what is wrong with him ?

[shmeenakoz]

I would highly discourage the use of Neosporin! In many human cases it can cause pathogens to take over and cause more harm than good, i.e.: Staph aureus I would have just cleansed the area with a antiseptic and leave open to heal. Hope he gets better soon and yes I agree with others that you need a screen or viv enclosure, not closed glass. Not adequate air flow. Good Luck

 

[helpme]

help

I appreciate the advice on the cage but unfortunately we are dealing with an open wound that is streaming blood . I don't think the cage has anything to do with it.

 

[carol5208]

I would highly discourage the use of Neosporin! In many human cases it can cause pathogens to take over and cause more harm than good, i.e.: Staph aureus I would have just cleansed the area with a antiseptic and leave open to heal. Hope he gets better soon and yes I agree with others that you need a screen or viv enclosure, not closed glass. Not adequate air flow. Good Luck

I have used it in the past and it has helped my chameleons heal. What you are saying may be true, but it my cases it did not cause more harm than good. However, they do heal very slowly, so don't expect over night results. Right now, we have to figure out a way for your chameleon to stop reinjuring himself. I would maybe try and take a strip of gauze, wrap it around the body completely and then wrap with the white surgical tape. I am not sure what else to tell you.

 

[helpme]

Update

Well I have non stick gauze pad loaded with Neosporin and surgical tape wrapped around him. He is grabbing at it but so far it's not coming off so hopefully the blood will stop and it will start to heal. Thanks for the advice I appreciate it

 

[shmeenakoz]

I appreciate the advice on the cage but unfortunately we are dealing with an open wound that is streaming blood . I don't think the cage has anything to do with it.

No disrespect but if the temps are too high in an enclosure with inadequate ventilation (staying too wet) this combo will keep possible infection from healing due to bacteria thriving. So it does have a bit to do with the enclosure, what is your ~RH throughout the day?

 

[helpme]

Bleeding

Thanks carol , he is all wrapped up and hopefully doin better .
/shmeena if you read my posts you will see I got some bad info from my pet store . I have a screened large enclosure and had a Cham die because of MBD and the owner of the pet store said I shouldn't use the screen enclosure because he was too small to hunt and it was keeping the uv out and it was keeping him too cold . This chameleon now is very healthy and just has the open wound issue because he was clawing at his own skin. It's very scary when it's streaming blood!! I have the screen enclosure and do intend to move him into it after talking with people on here , but I don't think it's a good idea now to change habitat while he is injured and we are trying to stop bleeding.

 

[carol5208]

Well I have non stick gauze pad loaded with Neosporin and surgical tape wrapped around him. He is grabbing at it but so far it's not coming off so hopefully the blood will stop and it will start to heal. Thanks for the advice I appreciate it

I think if he can stop reinjuring it, it will heal over time, providing some type of infection does not set in. My one chameleon had a slight cut right where his ankle bent. I have no idea how it happened, but it appeared one day out of nowhere. I would put the Neosporin on it every morning and then at night when he was going to bed. It took a good week or so, but it did heal and scab. I was thinking, if the wrap does not work, maybe you could wrap his back foot that he is scratching with instead with tape so his nails do not keep gouging the wound. It might be a good idea to try doing it at night before he goes to sleep so it won't bother him as much.

 

[fluxlizard]

I don't know what the problem is from- neurological maybe from vitamin imbalance- possibly the orange cubes- those have a not so good reputation for other lizards as well as chameleons.

But I do know most of the advice you are getting in this thread is people shooting in the dark, trying to correct your setup so that it conforms to care guidelines.

Glass, cage size (sort of- depends if this is a nervous problem rather than a neurological problem), excessive d3, basking temp, ambient temp- have nothing to do with the problem.

But you still want to make some changes. In particular, I feel you should give some serious consideration to a larger enclosure. There isn't a lot of room to actually stretch out and go for a stroll in your tank- that's not much of a life. If this is a nervous problem rather than a neurological problem (and it could be- I've never seen a chameleon do this to itself), then a larger cage with more room and more foliage may in fact help.

For now with your current problem- you may be better off treating the wound by rinsing with a weakened betadine solution a couple times a day. (Heavily diluted with water).

I think you are best off by seeing a veterinarian at this point.

