Treatment for bite wound on Veiled Cham Tail

NDeuser

New Member
My ~2yr old male Veiled Chameleon has a bite wound on the last half inch of his tail, presumably from his female Veiled cage mate. The tip of his tail is still intact, but fairly mashed and now has turned blackish/gray. He has been keeping his tail curled up more often now but is still eating and drinking fine. Are there any antibiotics for chameleons out there? I work at the Saint Louis Zoo so I have access to veterinary advice/services but our zoo does not have any chameleon species so the vets aren't very sure as how to proceed with treatment. I have been cleaning the wound as much as possible with hydrogen peroxide and have been supplementing his diet with extra calcium and vitamin supplements. Is there anything else I can do aside from taking him in to the vet. I don't really care about the cosmetics but I worry more about infection setting in and killing him. Any advice??

Thanks,
NDeuser
 
Get him to a vet and separate your chams. This is one of the many reasons why chams should not be housed together.

Edit: I don't know about H2O2 with chams, but as with humans you are only supposed to clean the wound with it once. Using H2O2 a second time will kill the cells that are trying to regenerate.
 
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I agree with that was said about separating your chameleons. Is the female gravid/non-receptive (does she have a dark background) or has she laid eggs recently?
I also think it would be a good idea to take it to the vet.

Can you post a picture of the tail?

I'm not a vet, so this is just from experience and what I have read or learned from others.

Its quite possible that the end of the tail will die off. I think it will depend on whether the blood flow has been affected by the bite.

If any bacteria got into the wound then the chameleon would need to have some oral antibiotics...but I don't know how you will know this. Ask your vets if it might be advisable to give it some just as a preventative. Baytril (Enrofloxacin) is one that is often used. (Its been prescribed many times for my chameleons.)...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enrofloxacin

I have used flamazine cream on wounds before and it works quite well...it kills many different bacteria as well as fungi.
 
Get him to a vet and separate your chams. This is one of the many reasons why chams should not be housed together.

Edit: I don't know about H2O2 with chams, but as with humans you are only supposed to clean the wound with it once. Using H2O2 a second time will kill the cells that are trying to regenerate.

hydrogen peroxide is supposed to be used as an initial flush, the peroxide causes cells to rupture, hince the fizzing, thats why blood bubbles.... and damaged skin tissue turns white and literally is broken down.

* I AM NOT A VET*
if your cleaning it, Iodine *was told to use this, when my dog chewed up my tortoise* is what id use. with neosporin to help prevent an infection.


as others have mentioned, a vet trip is most likely needed, and definate seperation of the two asap.
 
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