Protruding bottom lip

[Teency]

Hi everyone! So it's come to my attention that my little guys bottom lip is protruding a little bit. Just wanting to get a little input to see if this is possibly leading to mouth rot and if I should take him to see a vet? Thanks in advance for all your help!

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon -10 month old male ambilobe panther chameleon

Handling - 30 minutes to an hour once a day or once every 2 days. Whenever he feels like coming out to explore

Feeding - 10-15 medium crickets every second day gutloaded with Mazuri hi calcium gut load diet and crushed up Mazuri rodent pellets suggested by reptile store owner (not a commercial pet store) along with romaine lettuce, bell peppers, and repashy bug burger. 1 - 2 horn worms or silk worms once a week

Supplements - Exo Terra calcium, calcium with vitamin d and multivitamin powder. Calcium is with Every feeding. Multivitamin and calcium with vitamin d only twice a month for each

Watering - misting 1-3 times a day for 2-5 minutes with a dripper during the day when I'm at work

Fecal Description - brown with white urate

History - came from a small local breeder. Said he was one of the healthiest ones he had


Cage Info:

Cage Type - 24"x18"x36" exo Terra screen terrarium with closed off sides and back to keep heat and humidity in

Lighting - UVB: 24" 5% arcadia bulb. Heat: 100watt ceramic heater within a reptisun dome with dimmer switch

Temperature - thermometer reads between 25-28 degrees Celsius in the middle of the cage. 28-30 at basking spot and drops between 18-20 at night time

Humidity - after misting for several minutes the hygrometer reads between 70%-80% and drops down to 40%-50% within a couple hours. I mist again onces everything has dried

Plants - I am using 4 live plants.

Placement - cage is located on top of a dresser in the corner of our bedroom. Not near any vents or heat radiators. Top of cage is about 6 feet from the ground

Location - Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Where we have hot summers and brutally cold winters.


Current Problem - noticed his bottom lip is protruding. He still eats and drinks well and is very active and sociable. Any input or advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Theveiled]

Do you think you could post a side picture of his head so we can see clearer what you are talking about? Besides that I would try to add more variety in his diet and try to give him a larger cage. I do not think those are contributing to the probem but they are just some suggestions to improve your care for him

 

[Teency]

Do you think you could post a side picture of his head so we can see clearer what you are talking about? Besides that I would try to add more variety in his diet and try to give him a larger cage. I do not think those are contributing to the probem but they are just some suggestions to improve your care for him

I'll definitely try to get a picture from the side if he's up and going by the time I get home from work. A bigger cage is already in the plans for the relatively near future

 

[jajeanpierre]

Looks like an injury. I would take a wait and watch approach. Take really really clear photographs so you can see the progress. Don't rely in your memory, take really good pictures to monitor it. Compare pictures over time. Also a magnifying glass can be really helpful. There doesn't seem to be any broken skin or debris, but really check. Infection in reptiles is not like infection in mammals.

 

[Teency]

Looks like an injury. I would take a wait and watch approach. Take really really clear photographs so you can see the progress. Don't rely in your memory, take really good pictures to monitor it. Compare pictures over time. Also a magnifying glass can be really helpful. There doesn't seem to be any broken skin or debris, but really check. Infection in reptiles is not like infection in mammals.

Will do! Thank you! How can they even get mouth injuries like this?

 

[alphakenc]

The mouth injury can be cause by eating a sharp legs from a cricket,u will need to watch it closely to see if there is any damage gum infection that leads to mouth rot.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Will do! Thank you! How can they even get mouth injuries like this?

I think @alphakenc answered, but to be honest, I don't know.

I once found a young wild caught I had with blood all over his face and in his mouth. It was a very tiny newly imported wild caught and I really couldn't get a good look inside his mouth. My best guess is he bit his tongue but I honestly haven't a clue. I ran my hands over every square inch of the screen in his cage, looking for stray wires and found nothing. He even had a long scratch down the side of his cheek that I know wasn't there when I bought him. How the heck do you cut up your mouth/tongue and face alone in a brand new Dragonstrand cage???? He couldn't use his tongue for months. I think he did it back in June and is just now using his tongue. It is quite the challenge to hand feed 100% of a fearful wild caught's diet.