jackson chameleon broken top jaw. please help

D

didney

New Member
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - jackson chameleon,female, alittle under 6 months.ive had her for a month
Handling -i pick her up once a day to bring her outside to eat buggies
Feeding - she always has meal worms in her cage but she gets gut loaded ones sometimes
Supplements - i have not tryed supliments yet
Watering -i water her with an eye dropper and i mist 4 times a day or when i notice its dry.
Fecal Description she has had good poops. she has no parasites
History -she loves being with people more than most chameleons. she doesnt like to not be with us.

Cage Info:
Cage Type -shes in a large bird cage untill i can get her a screen cage
Lighting - um i got the reptile sun and the uvb lights. and its on all day and off at night.
Temperature -i havent measured it yet but shes never uncomfertable with it.
Humidity - i mist her alot
Placement - i keep her in a well ventilated area
Plants - i have a baby ficus tree in there with her.
Location - western mass

Current Problem -a few days ago i noticed her eye was very swollen so i tryed to wash it out with saline when i noticed her jaw move. and when i got her to open her mouth it was swollen all inside her mouth too and the top jaw under her swollen eye was broken and poking out abit so that the top jaw was pooching out over her bottom one and when u look at her dead on. u can see that that side of her face is very swollen.i love her to death and i have only had her such a short time. i want to help her anyway i can but i dont know anyone around me where i can have her treated. what can i do to help ease the swelling ans reset her jaw so it can heal.:(
 
Oh, the poor girl.
It really sounds like she has a serious infection and needs a vet who knows how to treat chameleons.
Unfortunately, you can't treat that at home.
Eye infections are often just the visible part of what began as a sinus infection and then spread.
If you click on the 2 links on the forum vet page, you can probably find one near you https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/healthx/vet/
 
ok so ill try harder,

im just worried about her. and i aslo have no idea how much it may cost to have her tended to. i want to help. but i dont know if i can afford the help she needs. i cant find A vet in massachusetts.
 
Do you think maybe the jaw wasn't broken and you were just seeing swelling or pus? If you can post some pictures we can try to help you figure out what's going on.

Unfortunately if the jaw is broken and infection is present that is a very bad sign. If it were just a fracture then it could heal with time, but with infection the bone is too damaged to heal on its own as the infection has eaten away at the bone causing it to be too weak. With broken bone the infection can spread to the blood stream and the rest of the organs, which can be disastrous. Even when the infection is treated it's still a bad situation because mouth rot is difficult to treat in ideal conditions, and a broken jaw is definitely not ideal. Without appropriate care the jaw will continue to degrade. I'm sorry to say, but these situations are often grounds to consider humane euthanasia to prevent suffering.
 
There are multiple problems with your husbandry that need to be remedied. First, it is very important you know your temps. You said she is comfortable, without measuring temps, you have no idea. Second, you need to be using calcium supplements. We can provide you detailed information on that.

These animals can be extremely expensive and sometimes they need to be seen by vets. I recommend, that if you cannot pay for your girls care, you adopt her out to somebody that can.
 
i am willing

i am willing to, and will pay for the care she needs, but i cannot find anyone in my area who can help me. i have been calling and researching places for hours and the closest person who can see me in an hour away. i clicked on all the links you guys have posted and still there is no one near me. so please if u know anyone near agawam Massachusetts or springfeild. please dont hesitate to let me know.
 
20140904_005348.jpg

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20140904_005444.jpg
 
I don't actually see a fracture. From the picture the jawline looks continuous. It might look different in person but perhaps you saw pus, which can be very thick and white instead of broken bone? Either way you need an experienced reptile vet to diagnose the full extent of the problem and start appropriate treatment before it gets worse. An hour drive is worth it to get an experienced vet. There are some people who drive 5 hours for that! You will likely not find one just around the corner.
 
Just so you know your jacksons is much older then 6 months. Unless you have hands the size of a 5 year old child I'd say your chameleon is a year or older.

Carl
 
Hope is not lost

Well I got her to eat and I called several doctors last night. The earliest I can take her to a vet near me would be Tuesday when they have an exotics doctor in. She's eating but her row of teeth keep moving when she moves...maybe they just need to be removed? Just on that side? She isn't bleeding a lot but she does have some discharge and I clean it every 5 hours or so. Can the row of teeth be removed or is it a fixed part of the jaw?
 
I'd be inclined to call some more vets to see if one can see her sooner. Tuesday is nearly a week away.
Thanks for updating.
 
That tells you she is very ill. Chams hide all signs of sickness so that, in the wild, they don't become someone else's meal.
The forum health page has some more info https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/healthx/

As I said, I'd call around some more before settling for a Tuesday appointment.
With antibiotics, she may be able to make a recovery but the sooner , the better, since she is showing more severe symptoms.
 
The teeth are acrodont meaning that they're attached to the edge of the jawbone and have no sockets...so if the teeth are moving the jawbone is likely weak and could even come out with the teeth.

It definitely would be better to get her to a vet ASAP. She's sounding very sick and the longer its left the more likely she is to die. Even if the vet could start her on a medication now without cleaning out the area it might help. Any vet should be able to do that I think. The most common bacteria involved in mouth rot is pseudomonas.
 
The vet has seen her

So I just got back from thevet. The vca of South hadley. And they said she has metabolic bone disease and she doesn't have her left hand upper jaw anymore it's completely gone. It came out sometime while I was at work today. They gave me two options. To put her down or drug her up. So I paid for the meds and I'm bringing her home now...I'm very worried for her and want her to get better so very badly
 
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