Discolored spot on side...

[OldSkoolxReasons]

So I have an year old male panther that has a spot on his side that is either way lighter than his normal color if he is in the warmer half of the cage or slightly darker than the rest of his body if he is in the cooler area towards the bottom. It has shown up on and off since I got him and I have thought nothing of it because his health is perfect and whenever I took him to the vet for check ups it didn't show. This last time I took my guys to the vet I was able to bring pictures of the spot and it was only slightly showing during the exam. The vet said he hadn't seen a discoloration in just one small spot like that unless it stayed one color but this spot comes and goes. The vet is in the process of calling around to other chameleon vets with more experience than him, since he has only been seeing chams for 6 years and know people who have far longer. I'm attaching a couple pics so you can see what it looks like when its there and when its not. Any idea would be appreciated. I do not think it is a husbandry problem as I'm pretty sure that is spot on and since it just comes and goes. The vet said he did not think it to be serious because all the blood work showed nothing and fecal was clean and he is very hydrated/ well fed on mantis, stick bugs, silkworms, hornworms, 3 types of roaches, crickets, and blue bottle flies. I just can't seem to find anything on the net explaining the exact thing happening on his skin. It was thought to be a fungal skin infection at first but after testing it was ruled out. If anyone has seen this and can help out it will be greatly appreciated. Thanks





Justin

 

[AncientCritters]

Burn maybe? That what my chams burn looked like. H

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

That was also a possibility but it is my understanding that a burn cannot go away and come back whenever. This spot is there sometimes and sometimes not and it is either super light colored like his very pale red and very pale lavender striped sleeping colors or very dark burgundy and navy or just not there for days at a time. It's still a mystery to me. I just hoping it's not some super rare chameleon killing skin disease, like leprosy even though I don't think they have that in chams. Thanks for the input though



Justin

 

[pantherchamlove36]

its nothin to worry about

it looks like discoloration in his skin pigmentation, there are chams like that but theyre whole bodys like that and theyre expensive its prob nothin to worry about

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

Yes that has been the only conclusion that I have come to as well. I just wish I knew why it was discolored some of the time and sometimes not. The vet even suggested something about the skin cells but I was too busy with this guy crawling on me and deciding that my nose looked tasty. He was crawling on my shoulder and kept shooting his tongue at my nose and running up to it and nibbling on it and after he did this 3 or 4 times and left a few mouth prints on my nose he figured out it was attached to my face and he couldn't eat all of me, at least not all at once but maybe over a few days. Lol. He has an amazingly friendly personality all of a sudden. He used to be super vicious but in the past 2 weeks of so he has decided I pose him no threat and will come walk around on me when Im making my watering and feeding round and try to fire up and scare all the other chams. I'm pretty sure he is just using me for mantis treats though. He cant get enough of them when I let them crawl on my shirt for him.

 

[Syn]

ET EZ A TOOMAH. Very interesting! Would like to know what this is, perhaps a "birth mark" of sorts, or a discoloration.

Edit: Oops! Internet went out as I was posting this, looks like it was already mentioned.

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

If it was a tumor I think I would die, he is my favorite chameleon and I've only had him just over a month. Thanks for the encouraging diagnosis though. Lol. Your right it is probably just a birth mark/pigment issue. I just had to make sure it wasn't a problem with my little guy.

 

[PardalisGirl]

Pigment Issue......

I don't think it's a tumor or anything harmful. I think it's a pigment issue. Think about how their entire body is able to change color. And how there are sections of coloring such as bars, spots and freeform shapes. There is apparantly a small area of pigment that is colored blue with small red spots when at rest and white with some flecks of red when fired up. I think it's actually part of his coloring. It fades as he resumes his "calm" colors. If it was anything serious it would not come and go like that.

Thats cool that he has figured out that you are a good thing in his life. The trying to eat your nose story is very cute!

 

[OldSkoolxReasons]

Great to hear that is is nothing. I knew it wasn't anything major as my vet is pretty darn into his chams. I'm very happy it is just a pigment issue. When I call the vet tomorrow I'm sure he will tell me the same thing. And yes it is remarkable how he is super friendly all of a sudden, of course I haven't tried it and not given him a giant mantis to munch on during the time he's on my shoulder so he may get violent if I don't. I don't think I'm willing to try to find that out Once again thanks for the input everybody, I can alway count on you guys to come to the same conclusions I do and it helps reassure me that my vet is a very good one. Thanks all.



Justin

 

[Zen Reptiles]

I find this happens when they spend a little too long in one spot under the heat lamp.

It's the focus point of all the heat, and if they don't move for a while, it will kinda be like a sunburn.

I think of it more as a 'tan' as it is more a skin discoloration than a burn, but it takes a long time to go away.

 

[Carlton]

I find this happens when they spend a little too long in one spot under the heat lamp.

It's the focus point of all the heat, and if they don't move for a while, it will kinda be like a sunburn.

I think of it more as a 'tan' as it is more a skin discoloration than a burn, but it takes a long time to go away.

Very interesting Brock! Possibly there was something in this particular area of skin that was more sensitive to the UV or heat, and resulted in the "tan".

 

[Zen Reptiles]

It's happened with just about every chameleon I've had. And it's always in that same spot (within an inch). I would venture to guess that puting that part of their body under the focus point of the heat, helps increase their total core temperature.