SPINES on back injured

[Forest Gump]

My veiled chameleon rubbed raw his spines on his back by pushing through a narrow path near the ceiling, popcorn ceiling painted white. His spines turned black, and a narrow area of dead skin showed up, then the area began to heal, and now it looks like his injured spines are beginning to fall off or separate from his back.

Does he need anything to help heal or is he fine? I will attach a picture below.

I have corrected the area where his injuries occurred.

He is in good health otherwise, good energy level, eats well.

 

[Andee]

He actually looks like he's healing pretty well on his own, keep on the look out for infections. And give him some extra listings just to help with any itchiness.

 

[JacksJill]

Did you see it happen? Is there any chance it is a burn?

 

[laurie]

I would also make sure he can't get to the ceiling and hurt it all over again! Looks like he is healing well,

 

[jajeanpierre]

@Forest Gump That does not look anything like an injury caused by a rub. I say that from experience owning a large collection of wild caught quads and graciliors that have terrible injuries to their spinous processes (the bones sticking up from the spine).

That looks very much like a burn. He might have rubbed off some of the (burned) skin and exposed the injury that was unnoticed by you. It is not uncommon for a shed to expose injuries. A rub to the spine has small black injury marks at the spinous process, not a huge gouge like your pictures.

What you are calling "spines" are actually just scales on his dorsal crest. From your pictures it looks like he has damaged a lot of tissue below the skin, not just the scales on his dorsal crest.

I don't know if he needs to see a vet or not.

Here's what a rub on the back tends to look like--black marks at every spinous process. These injuries were rubs from the cloth bags she spent 7 days in during import.

 

[kinyonga]

Flamazine is good for burns or injuries that might become infected...but it looks like it might already be healed enough that it doesn't need it.

 

[Angelwolf]

Honestly, I was thinking it looks like a burn as well. You may not have noticed it until after the point where he rubbed it. That would cause the old skin to come off revealing the damage underneath. I'm guessing you free range him from the ropes tied to your bedroom ceiling? What kind of heat source does he have? How close to it can he get? Does he spend a lot of time there? The ropes are not a good idea for him. They are all one size, which can lead to bumble-foot. He can also get his nails stuck and damage his toes or even fall. A fall from all the way up there, which I'm guessing is probably about 8 ft. would most definitely be fatal. He also needs cover, in the form of live foliage. Veileds eat plants as a natural part of their diet. They also need to feel safe and like they can hide from predators (people and other pets). He also needs regular misting in order to drink. They drink by licking the water droplets off leaves. Please read the care sheets on the forum and fill out the "how to ask for help" and post it to your thread.