Red in feces

[davisc12]

This is the first time ive seen my chameleon down on the lower portion of his tank and i noticed there was some color to his poop. Im hoping he just came down low to do his business and will go back to the top where he usually is. But can you take a look at the picture and let me know what you think.

 

[Beman]

So you can end up seeing that burnt orange color in a urate. Now the fecal with the large amount of mucus would be concerning to me especially if it has a strong odor. Have you gotten a fecal test on this guy?

 

[davisc12]

So you can end up seeing that burnt orange color in a urate. Now the fecal with the large amount of mucus would be concerning to me especially if it has a strong odor. Have you gotten a fecal test on this guy?

We have not gotten a fecal exam done yet but I was able to do it myself for our bearded dragon and still have the saline float solution so if it is the same process, i can do it here. But we were unhappy with our previous exotic vet and our experience there with our bearded dragon so i found diffent one who seems much more experienced but isnt taking new patients until the new year.

I am worried about parisites as i feed the same crickets to my puffer fish and he recently began showing signs aswell.

Are there any recomended treatments before some of the more aggressive drugs used?

 

[davisc12]

It does not have a stong odor and he did sleep directly under the fogger last night so i was thinking it just looked extra wet but im inexperienced when it comes to chameleons and have only had this guy a couple of weeks.

 

[Beman]

Unless you are well versed in how to determine what your looking at then I would not lean on this method to determine.

Where did you get him from? How long have you had him now.

 

[Beman]

And back to your original question. What i am seeing is a burnt orange color and it is in the urate not fecal. So it is common to see a partial orange to the urate. You just always want the urate to be at least 50% white. This is how we determine hydration levels. But the orange is normal

 

[davisc12]

Unless you are well versed in how to determine what your looking at then I would not lean on this method to determine.

Where did you get him from? How long have you had him now.

I got him from a local reptile expo about 3 weeks ago i was told hes about a year old

And while im certainly no vet i can definitely tell the difference from a handfull of somthing on a slide vs 1000s.

I monitor bacteria in my reef tanks and check for parasites in my bearded dragon, ive just been under the impression if its a small amount on the slide but not so many you cant count them its not a big problem.

 

[davisc12]

And back to your original question. What i am seeing is a burnt orange color and it is in the urate not fecal. So it is common to see a partial orange to the urate. You just always want the urate to be at least 50% white. This is how we determine hydration levels. But the orange is normal

Thank you as this was my primary concern but now im back to worrying about parisites. Especially because one of my fish is showing signs who i feed the same crickets.

Not being able to get him into the new vet untiafter r the new year is there anything in the meantime i can do? Or would you go against your better judgment and try and get an appointment with the previous vet who you didnt have a good experience with?

 

[Beman]

Ok so try to run a slide and see what you can see. For the vet you want to go to can you contact them and see if they can get permission from the reptile vet for you to bring in a fecal to be run first? And then if it comes back with something you could do an emergency appointment to get him in sooner?

My worry is the fact that you got him at an expo… not all sellers have good husbandry practices or cleanliness. Since parasites shed in cycles you can get small numbers just based on the the cycle they are in. Some parasites like pinworms are not a big threat if you wait but others like coccidia in chameleons is not something you want to wait for treatment for. My concern is he came to you with something. And the concern would be cross contamination to any other reptiles you may have. Not wanting to scare you though. The fact that there was not a strong odor is a good sign. Continue to monitor the fecals… lots of mucous with the fecal is not normal.

 

[davisc12]

Ok so try to run a slide and see what you can see. For the vet you want to go to can you contact them and see if they can get permission from the reptile vet for you to bring in a fecal to be run first? And then if it comes back with something you could do an emergency appointment to get him in sooner?

My worry is the fact that you got him at an expo… not all sellers have good husbandry practices or cleanliness. Since parasites shed in cycles you can get small numbers just based on the the cycle they are in. Some parasites like pinworms are not a big threat if you wait but others like coccidia in chameleons is not something you want to wait for treatment for. My concern is he came to you with something. And the concern would be cross contamination to any other reptiles you may have. Not wanting to scare you though. The fact that there was not a strong odor is a good sign. Continue to monitor the fecals… lots of mucous with the fecal is not normal.

I purchased this chameleon despite there being several red flags so im not surprised or upset or going to go blaming the breeder but i do want to make sure i can do everything that i can. Im going to call the new vet and see about getting a fecal in before his intake and wellness check. Thank you!