Veiled chameleon with a really bad wound :(

[Gypsy702]

I called all the exotic pet veterinarians in town and the only one I can see is three to four weeks out anyone with advise will be very helpful.
24x24x48 enclosure, veiled chameleon roughly one year old (got him from Craigslist), just got his lights this May and it’s T5ho HO 5.0 reprising 24”. Basking is 5-6” away. Humidity is 68 right now, temp is 74 in the enclosure.

 

[Beman]

Hi there. You are going to want to call and say it is urgent... You may have to pay more but he needs to be seen now. That will require topic medication and more then likely antibiotics for internal infection. This would be very painful for him. was the casque normal prior to you getting him?
What basking bulb type and wattage are you using? How close is his casque to it?

 

[nightanole]

That looks like a very bad burn that is healing. Im not sure a vet going to be able to help. Id just pop some neo or polysporin on it to prevent infection till the vet visit. The only thing the vet will do is possibly give you some fancier creme, and an antibiotic.

 

[Gypsy702]

Hi there. You are going to want to call and say it is urgent... You may have to pay more but he needs to be seen now. That will require topic medication and more then likely antibiotics for internal infection. This would be very painful for him. was the casque normal prior to you getting him?
What basking bulb type and wattage are you using? How close is his casque to it?

 

[Gypsy702]

Hi there. You are going to want to call and say it is urgent... You may have to pay more but he needs to be seen now. That will require topic medication and more then likely antibiotics for internal infection. This would be very painful for him. was the casque normal prior to you getting him?
What basking bulb type and wattage are you using? How close is his casque to it?

Casque was fine just yesterday. I got him in April and he was completely fine and healthy from what I could see. This is him basking this morning. I don’t think it’s a burn but I am wondering if it was from a branch since he is also shedding on his casque and tried to get it off? Also, the wattage is 100 watt by zoo med.

I did as the front desk lady if I can use coconut oil or neosporin on it and the vet said that should work and to call if it gets any worse.

 

[Beman]

Casque was fine just yesterday. I got him in April and he was completely fine and healthy from what I could see. This is him basking this morning. I don’t think it’s a burn but I am wondering if it was from a branch since he is also shedding on his casque and tried to get it off? Also, the wattage is 100 watt by zoo med.

I did as the front desk lady if I can use coconut oil or neosporin on it and the vet said that should work and to call if it gets any worse.

Ok so the casque did have prior damage... You can use regular neosporin on it... The kind that DOES NOT have the additional pain med it in. Use a q tip to apply it. I still advocate for a Vet visit.

100 watt bulb is really high. is it a focused heat bulb? flat surface? and is it in the dual fixture that he is sitting below in that picture? If so he is far too close to it.

Are you using a T5HO with a UVB bulb as well or just the screw in bulb in the dual dome?

 

[Gypsy702]

Ok so the casque did have prior damage... You can use regular neosporin on it... The kind that DOES NOT have the additional pain med it in. Use a q tip to apply it. I still advocate for a Vet visit.

100 watt bulb is really high. is it a focused heat bulb? flat surface? and is it in the dual fixture that he is sitting below in that picture? If so he is far too close to it.

Are you using a T5HO with a UVB bulb as well or just the screw in bulb in the dual dome?

The casque was fine. No prior damage at all.

It’s just a heat bulb in A dual dome but we don’t use the light part of it. It just came with the chameleon when I bought him.

24” T5ho by reptisun is what we are using for light 5.0 uvb.
How much farther down should I have him? I measured and it’s actually 6”-8” below from the actual bulb.

 

[Beman]

The casque was fine. No prior damage at all.

It’s just a heat bulb in A dual dome but we don’t use the light part of it. It just came with the chameleon when I bought him.

24” T5ho by reptisun is what we are using for light 5.0 uvb.
How much farther down should I have him? I measured and it’s actually 6”-8” below from the actual bulb.

I would be interested to see a before picture because his casque is not shaped properly It should come up in a point. looks like a piece was sliced off of it as if there was an old thermal burn and the shed caused new issues. That is a lot of damage to suddenly happen.

But what kind of heat bulbs there are multiple types... The one in the top pic is a regular incandescent. It does not focus heat or light into a beam. It heats the area. The one below is a spot light it does focus heat and these types are most common for causing a thermal burn.

Rule of thumb is if you hold your hand below the bulb for a few minutes and it burns you then it will burn the cham.

 

[nightanole]

Casque was fine just yesterday. I got him in April and he was completely fine and healthy from what I could see. This is him basking this morning. I don’t think it’s a burn but I am wondering if it was from a branch since he is also shedding on his casque and tried to get it off? Also, the wattage is 100 watt by zoo med.

I did as the front desk lady if I can use coconut oil or neosporin on it and the vet said that should work and to call if it gets any worse.

