Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my male chameleon has been like this for two days.

he is eating normally. but i can tell he is irritated by that thing on his butt.

can anyone tell if me what that red thing is, do i need to bring him to a vet?

http://i2.tinypic.com/t0tie8.jpg
http://i2.tinypic.com/t0tiq0.jpg

Your picture isn't very clear...but it looks like a very small prolapse or the beginning of a prolapse. If/when any tissue is exposed that belongs inside the chameleon, it needs to be kept moist until he can be taken to a vet or it can become necrotic (die). Do NOT use vaseline or any type of ointment that is meant to heal things. K-Y Jelly should be okay to use.

A vet can usually shrink down any swollen tissue and if necessary put a purse-string suture in to keep the tissue from coming out again.

Usually there is some reason for the prolapse...straining to poop (perhaps from impaction or dehydration), something incorrect in the husbandry of the chameleon, etc.

Prolapses are serious and need to be dealt with ASAP.

thank you for your reply.

i am bringing him to the vet first thing tomorrow.

i have applied some polysporin (antibiotic) to keep the moisture before putting him to sleep.

How did the vet visit go?

another thing that can be done, especially if it will be some time before getting to a vet, is just soak the animal in sugar water. Desolve sugar in water and soak him in it. This often allows teh prolapse to reinsert itself, by reducing swelling etc. If this does work, keep an eye on that area to make sure it doesn't happen again.

the vet pushed it back in, and gave him some antibiotics. on the day after the visit, it came out again, but a lot smaller in size, so i managed to push it back in.

there is no prolapse after that, but he does have some blood in his droppings, so i am still giving him antibiotics.

he is recovering right now.

thank you for your suggestion and concern.

If it keeps popping back out, ask the vet to do a purse-string suture. It will hold the opening closed a little tighter and give the "inards" time to settle back in. Be very careful if you push it back in again yourself too...the tissues are very delicate and can be ruptured if not done carefully.

And...if your chameleon takes a sudden turn for the worse...there have been cases where, when the "inards" hang out, they pick up a fungal infection and kill the chameleon.

my chameleon has already fully recovered, and he is eating and drinking properly too.

just like many other chameleons do, he rubs his butt against the branch everytime he leaves a dropping. but during his recovery period, i used to take him outside the cage everyday and let him leave the dropping on a towel, so he could rub against a towel instead of the branch, lessen the chance of opening the wound again.

but after this incidence, he has developed a very strange habit - he does not leave his dropping in cage anymore... once i have left him in cage for few days without taking him out, and he didnt have any dropping in that few days... so i took him out and let him climb in the house, and he had his dropping on my carpet within 5 minutes... this doesnt bother me, but it is very interesting to share with you guys.