Possible repiratory infection?

[Zubi]

So about two days ago leo woke up, i fed him and he went to his basking spot which is his usual routine. But then he started gaping alot, and i heard one little pop. He was also holding up his head, i had to go to school so i left him. My sister said he wasnt doing that at all during the day, so when i came home from school i took him outside for the first time, and he seemed fine. Now two days later he still seems fine and no gaping at all. It was cold in my room the night before this started, could that be the problem? Should i take him to the vet?

 

[Zubi]

I dont see any saliva either, his temps are 75 in the middle and 85 at the basking spot

 

[jannb]

I would recommend keeping a close eye on him and if he starts doing it again take him to the vet.

 

[xeonic]

I would keep an eye on it if I were you. The only thing a vet can do is take a guess and prescribe an antibiotic. Which my not help for one. And could cause unnecessary stress to your chameleon. The only accurate way to be sure is to do a tanstracheal wash to do a culture and sensetivity test to know for sure. These tests are expensive. Just make sure he isn't getting worse. Mucus and cracking or pop sound which can be heard more when handled. Coughing which sounds like a sneeze. Gaping can also be caused by high temperatures in your enclosure. Maybe fill out the how to ask for help questions found in the health clinic forum. Also keep an eye on his feeding. Maybe buy a gram scale and keep track of his weight. This is a good way to monitor your chameleons health.

 

[jannb]

I would keep an eye on it if I were you. The only thing a vet can do is take a guess and prescribe an antibiotic. Which my not help for one. And could cause unnecessary stress to your chameleon. The only accurate way to be sure is to do a tanstracheal wash to do a culture and sensetivity test to know for sure. These tests are expensive. Just make sure he isn't getting worse. Mucus and cracking or pop sound which can be heard more when handled. Coughing which sounds like a sneeze. Gaping can also be caused by high temperatures in your enclosure. Maybe fill out the how to ask for help questions found in the health clinic forum.

A good reptile vet would not guess. They would do a culture and sensitivity test to see what kind of infection your cham has and which meds would work on that type of infection. I've had these on my chams many times and they are not terribly expensive either but I guess that price would depend on the vet.

 

[xeonic]

A good reptile vet would not guess. They would do a culture and sensitivity test to see what kind of infection your cham has and which meds would work on that type of infection. I've had these on my chams many times and they are not terribly expensive either but I guess that price would depend on the vet.

How did your Vet take culture sample without doing a transtracheal wash? I have yet to find one that has another method of taking a sample for a culture. The reason I ask is because I was quoted over $700 for the transtracheal wash.

 

[xeonic]

Respiratory infection

Please read my thread on respiratory infections. My Vet guessed and wanted to do the Transtracheal wash. I had also gone to a different Vet who said the same thing.

 

[ecoreef]

Gaping, poping(clearing mucus out of the throat), and tilting the head back(again trying to get mucus out of the throat) are all signs of repitory infection. With any type of infection one of the most important things you can do yourself is to raise the ambient temperatures, 24/7. Chameleons are cold blooded and cannot raise their body temperatures like us to boost their immune system(a fever) to help fight infection, so you need to give him a fever. Make it so his ambient temps stay at 85-90 degrees 24 hours a day. This REALLY helps chameleons with infections, and if you get him to a vet and he/she perscribes medication it will help the medication work faster.

Oh and by the way if your vet perscribes a medication called baytril make sure your cham gets TONS of water durring the treatment. Baytril is really hard on the kidneys and can cause a bunch of problems by itself. Actually with any antibiotic you want to make sure your cham is extremely hydrated. You can aslo ask you vet if he/she knows of any other meds that he/she thinks might work or get a sensitivity culture done to see what other meds will work. I recently used a medication called trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole and it worked great for me with no side effects. Here's my thread on it, https://www.chameleonforums.com/respitory-infection-cured-without-baytril-82547/

Good luck and hope everything goes well for the little guy,
-Alex

 

[Zubi]

Gaping, poping(clearing mucus out of the throat), and tilting the head back(again trying to get mucus out of the throat) are all signs of repitory infection. With any type of infection one of the most important things you can do yourself is to raise the ambient temperatures, 24/7. Chameleons are cold blooded and cannot raise their body temperatures like us to boost their immune system(a fever) to help fight infection, so you need to give him a fever. Make it so his ambient temps stay at 85-90 degrees 24 hours a day. This REALLY helps chameleons with infections, and if you get him to a vet and he/she perscribes medication it will help the medication work faster.

Oh and by the way if your vet perscribes a medication called baytril make sure your cham gets TONS of water durring the treatment. Baytril is really hard on the kidneys and can cause a bunch of problems by itself. Actually with any antibiotic you want to make sure your cham is extremely hydrated. You can aslo ask you vet if he/she knows of any other meds that he/she thinks might work or get a sensitivity culture done to see what other meds will work. I recently used a medication called trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole and it worked great for me with no side effects. Here's my thread on it, https://www.chameleonforums.com/respitory-infection-cured-without-baytril-82547/

Good luck and hope everything goes well for the little guy,
-Alex

Thanks alot for everyones responses. I actually read your thread a while ago and it was really interesting. I think hes doing alright, no gaping and no signs of excess mucus

 

[jannb]

How did your Vet take culture sample without doing a transtracheal wash? I have yet to find one that has another method of taking a sample for a culture. The reason I ask is because I was quoted over $700 for the transtracheal wash.

I have one of the best chameleon vets in the US Dr. Ivan Alfonso and he swabs way back in the back of the mouth for a culture.

 

[xeonic]

I was told that because of the amount of bacteria in the mouth that the mouth swab doesn't produce accurate culture samples by multiple Vets. Anyway's thanks for answering my question. And I have head of your Vet, I hear his name quite often. I wish I had a good Vet that could help me where I live.