Black cut on foot??

[rose.fountain]

Hi all,

When my panther chameleon was climbing outside his cage on me today I noticed he had this cut looking mark on his toe?? It looks like he sliced it open… There is no blood and he is moving around just fine and shows no signs of pain.

I rinsed it with warm water and am thinking Neosporin without pain relief or Manuka honey to help it heal. Do you think his toe got caught or something? I’m stressing about this so bad because he’s such a healthy guy and I don’t want this to turn into something bigger…

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Beman]

Hey there it looks pretty minor to me. I am not seeing swelling in the toe which would be a major indicator of infection. I think either manuka honey or neosporin without pain relief would be good options. Keep an eye on the area for swelling or discoloration though.

 

[rose.fountain]

Hey there it looks pretty minor to me. I am not seeing swelling in the toe which would be a major indicator of infection. I think either manuka honey or neosporin without pain relief would be good options. Keep an eye on the area for swelling or discoloration though.

Hey thanks so much for the reply Beman — what kind of discoloration do you mean? I just want to know what to look out for. It’s looking kind of black right now (like in the pictures) which I wasn’t sure if I should be worried about. I just bought neosporin original (without pain relief).

 

[Beman]

Hey thanks so much for the reply Beman — what kind of discoloration do you mean? I just want to know what to look out for. It’s looking kind of black right now (like in the pictures) which I wasn’t sure if I should be worried about. I just bought neosporin original (without pain relief).

So right now you can see the injury... The black looks a lot like dried blood or bruising. Looks like it is between the scales. This while yes is an injury is not showing signs of infection. So what you would look for is any swelling of that toe or the foot. As far as discoloration if something goes necrotic you will typically see black as in all black. So the entire tip of the toe being black and looking like it is shriveling up. Best way I can describe bruising vs necrotic would be a grape vs a raisin. Bruising can reduce and go away (grape smooth normal texture and size). necrotic tissue will only continue to die off (raisin/shrivels up).

If you were to see any swelling at all this would be an immediate vet appt. Make sure you have a good reptile vet there if you do not then let us know.

 

[rose.fountain]

Okay that makes sense. Thank you. I do have a good reptile vet in the town over so if I see any bruising I will take him in.

Is this minor enough where he would be able to heal on his own? How long does it take chams to recover usually?

Do you think I should put a hold on fogging or would that not impact the injury at all? I’m just trying to be as careful as possible.

 

[Beman]

Okay that makes sense. Thank you. I do have a good reptile vet in the town over so if I see any bruising I will take him in.

Is this minor enough where he would be able to heal on his own? How long does it take chams to recover usually?

Do you think I should put a hold on fogging or would that not impact the injury at all? I’m just trying to be as careful as possible.

I do not think fogging would be an issue. It is hard to say if it will heal on its own or not. With chams you just never know because they are able to hide when they do not feel good. I will say this is a very minor injury so it is not something I would rush to the vet for. Just keep a really close eye on it and ensure if anything does come up you can get him into the vet the same day.

 

[rose.fountain]

Thank you so much for all your help, I greatly appreciate it. As I’ve only had my guy for 7 months this community of keepers has made chameleon owning and asking any questions I have so much less stressful.