Help Me Help Charlize

[ReqRep]

So, a while ago I posted a topic about a Chameleon I rescued from a local pet shop. I figured it might be wise to make an official help thread now that I've had her a bit, and because she isn't improving at a very fast rate.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Female, Jackson's Chameleon, Adolescent, I've had her for about three weeks now.
• Handling - Twice a day for medication and feeding.
• Feeding - A combination of crickets, superworms, and homemade cricket gutload - Mustard Greens, Romaine Lettuce, Yams, Carrots, Apple, Orange, Cilantro, Oat Bran, Flax Seed - and a little bit of water blended together.
• Supplements - Zoo Med Repticalcium without D3, Tetra Fauna ReptoCal with D3, Herptivite. The last two she has not had while in my care because she's on a liquid diet.
• Watering - Mist King set to mist for 1 minute every hour and a half with hand misting throughout the day if needed. I have seen her drinking.
• Fecal Description - Very small amounts of stool have been found, but it's dark. She has not been tested for parasites yet. The vet recommended we hold off on it.
• History - The store I got her from was keeping her in a glass tank that was about 60 degrees and 30% humidity. She had no basking light or UVB bulb. She was eating only worms to my knowledge, and had only a single branch to climb on.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen, 18 x 18 x 36. In the pictures the vivarium on the right is hers.
• Lighting - Standard 60 Watt Bulb for basking, UVB 5.0. Lights are on from 8am until around 10pm.
• Temperature - 85 at basking point, 70 mid cage, not sure about the floor.
• Humidity - Anywhere from 60% - 90%, but 70% seems to be the usual. I have a mist king system that runs throughout the lighted part of the day, and use a Hydrometer to measure the humidity.
• Plants - Rubber Plant (Ficus Elastica), small Pothos.
• Placement - In my office that only I use, the other pets are never allowed in here and no one comes in here other than my girlfriend from time to time.
• Location - North Carolina, USA

Current Problem - Her eyes is infected, but that's improving through the use of antibiotics. It's still swollen, but it has improved greatly. When I got her she was unable to open her eye, she no has it open almost constantly. She can not hunt due to her eye, and there for is being hand fed a liquid diet (see above). I'm concerned about her inability to eat. She shows no interest at all in live food (some crickets have been living with her). Just recently she's developed some very small bruising around her cheeks and under her jaw. It's dark black and very raw and fleshy around her cheeks, while the part under her jaw is dark black but crusty and hard. I'm concerned this comes from the medicine / feeding requirements. The cheek bruising is very close to where I have to hold her head to stabilize it, and I generally have to tug ever so slightly on her jaw to get her to open her mouth when feeding. Occasionally she'll open her mouth if I just agitate her gum line with the syringe, however I normally have to manually get her to open it. The attached pictures are of the bruising that I mention. I can provide pictures of her eyes as well if needed; however, I don't think that's a concern since it's been addressed by the vet and is improving. She's very lethargic and spends most of the day sleeping. I attribute this to the fact that she just doesn't feel good, and potentially because of how she is being fed. she rarely basks and instead chooses to sleep on slightly lower, shaded branches.

She's got a lot going on, but I'm determined to get her healthy again.

 

[jajeanpierre]

I wonder if those wounds were always there and your handling/shedding exposed them. Have you had her to a vet?

 

[JimmySpinks]

You could read the post properly before replying to it jajeanpierre.


I would try leaving her be as much as possible (even lay off the force feeding for a few days at least). Now she is in a better environment for her but is being stressed by the feeding. I assume there was no force feeding at the pet shop and she ate enough to live.
So, hopefully she does not really need to be force fed.
Like you said, she doesn't feel good - but when she settles in properly (which will be sooner with less handling) she might be better.
Try removing the crickets that are in with her as well. In a few days offer them again. If not eaten, take them away and offer a worm.


The aim of course is to stimulate her to eat of her own free will, and she is more likely to do so when she's hungry and food seems scarce.

 

[jajeanpierre]

You could read the post properly before replying to it jajeanpierre.

You know, people who respond the way you just did make me want to never help anyone again. Where do you get off with that snarky comment?

Perhaps I could have worded it better: Has she been seen by a vet for the wounds on the face?

