I'm not arguing or questioning your advise btw
I was just saying I didn't except something designed for chameleon from exo-terra could cause sores. The ones I have are rather soft and not like sand paper. (Unless I'm using the wrong size)
Would the natural branches need to be disinfected?
How would you size a perch correctly? (See picture attached, he's stood on his main perch under the Heat and UV)
I know the one you have--it's foam. The problem isn't how soft it is--the problem is that he spends a lot of time with pressure on one small spot. Think of bed sores. A mattress is very soft but immobile patients develop bed sores. A chameleon in general tends to use their whole foot/hand to grasp so the pressure is distributed across the whole hand/foot including the toes. If you only offer large (basically flat) perches, he won't exercise his hands/feet and won't be able to grip well.
If you offer tiny branches--as small or even smaller than a pencil--you will be surprised that he might prefer them. Variety is the key. The natural human tendency is to give large diameter perches--me included--because we think they want to lie down on the perch and rest. I don't think that's what they want.
I think--but am not sure--that the tendons in their hands/feet are like those of birds of prey. A bird of prey has a tendon and tendon sheath that has ridges on them so when the tendon is contracted, it acts like a rachet and locks into place. For the bird to release it's foot, it must actively lift the outer tendon sheath off the tendon to release the tendon so it can slide. It take zero effort (in the foot) for a bird of prey to hold onto a struggling prey. I believe the default position of the tendon is to be locked. This can lead to their deaths. Frequently oung, inexperienced Osprey (a fish hunter) try to take a fish that is too large and in their excitement do not actively release their grip and are dragged under water and drown. I found a newly hatched baby that was dying but was still holding on tightly to the branch he was on even though it was almost dead. I would have thought that so close to death, it would have relaxed it's feet but it didn't. I've heard stories of limbs being ripped off of chameleons during capture in the wild if they are pulled off the branch with brute force.
I would definitely make his main branch under the heat lamp quite small--give a variety but make it small. You want to change the pressure pattern on his foot.
I am not a big fan of disinfecting. The children with the healthiest immune systems come from dirty environments such as kids on farms running around barefoot. In this case, a good wash might be in order since he already has an open wound. You might want to put on some silver sulfadiazine but when you put a cream on a wound, especially a foot wound, you are keeping it moist and open to bacteria. I would keep the branches under his basking light dry if you can.
The most important thing you can do is create a stress free environment. Stress will shut down the immune system. It can be low grade, chronic stress such as not enough cover to hide in and feel safe or temperatures/humidity levels not correct for the species. Set it up so your animal can heal itself.
On another note, I am not crazy about the look of his eyes. It might just be the picture or how he react s when you stuff a camera/phone in his face. You want a full eye without puffiness or folds in the turret or sunken in spots. The eye should take up the whole orbital space and bulge out without it bulging too much. Sometimes nutritonal/lighting deficits growing up can show up with a shallow eye socket. I know, my explanation of what an eye should look like is as clear as mud!
(Didn't join the forum because of this post) but I noticed a cut on my Chameleons foot this morning. Please see attached picture. It seems like the wound has been there a little while as it seems to be under his shed? But his shed coming off has opened the scab? Honestly I'm not sure.
