Is this a sore or normal... In mouth.

[Lunatuck]

Is this a sore? Mouth rot? Bottom of his mouth, right up front. He gaped today, which is rare for him. I noticed this red/pink mass, but don’t see inside his mouth often, so I’m just not sure.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Ambilobe Panther Chameleon, 1 year, Male
• Handling - 1-2 Times per week.
• Feeding - Crickets (Gutload:Repashy Superload, Apples, Carrots, Oranges, Bee Pollen, Dandelion Leaves in season, and some other scraps) Eating has slowed a bit. Maybe 8-10 3/4" crickets daily.
• Supplements - Multivite 3x per month, Minerall no D3 2x per week, Calcium with D3 2x per month, Reptical 3-4x per week
• Watering - Misting for 1 minute every 6 hours, manually misting morning and evening when I hear the mister kick on(So he has enough time to drink). I watch/force him to drink 2-3x per week. Added a dripper after cage redesign as insurance.
• Fecal Description - Poops are massive! Urites has been a little orange since 6 months or so, but I watch him drink. No parasite tests yet.
• History - The only oddity is that his urites used to be pure white until about 6 months. At about that time, his poops got very large and his urites had hints of orange. I got more persistant about watching him drink, but the urites stayed orange.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen 24"w x18"d x 36"h
• Lighting - Heat lamp with dome, Brand new 10.0 UVB added a couple weeks ago. Changed from 5.0.
• Temperature - Top is 90F, bottom is 70F falling a little bit on the coldest winter nights.
• Humidity - 40% humidity most of the time. When it's freezing outside, I try and compensate with extra misting cycles.
• Plants - Shefflera and Bromeliad. He killed all of his other plants, so I used some fake vines on the top of the cage to make him feel hidden. He's on his 3rd shefflera.
• Placement - In my study. Very quiet, no vents, some natural light, but no direct sunlight until the late spring early summer.
• Location - Northeast PA

 

[Lunatuck]

 

[NashansCamos]

I'm no expert but It definetly dosen't look normal and would reccomend taking him to the vet

 

[janjan20]

Have you fed any supers or hornworms lately? I know those can bite. I would also suggest a vet to look at it.

 

[Lunatuck]

Have you fed any supers or hornworms lately? I know those can bite. I would also suggest a vet to look at it.

No superworms or hornworms. Only a single hornworm about 2-3 months ago.

I will call the vet first thing Monday.

 

[Ares05]

Doesn't it sort of look like the little mass @Lennoncham got removed?

 

[Lennoncham]

It does look very similar to the one that Lennon had. His was just a benign mass. Has to be removed or it will keep getting bigger / break open and get infected.

I would take him to the vet so they can check it out and tell you for sure what they think.

 

[Lunatuck]

I’ll call the vet in the morning. I did read your post on Lennon and it looks similar.

 

[Lennoncham]

He killed all of his other plants, so I used some fake vines on the top of the cage to make him feel hidden. He's on his 3rd shefflera.

Not related to the growth but.
Do you have any plant lighting? Schefflera tend to loose a lot of leaves when acclimating to their new environment. Especially with inadequate plant lighting.

 

[Lunatuck]

Not related to the growth but.
Do you have any plant lighting? Schefflera tend to loose a lot of leaves when acclimating to their new environment. Especially with inadequate plant lighting.

I just installed two LED fixtures yesterday in his room. I was relying on the window, but it just doesnt get enough sun this time of year.

In the summer, it seemed fine. Season is the only thing that changed in regards to the plants.

 

[Lunatuck]

My local vet referred me to an exotics vet about 45m away because it seems like a surgical issue. I have an appointment for tomorrow. Happy they got me in so quick.

Will update when I get more news.

 

[Lunatuck]

The vet gave me Tazisef. I need to inject his dosage in the base of his tail daily.

If there is no improvement, she thinks we’ll have to remove it surgically.

Meanwhile, he definately doesn’t love me as much as he did, but he dislikes the vet a lot more. On a side note, she did a great job of getting him to open his mouth.

 

[Lennoncham]

The vet gave me Tazisef. I need to inject his dosage in the base of his tail daily.

If there is no improvement, she thinks we’ll have to remove it surgically.

Meanwhile, he definately doesn’t love me as much as he did, but he dislikes the vet a lot more. On a side note, she did a great job of getting him to open his mouth.

so she thinks it’s a bacterial infection?

 

[Lunatuck]

so she thinks it’s a bacterial infection?

I got the feeling she was doing this, but thinking we’ll end up lancing it off next week.

I’m hoping she knows more then me. I just got home, but plan on Googling it and seeing what I’m up against.

I am not a dr, but I was thinking some sort of bacterial infection. I don’t keep any other reptiles. In my mind that suggests bacterial infection.

It looks from previous pics I’ve taken that its grown over the course of the last 3 months.

 

[Lennoncham]

I got the feeling she was doing this, but thinking we’ll end up lancing it off next week.

I’m hoping she knows more then me. I just got home, but plan on Googling it and seeing what I’m up against.

I am not a dr, but I was thinking some sort of bacterial infection. I don’t keep any other reptiles. In my mind that suggests bacterial infection.

It looks from previous pics I’ve taken that its grown over the course of the last 3 months.

I’m definitely not an expert so I can’t say much. Make sure you keep him well hydrated.

when I took Lennon to get looked at before his surgery the vet said it should be removed or it will keep getting bigger. Also with it in their mouth they keep biting on it so it can break open and possibly get infected. They used a cauterizing scalpel to cut it out then cauterized all around the area so it wouldnt grow back. I had it tested and it was just a benign mass.

that was my situation so you vet may have seen something different or know something my vet didn’t.

 

[Lunatuck]

Will stay on it with hydration. Your thread is basically what I’ve been relying on for info, but dont feel confident to tell her what to do. I mentioned your cham, but didnt go into much detail.

It seems uncommon. Otherwise, I’d expect to see more of it here on the forums.

 

[Lennoncham]

Ya my vet said he had never seen one in a chameleons mouth before and he probably never will again so I’m guessing it’s not very common. I will have to show him your Cham next time I go. I know there is at least a couple other members on here that have had a Cham with one years ago but I don’t think they have any threads about it.

 

[Lunatuck]

So I spoke to my breeder. Bruce at Chameleon Paradise. He wants me to get a second opinion, and referred me to someone who should be able to help via phone consult.

My reading leads me to believe that the medicine, route and frequency can do more harm then good. He seems to think its an injury that got infected, and I basically thought the same.

Once I get some better images, I’m calling this specialist in reptiles. Hope to get more info before doing anything that’ll hurt Cosmic.

I didn’t get the sense my vet knew a ton about chameleons, but accepted that they are rare. Now I’m thinking she knew less then I thought. But, we will see.

 

[Lennoncham]

So I spoke to my breeder. Bruce at Chameleon Paradise. He wants me to get a second opinion, and referred me to someone who should be able to help via phone consult.

My reading leads me to believe that the medicine, route and frequency can do more harm then good. He seems to think its an injury that got infected, and I basically thought the same.

Once I get some better images, I’m calling this specialist in reptiles. Hope to get more info before doing anything that’ll hurt Cosmic.

I didn’t get the sense my vet knew a ton about chameleons, but accepted that they are rare. Now I’m thinking she knew less then I thought. But, we will see.

I was wondering about this but I didn’t want to say anything against your vets orders. Since after all she went to school for it and I didn’t.

I think a second opinon would be a good idea. A lot of exotics vets specialize more in birds and rarely see chameleons (as far as I know)