I'm a bit confused about the treatment they gave him, as far as I'm aware a warm water flush doesn't get rid of parasites, parasites have to be tested for and identified to have the correct treatment but I wouldn't say parasites were related to the legs at all. Is this vet an exotic vet with experience with chameleons? If he was just dehydrated you would be able to tell from his eyes but they look fine to me... Chams can be super secretive about drinking and he seems hydrated to me, what are his urates like? I suggest you take him to a different vet or get another appointment becaue in my opinion none of that treatment will really address anything, it definitely looks like gout to me, anyone else agree?
the back legs, easier to see in the second picture
Mine has the same, i don't see anything abnormal, that bump is muscle. Unless im missing something
Hi! This vet is an exotic vet in my area with experience with chameleons. I made sure to check that they knew what they were doing before going in. Bazel's urates are purely white and appear quite normal. The vet said that since he's so young they don't suspect gout, and he doesn't seem to be in much pain or immobile at all. They said he appears healthy but he could be slightly dehydrated after I explained his drinking habits. They also think the reason the shed is coming mainly from the back legs is because he has already shed on the rest of his body and most likely ate the dead skin, and he's just having more trouble removing the skin from the back legs. She thinks it all looks normal but did the warm water flush just to be save and flush out any build up he may have. She said it could help prevent worms since chams are prone to them and help with any possible infection. I'm going to keep a close eye on Bazel and if he begins showing any signs of discomfort or the swelling gets worse I will take him right back in. I don't want to just make him another appointment because the transport to the vet is extremely stressful for him and I don't want to put him through that unless he absolutely needs it.
Thanks for your input! It's comforting to know that this may not be abnormal. I'll continue to keep a close eye on him.
Thanks for letting me know!
Bazel's urates are pure white and appear to be normal. I don't think the flush was specifically to treat parasites, I think that was just a perk. I think they did the flush to flush out any buildup he may have. Since it wasn't that severe and he appeared quite healthy, they think that this will be a sufficient treatment and he should just continue to be closely monitored. They didn't want to do any blood tests because they believed it highly unlikely for a 11 month old chameleon to have gout. He was also still very mobile and didn't appear to be in much pain.
If the urate is all white that means he is well hydrated so certainly not dehydrated. The swelling certainly isn't normal and unfortunately as I've said I dont think anything the vet has done has addressed it, so it will most likely get worse. I would say he absolutely needs a blood test to see if his uric acid levels are high (which would support a gout diagnosis that is likely the case in my opinion and experience) but if you wait too long there's more likely to be toxicity from kidney damage and subsequent issues and failure of the kidneys long term. because the kidneys filter uric acid out, if he has gout then he most likely has kidney issues too which can cause things to go downhill fast, especially in chams as they are so good at hiding when they are sick. Without another vet visit and diagnosis with a good treatment plan then there's not much we can help with other than any husbandry issues.
I think in these photos of the chameleon in question if you compare them to the front legs they're swollen especially in the second picture. Some of it could be muscle however because of how its distributed closer to the ankle it looks more like gout associated swelling than just muscle
But you cannot compare it to the front legs! Same as you comparing your legs to arms. Different muscles and structure. My panthers legs look the same. Wouldn't gout be more in joints/wrists??
I know but there's a normal amount of difference and then this level of difference, and if OP is saying that they have noticed swelling then surely that shows that the difference didn't used to be as big as it is now. Especially in picture 2 you can see how it is not normal muscle distribution, its the swelling on the ankle, because of the shape and how it gravitates towards the bottom of the leg as oedema.