There was one reference to the chameleon going to the vet for infected eyes which the OP says seem a lot better.

I wanted to know what the vet said about the wounds.

I did read the post correctly.

 

[JimmySpinks]

You know, people who respond the way you just did make me want to never help anyone again. Where do you get off with that snarky comment?

Perhaps I could have worded it better: Has she been seen by a vet for the wounds on the face?

There was one reference to the chameleon going to the vet for infected eyes which the OP says seem a lot better.

I wanted to know what the vet said about the wounds.

I did read the post correctly.

Ok, bit of a weird reason to not want to help people. I thought it was pretty clear that the op had the chameleon for only 3 weeks, and had not seen the vet about the bruising. I guess I could have worded myself better too, I didn't want to upset you.
Maybe it's partly because I checked out the other thread about the eye issue too. The wounds were not there when the original vet visit happened.

 

[Chameleon Crazy Chick]

Well, maybe it's the crickets. Crickets over 10 days old can try to bite/nom on your cham overnight.
Also, you never stated specifically how old you think she is. The only thing I can find is that you've had her around 3 weeks.
It's possible that she's really little and you may have accidentally bruised her. Also, if she's little, her basking spot may be a bit much. Those might be burns, not sure. That's probably the reason she's hanging out in the middle, she's too hot up there.
Let's get the experts. @jajeanpierre has already been here, so now we magically call upon the rest of the masters!
@Andee @Extensionofgreen @Remkon @jannb
I think that's good...... Also, @JimmySpinks, that was just a wee bit sassy. @jajeanpierre is one of the best of the best. Please, let's all be a bit more respectful to each other. We all have a valid opinion. @jajeanpierre's question was totally valid, and was meant as a clarifying question. (if I'm not mistaken. Please correct me if I'm wrong.)
Thanks for reading!

 

[jajeanpierre]

Well, maybe it's the crickets. Crickets over 10 days old can try to bite/nom on your cham overnight.

No, they don't. I bend super sharp syringe needle tips on chameleon skin.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

I've skimmed this quickly and you mentioned the mister running throughout the lighted part of the day. This areas on the chameleon don't appear to be bruising, but are lesions of some kind. How often and for how long is the mist system on for? You may have things too wet.

 

[ReqRep]

Thanks for the replies everyone. The spots on her face are very new and have not been seen by the vet. However, we have an appointment tomorrow morning to follow up on her eye, during which I'm going to ask about the facial wounds. Hopefully I'll have some updates for you then.

@JimmySpinks I'm honestly not sure if she had eaten while at the pet store. From my understanding they only had her for a short while, and the bottom of her tank was littered with dead worms. Her eye was completely swollen shut when I got her, so I'm almost certain she wouldn't have been able to properly hunt. If you think it's wise to give her space then I will. After the vet tomorrow I'll give her a couple days without the liquid food and see if that helps.

@Chameleon Crazy Chick I honestly have no idea how old she is. The vet also said she wasn't sure, and remarked that because of her previous conditions it's hard to tell if her size is related to her age or due to malnutrition. I'm assuming she's fairly young, but again that's simply a gut feeling. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I feel like it would be difficult for her to get burns on the bottom of her chin. Also, when I say she's hanging out in the middle, I really mean she's hanging out on one of the lower branches in the cage that is almost completely dark. This is where she sleeps too, and she sleeps a whole lot. When I feed her she does seem to go up towards the light for a bit, but that might be unrelated. It seems so coincidental that the bruising happens to be right in the areas that I typically have to handle her. I'm super gentle with her, but it's still a lot of stimulation. @Andee did suggest I remove the crickets and have done so.

 

[ReqRep]

@Extensionofgreen the mister runs for 1 minute every hour and a half. For what it's worth, the 'bruises' were simply black marks on her for a couple days, and have only recently started to look as the do now (like lesions). I was misting very heavily the first week I had her as the vet, and a few people on here, mentioned it being necessary to help with her eye. However, she's on the normal schedule now unless things look quite dry.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

I'd suggest fewer, but longer sessions. Try 5-10 mins, twice or 3 times a day.

 

[ReqRep]

Vet said she thinks it has to do with handling her for feeding and medication. She gave me a topical medication to apply to the effected areas, but agreed that I should give he a few days without the feedings and such.