That damage happened like 1.5-2 months ago, and is very healed at this point. Im guessing that the dead section fell off today.

There is no way half the cask got cut off, stopped bleeding, and doesnt have a scab, inside of 48 hours.

But we see this alot on the forums. "chameleons veil fell off" and again a "funny" looking veil that was green/grayish, just sloffs off.

But like the others said, its pretty raw right now and should have some anti biotic creme on it till it skins over.

 

[Gypsy702]

I would be interested to see a before picture because his casque is not shaped properly It should come up in a point. looks like a piece was sliced off of it as if there was an old thermal burn and the shed caused new issues. That is a lot of damage to suddenly happen.

But what kind of heat bulbs there are multiple types... The one in the top pic is a regular incandescent. It does not focus heat or light into a beam. It heats the area. The one below is a spot light it does focus heat and these types are most common for causing a thermal burn.

Rule of thumb is if you hold your hand below the bulb for a few minutes and it burns you then it will burn the cham.
View attachment 270380

the current lamp is just heat, no light.

The firatpic is the day I got him. Second pic is the most recent one. When I first set up his cage i did do the hand under heat check and I was fine.

 

[Beman]

the current lamp is just heat, no light.

The firatpic is the day I got him. Second pic is the most recent one. When I first set up his cage i did do the hand under heat check and I was fine.

Then it is your ceramic heat emitter... Because that is a tremendous wound.

 

[Gypsy702]

That damage happened like 1.5-2 months ago, and is very healed at this point. Im guessing that the dead section fell off today.

There is no way half the cask got cut off, stopped bleeding, and doesnt have a scab, inside of 48 hours.

But we see this alot on the forums. "chameleons veil fell off" and again a "funny" looking veil that was green/grayish, just sloffs off.

But like the others said, its pretty raw right now and should have some anti biotic creme on it till it skins over.

Ooooohhh that makes sense to me. When I got him he came from a 9year old and the lamp was way closer than I have right now. And the time frame seems more accurate. Here’s a photo when I first got him in the set up he came in

 

[MissSkittles]

Looking at the pic where his casque is almost white...it looks like a burn. Was probably necrotic and finally just fell off. Surprised it wasn’t black and gangrenous though.

 

[Gypsy702]

I feel SO much better that I wasn’t the one who did this to him. I got him April 4 and we were wondering why it hadn’t shed just yet.
Found the casque

 

[nightanole]

Found the casque

Things you dont want to hear when you get home.

 

[Gypsy702]

Ok so the casque did have prior damage... You can use regular neosporin on it... The kind that DOES NOT have the additional pain med it in. Use a q tip to apply it. I still advocate for a Vet visit.

100 watt bulb is really high. is it a focused heat bulb? flat surface? and is it in the dual fixture that he is sitting below in that picture? If so he is far too close to it.

Are you using a T5HO with a UVB bulb as well or just the screw in bulb in the dual dome?

I called all the exotic pet veterinarians in town and the only one I can see is three to four weeks out anyone with advise will be very helpful.
24x24x48 enclosure, veiled chameleon roughly one year old (got him from Craigslist), just got his lights this May and it’s T5ho HO 5.0 reprising 24”. Basking is 5-6” away. Humidity is 68 right now, temp is 74 in the enclosure.

***UPDATE***
I found his casque that seems to have fallen off. Thank you EVERYONE for your help and knowledge about this. Makes me feel better it wasn’t me who did this to him. I’ve been researching the crap out of chameleons since the day I got him from a little 9year old boy off of Craigslist. I put some polysporin on it and will watch him for a few days do see how he does. Thanks again to everyone with your knowledge and help! Honestly, I had a feeling something may happen just because I did buy him from a little boy off of Craigslist.

 

[jannb]

That could get infected and the infection could spread. It seems to spread quickly in chameleons in my experience. I’d get him on an oral and tropical antibiotics such as Silver Sulfadiazine cream.

 

[Gypsy702]

***UPDATE***
I found his casque that seems to have fallen off. Thank you EVERYONE for your help and knowledge about this. Makes me feel better it wasn’t me who did this to him. I’ve been researching the crap out of chameleons since the day I got him from a little 9year old boy off of Craigslist. I put some polysporin on it and will watch him for a few days do see how he does. Thanks again to everyone with your knowledge and help! Honestly, I had a feeling something may happen just because I did buy him from a little boy off of Craigslist.

I also moved the heating bulb slightly so it’s on top of a lower branch. Going to get a lower wattage when I’m off of work

 

[Gypsy702]

That could get infected and the infection could spread. It seems to spread quickly in chameleons in my experience. I’d get him on an oral and tropical antibiotics such as Silver Sulferdine cream.

I got polysporin earlier. Do you think that’s okay? I saw some other users recommended it.

 

[jannb]

Silver Sulfadiazine is a topical antibiotic and better than polysporin IMO.