Panther Chameleon Lip infection?

[Menno & Karoline]

Dear Chameleon owners,
Since my wife and I came back from our christmas vacation we noticed that our female panther chameleon has had a weird spot on the right side of her head, on her lip. We expected it to be some kind of dirt or something but after a few days it still hasn't gone away.

She still eats wax worms and mealworms without any issues but she refuses to eat any dubia roaches, although this may also just be because the worms are snack foods and not because anything is wrong with her.
Aside from that, she doesn't act much different than she did before but the spot has raised some concerns for us as first time chameleon owners.

We contacted the vet and will be visiting in a week from now due to how busy it is there. Because of that timeline I wanted to post this here to see if anybody has seen something like this before.

If you have any idea let us know.
Thanks in advance!

 

[Beman]

Hey there.. You need to get her into a good vet. The going off food and swelling in that area is an indicator that she could have mouth rot starting.
If you need help finding a vet near you share your city and state.

 

[Menno & Karoline]

Hey there.. You need to get her into a good vet. The going off food and swelling in that area is an indicator that she could have mouth rot starting.
If you need help finding a vet near you share your city and state.

She does still eat, mostly the worms and she did eat crickets until we ran out a few days ago. Dubia's she hadn't had in a while and are on the smaller side compared to what she ate before. That is the thing that made me think she may just be ignoring them due to their size.
We have a vet appointment with an exotic pet vet who has experience with reptiles next week on wednesday.

Would her situation be cause for more urgency than that?
We live in Breda in The Netherlands

 

[Beman]

She does still eat, mostly the worms and she did eat crickets until we ran out a few days ago. Dubia's she hadn't had in a while and are on the smaller side compared to what she ate before. That is the thing that made me think she may just be ignoring them due to their size.
We have a vet appointment with an exotic pet vet who has experience with reptiles next week on wednesday.

Would her situation be cause for more urgency than that?
We live in Breda in The Netherlands

So the main concern is she is going off of harder bodied feeders. With mouth rot or Stomatitis the area becomes infected... Starts to puss and gets very sore. Often hard bodied feeders are the first things they will avoid eating because it hurts to chew them.

I would try to get her in sooner than later. Just because these infections should be treated as soon as possible to avoid further issues or spread in the mouth. This link will give you more info on it. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-medical-stomatitis-mouth-rot/

 

[Menno & Karoline]

So the main concern is she is going off of harder bodied feeders. With mouth rot or Stomatitis the area becomes infected... Starts to puss and gets very sore. Often hard bodied feeders are the first things they will avoid eating because it hurts to chew them.

I would try to get her in sooner than later. Just because these infections should be treated as soon as possible to avoid further issues or spread in the mouth. This link will give you more info on it. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-medical-stomatitis-mouth-rot/

It could indeed be true that she avoids them because they are harder to chew. I will contact the vet tomorrow to see if we can get an appointment sometime sooner.
I will update when that is done.

 

[MissSkittles]

One of my chameleons recently experienced similar. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/to-be-stomatitis-or-not-to-be.188951/ It was caught early enough that he’s healed right up. Do keep us posted on your pretty girl.

 

[Sonny13]

That’s one pretty girl .
Visiting the vet is a good thing like mentioned above, because infections can go rapidly. Yet, one thing you could try in the meantime before there’s an earlier vet visit possible.

Try to clean the spot gently with a q-tip, drenched in lukewarm water. I had the same my parsons girl and it was eventually some bug residu that hardened on her gum. I noticed it before it could cause any harm and don’t say it’s the same your girl is suffering, but it’s always worth the try.

Keep us posted

 

[GrannyK]

Just here to say you have a beautiful girl there! Welcome to the forum it’s a great resource and the bonus is you see a lot of great chams! Please do keep us posted, you never know when it may help others and continue to share pics.

 

[Menno & Karoline]

I just came back from visiting the vet. I called again today and they happened to have an open spot as someone else had cancelled their appointment.

When we got there the vet grabbed her behind the head which caused her to open her mouth and give us a very clear look inside. Luckly we got some good news there. Inside her mouth there wasn't much of anything that would be cause for alarm.

The vet attempted to massage some of her stool out of her stomach as I wasn't able to bring anything with me due to the short time I had between making the call and having to leave. Sadly unsuccessful, she did a swab with a qtip and some lube but barely got anything from that. She inspected it under a microscope but didn't see anything of note and requested me to bring a stool sample when she poops again.

In the meantime, in case she does have an infection somewhere or a parasite that may cause her lack of appitite, we got some general antibiotics that I have to give her today or tomorrow (probably tomorrow as I dont want to stress her out too much, she already had to suffer through the vet visit) and again in 4 weeks from now.

If I do get a stool sample they would be able to tell us more, if there is anything going on.
Most likely however, she is quite healthy and the spot on her lip is either some dirt or insect remains that are stuck (like mentioned by Sonny13). I will try and clean it off tomorrow when im giving her the medicine.

If there are any other updates I will post them here. Until then, thank you all for responding to my post at such short notice, driving me to get her taken care of as soon as possible. Hopefully it was all just a false alarm.

 

[Beman]

I just came back from visiting the vet. I called again today and they happened to have an open spot as someone else had cancelled their appointment.

When we got there the vet grabbed her behind the head which caused her to open her mouth and give us a very clear look inside. Luckly we got some good news there. Inside her mouth there wasn't much of anything that would be cause for alarm.

The vet attempted to massage some of her stool out of her stomach as I wasn't able to bring anything with me due to the short time I had between making the call and having to leave. Sadly unsuccessful, she did a swab with a qtip and some lube but barely got anything from that. She inspected it under a microscope but didn't see anything of note and requested me to bring a stool sample when she poops again.

