Is this thermal burn? Concerned.

[MMA Towman]

Hello to all, here is Rusty, our 5 mo veiled male. (We've had him a month, and according to petsmart he was 4 mo when we got him ). Concerned about the white spots he's developed. . His basking spot is a good 7 in below his 75 watt basking bulb and a 5.0 compact UVB. These are also going through TWO screens. I only have analog gauges (at the moment) and they are very close to his basking spot and hardly get over 80 so I was assuming it was safe, I doubt his basking spot gets much past 90 or 95 considering what I've said so far. I keep his humidity fluctuating between 40 and 75 reaching close to 40 when the Viv is drying . Should I put in a 50 watt basking? Should I order something for the white spots? We really care about and love this guy and I have spent hours upon hours on this forum learning, as immediately when I brought him home I started to learn that PetSmart (according to what Ive learned) was not taking the proper care of him and everything they recommended was hardly correct. He gets a variety of a diet between Cricket's superworms waxworms he has an occasional hornworm and mealworm and dubia. He does not really like his insects out of a cup so the Crickets n supers get dusted with non D3 calcium, crickets are on a cricket drink gutload as well as I have been incorporating many other gutload items that I have found off Sandra's posts. Twice a month we dust with D3 and repcal herpavite . Our husbandry with this little guy is getting better and better and we are doing the best we can. Right now we have him in a glass enclosure w no substrate, (paper towels changed frequently) which is cleaned and allowed to dry out daily, it has a screen top and a door that opens, with a vent on the bottom. He gets drips from a cup with a pinhole 3 times today a good showering with a Mist bottle about every other day. We are on well water so as Ive read it should be safe with no reptisafe. We had to buy everything twice because everything we learned at PetSmart was , once again, hardly correct according to what I have learned on this forum. By the way this is my first post and thank you all very much.

I've gone through much concern since 1st getting on this forum, but at the moment my current concern are the white spots. I have read about thermal Burns and I'm not sure if that's what this is and if so, I've read about Neosporin and I've also read about buying something else that should be put on his skin if these are indeed thermal Burns. Your expertise and criticism is appreciated, he is important to us and want to make sure he has whatever he needs to thrive . thank you again for the add and for all that I have learned through reading these forums for hours upon hours.

 

[MMA Towman]

By the way, his viv does get misted everyday multiple times and his leaves get misted, just not a full-blown "shower" everyday. He has a slight bit of a temperament when you are first trying to pick him up and handling has been rare, as he is not very tame and he will hiss and puff up when my hand gets close to him. I have picked him up and handled him a few times however I have kept that to a minimum as to keep him from getting stressed . I believe he is still getting used to us and he is getting a little calmer as the time is passing. Because of this , as of now he rarely gets out for natural sunlight. Just two days ago I added an extra screen and changed his basking spot because of the markings ( white spots ) I saw developing. So possibly the changes I have made are already sufficient , I'm just concerned about those white spots and if I should do something about them. Thanks again. Very much.

 

[Syreptyon]

Thanks for putting in as much info as you did in your post! That's very helpful. When is the last time he shed? Sometimes chameleons start to show the first signs of shedding (dulled/white-looking colors) along their spine around that area before fully initiating the shed. If this has been there for more than a day or so, though, I would worry it may be a burn - although not an extremely bad one. I don't have experience treating burns, so we'll have to wait for someone else's input on that.

In the mean time, there are two changes you definitely need to make to his enclosure. First of all, get rid of your compact fluorescent bulb. These have been shown time and time again to cause eye damage and blindness in chameleons. You should be using a UVB strip bulb like the reptisun 5.0. Secondly, his cage is much too sparse for a chameleon! Chameleons need many many horizontal branches to walk on at all elevation of the cage and also lots of places to hide. He is way too exposed in his current setup which will cause undue stress. I highly recommended adding a live plant in there like a pothos/schefflera/ficus

 

[MMA Towman]

Thank you and I will make those changes that you have stated as soon as possible. I went with the 5.0 compact after reading that nowadays they are safe but I think like you said I should change to the linear 5.0 and I will definitely make that change soon. I agree he needs more stuff to hide behind and I have been adding stuff on a weekly basis. On a side note about his basking spot , I can hold my hand three in under the light for a minute straight and it doesn't feel hot so I just don't know.. I know I need to get a better reader for his basking spot. Thank you so much for your input! And if it is in fact a burn, what should I get for it? Thank you so much

 

[MMA Towman]

Oh and to answer the question yes the white spots are older than a day or two the first one started a week ago and then further down on his spine just a few days ago he developed those and that was the day that I changed his basking spot and added another screen

 

[Syreptyon]

I have never had to treat a burn before so I don't want to offer any advice. Use the search bar, this question has been asked many, many times and you will find plenty of information there.

