Dark tail?

[sbernhoft]

Hello. I am concerned about a recent development with my 4 month old panther chameleon. For the last few days he has been keeping one side of the end of his tail a darker/brownish color. He still uses the tail like normal. Is this anything to be concerned about? A friend of mine suggested that he might have stressed the tail in a fall and that the color would return shortly...

Thanks for any advice.

 

[Elizadolots]

You're going to be asked to "fill out the form". That's THIS set of questions. Copy and paste into a document file, add your responses, then save that file! If you need help in the future, you can start with that file. Then copy and paste the contents of the file into a reply here.

I'm not knowledgeable about such things, but I am going to suggest you start taking a picture every day (or, even more than once a day) to accurately track any changes that might happen.

 

[carol5208]

when I first got my panther I accidently closed his tail in the door!I know, stupid!!!!! Not completely shut the door but just enough where he squirmed and I realized what i had done and I freaked out! My first thought was I must have injured his tail. Well it instantly turned black about 1 1/2 inches at the end and I thought it was going to fall off but I would say by the evening it started getting some color back and then by the next day it was looking back to normal. I dont know if a fall could cause that but it is possible.

 

[draetish]

Chams bruise easily and that could be what happened here. Better pics would help. Do you notice any open sores or wounds?

 

[ShaunaLynnA]

Pics would help us better decide what is going on. Chams do bruise easily as Donna said already and this could be the case. Is your lights close to the cham as well it could be a possible burn. Posting pictures will help us again if you could do that to determine our best idea and suggestions.

 

[sbernhoft]

Ok here is the requested info:


Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Furcifer Pardalis, Male, 4 months, 3 months
Handling - About once a week.
Feeding - I offer approx. 15 small crickets everday, just after lights on. Gut loaded with different gut load everyweek inside a cricket keeper (tomatoes, fish food, fruits/veggies)
Supplements - Reptivite, crickets are dusted 2x a week.
Watering - Habbamist, set to go for 60 seconds every three hours. A good hand misting 2x a day. I do see him drinking.
Fecal Description - Droppings are normal.
History -

Cage Info:
Cage Type -65 gallon reptarium.
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 fluorescent, 60 watt basking lamp.
Temperature - 75-90, doesn't drop below 70 at night, measured with thermometer.
Humidity - 60-70%, habbamist, daily mistting, measured with humidity gauge.
Plants - Hibiscus and hanging pothos
Placement - In a secluded bedroom, top of cage is about 6 feet from floor.
Location - Sunny California

Current Problem - Darkness on tail. No open wounds or sores, normal use.

Pictures include views of the darker side of the tail, and a view of the side that is more normally colored. Included picture of habitat.

 

[sbernhoft]

Anybody have any thoughts for me? Reassurance is always welcome, too...

 

[draetish]

Ok here is the requested info:


Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Furcifer Pardalis, Male, 4 months, 3 months
Handling - About once a week.
Feeding - I offer approx. 15 small crickets everday, just after lights on. Gut loaded with different gut load everyweek inside a cricket keeper (tomatoes, fish food, fruits/veggies) -Your gutload is way off and will cause health issues. Use collard or turnip greens, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, oranges every now and then and cricket crack
Supplements - Reptivite, crickets are dusted 2x a week. -Suuplements should be RepCal calcium no D3 every other day, Reptivite w/D3 twice a month unless he gets natural sunlight (D3 is what helps them to absorb the calcium) Be careful about over-supplementing.
Watering - Habbamist, set to go for 60 seconds every three hours. A good hand misting 2x a day. I do see him drinking.
Fecal Description - Droppings are normal. - should be brown poop with snow white urate. If urate is dark orange then he is dehydrated.
History -

Cage Info:
Cage Type -65 gallon reptarium.
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 fluorescent, 60 watt basking lamp.
Temperature - 75-90, doesn't drop below 70 at night, measured with thermometer.
Humidity - 60-70%, habbamist, daily mistting, measured with humidity gauge.
Plants - Hibiscus and hanging pothos
Placement - In a secluded bedroom, top of cage is about 6 feet from floor.
Location - Sunny California

Current Problem - Darkness on tail. No open wounds or sores, normal use.

Pictures include views of the darker side of the tail, and a view of the side that is more normally colored. Included picture of habitat.

I don't think you have anything to worry about with his tail. Just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get worse or he is unable to use it. Your set up is great!

 

[sbernhoft]

Thanks for the info. I am also going to get a stand to mount my heat lamp above the mesh of the cage, in case he burned his tail on the rim of the lamp or something...

 

[draetish]

Thanks for the info. I am also going to get a stand to mount my heat lamp above the mesh of the cage, in case he burned his tail on the rim of the lamp or something...

That's a great idea!

 

[sbernhoft]

Do you think a minor burn might cause his tail to darken up the way it has? I emailed the pictures to the breeder I got him from (Eric from Chameleons 101, apparently people have mixed feelings about the guy. I was happy with his service, although I'm realizing he might have shipped the guy a little young at 2 months...), and he suggested that it might be a burn.

 

[draetish]

Do you think a minor burn might cause his tail to darken up the way it has? I emailed the pictures to the breeder I got him from (Eric from Chameleons 101, apparently people have mixed feelings about the guy. I was happy with his service, although I'm realizing he might have shipped the guy a little young at 2 months...), and he suggested that it might be a burn.

Yes, 2 months is kinda young and even if it is a minor burn it should heal okay. Just make sure there aren't any open wounds or cracked skin so infection doesn't occur.

 

[sbernhoft]

I inspected it pretty closely, and I don't see any cracks/open lesions. The only indication that anything might be wrong is the sudden change in coloration.

 

[draetish]

That's good, he is a very nice looking guy. What's his name?

 

[sbernhoft]

Google, after the search engine and his googly eyes.

 

[draetish]

Google, after the search engine and his googly eyes.

LOL - that is really cute and fitting!

 

[kinyonga]

This has nothing to do with the tail...but reptivite and fish food both have prEformed vitamin A in them and it can build up in the chameleon's system...so be careful with them.

You can gutload with a wide assortment of greens (dandelions, kale, collards, endive, celery leaves, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red peppers, etc.).

 

[sbernhoft]

His tail seems to be returning back to its normal color, however there is one dark spot that is still there and what likes like dried blood? I tried swabbing the area to see if any blood came up, but only got one tiny speck of red that may or may not have been blood. I have no idea what he could have cut himself on in the reptarium, but it looks like he might have done. I was thinking i could put a small amount of neosporin on the wound and take him to the vet on monday... any thoughts?

 

[reptoman]

Thanks for the info. I am also going to get a stand to mount my heat lamp above the mesh of the cage, in case he burned his tail on the rim of the lamp or something...

One thing I did for my heat lamp was screw a wood shelf to the wall to clamp the heat lamp onto. I put one screw in the center so I could rotate the shelf to raise or lower the lamp to keep the basking spot the correct temp as it would fluctuate with at different times of the year. It also keeps it from being in direct contact with the top screen so my panther would not have the chance to get burned.

 

[reptoman]

His tail seems to be returning back to its normal color, however there is one dark spot that is still there and what likes like dried blood? I tried swabbing the area to see if any blood came up, but only got one tiny speck of red that may or may not have been blood. I have no idea what he could have cut himself on in the reptarium, but it looks like he might have done. I was thinking i could put a small amount of neosporin on the wound and take him to the vet on monday... any thoughts?

Neosporin should be fine for a small wound. It does look like he nicked his tail somehow.