 

[shmeenakoz]

Thanks carol , he is all wrapped up and hopefully doin better .
/shmeena if you read my posts you will see I got some bad info from my pet store . I have a screened large enclosure and had a Cham die because of MBD and the owner of the pet store said I shouldn't use the screen enclosure because he was too small to hunt and it was keeping the uv out and it was keeping him too cold . This chameleon now is very healthy and just has the open wound issue because he was clawing at his own skin. It's very scary when it's streaming blood!! I have the screen enclosure and do intend to move him into it after talking with people on here , but I don't think it's a good idea now to change habitat while he is injured and we are trying to stop bleeding.

I did. That is why I am asking RH

 

[Muddyfeet]

ummm... perhaps take a nail file and round off the sharp tips off the rear foot he is using to scratch himself??

a tiny bit of corn starch applied to the wound can be used to stop bleeding.. or a little pressure.. I have NO idea if people use such things on chams.. but used it on wild reahabbed reptiles.. and birds..

Also you can try putting some sort of bandage on the FOOT so he cannot traumatize the area.. not sure how.. but keeping his nails off his body giving the area a chance to heal is kind of the issue.. bandage the foot? instead? got to be really careful about circulation..

The other question is the would due to some issue with the back leg where it is being moved in a odd way causing the trauma or the cham is just scratching with the rear foot at some sort of irritation??

If he walks and his leg constantly comes up and hits that area.. I would be concerned about some sort of odd fracture/injury or deformity..

 

[Cham12]

I'm sry to ruin your post with this question but could anyone plz tell me how to put a new post up? I'm new to this and I'm so confused on how to put up a new post.

 

[zsazsa85]

I have a very good powder for stop bleeding. It is originally for dogs,but I used it on myself too and it worked. Its job is to stop bleeding right a way! It is specially yellow but there are all kinds of product for this. I would use that and then put the bandage on it!
How is he now? Fingers crossed for him!

 

[Psychobunny]

One possibility is that your cham is scratching and digging into his skin due
to parasites. There are tiny worms (subcutaneous nematodes)
that can nest and breed under the layer of skin. Common in all kinds of reptiles.
Sometimes, you can see them as ridges or lumps.

 

[fluxlizard]

One possibility is that your cham is scratching and digging into his skin due to parasites.

I kind of wondered the same thing, except for a burn. But I've never seen a chameleon scratch or pick at itself for subcutaneous worm or burn.

 

[Kath44]

Another thing to try, is honey. Plain organic kind from a health shop. It's great for healing wounds, manuka honey is also supposed to be good too. It has a natural anti viral and anti bacterial in it. Small amount on a cleaned wound and dress it. May be worth a shot.
Kath.

 

[carol5208]

I'm sry to ruin your post with this question but could anyone plz tell me how to put a new post up? I'm new to this and I'm so confused on how to put up a new post.

click on the green Forums tab in the upper left corner. Then pick your category that you wish to post in such as health clinic, general discussion, etc. Then when you do that, you will see a tab for "new thread" Click on that and it will bring up the boxes for your title and such.

 

[helpme]

update

here is a pic of him with the bandage. So far so good. The bleeding stopped and he is moving all around. right now he is in a tree getting sun next to window. He does keep grabbing at it but not able to do the damage with bandage on. I think he ate a couple crickets too. I put 5 in there this morning and am only finding 3 now. I think when I take the bandage off I will clean it with diluted peroxide if that is okay to use and then Neosporin it again and replace the bandage. Ill do this for a few days and then if it looks like its healing then we will leave the bandage off and trim the nails on that foot and get him into the big screen enclosure so he has more room to move around. I don't see any ridges on him like worms or anything like I see in pictures. I hope its not parasites. I think its either bored from the 20 gal aquarium or its neurological like one of the other members posted on here. I guess we will find out when we switch back to the large screen enclosure. I hope he stops hurting himself . that was very scary !! quick question, is there a quik in the nail like for dogs ? how far can I trim ?
thanks everyone for all the help !!

 

[zsazsa85]

I'm glad he seems better! I don't know how to clip nails. But won't they be still sharp? How can you make it roundish?

 

[camimom]

You need to see a vet.

The wound can become infected, and if this is caused by MBD, which i suspect it is, you need to see a vet to get the levels under control.

No amount of home care will correct this issue.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

I second a vet visit. He looks very dehydrated and the possibility of infection is very high.