Also, it would be helpful to get pics of him that aren't through the glass so we can see it better

 

[MMA Towman]

Here's a picture that's not through the glass. He put on a little bit of his darker colors when I opened up the cage and put the phone in to take a pic. He was finishing up a shed when I got him a month ago and I have not seen him shed since

 

[MMA Towman]

So, I apologize to bump this thread up, however I have searched the forums and have not found a definitive answer. Is Anyone with experience with burns able to confirm that yes this looks like a burn? Or, no? . And if so, as I have read on here something about neosporin, ( not sure that advice came from a trusted source) is there a SAFE, over the counter topical that I could buy for him? Thanks again.

 

[kinyonga]

I don't see how he could get his back close enough to the light to burn his back the way the cage is set up or did you change the cage "furniture" around or move the light?

Could it be the beginning of a shed?? I can't enlarge the picture enough on my tablet to see it properly.

 

[MMA Towman]

Thank you Kinyonga for your reply. I actually did move the highest point of his basking spot down just a slight bit over the last couple days , but at no point did he have it closer than 7 inches from light to perch. Yesterday since I have written this I changed the bulb to a 50 watt, the enclosure ran a little cooler than I wanted ( 75 degrees) he climbed up on the screen and was right up to the bottom of the light (scary) but I moved the light immediately and I think that was the first time he's ever done that. Just got him some ficus and on schedule for tomorrow I'm going to go buy that thermometer where I can check his basking spot more precisely. If it is the beginning of a shed it's just confusing to a newbie like me because I thought the sheds only take a day or two, and this started happening about a week ago , the first white spots.

 

[kinyonga]

If he climbed up on the screen he would but his belly if it was too hot right at the screen. If he was on the perch wouldn't his back have been further away from the light than his belly was when he was hanging on the screen??

If he's now climbing up onto the screen he might be too cool now that you've moved the light.

Put your hand inside the cage against the screen lid and see if you can keep it there or if you have to take it away because it's too hot.
If you put it back the way it was and hold your hand there then you should know if it was hot enough to burn him when the marks occurred.

 

[MMA Towman]

Thank you. Will do.

 

[kinyonga]

Let me know what you figure out from it please.

 

[MMA Towman]

Well, I put it back to how it initially was, 75 watt, single screen, about 7 - 8 inches from perch, and its a little hot. . .definitely felt like would burn my hand after a little while.. So perhaps that is what happened? With the 50 watt bulb, I can pretty much leave my hand in there at the Basking area and even up to 3 in and tolerate it. The 50 watt at 9 in through two screens runs way too cold, I can hold my hand there.. I didn't realize it would be such a drastic difference between the 50 and 75. So I'm back to the 50 watt at 8 in through a single screen. , or the 75 watt at 9 in. through two screens ... .. so truth is I just won't know until I go get the right thermometer (tomorrow!) to check the Basking area and to be a responsible owner I think that's what I need to do. And in the meantime I still don't even know if it is a burn or not.... so I have read that polysporin is suitable and I'm wondering if I should take this as a precautionary action??? Or go to the vet for a script for the silver stuff?? Wait it out it a little longer? jeez.... this little guy..... he is loved. Thanks again.

 

[kinyonga]

The Silvadene and flamazine are the creams used for burns. I have never read the label on the polysporun to see what it has in it and I've never used it so I can't tell you how well it works. I also have never had a burn on chameleon or other reptile..but my friend was burned once and I know the flamazine/silver cream was the thing used for his burns. It's also what my vet used for many of my reptiles' for infections. There seemed to be little concerned if it accidentally got in the eyes and I know had been used for stomatitis in some reptiles too.