Strange chameleon coloration on back.

[Xyres]

So my concerns first started almost a week ago when my cham stopped eating crickets. It wasn't a big deal as he was still eating worms(butter and silk), and I figured I had just not been changing his gutload/feeders enough. Then about 3-4 days ago he had a very solid poop which met all the standards except his urate which had an orange hue with a bit of a very light reddish color which was a warning sign to me.

Well yesterday I look him outside to do a full clean on his cage and I let him get some warmth and sun in the shade. All went well and I brought him back inside. Well about an hour later I saw that one side of his body was 100% his normal coloring, but the other side was a pale yellow, green and red which lasted about 20 minutes. After he changed back though I noticed that he has this strange spot that wont change back. Since then he has been acting 100% normal but I still find it strange. I am hesitant to take him to a vet as the last time I went to my local reptile vet I was the one teaching him about chameleons and he didn't even want to do a fecal test. The nearest reptile vet that I trust is over 6 hours away so I am looking for a bit of input before I pull any triggers.

I am not embedding the image as it is fairly large and I am having issues cropping it.

http://i.imgur.com/7JlgrML.jpg?5537

Your Chameleon - 1.5 yo male panther chameleon. Had him for 1 year
Handling - Rarely. Once or twice a week for less than 15 minutes.
Feeding - Feeding 10-12 crickets a day, 2-3 mealworms a week. Gutloading with oranges, apples and repashy gutload mix. Has been on a hunger strike from crickets for almost a week but he will still eat worms.
Supplements - No D calcium every day, calcium +d3 twice a month, low d3 twice a month, multivitamin twice a month.
Watering - I use a mistking for about 12 minutes total a day. A dripper for about 20. I never see my cham drinking but sometimes I do sneak a peek at him just after.
Fecal Description - His urate has been an orange hue with a tinge of what looks like a reddish segment.


Cage Info:

Cage Type - Screen cage 2x2x4
Lighting - 14 hours of light with reptisun 5.0
Temperature - 85f basking, 70f ambient. About 65f overnight.
Humidity - 40-60%
Plants - No live plants
Location - Canada

 

[Carlton]

After he changed back though I noticed that he has this strange spot that wont change back.

http://i.imgur.com/7JlgrML.jpg?5537

Your Chameleon - 1.5 yo male panther chameleon. Had him for 1 year
Handling - Rarely. Once or twice a week for less than 15 minutes.
Feeding - Feeding 10-12 crickets a day, 2-3 mealworms a week. Gutloading with oranges, apples and repashy gutload mix. Has been on a hunger strike from crickets for almost a week but he will still eat worms.
Supplements - No D calcium every day, calcium +d3 twice a month, low d3 twice a month, multivitamin twice a month.
Watering - I use a mistking for about 12 minutes total a day. A dripper for about 20. I never see my cham drinking but sometimes I do sneak a peek at him just after.
Fecal Description - His urate has been an orange hue with a tinge of what looks like a reddish segment.


Cage Info:

Cage Type - Screen cage 2x2x4
Lighting - 14 hours of light with reptisun 5.0
Temperature - 85f basking, 70f ambient. About 65f overnight.
Humidity - 40-60%
Plants - No live plants
Location - Canada

This looks like a thermal burn. Exactly when or why he got it isn't clear, but the site is a classic one for burns. Ironically, chams don't have many very sensitive temp sensors in their skin, so basking under the more intense focused heat beam of a lamp can result in a burn. By the time the cham realizes he's getting too hot, the burn has already occurred. It could be that he spent more than the normal amount of time in one spot to warm up and burned himself.

How deep into the tissue the burned area extends isn't totally clear right now. If it was just skin deep it may shed or scab abnormally for a while but eventually you'll see improvement over a series of sheds. It will heal. If the burn goes deeper he could lose some tissue (spines etc) in that spot. The dead tissue will become necrotic and slough away.

To protect the damaged area and prevent secondary infection, you could put on Polysporin (no pain reliever), or ask a vet for some Silvadene ointment. This was a specific for burns.