Back spikes aren't getting better. Please help!

[JaclynCali]

I had posted a thread a few wks ago concerning my veiled's back spikes looking like they might be burnt.. I also thought he might have hurt them during a fall. I have keeping an eye on it and have been waiting for him to shed.. Well he finally started shedding them and they don't look any better. Does anyone have any advice on this issue? Should I take him to the vet?

 

[SaintJimmy]

I had posted a thread a few wks ago concerning my veiled's back spikes looking like they might be burnt.. I also thought he might have hurt them during a fall. I have keeping an eye on it and have been waiting for him to shed.. Well he finally started shedding them and they don't look any better. Does anyone have any advice on this issue? Should I take him to the vet?

I don't know what protocol we have for burns, but that is definitely a burn.

I would just take him to a vet unless someone else chimes in

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

They're not going to return to normal. The burn (not a fall injury) has permanently damaged that area of skin and it will always look different than the rest. Shedding only removes the top layer of skin, but even the base layer where the skin cells grow from has been damaged so the skin does not have the ability to repair itself. It will probably improve over time (months to years) but that part will never be normal again. Put some neosporin over the damaged spikes to help protect from infection and help loosen the damaged skin during shedding. But if there is ever oozing around the spikes or they fall off and leave exposed skin then the risk of infection goes up a lot so vet attention is needed.

 

[JaclynCali]

I don't know what protocol we have for burns, but that is definitely a burn.

I would just take him to a vet unless someone else chimes in

https://www.chameleonforums.com/burned-spikes-102897/
Here is the previous post I made when I was first concerned. Do you think it looks like a burn in those pics?

 

[JaclynCali]

They're not going to return to normal. The burn has permanently damaged that area of skin and it will always look different than the rest. Shedding only removes the top layer of skin, but even the base layer where the skin cells grow from has been damaged so the skin does not have the ability to repair itself. It will probably improve over time (months to years) but that part will never be normal

His light is elevated off the screen so there's no way he can get close to it. I'm just trying to figure out how this happened I feel horrible.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

He doesn't have to touch the light or screen to be burned by it. The heat radiates down and they can be burned from several inches away. Very unlikely that this a trauma injury based on its location and appearance. Don't beat yourself up too bad, it happens to lots of people unfortunately (myself included).

 

[JaclynCali]

He doesn't have to touch the light or screen to be burned by it. The heat radiates down and they can be burned from several inches away. Very unlikely that this a trauma injury based on its location and appearance. Don't beat yourself up too bad, it happens to lots of people unfortunately (myself included).

Would you recommend that I use a lower wattage? I'm using a 75w halogen bulb by Exo Terra. His basking spot stays around 90. He is almost a year old. Thank you for advice!

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Here's mine to try to show you the progression:
This is before, when his spikes all matched his striped with red and blue.

This was shortly after the burn - you can see the darker spikes and area of darkness below them. It was fairly minor, like yours.

And this is more than a year later:
You can still see the area, but sometimes it's not very obvious. When the rest of his spikes match his stripes the damaged ones stay a purple/grey color.

(He has a wide color palate that he changes to...)

I use 75w bulbs in the winter when my house stays around 62 degrees. But in the summer when my house stays closer to 76-78 I have to downgrade to 40w bulbs, and in between I often use 60w. You have to have an accurate way to measure the hottest point under the light that he can get to, and take into account changes in your ambient temperature. When the ambient temperature is colder it's harder for the bulbs to get hotter temps, but when it warms up then the basking temp is going to rise because ambient has risen. In my case, we had some unseasonably warm days that brought the ambient temp of the house up enough to raise the basking temp too high. Had I known it was getting that warm in the house I would have changed to a lower wattage bulb.

 

[babyjoe]

Good advice ferret.I keep a range of bulbs too as I noticed over the winter the basking temp dropped according to temps around the house.now there starting to rise again and ill have to step down a bulb soon

 

[JaclynCali]

Thank you so much for all the helpful information! This was a good learning experience for me and I will make sure this never happens again. I'm switching his bulb tomorrow back to a 60w. My house stays around 74 all year around so I'm hoping the 60w will workout. Thank you again Your panther is beautiful btw!