mouth rot and swollen eyes

[kuzcoz]

hi! havent posted here before but need a lot of second opinions. recently had to take in my brothers chameleon and i didnt know he wasnt doing well. this past year, hes had multiple visits for two problems, stomatitis/mouth rot and a hemipenes issue. he had his hemipenes amputated. a couple days ago i finally saw him and was shocked how hes still with us. took him to the vet and they gave us antibiotics, pain killer and betadine. its the same thing the first vet was doing but maybe my brother didnt keep up with the care? and thats why it looks so terrible? at this point, he barely opens his mouth, he doesnt accept food by himself, and i havent seen a poop in 3 days. am i at the point of deciding if living is too stressful for him? i know he still has some life but if his whole lip has rotted away, what am i doing picture of him from when i saw him a couple days ago. i have him with me in a medium reptibreeze, arcadia 14% linear, and 60w incandescent bulb. my brother said hes fallen twice in his big cage so i downgraded him.

 

[MissSkittles]

Oh dear. Poor guy. His mouth looks bad…very bad. Since you had his hemipenes amputated and his vet prescribed treatment, I’m assuming that you are willing and able to properly tend to his recovery and your vet believes he has a chance to recover. Has the vet given some Carnivore Care or advised you get Repta Boost for nutrition? He isn’t going to be able to eat a regular diet until his mouth heals up better, so you’ll have to feed him. With Repta Boost, it comes with a syringe and instructions inside. Just make sure to aim towards the back of the throat as the airway is in the front of the mouth. I always gave a few extra drops of water after too, just to make sure my chameleon was hydrated enough.
The 14% uvb is far too strong. A 6% is what chameleons need. Then make sure he has a basking spot that is about 8-9” below the uvb. What has the vet said or done about his eyes?
@jannb @kinyonga @JacksJill what do you all think about this poor fella?

 

[elizaann2]

Ugh, I'm so sorry you and that beautiful veiled are going through this. You are in a good place with a lot of good people who can walk you through caring for this guy, should you decide that is the right choice for him.

 

[kuzcoz]

the first time i saw him, almost a year ago, it was just a little black on the tip of his bottom lip. now it looks so compacted and pretty sure his teeth stick out all the time. and yes im going to try my best with him, hes only 2 and a half years old all the vet told me to do is on this paper, she showed me some vitamins on the screen, herptivite was on there but then she pointed at calcium with d3 so im not sure if shes clear on what i have for him. ill order reptiboost now though, i also have a flukers liquid vitamin? this one ( https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...gIeJrqWIAxX3F1kFHfEXCtoQzzkoAHoECAYQHg&adurl= ) is this one okay with veileds? also i have a 7% arcadia bulb i can switch it with, ill fix that. all she said about the eyes is maybe infection and vitamin A deficiency. she touched the ball part and said its pretty solid so just to watch it?

 

[kuzcoz]

Oh dear. Poor guy. His mouth looks bad…very bad. Since you had his hemipenes amputated and his vet prescribed treatment, I’m assuming that you are willing and able to properly tend to his recovery and your vet believes he has a chance to recover. Has the vet given some Carnivore Care or advised you get Repta Boost for nutrition? He isn’t going to be able to eat a regular diet until his mouth heals up better, so you’ll have to feed him. With Repta Boost, it comes with a syringe and instructions inside. Just make sure to aim towards the back of the throat as the airway is in the front of the mouth. I always gave a few extra drops of water after too, just to make sure my chameleon was hydrated enough.
The 14% uvb is far too strong. A 6% is what chameleons need. Then make sure he has a basking spot that is about 8-9” below the uvb. What has the vet said or done about his eyes?
@jannb @kinyonga @JacksJill what do you all think about this poor fella?

sorry i replied in the main thread, learning to use this website

 

[kuzcoz]

Ugh, I'm so sorry you and that beautiful veiled are going through this. You are in a good place with a lot of good people who can walk you through caring for this guy, should you decide that is the right choice for him.

thank you! so far youve been so much nicer than facebook and reddit.

 

[jannb]

Where do you live? He needs a really good vet with chameleon experience. I think with the right vet he can recover. If you share you location, I might be able to recommend an expert.

