Injured foot?

[CatJ]

Hi all,
Question about our boy this time.
I think he's hurt his foot somehow. He seems to be missing a couple of claws and has a patch of skin missing. Pics below. It doesn't seem to be causing him any pain or distress. And its not weeping or bleeding at all. He's climbing around and using all feet as normal. How long should we monitor this before taking him to the vet? Do they heal well on their own?
Ps I have checked his viv for anything sharp/rough and can't see anything. And his climbing ropes outside of his viv have all been checked and tightened. The only thing I can think of is that he climbs the metal mesh sometimes so has maybe caught his claws on this?
He's approx 11 months old.

 

[Beman]

Keep a very very close eye on that. My concern would be the discoloration to it. If it starts swelling then there is infection. Anytime they break off nails this is a risk.

What do you mean by ropes?

I can not tell if the lighting is on the inside of the cage or sitting on top. But I would add more branches that are much smaller in diameter for him to grip. Right now there does not look to be too many branches in there for him to utilize. Which may be why he is screen climbing so much.

 

[CatJ]

Thank you. Lighting is in the inside. I'll go branch shopping tomorrow. And will keep a very close eye on him.

 

[Beman]

Thank you. Lighting is in the inside. I'll go branch shopping tomorrow. And will keep a very close eye on him.

Do you have a solarmeter or did you have your distances checked to ensure they are far enough away?

 

[CatJ]

Do you have a solarmeter or did you have your distances checked to ensure they are far enough away?

The lights are far enough away according to the cham academy guide, but that's only when he's on his branches. He's a flipping good climber though and quite often found on either the mesh screen or the heat lamp cover or the light fittings or anywhere he's not meant to be!

 

[Beman]

The lights are far enough away according to the cham academy guide, but that's only when he's on his branches. He's a flipping good climber though and quite often found on either the mesh screen or the heat lamp cover or the light fittings or anywhere he's not meant to be!

Ok keep in mind all of his distances according to fixtures are based on the lighting being on top of a screen top not mounted inside the cage. If you do not have screen in between your needing a distance that is even farther away. For example a T5HO and a 5.0 or 6% on a screen cage top would then need an 8-9 inch distance to the branch below. But if mounted without a screen reducing the UVI output your now needing an 11-12 inch distance from bottom of fixture to the branch below using the same T5HO and 5.0 or 6% bulb. Both of these would put the cham in a 3-4 UVI zone at the branch.


I think if you set that cage up differently you will find he mellows with the climbing. Having more smaller branches and lots of live plants. Might need to hook in a lattice to the sides so you can mount branches.

 

[CatJ]

Ok keep in mind all of his distances according to fixtures are based on the lighting being on top of a screen top not mounted inside the cage. If you do not have screen in between your needing a distance that is even farther away. For example a T5HO and a 5.0 or 6% on a screen cage top would then need an 8-9 inch distance to the branch below. But if mounted without a screen reducing the UVI output your now needing an 11-12 inch distance from bottom of fixture to the branch below using the same T5HO and 5.0 or 6% bulb. Both of these would put the cham in a 3-4 UVI zone at the branch.


I think if you set that cage up differently you will find he mellows with the climbing. Having more smaller branches and lots of live plants. Might need to hook in a lattice to the sides so you can mount branches.

I'll do some checks tomorrow. Thank you so much. We do have a lattice covering the whole back panel, which he also climbs amongst daily. I've checked that for sharp edges etc where it was cut to fit, but cant see or feel anything that could cause an issue. I'll be monitoring this very closely!

 

[Beman]

I'll do some checks tomorrow. Thank you so much. We do have a lattice covering the whole back panel, which he also climbs amongst daily. I've checked that for sharp edges etc where it was cut to fit, but cant see or feel anything that could cause an issue. I'll be monitoring this very closely!

So when they climb the nails can easily rip out or break off. Issue is they never grow back right when they rip them out. So this is where making changes to the cage to make him settle down a bit will help you and him.

Most of the time when they do this there is no issue to the injury but sometimes the area can become infected and you need to treat with antibiotics.

 

[CatJ]

So when they climb the nails can easily rip out or break off. Issue is they never grow back right when they rip them out. So this is where making changes to the cage to make him settle down a bit will help you and him.

Most of the time when they do this there is no issue to the injury but sometimes the area can become infected and you need to treat with antibiotics.

I've ordered more branches today so should have those in a day or 2. Also looking for some kind of cage for around the lighting as I found him climbing on the lights and water system again this morning!

 

[Beman]

I've ordered more branches today so should have those in a day or 2. Also looking for some kind of cage for around the lighting as I found him climbing on the lights and water system again this morning! View attachment 344362

Is there any way you can go ahead and cut out part of the top panel and replace with aluminum screen? Then you could pull everything on top of the cage and have more useable space in the cage.

Because he will just climb on a cage wrap around the lights inside as well.

 

[Sonny13]

Is there any way you can go ahead and cut out part of the top panel and replace with aluminum screen? Then you could pull everything on top of the cage and have more useable space in the cage.

Because he will just climb on a cage wrap around the lights inside as well.

Did the same with Neo’s enclosure, works perfect. You could even leave the screen, as long as he can’t reach the roof from the highest branch.