Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey,i think my lil guy might of fell and hurt his hand..i have seen what normal bruises look like i chams,but need seen one like this..on his front right hand where he has 2 finger,under that(where it should be white)looks like a big bruise..i feel sooo bad for him..it must be hurting him i bet..cause the 2 fingers underneath is just all bruised..i am 100% sure he had to of fallen.do you think it could be broken??also,if it is,what can a vet do for it??my lil guy has still been having diarrhea too and his butt looks like some might of still stayed on him...not alot,just a small ring around it...what do you all suggest i do??and if you recommend me taking him to the vet,how should i transport him??there is snow on the ground outside and is really cold..i do have a small 10-20 gallon tank with a stick in it,but how could i keep him warm??hope to hear back from someone soon..really starting to worry and don't want anything bad to happen to him..thanks for all the help i've gotten soo far,all you are really nice people who've awnsered my questions..i appreciate it alot
jon

Jon said..."(where it should be white)looks like a big bruise"...is it swollen at all? What do you have in his cage for him to climb on? Any of those bendy vines? Is it possible that he stepped in some poop?

Can you post a picture of it?

You asked..."do you think it could be broken??"...can't tell you. Don't know what the vet would do for it either.

You said..."my lil guy has still been having diarrhea too and his butt looks like some might of still stayed on him...not alot,just a small ring around it...what do you all suggest i do??"...I'm concerned that he is drinking so much and that he is still having diarrhea. Normally, when a chameleon goes to the bathroom, it should contain a "sausage" of poop and some white urates (pee) and can also include some jelly-like clear stuff. If you are giving him too much water, then there could be a lot of fluid with it...and it would still be "normal".

You asked..."if you recommend me taking him to the vet,how should i transport him?"...maybe you should take him to the vets to have both the hand and the diarrhea checked out because you are worried about it? Its hard for us to tell you what to do for something like this.

Maybe you should go over your husbandry here too? Basking temperature? Ambient temperature? What lights do you use? What supplements do you use? How often? What do you gutload the crickets with? Etc.?

I would start to wonder if he is trying to fight dehydration with all this drinking. What is the humidity level in his cage? If you aren't measuring this you need to start. To take him to a vet isn't hard. Get a cardboard box (it doesn't need to be huge) and wedge a stick inside so it is stable. Put a plastic bottle filled with warm water in the bottom or use one of those microwaveable hot packs. Cover the bottom with a damp towel. Put a thermometer inside, close up the box and let the inside stabilize. Check the temp and humidity to make sure it isn't too warm, and you are ready to put your cham inside. Once in the car use your heater to keep it sort of room temp. Most chams just go to sleep in a dark enclosed box.

hey,all of my branches are fake,soo they are the bendy kind..also,cage temp is 85,and basking temp is 95-100..humidity is hard to maintain since its winter,but normally it will be around 50..i don't think he stepped in poop..he always makes sure to put his booty over the branch and poop on the ground,or sometimes leaves that are close to the ground..i think its close to impossible to get a pic of it,it was hard enough for me to even get a good look at it..it doesn't look swollen though..i use miner all,herpvite(or whatever its called,vitamins though),repcal..6 outta 7 days a week..gut load with orange cubes from flukers farm..thanks for the help again
jon

Jon,

I just noticed on Cyrus the other day (1 y.o. nosy be) that he has some discoloration on the bottom of a rear foot. He has a terrible habit of climbing the screen even though he has plenty of branches, etc. There is one side he climbs on as if he can't figure out a better way to get where he is going. Due to this, he has broken some toenails and now I am thinking he may have cut his foot. Not sure if it is from the screen climbing but can’t figure out what else - though he does a lot of roaming on his jungle gym, which I need to check for sharp pieces.

Anyway, it is more like a "blood blister." As if there is blood under his skin. I agree, getting a pic would be hard, I have a he** of a time looking at it daily and he is quite used to being handled.

As for the diarrhea and the excess drinking it is worth a trip to the vet, b/c diarrhea can cause dehydration, which can be a real problem. I recall from an earlier thread there was a discussion about how you are finding it difficult to maintain humidity and several of us made suggestions. I think I even posted a pic for you of the humidifier setup I have. I STRONGLY recommend you get the humidity issue in hand - winter is just beginning.

Carlton's suggestion for travel in the cold is one way. I use a styro box(got from my vet that some stuff was shipped in!) that is lined with t-shirts (don't use towels as the toenails can get caught) and a small branch. I buy the hand warmers at local discount store (usually 4 of them for about $1.50 or $2.00) a lot cheaper than the regular heat packs and easier to get. Before I had the styro box I put one smaller box in another larger one and placed bubble wrap and styro peanuts between the two to insulate. I would put a warmer in the bottom cover with t-shirts, branch etc. Heat up the car and keep it warm. Once at the vet you can take out one or two t-shorts and ask a tech if they would toss it in their dryer to warm it up for the trip home (both my vets have done this for me.). When I had Luna she was at the vet often in the winter months and it was a 45 minute drive each way. Now I see a vet that is much closer.

