grumpychameleon
New Member
Im not sure on the room temp, going to get a couple of thermometers tomorrow.
Really worried! Burnt??
- Thread starter grumpychameleon
- Start date
Im not sure on the room temp, going to get a couple of thermometers tomorrow.
dindy
New Member
i got a wicked digital thermo hydro combo thermostat with a 3 meter probe for a buck plus 5 bucks shipping from hong kong off ebay...best investment i have ever made....gives me the ambient of the room as well as i can stick the probe to where i want to get an accurate reading whenever i want...shop around dude!!!
BigR
New Member
Thanks Sancho
Good site, but we were talking local stores.
Sancho
New Member
BigR
New Member
My fault didn't relize you were in Canaduh
Canadian Tire didn't trip the switch did it. I order all my stuff from the US anyways. 1 or 2 orders a year save me about $300 canadian. Back on topic now, sorry for the hijack.
BocaJan
New Member
When you move your bulbs make sure that there is no plastic or glass between the bulb and the cage. UV doesn't go through either. It is ok to have screen. Also, Did anyone else notice that the eyes are sunken in? They should be bulging out not sunken in. Make sure you mist for 5 minutes 3 times a day. It could be your syringe method of giving him water. The water should be available all day on the leaves which can only happen if you mist well.
Good luck with your vet visit.
Good luck with your vet visit.
Eric Adrignola
Avid Member
It is not a UV bulb problem. It is a simple thermal burn, a halogen bulb puts out a hell of a lot more heat ofr its wattage than a regular incandescent bulb. I could show a pic of my melleri with over an inch of his back gone from burns. And that was a 90W halogen bulb nearly a foot away from his baskign spot. The most common halogen bulbs are spotlights or flood lights, which also focus the beam a bit, extending the burn range.
Get the bulbs out of the cage, and make sure the chameleon cannot possily put itself in a position to burn itself further. If you can put your hand anywhere int he cage and feel too hot, it's too close. I reccomend ditchig the halogen, personally.
Also, 10.0 bulbs are NOT too strong. If you have a screen cage, simply lift it off the cage a bit. At worst, the light will simply last longer than a 5.0 will. I just did some readings on a 1.5 year old 10.0 and a new 5.0. The 10.0 was putting out more UVB at a longer distance. To me, 5.0's are a waste of money for that reason alone.
You will see eye problems if they are too close to the uvb bulb. They dont' put out enough power to burn them.
Another bit of opinion. Take him to a vet, but just get topical medication. If he has no infection, he has no reason to get general antibiotics. For these things, preventative medicine will almost invariably cause more harm than good. I've screwed up more than most people, simply because everyone screws up, and I've kept these things longer than most people.
I've had way more burned chameleons than I would admit, if I were concerned about my pride and not education and information! Never have I seen a burn require general antibiotics. A good application of Silvadine tot he affected area has always been 100% successful for me. And If you saw the quantities of chameleon flesh and bone lost from bunrns, you would be amazed. My melleri has lost enough meat and bone from his back to make 2 pygmy chameleons. MY old male veiled got so badly burned one time, his knee was cooked to the bone, and the connective tissue destroyed. His skin healed around it, and he had a permanantly dislocated knee for the rest of his life. The burn was so bad, 100% of his skin was gone - the ribs were exposed in an area larger than the size of a quarter.
I gave that male veiled baytril - as a preventative, form my vet - and he stopped eating and stayed on the ground for two days. I stopped, and the next day, he was back to normal. Never even let it on that he was hurt.
These things recover from superficial damage in a way us mammals cannot relate to!
Go to the vet, get some silvadine (and get a lot - it will come in handy with any an dall surface wounds), and reduce your wattage. Pull the lights out of the cage, too.
He will be fine. You will most likely not notice a change in his behavior - despite the fact that he is most likely going to lose all of the areas that are black on his dorsal crest. They'll probably fall off over the next 6 months. The skin on his side may scab up into thick, nasty scabs, which may fall off and re-scab up.
Just keep it rinsed wiht an antiseptic (chlorohexadine is good) and covered with silvadine (developed FOR burn patients, in fact) , and he should be fine.
It is my OPINION (and I am not a vet) that the last thing he needs is a preventative antibiotic. If he's got an infection, different story.
Here's a good selection of pics showing the burn, right after it happened, before it scabbed up.
Pics are big, so I linked to them.
http://www.zorabellarose.com/Chameleonpics/burn.JPG
And after it started to heal.
http://www.zorabellarose.com/Chameleonpics/Ascar.JPG
http://www.zorabellarose.com/Chameleonpics2/IMG_1810.JPG
The infamous snapping the chameleon's neck" pic (I had to hold him somehow - he was in the sun, and he got EVIL in the sun.)
This pic was to show the regenerative abilities of chameleons. Not only had the destroyed skin healed (it was entirely gone in the area affected), but the pigment started to come back. When he was older, the skin had almost completely healed up over the scar tissue, color and all.
http://www.zorabellarose.com/Chameleonpics2/IMG_1820.JPG
Get the bulbs out of the cage, and make sure the chameleon cannot possily put itself in a position to burn itself further. If you can put your hand anywhere int he cage and feel too hot, it's too close. I reccomend ditchig the halogen, personally.
Also, 10.0 bulbs are NOT too strong. If you have a screen cage, simply lift it off the cage a bit. At worst, the light will simply last longer than a 5.0 will. I just did some readings on a 1.5 year old 10.0 and a new 5.0. The 10.0 was putting out more UVB at a longer distance. To me, 5.0's are a waste of money for that reason alone.
You will see eye problems if they are too close to the uvb bulb. They dont' put out enough power to burn them.
Another bit of opinion. Take him to a vet, but just get topical medication. If he has no infection, he has no reason to get general antibiotics. For these things, preventative medicine will almost invariably cause more harm than good. I've screwed up more than most people, simply because everyone screws up, and I've kept these things longer than most people.
I've had way more burned chameleons than I would admit, if I were concerned about my pride and not education and information! Never have I seen a burn require general antibiotics. A good application of Silvadine tot he affected area has always been 100% successful for me. And If you saw the quantities of chameleon flesh and bone lost from bunrns, you would be amazed. My melleri has lost enough meat and bone from his back to make 2 pygmy chameleons. MY old male veiled got so badly burned one time, his knee was cooked to the bone, and the connective tissue destroyed. His skin healed around it, and he had a permanantly dislocated knee for the rest of his life. The burn was so bad, 100% of his skin was gone - the ribs were exposed in an area larger than the size of a quarter.
I gave that male veiled baytril - as a preventative, form my vet - and he stopped eating and stayed on the ground for two days. I stopped, and the next day, he was back to normal. Never even let it on that he was hurt.
These things recover from superficial damage in a way us mammals cannot relate to!
Go to the vet, get some silvadine (and get a lot - it will come in handy with any an dall surface wounds), and reduce your wattage. Pull the lights out of the cage, too.
He will be fine. You will most likely not notice a change in his behavior - despite the fact that he is most likely going to lose all of the areas that are black on his dorsal crest. They'll probably fall off over the next 6 months. The skin on his side may scab up into thick, nasty scabs, which may fall off and re-scab up.
Just keep it rinsed wiht an antiseptic (chlorohexadine is good) and covered with silvadine (developed FOR burn patients, in fact) , and he should be fine.
It is my OPINION (and I am not a vet) that the last thing he needs is a preventative antibiotic. If he's got an infection, different story.
Here's a good selection of pics showing the burn, right after it happened, before it scabbed up.
Pics are big, so I linked to them.
http://www.zorabellarose.com/Chameleonpics/burn.JPG
And after it started to heal.
http://www.zorabellarose.com/Chameleonpics/Ascar.JPG
http://www.zorabellarose.com/Chameleonpics2/IMG_1810.JPG
The infamous snapping the chameleon's neck" pic (I had to hold him somehow - he was in the sun, and he got EVIL in the sun.)
This pic was to show the regenerative abilities of chameleons. Not only had the destroyed skin healed (it was entirely gone in the area affected), but the pigment started to come back. When he was older, the skin had almost completely healed up over the scar tissue, color and all.
http://www.zorabellarose.com/Chameleonpics2/IMG_1820.JPG
Last edited:
sandrachameleon
Chameleon Enthusiast
Thank you for sharing
May I further suggest that this threa, including pictures anyone has related to burns, would make an excellent addition to go along with the Common Problems list
https://www.chameleonforums.com/common-problems/
grumpychameleon
New Member
We have a vet appointment at 2pm on sat 
Will keep u updated
Will keep u updated
merumontanus
Avid Member
I agree with Eric here.
On the other hand, those burns are quite extensive and will most likely lead to permanent scarring and mild disfigurement.
Fabián
PardalisGirl
Avid Member
Agree with Eric.....
I have to agree with Eric as well....a very good post. The UVB lights are not the problem. There is nothing wrong with a 10.0 tube light. He does need the topical cream to help the healing process. That process will take a very long time and multiple sheds. Also....hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. He needs extra hydration with a burn. I would do that by giving him oral hydration through a syringe to ensure he is actually getting it. Extra misting or showers don't ensure that he actually drinks it. This will be a little tricky. You don't want to handle him in any way that puts pressure on the burned areas. That would cause more damage. Please post pictures and posts of the recovery process for us all to see. Wishing your cham the best....
I have to agree with Eric as well....a very good post. The UVB lights are not the problem. There is nothing wrong with a 10.0 tube light. He does need the topical cream to help the healing process. That process will take a very long time and multiple sheds. Also....hydrate, hydrate, hydrate. He needs extra hydration with a burn. I would do that by giving him oral hydration through a syringe to ensure he is actually getting it. Extra misting or showers don't ensure that he actually drinks it. This will be a little tricky. You don't want to handle him in any way that puts pressure on the burned areas. That would cause more damage. Please post pictures and posts of the recovery process for us all to see. Wishing your cham the best....
grumpychameleon
New Member
grumpychameleon
New Member
We took him to the vet today and they said what you did....
Burns :S
They gave us iodene and said that he will be fine...
We will keep you up to date with pics and news. Thank you all again
Burns :S
They gave us iodene and said that he will be fine...
We will keep you up to date with pics and news. Thank you all again
grumpychameleon
New Member
Nothing to report so far, hes still grumpy
Moved the light, changed the blub, removed the meal worms, spraying more regularly....
Moved the light, changed the blub, removed the meal worms, spraying more regularly....
Sancho
New Member
Nothing to report so far, hes still grumpy
Moved the light, changed the blub, removed the meal worms, spraying more regularly....
Nice make sure to post pictures!
Eric Adrignola
Avid Member
meal worms are ok, just not as a staple. The more variety, the better. Mealworms, as inferior as they are to pretty much anything, are still variety.
Iodine is a good antiseptic, but I owuld try to get a hold of silvadine cream. It is thick and stays on really well, and is awesome for burns. It works well for oral injuries as well.
My one female that has (finally) recovered form conjunctivitus was having problems with nutrition (a blind chameleon just doesnt' get as much food as it should). She ended up with some vitamin problems, and got mout rot from me force feeding her (even though I used plastic instruments to open her jaws). Vitamin C problems, I believe, really make mouth rot a lot more of a potential problem. I simply wipe the caecous material off and put a little silvadine on the area. working very well. Especially now that she can see and shoot her tongue (took about 9 months).
Iodine is a good antiseptic, but I owuld try to get a hold of silvadine cream. It is thick and stays on really well, and is awesome for burns. It works well for oral injuries as well.
My one female that has (finally) recovered form conjunctivitus was having problems with nutrition (a blind chameleon just doesnt' get as much food as it should). She ended up with some vitamin problems, and got mout rot from me force feeding her (even though I used plastic instruments to open her jaws). Vitamin C problems, I believe, really make mouth rot a lot more of a potential problem. I simply wipe the caecous material off and put a little silvadine on the area. working very well. Especially now that she can see and shoot her tongue (took about 9 months).
Heavy Stella
New Member
one hint on how to lower the heat if you have a screen cage you can get one that is higher and not wider you can also get a light and hang it on a chain my door opens from the outside of the cage not the top and make sure you mist him morning afternoon and night you can get a timer on the light to be set to when it turns on and off ok bye,jessie,9 years old,canada
grumpychameleon
New Member
Hes still on the mend, not much change. Thought we'd update the thread.
Here he is on his favorite spot on our living room curtains ...
__________________________________________________
Here are some new pics from today...
http://www.puddle.me/meals/22.03.2009/1.jpg
http://www.puddle.me/meals/22.03.2009/2.jpg
http://www.puddle.me/meals/22.03.2009/3.jpg
http://www.puddle.me/meals/22.03.2009/4.jpg
http://www.puddle.me/meals/22.03.2009/5.jpg
http://www.puddle.me/meals/22.03.2009/6.jpg
Here he is on his favorite spot on our living room curtains ...
__________________________________________________
Here are some new pics from today...
http://www.puddle.me/meals/22.03.2009/1.jpg
http://www.puddle.me/meals/22.03.2009/2.jpg
http://www.puddle.me/meals/22.03.2009/3.jpg
http://www.puddle.me/meals/22.03.2009/4.jpg
http://www.puddle.me/meals/22.03.2009/5.jpg
http://www.puddle.me/meals/22.03.2009/6.jpg
grumpychameleon
New Member
Quick update...
We have been painting the iodine on meals' back, and other areas with burns. He has just started to shed
His back is looking a tad better, giving him 4ish sprays a day now to make sure his home is moist as well as him.
Here is a pic of him having a drink from a pipette from a couple of days ago.
Will keep you up to date with any changes etc...
We have been painting the iodine on meals' back, and other areas with burns. He has just started to shed
His back is looking a tad better, giving him 4ish sprays a day now to make sure his home is moist as well as him.
Here is a pic of him having a drink from a pipette from a couple of days ago.
Will keep you up to date with any changes etc...
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