Help me! Half his head has fallen off!

Q

qwaz01

New Member
Ok first thing to mention is I'm new to Cham keeping, I've always been more of a fish person but was given my Cham from a friend who's kids were no longer interested. I have done lots of reading and my Cham has been doing well for 18 months (I think) until today...

I came home and half his head is missing!!! He seems ok and is active but surely this isn't normal? I can't work out how the hell he has done it? Any advice?

* Please note you will see another issue down the ridge of his back. This was done while I was away before Xmas when a friend over fed him with locusts and they attacked him in the night (Huge lesson learnt). As advised by the pet shop I closely monitored him and kept him dry and clean for a week and he has been recovering well until today.

image.jpeg
image.jpeg
 
I should add the wound seems ok, there is a small blood scab but otherwise no open wound or anything?
 
Ok will do, can I ask what a Frankenstein means or was that just a general comment about his looks? Do you think there is something wrong with him as in a disease or condition or has he just fallen and broken something?
 
The top of the casque, spine (I bet it wasn’t crickets that caused it to fall off) and knees are typical spots for a Veiled Chameleon to get burned as it is the closest to a too hot basking bulb. The pain receptors in reptiles are quite far down in the skin layer and because of that it takes a long time for a reptile to realize that it is too hot and potentially burning itself. At some point he probably had some blisters and/or discolouration in those areas that weren’t noticed or attended to and now the skin and fatty tissue underneath died off and now has sloughed off. There really isn’t much you can do now. If there are any open areas, blood or oozing, then you should see a qualified veterinarian but otherwise if the wounds are clean, there is nothing to do.

You definitely want to check the temperature under his basking light to prevent more burns.

Alphakenc! Please stop being weird.
 
U can only imagine his wounded head like a Frankenstein,as far if the bacteria got into the wounded head,it can get even worst,he needs a serious vets visit,if I were u ,I be already took him in when that happen in Xmas,its now February, u need to get the Xray and tissue exam for him so you can find out what to get him become better without any secondary infection,best luck to you and keep us posted
 
Wow! That's terrible! I agree with Trace - likely the result of a truly awful burn. I would take him to a vet for a general check up anyway because it seems as if his past care has not been the best. I worry about other husbandry issues like parasites and MBD also being a problem. Definitely keep an eye on the areas for any swelling, bleeding, or oozing. Hopefully, it is on its way to healing. Reptiles heal very slowly, so it will take a long time.

In the meantime, do you have a digital thermometer? You need to monitor the temperature at his basking spots to avoid reburning these areas. If his basking spots stay too hot, the areas will not heal.

Poor little guy.
 
Oh no now I feel terrible :( I bough a new Exoterra heat lamp and 75w bulb mid Nov as I was worried about him not getting enough heat as his eating seemed to slow nearer winter. After I got the bulb he instantly started eating more again. Now you say about the burns, just before I went away at Xmas I cleaned everything out and rearranged the vines so maybe he was to close to the bulb. I guess I just assumed if he was to hot he would move away.

Just this week I finally got him eating kale from my hand which was a big win and now I just feel like a terrible stupid owner again :(

I have attached a picture from his spine that I took when I got back from holiday at Xmas.

Thanks for your help

image.jpeg
image.jpeg
 
Just realised in that pic the top of his casque is black!!! Maybe even back in December the tissue was dead and a knock has broken it off.
 
Ouch! It looks like the injured tissue of the casque is pretty even with the line of the back. Likely the burn started quite some time ago.
 
Well u can never fix the past,but u can make sure it will not happen again in the present n future,make sure u have a good distance range between the heating lamp n his basking spot,dont be too hard on urself,it already happen but now u need to learn n know how to prevent....get him to a chameleon specialist vet n see if he needs any more treatment to get better,remember secondary infection can be even worst then what he already have,keep the cage as clean as possible n follow ur vets guidance :)
 
Thanks and your right, feeling sorry for myself isn't going to help him. Will visit the vet tomorrow and also go to the pet shop and get a less powerful bulb as clearly 75w is to much. I will also lower the vines down so he can't get as close.

