Possible burn from heat lamp? Black spots all over, not eating

[blur revision]

Chameleon Info:

Male Veiled Chameleon, Approx 7-10 months old in my care since June (no idea on date of birth, bought from petco)
Handling - Once a week or so
Feeding - 7-9 large crickets dusted with reptivite daily, kept in cricket keeper with carrots, organic granola and Flukers cricket quencher, occasional waxworms and superworms
Supplements - Reptivite on crickets most feedings
Watering - Reptifogger running constantly, with makeshift cone end that concentrates droplets on top of cage with fake vines to catch droplets which he seems to drink primarily, also spray just about every day or every other day.
Fecal Description - Unsure, can't seem to find it in the cage, gets lost in bedding
History - Had been looking virile and healthy up until about 2 weeks ago when I started to notice a section of the spikes on his back has crusted up and fallen off. There were also skin bubbles in the surrounding area and a slight black/gray/white tinge to to the area, as well as the center of his chest and on his knees and elbows. His appetite has shrunk to the point where he will not eat anything. There are 2 or 3 crickets in his cage that have been there for about 6 days now that he hasn't attempted to catch.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - Screen cage 18wx18dx36h
Lighting - Full spectrum CFL bulb from petco for daylight, 12 hours on 12 off. Had been using a mini halogen for heat but it was excessively hot, replaced it with a 75 watt infrared heat bulb recently after I assumed the heat bulb had burnt him
Temperature - I have 2 thermometers in the cage, one is near the top by the heat lamp showing consistently 85 or so, and the one in the bottom reads in the 60s usually.
Humidity - Hygrometer reads between 60-70% humidity at all times, placed semi close to the spout of the reptifogger
Plants -Artificial vines
Placement - Living room area, relatively low traffic, not by fans or vents, cage is on top of a 3foot high utility cabinet so the basking spot is about 5.5 feet off the ground
Location - New Jersey


I'm including a few pictures to better show the problem. I'm stumped. It appears as if it was a burn but it appeared slowly over time which makes me think it could also be some kind of fungal infection or bacteria. I have no idea, but he appears to be getting slower and weaker by the day. Any ideas? I really wanna try and rule out any possible remedies before deciding to spend a ton on a vet

 

[camimom]

Hello.
It could be a burn, but the fact that its on his arms and side, makes me lean more towards a fungus.

Also- I do not like the looks of his front arms. They appear to be more rounded than normal. This could be a sign of MBD.

The fact that you don't give any calcium as a supplement is also a major issue.

The reptivite you are using is to be used 2 times a month, not every day. They can overdose on this.

I think you need to see a vet.

to treat the skin issue, as well as check his calcium issues.

MBD is not curable. you cannot reverse any damage done to his bones, but the progression of the disease can be stopped.

Also, you should have no bedding in the cage. they are prone to eat it.

 

[NHenn]

That looks like a burn to me. If you didn't move or swap the basking light during the time it was appearing he could have been burning himself over and over again until it got to the point it is at now.

If he was mine, I would be taking him to the vet as he most likely will need some medication to prevent infections and help the burns heal.

 

[blur revision]

Hmm.. Last time I listen to the guy at Petco.. he told me he's had a Veiled for 2 years and he uses strictly reptivite daily and has never had a problem.

as far as his arms looking rounded, I think that has more to do with the skin being semi puffy where it's grayish rather than the bones being misshapen.. I could be wrong but he seems to have pretty good motion, grip and steadiness with them.

I have access to butterworms at a local shop, do you think that would be a good idea to try and get some calcium in him in the short term?

 

[camimom]

Petco guys are... "uninformed"
Most don't know what they are talking about.

Chams need calcium.

Butterworms are nothing but fat, so not worth it.

get some regular calcium without d3.

Do you have a uvb bulb> how old is it/

Is the weather by you nice? if so take him in the sun.

You can also buy liquid calcium from a pharmacy. I believe its called calcium gluconate.

ANd that's not inflammation, that's rounding of the elbow, potentially from a breakage. the elbow should be sharp and pointy, like this.

 

[Tyaeda]

He needs a vet asap. You don't want to go the trial and error route, especially before seeing a vet.


Definitely needs calcium everyday. I don't care what petco says... there's hundreds of owners here who say calcium every day, mutli / cal+d3 twice a month.