 

[kuzcoz]

north florida, ive been to both of our best exotics in my town :/ and im not sure my parents will want to pay for going hours away, i was recommended to Gainsville already. my vet said he wont recover completely since its eaten away his bottom lip, is there any quality of life living with this severe of rot?

 

[GrannyK]

You’re in good hands with the experienced keepers here. So glad you have found the forum and have him. Poor guy. We have a great vet list or someone may be able to recommend someone in your area if you would like. I’ll attach our list

https://www.chameleonforums.com/attachments/chameleon-forums-vet-list-2024-u-s-a-pdf.358135/

 

[kuzcoz]

Where do you live? He needs a really good vet with chameleon experience. I think with the right vet he can recover. If you share you location, I might be able to recommend an expert.

north florida, ive been to both of our best exotics in my town :/ and im not sure my parents will want to pay for going hours away, i was recommended to Gainsville already. my vet said he wont recover completely since its eaten away his bottom lip, is there any quality of life living with this severe of rot?

 

[jannb]

north florida, ive been to both of our best exotics in my town :/ and im not sure my parents will want to pay for going hours away, i was recommended to Gainsville already. my vet said he wont recover completely since its eaten away his bottom lip, is there any quality of life living with this severe of rot?

I once had a chameleon where the infection eat away the bone in his chin. A biopsy was done to see which antibiotic would help this bone infection and once on the correct antibiotic his chin improved and he lived quality live but his chin was a little deformed. I recommend Dr. Orlando Diaz in Orlando.
https://www.orlandoexoticveterinarian.com/about-us/

 

[MissSkittles]

the first time i saw him, almost a year ago, it was just a little black on the tip of his bottom lip. now it looks so compacted and pretty sure his teeth stick out all the time. and yes im going to try my best with him, hes only 2 and a half years old all the vet told me to do is on this paper, she showed me some vitamins on the screen, herptivite was on there but then she pointed at calcium with d3 so im not sure if shes clear on what i have for him. ill order reptiboost now though, i also have a flukers liquid vitamin? this one ( https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...gIeJrqWIAxX3F1kFHfEXCtoQzzkoAHoECAYQHg&adurl= ) is this one okay with veileds? also i have a 7% arcadia bulb i can switch it with, ill fix that. all she said about the eyes is maybe infection and vitamin A deficiency. she touched the ball part and said its pretty solid so just to watch it?

The 7% uvb won’t work for several reasons. The output is different as it’s more for crepuscular species, like leopard geckos. Also, the bulb and the hood are specifically made to work only with each other. I learned this from the lighting specialist who owns https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/ and every now and again pops in here. You would be better using the 14%, but you’ll have to put it at a distance of at least 12” (maybe more - I’ll have to see what I can find on that) above basking area and uvb light.
While there are many exotics vets who will see chameleons, there are few who really are experienced with and know chameleons and even fewer who stay current on their husbandry needs. Dr Diaz in Orlando is one, but I personally prefer Dr Bogoslavsky, also in Orlando. https://myavho.com/ The only reason for this is that the Dr and staff were insistent that I needed to place my chameleon in a closed bin of warm water for some period of time (30 minutes or something) to rehydrate her. That is the very last thing I would ever do to a chameleon. Anyhow, they too are good as long as you know to just smile and nod and ignore the advice to soak your chameleon.
For correct supplements, you need to use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 lightly dusted at every feeding. Then for one feeding every other week you’ll want to use Repashy calcium plus LoD. This is all you need. You won’t want to add any additional D3 or vitamin A or you could risk overdosing, which is just as bad as not enough. While using a liquid nutrition, you won’t need to add any additional supplements to it. I believe it’s complete with those already. You won’t want to give feeders like crickets or roaches until his mouth is all healed. Soft feeders like silkworms, bsfl are good and for hydration treats, hornworms.

 

[MissSkittles]

That was easier that I thought. You’ll need to have the 14% uvb around 20” to 22” above the basking area to provide the correct level of uvb. For the latest and most correct husbandry, do check out https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/ or you may prefer to watch Neptune the chameleon on YouTube.