Reptile Forum, Reptile Classifieds - CaptiveBred

[felix93]

Has anyone experienced this?

I noticed one of my Panther chameleons mouth has swollen up last week and I took her to see my herp vet earlier today. I delayed it because my herp vet was on holiday last week and there's no other reptile vet in the hospital although I could take my cham to somewhere else. I chose to wait since she's still eating, drinking and pretty active.

The swollen part does not look as swollen as last week though when I really checked her today. Anyway, the vet dx her it's the infection that got her right part of the bottom mouth swollen up, and with trying to open her mouth with a cotton stick, he noticed the bone's broken. The vet said it's either the infection that caused the bone broken or vice verse. Anyway, Cookie (the cham) is now on antibiotic. I have to give her injection every 3 days and see how it goes. At the same time, try to clean her mouth with Tamodine or Bedatine. Have to go back to the vet for the follow up check up in 10 days time.

The vet told me if the swollen is not going done, then he will have to do some x-rays as well as putting Cookie under the GA and also re-wire her mouth bone with a fine wire outside. This sounds very scary and I wonder if anyone have been there before?

Cookie is kept in her viv on her own, fed with small / medium locusts. She has never contacted with my male, so there's no fighting or anything to cause this. So the infection is pretty a mystery unless she was being biten by a locust while eating.

Any advise is much appreciated. Thanks

[lol93]

Locust legs can be quite jaggy, and it's possible a bit of leg has lacerated her mouth. I have heard of chams having tongue problems due to locust/cricket legs getting stuck in the soft tissues of the mouth, getting infected, then swelling, preventing them from shooting out their tongues. I hope she is OK.
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[felix93]

Thank you. The vet told me to get some moth or newly shedded locusts to feed her instead. So will have to look into them tomorrow. Since she has been good at the vet, I gave her a couple of waxies as treats, she took them in no time and pretty enjoy them especially she loves to be hand feed.

I just hope she does not have to go through with the mouth bone rewiring.

[redbelly]

So has the chameleon broken its hyoid bone??
Sorry i can work out what is broken does the animals tounge still work?
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I feed your eyes with chameleon pics!!!!

[felix93]

You know the side of the mouth where the teeth are, I was told the bone is broken. I did not really know what to look even the vet opened Cookie's mouth and looked and try to show me. Not too sure what bone it is though.

If I remember correctly, Cookie was not eating properly for a couple of days last week, but I put that down it's just the brumation she might be going through, until afterwards I saw the swollen mouth. Yes her tongue is working okay and she managed to catch all her food (at least 8 locusts a day) and drinking fine (with her tongue licking the dripping water tube and water from the fake plants). Other than her mouth is slightly swollen, she is acting like her old self really. But the vet told me they don't usually show the pain etc. So I don't know.

I just don't know how she could break the mouth bone.

[kroakykaren]

Poor Cookie i hope it sorts itself out soon, its a real mystery but as Lou says could have been a locust.
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[Rickeezee]

Hope the cham gets better soon. Chams are a bit prone to mouth / tongue problems, the tongue flicking mechanism is very complex (Hyolingual structure) and strains can incur by over-flicking or the tongue getting snagged on something.

Insects bites or cuts from the insects whilst being eaten can lead to infections of the mouth and abscesses, quite often if a cham develops mouth rot the jawbone will break as the rot advances, very nasty and hard to cure.

Good luck with Cookie.
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