what is this on my chams back??

[Tandra Lee]

ok so im a little concerned,i have just today noticed that my oldest cham moe has something along his spikes on his back.it looks like his row of spikes is trying to lift off!! why the hell is this happening?? he is misted everyday 3-5 times and he is well hydrated(fecal matter is nice and dark brown and slimy but firm and has a very white urate) and when i mist him he is drinking so i know he is hydrated well..he has a monsoon as well that mists every hr for 2 full mins ea hr..he is fed well gutloaded crickets and has the occasional super worm too.his appetite and regular behaviour has not changed nor has his sleeping habits.he gets the recomended vtamins and calciums with d3 and without via his dusted crickets and i am using what most use for a schedule..every day with calcium NO D3 and every second monday WITH D3 and the alternate mondays he gets his herptivite on his crickets..along his spine his spikes(for lack of a better word right now) look like they are lifting off,there is a clear but amber colored crust on two places as well...why is this happening and what can i use to treat it with? polysporin?? i am hrs away from a vet and no where here in this little dinky town has any kind of anything..please help thanks

 

[Montium]

Photos? How close can he get to a heat source? Sounds like a burn.

 

[Tandra Lee]

i will post pics after my parents just arrived form out of town..just can a senior member please tell me if i can put some polysporin along his spikes ?? its not a major thing just has me questionable and a tad concerned

 

[jr andrade]

Do you think it could be loose shed? When was the last time it has shedded? Please post some pics

 

[Carlton]

i will post pics after my parents just arrived form out of town..just can a senior member please tell me if i can put some polysporin along his spikes ?? its not a major thing just has me questionable and a tad concerned

It may well be a "major thing" that needs attention. Getting a thermal burn from a basking lamp can happen, and right on top of his back is a common place for it. The tissue dies and eventually just dries up and separates from the healthy tissue underneath. Pics are needed first. Polysporin can help protect the area from infection, but the dead tissue will need to be removed.

 

[DavidBuchan]

And of course if it is a thermal burn you'll need to look at light placement. The sooner the better, as usual.....

 

[sandrachameleon]

Polysporin is unlikley to do any harm, so you could use it, might help.

If you put you hand in the cage, the back of your hand as close to the heat light as possible, how long can you keep your hand there before it gets too hot?

 

[Tandra Lee]

pics of my chams back..the spikes are lifting now!!

this is not a thermal burn his temps are 84 degrees under his house hold 25 watt bulb,and bulb is outside his cage as well..today the spikes are starting to lift away from his spine,it looks a little fleshy where it has lifted away could this be from too much direct misting?? he doesnt seem to mind being misted and comes over to where i am misting,my other cham runs for his life when i mist his cage lol...how should i apply the polysporin? with a cute tip perhaps??? sandrachameleon,my hand doesnt get too hot under his basking area at all....

 

[VeiledChams]

That is a burn.

 

[seanUTD]

100% burn my friend... Polysporin it and get him to a vet before an infection can set in and so they can remove that tissue

 

[DavidBuchan]

this is not a thermal burn his temps are 84 degrees under his house hold 25 watt bulb,and bulb is outside his cage as well.. sandrachameleon,my hand doesnt get too hot under his basking area at all....

It's a burn, but how did he get it?

 

[Tandra Lee]

veiledchams: you most probably are correct,i have just rechecked his temps under his basking area and the temp read 87.48 , i have applied a generous amount of polysporin to the area affected ,he is such a good boy,he didnt even flinch..probly felt instant relief the poor guy..i feel so absolutley horrible...i dont check their temps daily and have neglected to check them for the last two weeks as we have had some issues going on ,this is not an excuse but a fact..this will not be happening ever again...thank you so much for your quick reply and i respect and greatly appreciate your knowledge..thank you for "moe" and myself ...however now,will applying polysporin daily to the affected area be enough to heal this? maybe i can have the pet store order me something better?? or go directly to my vet(who does not see chams at all) and ask for something specific??

 

[DavidBuchan]

.however now,will applying polysporin daily to the affected area be enough to heal this? maybe i can have the pet store order me something better?? or go directly to my vet(who does not see chams at all) and ask for something specific??

Maybe it will, but there will always be scarring of course. Find a better vet if you can......unless you know what you're doing removing the dead tissue.....
Oh, and accidents can happpen, don't beat yourself up too badly about it....

 

[VeiledChams]

What you gotta do to prevent this from happening again is lift the light up more and get a larger wattage bulb. This will keep the temps high enough but will not have that "sizzling" effect on the cham.

 

[Carlton]

veiledchams: you most probably are correct,i have just rechecked his temps under his basking area and the temp read 87.48 , i have applied a generous amount of polysporin to the area affected ,he is such a good boy,he didnt even flinch..probly felt instant relief the poor guy..i feel so absolutley horrible...i dont check their temps daily and have neglected to check them for the last two weeks as we have had some issues going on ,this is not an excuse but a fact..this will not be happening ever again...thank you so much for your quick reply and i respect and greatly appreciate your knowledge..thank you for "moe" and myself ...however now,will applying polysporin daily to the affected area be enough to heal this? maybe i can have the pet store order me something better?? or go directly to my vet(who does not see chams at all) and ask for something specific??

Part of the problem is temp, but the accumulated amount of time he spends right under the light plays in to it, and the fact that our basking lights create a pretty focused beam of heat instead of the sun that is more dispersed. And, a cham basking in full natural sun would tend to move out of the heat sooner once it has warmed up. A small focused beam of heat can mean he sits under it too long.

Ask your vet (doesn't have to be a herp vet) for some Silvadene cream. It is a very good burn treatment that will prevent secondary infection. As the dead tissue peels away you'll want to apply the Silvadene to the exposed new tissue. The dead stuff can be trimmed away. It has no live nerve endings either.

 

[Tandra Lee]

thank you veiled chams,i have lifted the bulb higher,see what i think may have happened is this:i have my basking bulb housing hanging from a thin wire,im guessing that it has stretched and allowed it to become closer to moe's enclosure resulting in his burn,i have done what you have recommended..now we have no vet for approx 3 1/2 hrs from our home that deals with reptiles..i am not going to remove the tissue from my chameleon as i do not feel comfortable in doing so..i will treat it with polysporin for a few days and see what it looks like but i am asking you what can i get the vet that is in my town to order me so i can treat it correctly???

 

[Tandra Lee]

carlton: thank you so much for the info on the silvadeen,i will go to my vet here and ask for some,i didnt realize the tissue that has lifted has no nerve endings in it,i will give it a day or so and remove it as it looks nessesary..thanks so much for all this advice..i am so greatful for it and for this forum correction:silvadene

 

[Ozzie2011]

OUCH! I hope he heals up soon. Poor baby!

 

[DavidBuchan]

Part of the problem is temp, but the accumulated amount of time he spends right under the light plays in to it, and the fact that our basking lights create a pretty focused beam of heat instead of the sun that is more dispersed. And, a cham basking in full natural sun would tend to move out of the heat sooner once it has warmed up. A small focused beam of heat can mean he sits under it too long.

Yeah, so for this guy maybe a standard household bulb, not a spotlight with reflector........
......if you can find one these days, with all this energy saver rubbish in the shops.........I want heat, not light! Give me a proper bulb!

 

[Ozzie2011]

Is his heat source sitting directly on the screen part on top of his cage and maybe the screen itself is getting too hot? That is very odd for that to happen with 25 watt bulbs?