As for your gutload you definitely need to improve it and you may be dusting too much - what about calcium? Your list is sort of confusing. Go to the link in my sig for links to articles as well as the things we need to know to troubleshoot your setup.

Sorry so long, but I don’t stop by as often as I used to and wanted to cover it all! Carlton and k may have to take it from here as I may not return til tomorrow :-/

btw, here is the humidifier pics again

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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
1.1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

hey,yeah he does climb the screen..i do have a humidifier,soo cage humidity is about 50 right now,which is where it normally is,execpt for at night time..since i don't have the humidifier on all night..i really want to take him to the vet,but have no money and my mom who normally would loan me some money won't because she thinks hes ok and that nothing is wrong..its pathetic at 22 i don't have money,but stuff happens...he doesn't have the bruise on his foot or anything anymore and he uses that foot now too..think it might of just bugged him for a few days..do you all think i should get him to the vet asap or do you think things could get better??if i need to take him to the vet asap,i'll find money..i normally have some,but right now i'm out..you think the orange flukers cubes aren't good for gut loading??it says it has everything the crickets would need and has worked good for me that last like 3-4 months..no problems until now with him..i was worried when i first got him since he was my first cham and i was nervous..and the fact that he was sooo small..well i can only hope for the best,if you all think i should get him to the vet,i'll have to get money somehow..thanks for the help
jon

Oops! I forgot to answer the part about transporting him to the vets...good thing Carlton and lele told you!

You asked..."you think the orange flukers cubes aren't good for gut loading??it says it has everything the crickets would need and has worked good for me that last like 3-4 months..no problems until now with him.."...I'm just not a fan of commercial foods for the insects because I don't know for sure what is in them. I give my crickets a wide variety of greens (dandelion greens, kale, collards, endive, ROMAINE lettuce, etc.) and veggies (sweet red pepper, celery leaves, carrots, white potato, sweet potato, squash, zucchini, etc.).

You said...."i use miner all,herpvite(or whatever its called,vitamins though),repcal..6 outta 7 days a week"...I only give the herptivite twice a month. Is it Minerall I or O that you use? If its the I type then you are giving D3 more often than I am....I use a calcium/D3 powder twice a month. I use the rep-cal calcium at almost every feeding. If you are giving D3 at every feeding, then it could very well be too much.

You asked..."do you all think i should get him to the vet asap or do you think things could get better??if i need to take him to the vet asap,i'll find money..i normally have some,but right now i'm out"...I think somehow you have to figure out what is causing the thirst and the diarrhea cycle. While we can only make educated "guesses" a vet should be able to tell you what the problem is. If it goes on for too long it will likely lead to something more serious IMHO.

hey,i think if he doesn't seem any better by monday,i will for sure be taking him in on that day..soo i'll give him 2 days basically..i might prob. take him in either way..how much are vet bills nomally??or how much have you had to pay before??hope to get a good idea of what i should expect..thanks alot
jon

it is impossible to say as it will be varied all over the country, even within the same state. You want to be sure you take him to a vet who has some chameleon experience. Again, check out the page in my link for info and also go here: http://www.exoticpetevolution.com/vetfinder/

what state do you live in? Ask here on the forum for recommendations for your area, someone may be able to send you in the right direction. As for payment, I would say a minimum of about $50. Be sure to bring a fresh fecal sample to check for parasites! This isn't meant to sound mean but if you can't pay the vet, you shouldn't own the animal. As for your mom "not believing anything is wrong" show here the forums. If nothing else they should get a fecal check every 6 months as a precaution. Crickets and other insects can carry parasites and their eggs - another reason those cubes su*k the crix poop get stuck all over them and they eat it - then it goes back into your cham.
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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
1.1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

hey,i'm taking him on monday..i live in illinois..i already have a vet who i hear loves chams..the people at petmart gave me his name and number..no offense taken if you were tring to sound mean or not,i already know thats how it is and should be..i should have money all the time to take him to the vet..which is why i now have money to take him..just really hope nothing is wrong..i love my lil guy soo much,and if hes not doing too good,it'll make me real sad..i see what ya mean about the cubes,i'll try to make sure they are fresh all the time when i have them in there..i try to clean out cricket poop and the cubes everyday..as for your humidifier setup,you let the mist go directly into the cage??thansk for the info again
jon

sorry for all the posts and this may be a dumb question,but how fresh should the poop be for when i take it to the vet this monday??he didn't poop yesterday and today he pooped one normal poop and one poop was barely anything but was dierrhea..frustrated now,but glad i have the money to take him,had to go to the bank and take some money out that i was saving for school next year..any amount of money would be worth spending to keep him alive..
jon