Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 2.5 year old veiled chameleon with a small bump (feels hard and is completely under the skin). The bump showed up yesterday and I'll be the first to admit that I'm not the most knowledgible on chams so I may be doing something wrong. I moved him into a new cage a couple of weeks ago and he is adjusting very slowly to it. He eats mostly crickets and mealworms, crickets are dusted once a week. I have a UV light, though the bulb is old and probably not doing much good anymore. He is eating and drinking just fine. Please help, thanks.

Here's the pic of the bump.

You might want to consult one. Can you look inside his mouth to look for stringy mucus, discoloration, etc.? Is the lump visible inside? If you put him in front of a mirror he will likely gape and you can get a good look inside.

Admitting that you are not great with chams you may want to reevaluate your setup. As for your bulb they really need to be replaced every 6 months. Is this a UVB producing bulb like reptisun 5.0?

You said he is in a new cage - what was the reason for the change? What size is it? What do you dust with? What do you gutload your feeders with? Go to the link below and look at the setup questions. Copying and pasting them into a post and replying to them can help us troubleshoot your setup.

Others may be able to comment more on the bump, but in the meantime post your setup and get a new bulb ASAP.

lele

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - still working on the name...
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she's back!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

This is definitely something to get checked by a vet. Most likely 2 possibilities. An abscess that needs to be cleaned out, or a jawbone problem that might be linked to MBD. Don't ignore this. Infections that start along the gumline can invade the bone and cause serious trouble. Good luck!!

I got him to a vet this morning and it was an abscess. They were able to open it up and clean it out pretty easily. I also had them check for parasites (he has always been very thin, but eats a good amount) and he did not have any. The vet gave me some suggestions for my set up and keeping the humidity up. I switched from a screen cage to an aquarium because it was getting difficult to keep it warm enough and humid. Thanks for the help!

Glad you went to the vet, too many people would "wait it out" and then it's too late.

Not to disagree with your vet on the setup suggestions, but for an adult cham you would need a very large tank. Tanks are generally not recommended due to the possibility of mold. You simply cannot get the ventilation they require (some people will disagree with me and that is why I said "generally" Yes, it will help keep humidity up but maybe too much and you also have to watch temps due to the glass. You also then have the concern of him seeing his reflcetion in the galss, thinking it is another cham and will stress or try to lunge at it, hurting itself. I am not trying to add drama here, just pointing some important things out to you.

There are several ways you can keep the humidity and temps at good levels in a screen cage. I live in NH so we have long, cold, dry winters. I put a shower curtain around the cage on three sides as well as set up a humidifier which goes directly into cage and can be set with a timer.

Up to you, but I still think running your setup (maybe with pics?) by the forum certainly cannot hurt

here are some pics of Luna's setup

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she's back!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet