sure his night temps stay high for now as well. 78+.

Exactly what I was going to write! (OK, not exactly, but the exact sentiment )

 

[dig414]

Keeping him as warm an moist as I can but its not looking well. I've got the warm mist blowing right on him but he wont open his eyes at all and he's losing color and having bloody stools.

 

[Carlton]

There is more going on with him than a RI unfortunately if that's the case. Sounds like a more widespread systemic infection. I hope you can get help for him, but color loss and the blood in stools sounds quite bad!

 

[Andee]

I agree sounds like with the blood in the stools and such it is much more serious than a RI which though is fatal when untreated, when it's done right can be treated rather safely. However systemic infections if that's what this is, are much more serious and much harder to treat, even in humans.

 

[OldChamKeeper]

Keeping him as warm an moist as I can but its not looking well. I've got the warm mist blowing right on him but he wont open his eyes at all and he's losing color and having bloody stools.

Still fixable.

Stop with the blowing directly on him. Not helpful at this stage.

Still needs the shotgun treatment, get the Baytil dosage and medication into him. If he looks better in 72 hrs then spend the extra $$$ on some lab work. If not, well at least I showed you the right way to decide on how to spend cash on a lizard that may or may not be a lost cause.

Odds are you don't have a RI. You most likely have some type of parasite that weakened the animal's immune system enough to where the RI is a secondary infection. The blood in the stool is a symptom I'm taking into account.

The Baytril will most likely help in dealing with any systemic or secondary infections, if the animal shows improvement after72 hours then you have enough breathing room for some lab work to determine the real issue. There is a method to my well known madness.