 

[Olimpia]

Don't be horrified, but I'm going to write my suggestions or improvements in blue below:

Chameleon Info:

Male Veiled Chameleon, Approx 7-10 months old in my care since June (no idea on date of birth, bought from petco)
Handling - Once a week or so
Feeding - 7-9 large crickets dusted with reptivite daily, kept in cricket keeper with carrots, organic granola and Flukers cricket quencher, occasional waxworms and superworms

The gutload isn't incredibly strong, I really don't think Fluker's products are worth anything. I would read this page here: https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/ - it gives you a list of really good ingredients you can use to gutload. Alternatively, it might be easier for you to order a premade, quality gutload like Bug Burger or Superload (both by Repashy), Dinofuel (from a forum sponsor), or Cricket Crack. These are usually only available online.

Also, I think butterworms are fine. They contain a lot of calcium so even though they're fatty I think they do have their benefits. Also maybe look into hornworms or silkworms if you can, these are great.

Supplements - Reptivite on crickets most feedings

Like Camimom said, the Reptivite is not a great supplement for daily use. Chameleons are very sensitive to overdoses of things like D3, for example, and it's better (safer) to provide a highly nutritious diet and gutload his food vs. loading on the vitamins. A PLAIN calcium for daily use is going to be way better. So a calcium with NO D3 and no vitamins in it - which you may have to order online, as most stores don't offer it.

Watering - Reptifogger running constantly, with makeshift cone end that concentrates droplets on top of cage with fake vines to catch droplets which he seems to drink primarily, also spray just about every day or every other day.

I wouldn't have this running ALL day, I worry about creating moldy/fungus-y soil or substrate. It's probably more than enough to have it running a few hours and then leaving it. Or running it a few hours in the morning and a few in the afternoon. I would spray him at least once daily, even if he has the dripper. Chameleons utilize mist water to wash out their eyes and just generally wet their skin. I don't know if he can do that with the fogger, but misting at least once daily shouldn't be too hard.

Fecal Description - Unsure, can't seem to find it in the cage, gets lost in bedding
History - Had been looking virile and healthy up until about 2 weeks ago when I started to notice a section of the spikes on his back has crusted up and fallen off. There were also skin bubbles in the surrounding area and a slight black/gray/white tinge to to the area, as well as the center of his chest and on his knees and elbows. His appetite has shrunk to the point where he will not eat anything. There are 2 or 3 crickets in his cage that have been there for about 6 days now that he hasn't attempted to catch.

Cage Info:

Cage Type - Screen cage 18wx18dx36h

This is a little small for an adult/soon-to-be-adult veiled. The recommended adult size is 2' x 2' x 4'

Lighting - Full spectrum CFL bulb from petco for daylight, 12 hours on 12 off. Had been using a mini halogen for heat but it was excessively hot, replaced it with a 75 watt infrared heat bulb recently after I assumed the heat bulb had burnt him

What's the brand of the full spectrum bulb? That will help us determine if it's a good UVB bulb or not, which is vital to his long-term health. And you don't have to buy your basking bulbs from Petco, they will cost you twice as much and they suck. A normal, white incandescent bulb from Home Depot will work just as well and the white light will be better and more natural for him.

Temperature - I have 2 thermometers in the cage, one is near the top by the heat lamp showing consistently 85 or so, and the one in the bottom reads in the 60s usually.
Humidity - Hygrometer reads between 60-70% humidity at all times, placed semi close to the spout of the reptifogger
Plants -Artificial vines
Placement - Living room area, relatively low traffic, not by fans or vents, cage is on top of a 3foot high utility cabinet so the basking spot is about 5.5 feet off the ground
Location - New Jersey


I'm including a few pictures to better show the problem. I'm stumped. It appears as if it was a burn but it appeared slowly over time which makes me think it could also be some kind of fungal infection or bacteria. I have no idea, but he appears to be getting slower and weaker by the day. Any ideas? I really wanna try and rule out any possible remedies before deciding to spend a ton on a vet

Regardless of what it is, either a burn or a fungal infection, he NEEDS a vet. There's no way around this, either way he's going to need professional attention to treat it properly. I think increasing the cage size will go a long way in preventing serious burns in the future because he'll be able to move away from the light better, too.

Also, I always have to take what pet store employees say with a large grain of salt. He may totally have a 2 year old veiled, but I have to wonder what it looks like. Perhaps it's totally malformed from lack of proper supplements and lighting but in his ignorance he thinks he's thriving. So when it dies in a couple months from severe organ failure he'll shrug it off to chameleons having short life-spans and he'll be none the wiser. Trust me, I've worked at pet stores before and I know the ignoramuses that work that world.