Chameleon's tail looks dry or chapped

[scasm]

About 2 weeks ago it started, im not sure what it is, but its gotten worse. I thought it was him shedding his skin at first but its not. He's about 8 months old, ambilobe male chameleon. i spray his cage at least 2 times a day and give him multivitamins and calcium every other day, i have no idea whats causing it.

 

[Matt1851]

hmm looks pretty dry to me :\ and "at least" 2 times a day? id say at least 3 times a day. i usually spray my guy 5 times daily. once when i wake up then again before i go to work and then when i come home and about 3 hours after that and once before i turn out the lights.

 

[scasm]

wake up, spray, goto school and back, spray, and more every few hours in the day. i mean if i ever had to think back, that would be the least i have ever done in a day...
also, ever since that area of his tail looked dry, ive been spraying his tail when i spray his cage.

 

[Elizadolots]

heh... that's weird. I find the proximity to the vent to be interesting. I wonder if it's not a sign of excess calcium (so, not a deadly scare, just a notice to rethink the supplementation schedule). But, I'm about as far from an expert as Monday is far from Purple Unicorns...so, don't make any changes based on what I say, wait for someone more expert.

 

[justjumpit621]

heh... that's weird. I find the proximity to the vent to be interesting. I wonder if it's not a sign of excess calcium (so, not a deadly scare, just a notice to rethink the supplementation schedule). But, I'm about as far from an expert as Monday is far from Purple Unicorns...so, don't make any changes based on what I say, wait for someone more expert.

As Monday is from Purple unicorns eh? Sounds like my kinda day!

 

[kpritch17]

I dont know if it coule be some sort of calcium/supplement build up but he should be getting calcium without D3 6x per week and multivitamin and calcium with D3 2x per month. See if changing his supplement schedule helps. You could also fill out the how to ask for help form...maybe something else could be causing the problem?

 

[scasm]

I dont know if it coule be some sort of calcium/supplement build up but he should be getting calcium without D3 6x per week and multivitamin and calcium with D3 2x per month. See if changing his supplement schedule helps. You could also fill out the how to ask for help form...maybe something else could be causing the problem?

Ive been following what the chameleons care sheet says, calcium w/ D3 for juvenile chameleons kept indoors every other day, and herptivite multivitamins twice a week, but it could be wrong. I have him scheduled to see a vet in 2 days, so hopefully ill find out whats wrong. But if it is calcium/supplement buildup, could he die form that?

 

[Elizadolots]

I think going to the right thing. Please let us know what the vet says. I feel safe in saying we are all trying to learn.

 

[graydon]

Ive been following what the chameleons care sheet says, calcium w/ D3 for juvenile chameleons kept indoors every other day, and herptivite multivitamins twice a week, but it could be wrong. I have him scheduled to see a vet in 2 days, so hopefully ill find out whats wrong. But if it is calcium/supplement buildup, could he die form that?

Your care sheet is very wrong. You are over doing the supplements. multivitamins are once to twice a month max. Calcium w/o d3 twice a month. Calcium with d3 almost every day but i would back off on the d3 since he is so loaded with it.

 

[stickytongue]

Your care sheet is very wrong. You are over doing the supplements. multivitamins are once to twice a month max. Calcium w/o d3 twice a month. Calcium with d3 almost every day but i would back off on the d3 since he is so loaded with it.

i thought the cal with d3 should be 2 times a month where as pure cal should be every other feeding...

 

[bridgofaith]

graydon Calcium w/o d3 twice a month. Calcium with d3 almost every day

stickytongue i thought the cal with d3 should be 2 times a month where as pure cal should be every other feeding

I think that is what he meant to say. Calcium withOUT D3 about 5x a week, calcium with D3 2x per month.

 

[dodolah]

What is your humidity level?

To be quite honest, I am not sure how a skin condition can be associated with an over calcification..
Can you post a picture of his whole body? Especially, his front legs.. Somehow, I see an odd bowing on the photo (but, it could just be caused by the weird angle in your pics)

If in doubt, consult your herp vet.
If you live in South California, I would HIGHLY suggest you bring your chameleon to:

Dr Tom Greek
23687 Via Del Rio
Yorba Linda, CA 92887
714-463-1190

Or Dr Geoff Stein
Dr Shipp's Animal Hospital
351 Foothill Rd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Tel: (310) 550-0101

Or find a herpvet in your state by going to this site:
http://www.herpvetconnection.com

 

[STRYDER]

About 2 weeks ago it started, im not sure what it is, but its gotten worse. I thought it was him shedding his skin at first but its not. He's about 8 months old, ambilobe male chameleon. i spray his cage at least 2 times a day and give him multivitamins and calcium every other day, i have no idea whats causing it.

Did that just show up randomly one day or has it been progressively growing, It looks similar to a burn mark, anything in his cage he can get burnt on?

If it has slowly grown on him then i suggest you take him to see an expert asap. It my be something harmful that could lead to his demise unless treated asap.

