casque keeps falling off?

C

calliefreese

New Member
the casque of my chameleons head has fallen off twice now, the first time the part that fell off was small and black with no blood so I thought it was from the uv light being too bright and bought a darker one. this time the part that fell off was normal colored and he bled everywhere. please help!! im a first time chameleon mom so any tips I appreciate!
 

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Do you have a wired probe to check the temperature at his basking spot? You need to measure the temperature a few inches above the branch where his casque sits. Is he hitting the casque on anything sharp?
 
Please send a picture of your entire enclosure and confirm what heat lamp fixture you have and the wattage of the heat lamp bulb. Also confirm what type of UVB fixture you have the the type of UVB bulb
 
Hello and welcome. I agree I think some temps might be too hot for your baby. I am also seeing some signs of MBD, both will need to be treated by an exotic vet with chameleon experience. Let me know if you need help finding one, I’m happy to help.

The more info you can give us on your baby and husbandry the best we can help you. Please copy the form below and fill it out as best as possible. Remember the more information the better.

Chameleon Info:

  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem -
 
Hi. Your poor guy! We’ll be more than happy to help you get everything fixed up just right for him and his casque, but he definitely needs to be seen and treated by a vet for this wound. Infection is the biggest concern.
 
Andrew1283 said:
Do you have a wired probe to check the temperature at his basking spot? You need to measure the temperature a few inches above the branch where his casque sits. Is he hitting the casque on anything sharp?
Click to expand...
hi thank you so much for replying! I do not have a wired probe, I don't know what that is or where to buy it. the lamps are sitting on top of the cage, I have a blue one and a warm colored one. there is nothing sharp in or near enclose. thank you so much!
 
Hey there this looks like it is from temps that are far too hot... Thermal burn to the caque... it then falls off because it become necrotic. Then if that does not heal without proper treatment and the temp issue is not addressed it can reburn again causing a much more severe issue... First off you need a reptile vet like asap... They need to take a look at it and clean it. Give you silver sulfadiazine cream to treat topically and he may need antibiotics. Also your boy has an extreme case of metabolic bone disease that the vet needs to provide liquid calcium for.

Second we need to address the enclosure set up and heat. So what exactly are you using for bulb wattage and how close is his casque sitting to it. filling out the husbandry review would be a good idea as well to address the MBD.

Provide a pic of the entire cage as well so we can give other tips.
 
elizaann2 said:
Hello and welcome. I agree I think some temps might be too hot for your baby. I am also seeing some signs of MBD, both will need to be treated by an exotic vet with chameleon experience. Let me know if you need help finding one, I’m happy to help.

The more info you can give us on your baby and husbandry the best we can help you. Please copy the form below and fill it out as best as possible. Remember the more information the better.

Chameleon Info:

  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem -
Click to expand...
hi thank you so much for replying!!! Camo is a veiled cham male, he is 4yrs and I've had him for 3 months. i handle him everyday for at least 30 minutes. I feed brown crickets and meal worms everyday around 8pm i used vitamin powder from zoomed every other day. i mist him 4 times a day. his droppings are yellow and hard. it's a screen cage from zoomed. the lights are also from zoomed and the blue and warm colored ones. i have his lights on everyday from 6am-9pm. there are no live plants in the enclosure. he is near a fan but it's never on and he's about 7ft off the ground. we live in Texas. thank you so much for the help I really appreciate it.
 
MissSkittles said:
Hi. Your poor guy! We’ll be more than happy to help you get everything fixed up just right for him and his casque, but he definitely needs to be seen and treated by a vet for this wound. Infection is the biggest concern.
Click to expand...
i do not have a exotic vet anywhere near me, if there any way to treat it at home?
 
Beman said:
Hey there this looks like it is from temps that are far too hot... Thermal burn to the caque... it then falls off because it become necrotic. Then if that does not heal without proper treatment and the temp issue is not addressed it can reburn again causing a much more severe issue... First off you need a reptile vet like asap... They need to take a look at it and clean it. Give you silver sulfadiazine cream to treat topically and he may need antibiotics. Also your boy has an extreme case of metabolic bone disease that the vet needs to provide liquid calcium for.

Second we need to address the enclosure set up and heat. So what exactly are you using for bulb wattage and how close is his casque sitting to it. filling out the husbandry review would be a good idea as well to address the MBD.

Provide a pic of the entire cage as well so we can give other tips.
Click to expand...
hello! thank you for responding! currently i do not have an exotic vet near me. is there any way to treat his burns and MBD at home? his bulbs are from a starter kit from zoomed and are 100 watts each. (one blue one warm colored) I will post a picture of his entire cage tonight when I get home.
 
The first order of business is to get those 100 watt bulbs out of the fixture. Use one 40 watt incandescent light bulb for your basking bulb and then grab a wired probe from your local pet shop. They are about ten bucks. I have even used two 29 watt bulbs in the double dome fixture and it gave a nice gentle heat across a larger area. May as well make use of the fixtures if you have them.

We use linear T5 bulbs, not those blue UVB bulbs that come with the chameleon kit. They’re just about worthless.

https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/en...MIs5vB5qTLgQMVjezICh21QwX7EAQYASABEgLFU_D_BwE

This is a wired heat probe. You put the probe on the basking spot and it tells you how hot that area is.

If you have two 100 watt bulbs in a double dome fixture, it’s probably cooking at well over 100 degrees where the top of his casque sits. Poor guy but it’s not your fault, you didn’t know and you’re here asking for help, which is amazing!

Unfortunately, chameleons don’t seem to be able to tell when they are burning.

Just get one 40 watt bulb in there and tie the end of the probe to the branch with a zip tie or just knot it. You want the end of the probe to stick up where the top of his casque would be to get an accurate reading.
 

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Last edited:
calliefreese said:
hello! thank you for responding! currently i do not have an exotic vet near me. is there any way to treat his burns and MBD at home? his bulbs are from a starter kit from zoomed and are 100 watts each. (one blue one warm colored) I will post a picture of his entire cage tonight when I get home.
Click to expand...
Ok and fill this out with detail by copy and pasting into your reply. And go to this page to find a vet near you. You have to see a vet to get what is needed to treat both the thermal burn and the MBD. Without it the outcome will not be good. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/veterinarian-resources.67/

100 Watt is way too strong and the uvb type your using is incorrect. We will get into this more and others will have feedback.


Chameleon Info:


  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with, and what is the schedule?
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long do you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high-traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?
 
calliefreese said:
hello! thank you for responding! currently i do not have an exotic vet near me. is there any way to treat his burns and MBD at home? his bulbs are from a starter kit from zoomed and are 100 watts each. (one blue one warm colored) I will post a picture of his entire cage tonight when I get home.
Click to expand...

Where do you live in TX? I know some excellent chameleon vets in Texas.
 
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