In the meantime, in case she does have an infection somewhere or a parasite that may cause her lack of appitite, we got some general antibiotics that I have to give her today or tomorrow (probably tomorrow as I dont want to stress her out too much, she already had to suffer through the vet visit) and again in 4 weeks from now.

If I do get a stool sample they would be able to tell us more, if there is anything going on.
Most likely however, she is quite healthy and the spot on her lip is either some dirt or insect remains that are stuck (like mentioned by Sonny13). I will try and clean it off tomorrow when im giving her the medicine.

If there are any other updates I will post them here. Until then, thank you all for responding to my post at such short notice, driving me to get her taken care of as soon as possible. Hopefully it was all just a false alarm.

What meds are they giving and why?

 

[Menno & Karoline]

What meds are they giving and why?

Its called ''Eradia suspensie''. Its an antibiotic that should help her if she does have a bacterial infection that wasn't big enough to be spotted yet. Additionally, if she was suffering from some type of parasite that may have caused her to lose appatite, it should kill them over the next few weeks.

 

[Beman]

Its called ''Eradia suspensie''. Its an antibiotic that should help her if she does have a bacterial infection that wasn't big enough to be spotted yet. Additionally, if she was suffering from some type of parasite that may have caused her to lose appatite, it should kill them over the next few weeks.

Ok do try to get a fecal sample tested. If parasites are an issue these are not all treated with the same meds. I hope she gets to feeling better soon.

 

[Menno & Karoline]

The fecal sample was inspected a few days ago. In that the vet concluded that there were eggs of a parasite. We got some medicine that we need to give her 3 times with 5 days in between that should help her. The first dose we gave 5 days ago but didn't notice a difference in her eating pattern. Today however, we woke up to find her with a swelling near the eye. We looked up what it could be and noticed it was similar to a Vitamin A deficiency. Which would make sense if she has refused to eat for quite a while now.

Here some pictures of her current state, we are going to the vet 15:15 pm tomorrow (basically 24 hours from now)

 

[Beman]

The fecal sample was inspected a few days ago. In that the vet concluded that there were eggs of a parasite. We got some medicine that we need to give her 3 times with 5 days in between that should help her. The first dose we gave 5 days ago but didn't notice a difference in her eating pattern. Today however, we woke up to find her with a swelling near the eye. We looked up what it could be and noticed it was similar to a Vitamin A deficiency. Which would make sense if she has refused to eat for quite a while now.

Here some pictures of her current state, we are going to the vet 15:15 pm tomorrow (basically 24 hours from now)

What parasite did they find? This makes a big difference in treatment and in cleaning so they do not reinfect themselves. I don't think the eye is vitamin A deficiency.

 

[Menno & Karoline]

What parasite did they find? This makes a big difference in treatment and in cleaning so they do not reinfect themselves. I don't think the eye is vitamin A deficiency.

Im not sure, in the rundown of the results of the test the vet didnt specify what parasites they were. Is it possible the same parasite couldve done this?

 

[Menno & Karoline]

Oddly enough, she is much more active today than she has been in the past 2/3 weeks. She is also eating much more now. Actually taking to the crickets we're giving her.

 

[Beman]

Im not sure, in the rundown of the results of the test the vet didnt specify what parasites they were. Is it possible the same parasite couldve done this?

Not that I have seen but could be connected to the medicine or maybe a sinus issue. You want to find out what the parasite was that they found. So you know how to clean and prevent reinfection.

 

[Menno & Karoline]

Today I went to the vet to have her eyes checked. While there the vet concluded that it is most likely either an infection or a vitamine A deficiency. To combat this, they gave her a Vitamin shot and gave me antibiotics in the form of eye drops. These we will have to give her for the next 10 days after which, hopefully, she will be okay again. Additionally, we will have to increase the amount of multivitamin we are using during her feeding. We only used it a few times a month, now we will use it twice per week.

Additionally, a more recent stool sample was looked at and concluded that the amount of parasite eggs had drastically decreased. Showing that the previous treatment is working.

We also took another look at the spot on her lip which started this whole threat. Concluding that it is most likely simply a bit of filth that got stuck. To ensure this is the case, the decision was made to leave it to be removed next time she sheds.

 

[Beman]

Today I went to the vet to have her eyes checked. While there the vet concluded that it is most likely either an infection or a vitamine A deficiency. To combat this, they gave her a Vitamin shot and gave me antibiotics in the form of eye drops. These we will have to give her for the next 10 days after which, hopefully, she will be okay again. Additionally, we will have to increase the amount of multivitamin we are using during her feeding. We only used it a few times a month, now we will use it twice per week.

Additionally, a more recent stool sample was looked at and concluded that the amount of parasite eggs had drastically decreased. Showing that the previous treatment is working.

We also took another look at the spot on her lip which started this whole threat. Concluding that it is most likely simply a bit of filth that got stuck. To ensure this is the case, the decision was made to leave it to be removed next time she sheds.

What multivitamin are they recommending that you use that frequently. You can very easily overdose a chameleon on fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A and D3. This is why the multivitamin should only be given 2 times a month.

 

[Menno & Karoline]

What multivitamin are they recommending that you use that frequently. You can very easily overdose a chameleon on fat soluble vitamins like vitamin A and D3. This is why the multivitamin should only be given 2 times a month.

Exoterra multivitamin and a calcium+d3 powder. The multivitamin a few times per week and the calcium+d3 could be used at nearly every feeding according to the vet.