Good luck XD hope u find out the problem

 

[STRYDER]

After much inspection of the photos that cham has definitely got some sort of growth or mutation on his tail. Def not a burn lol. Lets wait and see what the vet says.

Please let us know. Would be very informative!

 

[scasm]

Did that just show up randomly one day or has it been progressively growing, It looks similar to a burn mark, anything in his cage he can get burnt on?

If it has slowly grown on him then i suggest you take him to see an expert asap. It my be something harmful that could lead to his demise unless treated asap.

Good luck XD hope u find out the problem

What is your humidity level?

To be quite honest, I am not sure how a skin condition can be associated with an over calcification..
Can you post a picture of his whole body? Especially, his front legs.. Somehow, I see an odd bowing on the photo (but, it could just be caused by the weird angle in your pics)

If in doubt, consult your herp vet.
If you live in South California, I would HIGHLY suggest you bring your chameleon to:

Dr Tom Greek
23687 Via Del Rio
Yorba Linda, CA 92887
714-463-1190

Or Dr Geoff Stein
Dr Shipp's Animal Hospital
351 Foothill Rd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Tel: (310) 550-0101

Or find a herpvet in your state by going to this site:
http://www.herpvetconnection.com

Im going to take him to Dr. Shipp's Animal Hospital, ive been there before, great place and great service My humidity is usually around 70-60 ish.

And im not sure how it could be a burn mark, he would have to somehow climb up a glass terrarium to reach the top, then get onto the screen and under the heat lamp for that to happen... i just moved him into a 2' x 2' x 4' screen cage today too. I would think its from the calcium because when i bought my first chameleon about 2 or 3 years back, the person told me when i was buying the calcium to not give him too much, otherwise white spots will appear around him. But again, im taking him to a vet tomorrow and ill see what he says.

 

[BocaJan]

Got that backwards Graydon. Plain calcium every day and calcium w/D3 2 times a month. Don't give regular calcium if you are giving him vitamins (1x/mo) or the calcium w/D3.

Your care sheet is very wrong. You are over doing the supplements. multivitamins are once to twice a month max. Calcium w/o d3 twice a month. Calcium with d3 almost every day but i would back off on the d3 since he is so loaded with it.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Im going to take him to Dr. Shipp's Animal Hospital, ive been there before, great place and great service .

Howdy,

Glad to hear that you are taking him to be seen by Dr. Stein at "Dr. Shipp's Animal Hospital". Tell him that all of the keepers at SBCK said "Hi". He's one of the vet's that came to lecture us at one of our monthly chameleon meetings. Sounds like you are within driving distance of our current meeting location . The next meeting will likely be March 30th, a Tuesday evening. The meeting invite will be going out around March 20th. Look for it in "The Lizard Lounge" section. You can find past monthly invites there too. If you want to be added to the emailer, toss an "add me" to [email protected] and we'll add you.

 

[graydon]

Got that backwards Graydon. Plain calcium every day and calcium w/D3 2 times a month. Don't give regular calcium if you are giving him vitamins (1x/mo) or the calcium w/D3.

I need to slow down when I type, jeez. I meant calcium w/d3 twice a month and calcium w/o almost every day.

 

[Leilaskeeper]

Your care sheet is very wrong. You are over doing the supplements. multivitamins are once to twice a month max. Calcium w/o d3 twice a month. Calcium with d3 almost every day but i would back off on the d3 since he is so loaded with it.

It's not necessary to give calcium every other day either .. don't overdo it! A few times a week is fine. Better to do things in moderation then to oversupplement.

 

[scasm]

Howdy,

Glad to hear that you are taking him to be seen by Dr. Stein at "Dr. Shipp's Animal Hospital". Tell him that all of the keepers at SBCK said "Hi". He's one of the vet's that came to lecture us at one of our monthly chameleon meetings. Sounds like you are within driving distance of our current meeting location . The next meeting will likely be March 30th, a Tuesday evening. The meeting invite will be going out around March 20th. Look for it in "The Lizard Lounge" section. You can find past monthly invites there too. If you want to be added to the emailer, toss an "add me" to [email protected] and we'll add you.

When i saw him, i told him that i made a thread on this forum and a person on here recommended me to see him, and he said that there are chameleon clubs around here, that he also went to one to give a lecture too and said you guys are very nice. He also showed me the book "Chameleons - Their Care and Breeding" by Linda J. Davison, said it was a really good book, illl buy it from amazon soon. I dont drive though, im 16, and i dont even have my permit yet because im lazy Ill subscribe to the emailer though

And to everyone else, he said that its not anything serious to worry about, it could be some random build up around his tail, and told me to gently rub the area that is white with water and see if it comes off, which i did and to my surprise some of it did come off. It could be that he is getting ready to shed slowly, or some other minor thing. For calcium and multivitamins, he said that i did it too much and to give them to him about every month or so.

New pics are what he looks like after i washed his tail area. Theres still some white on there, you cant tell in the pics but you might see that the colors on the tail are a bit lighter than colors on his body.