open wound on my chameleons tail

[Davis123]

I noticed tonight when feeding my bfs chameleon he/she has a pretty big open wound on one side of its tail, the other side looks thicker and maybe infected. I know he needs to bring it to the vet, but the vets are closed for tonight im just wondering if anyone has ever seen this before and if theres anything i can do for the time being. he/she is still eating and dont seem to notice the wound. See pictures attached

 

[Randi]

Eep, poor thing! Do you know how long the wound has been there or what may be the cause? Until you can get to the vet you can rinse with dilute iodine in case of an infection and then coat with polysporin.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Eep, poor thing! Do you know how long the wound has been there or what may be the cause? Until you can get to the vet you can rinse with dilute iodine in case of an infection and then coat with polysporin.

I second this recommendation.

 

[Davis123]

no im not sure... its my boyfriends and i dont really pay attention to him im not a fan of reptiles, but still dont like to see any type of animal hurt, i noticed today because hes working late so i fed him. my boyfriend said he notcied a small wound last week but nothing big... One side looks as if it could be a cricket bite, but the other side makes me think thats not what it is...

 

[Davis123]

i dont have iodine, but i already put polyspoirn on it..

 

[sandrachameleon]

You're right, a trip to the vet is in order. Sounds like you've done what you can until them, apart from perhaps determining how it happened. Are cricket or other feeder prey left to free roam in the cage at night?

 

[Davis123]

i dont think so.. my bf is obsessed with watching him eat so he throws a few crickets in at a time and watches in amazement lol but who knows maybe one got away before he could eat it.... i am going to tell him from now on keep the crickets in something they cant get out of so they dont roam around, you would think the chameleon would feel a cricket on him though?

 

[ambanjamom]

Ouch that does look like it would hurt.Poor little guy
Hope you are able to get him a vet appointment fairly soon

 

[sandrachameleon]

... you would think the chameleon would feel a cricket on him though?

At night they dont, and can therefore be chewed on.

Its fine to let crickets run around day time though

 

[SarahcoadunatioZac]

How they survive the wild amazes me, when they sleep they seem to be easy prey.

Also, hope it turns out to be a easy recovery!

 

[Randi]

Any updates?