Roaming Fatty?

[EKEKO]

Chameleon Info:
I have a 11 month old Female Panther chameleon, have had her with me for 8 months. She lives at a constant 60-70 temp with a basking spot of 80 and humidity levels ranging from 65 to 75. Full screen cage dressed with a few fake vines, real branches and a small umbrella plant to keep humidity in. Use a 24"repti sun 5.0, zoomed basking lamp with daylight heat bulb(60 watt), automatic mister and I mist her manually twice a day. Her diet consists of crickets mainly but have periodically switched to mealworms, hornworms, silkworms and the occasional butterfly or moth , crickets gutloaded with repashybug burger, dusted with Herptivite and Calcium...5-7 a day All free range method. Handling is very rare, maybe once a week for 10 minutes if that much.

For the past week she has been roaming around her enclosure non stop, there are no signs of eggs, still eats, she has a laying bin in there but no digging. Just seems to love being at the bottom of the cage. Also I realized today that her Gular crest is getting bigger and seems like she is putting on weight.

Please give me a hand with some advice as to what this could be. I rely a ton on the forums feedback so take a minute or too.

 

[mcleodschams]

i have no idea hope someone can help but your are sounds ok.i would have a fecal done and maybe a vet tripf or blood work?

 

[samelgert]

Im no expert but I think she may be prego

 

[ataraxia]

This is just an observation...
It is possible she is prego
Or
She is getting Animal protein, High phos levels, Excessive vit A, etc

Could also be from over weight but she looks like she has gular edema which can be caused by any of the stated.

If that was a girl new to me and that is how i received her,,,,

1) Shower time or lots of water (mistings, dripper, more mistings and....more mistings) Just make sure the cage dries out between sessions.
2) Lay bin 24/7 in the cage from this here on out.
3) Id only supplement with Plain phos free caclium EVERY feeding. Nothing else.

 

[EKEKO]

This is just an observation...
It is possible she is prego
Or
She is getting Animal protein, High phos levels, Excessive vit A, etc

Could also be from over weight but she looks like she has gular edema which can be caused by any of the stated.

If that was a girl new to me and that is how i received her,,,,

1) Shower time or lots of water (mistings, dripper, more mistings and....more mistings) Just make sure the cage dries out between sessions.
2) Lay bin 24/7 in the cage from this here on out.
3) Id only supplement with Plain phos free caclium EVERY feeding. Nothing else.

This girl has been nothing but strange, she has no male on sight and this is the second "prego" scare she has a laying bin and I do mist her quite often. I will take your advice and put it into action. I will also change her diet temporarily.

Is there a "cure" for gular edema? And is there anything else you guys think I should do.

It's a great thing I am so addicted to chams, if it is a gular edema i am glad I caught it in its early stages.

Appreciate all the help and advice

 

[camimom]

To get rid of the edema, water, and less supplementation. ANd i dont mean no more dusting, just not as much. and as ataraxia said, calcium every feeding, but lightly dusted.

I would also cut her food back.

5-7 bugs a day is too much for a female and can cause them to cycle eggs, male or not.

I would do about 4-5 bugs every other day.

 

[EKEKO]

To get rid of the edema, water, and less supplementation. ANd i dont mean no more dusting, just not as much. and as ataraxia said, calcium every feeding, but lightly dusted.

I would also cut her food back.

5-7 bugs a day is too much for a female and can cause them to cycle eggs, male or not.

I would do about 4-5 bugs every other day.

Done and done...Still working on a good balance in her diet and ill cut down on quantity....Are there any other tricks to get rid of the gular edema.

 

[carol5208]

This girl has been nothing but strange, she has no male on sight and this is the second "prego" scare she has a laying bin and I do mist her quite often. I will take your advice and put it into action. I will also change her diet temporarily.

Is there a "cure" for gular edema? And is there anything else you guys think I should do.

It's a great thing I am so addicted to chams, if it is a gular edema i am glad I caught it in its early stages.

Appreciate all the help and advice

honestly no there is no "cure" for gular edema as there is really no real reason yet discovered EXACTLY what causes it. It is thought that over supplementation can cause it but I have a cham that was not supplemented at all from the previous owner and he has a terrible case of it.So that shoots down that theory. I have been trying for about three months now to rid him of it and I read some info from Dr Alfonso a highly respected chameleon vet that lots of water and sunshine have helped. Well I have been doing both and it does not seem to help much. Some days it is worse than others. It is hard to get rid of. My vet told me they really cannot pinpoint the cause like an infection can be diagnosed and because it probably did not happen over night it can take a long time to get rid of if ever. good luck and let me know if you find a miracle cure for it cause I would love to know!!!! I was also told to feed hornworms which I have been doing. I will say it did help some or so it seems but like I said it got better one day and was back the next

 

[ataraxia]

Not all causes of edema are the same. In some instances it is from over or under supplementing