I feel terrible for the little guy, i should have stuck with fish :(
 
Its ok, please dont feel bad anymore or we can all cry together if u want:(Speaking of the fish,they get more problems,if that water wasn't change regularly,the fish will be belly up in no time,at least ur chamy still here with u,he is willing to survive like a champ,if that was a Discus fish lost the head,they be swimming side way plus u cant even take a half head fish to a fish vet so stick with ur chamy friend till the very end at least he is willing to take a trip with u to go see a vet,but not ur fish...which u cant even let ur fish to get intimately with u by holding them:rolleyes:
 
qwaz01 said:
Thanks and your right, feeling sorry for myself isn't going to help him. Will visit the vet tomorrow and also go to the pet shop and get a less powerful bulb as clearly 75w is to much. I will also lower the vines down so he can't get as close.

I feel terrible for the little guy, i should have stuck with fish :(
Click to expand...
Burns happen! We hear a lot about them. Most people don't understand how differently herps react to and require heat until something like this happens. Luckily there are a couple of very good burn treatments your vet can provide...a commonly used one is Silvadene cream. Its protective and antibacterial. If no secondary infection gets going he will heal...he'll be scarred, but healed and can continue his life with you.

I rescued a melleri with a terrible burn that damaged his dorsal crest all the way from his hips, all down the top of his tail to the tip. He lost a huge amount of tissue and it took weeks to slough away. But, after weekly visits to a vet to have necrotic tissue trimmed, a sterile wash and light bandaging, the healthy pink tissue formed, there was no infection so he did heal. The healed area never recovered its color as the skin was gone.
 
Last edited:
I agree with the responses you've gotten. This was a fairly severe burn that the body healed from but the damaged tissue was too damaged to heal so it separated and now has fallen off. Most of the spines will be lost as well. Keep the areas clean and they should continue to heal well. Dilute iodine (diluted with water to look like tea) gently applied with a q-tip to the damaged areas is good antibacterial and antifungal protection without damaging delicate healing tissue.
 
It isn't just reptiles that can get deep burns without realizing it. It happened to me. I once went to sleep on a heating pad set on very low. I woke up the next morning with an itchy spot on my back, which I scratched and pulled off the skin that had burned. It left a deep hole that was as big as a 50 cent piece. I never felt it. The heat just build up slowly and the tissue died. It was really surprising how deep the burn was.

There is something about his face that bothers me and I think a vet visit might be in order. His upper jaw is much shorter than his bottom jaw. I would be worried about something like MBD as the root cause, which is why I am recommending a vet visit.
cleardot.gif
 
Thanks all for your help and advice. I feel better knowing what has caused the issue as now I can resolve it. Looking at his head again this morning most of it seems to already be healed apart from a pin head sized spot of dried blood. I guess if the damage was done weeks ago the wound probably healed under the dead part that fell off. Anyway he has been eating kale and hunting locusts this morning so he seems in good spirit.

In regards to MBD it is something I've always worried about. I bought a new dust with added vitamins and D3 a few months ago and I always use calc drops in his water that he drinks from (I know water bowls are not recommended but he seems to like it and I change it twice a day). I also try and give him waxworms once a month as I was told they are high in calcium.

I'm gonna pop him to the vet anyway and also buy a new UVB bulb and a lower watt heat bulb from the pet shop.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Gecky
Please help, I don't know what's wrong
Replies
3
Views
742
kinyonga
K
Ventura
Aspiration/Syringe feeding
Replies
4
Views
749
Ventura
Ventura
Chance307
Veiled cham has his mouth open
2
Replies
28
Views
2K
ehdee6
ehdee6
Lizardlover1519
Panther has gout
Replies
2
Views
690
Beman
Beman
Nelbows
First baby veiled chameleon, no poop (First post)
Replies
18
Views
2K
Nelbows
Nelbows
Back
Top Bottom