Possible infection

[lainezor]

So I have made a few threads on this website about Floyd, my 3.5 year old male panther chameleon and I have had my enclosure and routine approved by many of the senior members here so I will skip the chameleon info section and get straight into it. Floyd has been dark and spending time at the bottom of his cage lately. He is not losing weight and he is still eating food like a piggy. I had to put down my veiled chameleon who had gout about a month ago so I was really paranoid that Floyd had the same problem because he received the same care as my other chameleon but was not showing any signs of illness.

I took him to the vet and he mentioned that his grip in his front legs are not as strong as his back legs but he had no problem lifting himself up with his front arms when we watched him climb. Floyd had a CBC done and a reptile blood panel as well as a fecal test from a fresh poop.

The vet sent me an email today saying this: "Fecal results came back with both Balantidium and Retortamonas (both do not need to be treated) The Biochemistry was normal but the Ca;P ratio is 1.27:1 (Calcium was 2.8 and Phosphorous is 2.2 mmol/L) The CBC was normal EXCEPT there was a significant elevation in azurophils. This can be associated with antigenic stimulation or infection. I discussed the case with a exotics specialist and they recommend either a Vit B complex or Red palm oil to decrease inflammation and if you are still noticing Floyd is off to treat with an injectable antibiotic called Ceftazidime The Calciumhosp is a little low but the problem is without ionized calcium it is difficult to say if there is an imbalance in the ca but it would not hurt to give one injection on Vit A/D"

I am not worried about vitamin A/D as he gets lots of natural sunlight outside with me and the crickets are gutloaded with repashy superload and fruits/veggies. The "significant elevation in azurophils" is what is really concerning me and I am wondering what to do about it. he eats a lot of black soldier fly larvae and i lightly dust the feeders (non larvae ones) with phos free calcium so I dont think his calcium levels are a problem.

Does anyone have any experience with vitamin B complex or red palm oil and chameleons?

If I didnt have to put down my other chameleon I would not have tested his blood. He did have a cut on his hand that looks fine now but maybe it caused a problem?

Sorry for rambling but I am unsure what to do for Floyd right now.

 

[jajeanpierre]

A gutload is not going to give you Vitamin A unless you are gutloading crickets with liver. Vitamin A is stored in the liver and crickets don't have a liver so they are poor sources of Vitamin A. Chameleons also cannot convert Beta Carotene to usable Vitamin A. I think there is Vitamin E in with the injectible Vitamin A. I've given Vitamin B complex injections to chameleons that were doing poorly.

Balantidium is a zoonotic disease. Was he worried about transmission to you?

 

[lainezor]

He did not mention anything further than this email which I posted here. He didnt mention that it was contagious and he also said it doesnt need to be treated. Should I call and ask for metronidazole? I dont want myself or my other reptiles to catch this either. Is it possible that this disease is causing the rise of azurophils? I called and asked yesterday for the bloodwork results to be emailed to me and im still waiting on that reply.

As for the vitamin A, Repashy's superload says that there is a vitamin A supplement in it. Is it possible that the crickets arent passing it along to the reptiles?

 

[jajeanpierre]

It depends what kind of Vitamin A, whether it is plant based (Beta Carotenes) or animal based. Chameleons can't convert plant based Beta Carotene to usable Vitamin A. There was an article some time ago, back in the 90s I think, that discussed Vitamin A toxicity and everyone went to Beta Carotene with the net result of a lot of Vitamin A deficient chameleons.

Plus, vitamins start deteriorating (if they were any good even fresh) as soon as you open the bottle, especially the powdered ones.

 

[lainezor]

The Jar for repashy says beta carotene and vitamin A supplement so I think it has both. I buy fresh vitamins and keep the superload in the fridge to extend its freshness too. I remember reading the vitamin A debate and there was also some speculation that for some reason silkworms are high in A. He does get silkworms once a week and I will once a month or so give the Repashy vitamin A powder. I am skeptical about him having an imbalance in vitamins but I keep reading that azurophils are from the result of an infection. I dont want to go ahead and give him the fortraz injection if it can cause harm to him and he doesnt need it.