Black spots on sides

[Ryanoceros]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - 8 month old, Ambilobe Panther, Male, I've had him since February.
• Handling - I handle him every second or third day depending on his mood. When it's nice out I put him in a fake tree I've mounted outside for anywhere from 30 min to a couple hours..
• Feeding - His staple is Dubia. He eats anywhere from 7-12 3/4 inch roaches a day. He has an occasional hornworm/silkworm. I feed the roaches Bug Burger and gutload them with mustard greens, carrots, etc., the usual.
• Supplements - I dust with Reptical (no D3) every day sometimes every other day. I alternate Reptivite (no D3) and reptical (with D3) on Fridays (so twice a month for each of them). Depending on his amount of outside time I sometimes skip the D3 for that two weeks.
• Watering - I mist 2 -4 times a day according to his current humidity. He drinks straight from the sprayer most of the time. He also has a dripper constantly available.
• Fecal Description - His urate is uniformly white, his droppings are uniformly brown and moist as well. No diarrhea, dry stools, bloody stools etc.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - 2x2x4 screen enclosure.
• Lighting - 60W flood bulb for heat, Reptisun 5.0 for UV. I turn on both lights when the sun comes up and turn them both off when it starts to go down. Roughly 10 - 14 hours of light a day.
• Temperature - I have a thermometer and hygrometer at both the top and bottom of the enclosure. His basking spot ranges from 85-92F. Overnight the temperature can go as low as 65. Normal ambient temperature ~72.
• Humidity - Between 40 and 80%.
• Plants - I have a pothos and a schefflera at the bottom of his enclosure which he normally sleeps in.
• Placement - The cage is in the corner of my bedroom, in a relatively low traffic position. The enclosure is placed on some mats to get it off of the floor and to prevent water from soaking the carpet.
• Location - West Virginia, US

After his shed today, Clancy developed these black spots on his sides. The spots are more pronounced when he's sleeping since he goes pale and you can see them better. It doesn't look like a burn, I'm thinking either a fungal/bacterial infection or bruising from rubbing around when he was shedding. Any ideas?
I appreciate it!

He's a bit more green in the pictures after I woke him up from taking the pics.

 

[blue_cham]

I'm not super familiar with burns, but the placement is a typical spot. How far is your basking branch from heat bulb?

 

[Ryanoceros]

About a foot, it's been like this for about 4 months now with no problems. It eludes me how he'd get burned on his sides and not his spine/elbows/head etc. He didn't sit still and bask today either. He was running around all over the place trying to shed haha.

 

[blue_cham]

Sometimes chams will angle their bodies so that their sides get the brunt on the heat. Hummm, I'm stumped as well

 

[Ryanoceros]

Yea he does tend to bob side to side throughout the day.
He started his shed last night but it was late so he just chilled with it until this morning. I'm hoping the humidity didn't facilitate bacteria or fungus growth. His sheds start cracking at his spine and kinda work downwards, moisture would've been able to sit for 12 hours or so under his shedding skin if that were the case. Though I don't know if something like that would develop so quickly.

 

[blue_cham]

As long as the cage is allowed to dry up some between misting and is not completely wet all the time. You should be good. Some moisture before bed time would not cause a fungal I would not think. Did any of the cage or supplies come second hand or were used by another reptile?

 

[Ryanoceros]

I try not to water a few hours before bed for that reason actually. I had a humidifier running to help with his shed but nothing crazy. I wipe everything down in his enclosure with very diluted bleach water every few weeks as well. Everything in his enclosure was bought new and setup before I went and got him.

 

[Ryanoceros]

I was keeping my eye on him all day to make sure he shed alright. I went out to do some yard work, came back in, and noticed those spots. It happened fairly quick.

 

[makkatfloof]

The only thing I can think of is this kinda looks like a bruise.
When my boy had to get shots, it bruised around the area and looked a lot like this.
Has he maybe fallen at all to your knowledge??
Either way, I’m not so sure.
I do know a girl who’s panthers back started turning black and having problems with his back feet. It ended up being some major intestinal infection.
Not at all trying to scare you, just throwing out there what I do know.
If it gets worse, obviously make a vet trip.

 

[Ryanoceros]

Oh no you're not scaring me, it's got to be discussed! He hasn't fallen as far as I know, but like I mentioned he was rubbing through branches pretty hard.
I'll keep an eye on little man regardless, it's no biggie if a vet trip is needed. I appreciate your input guys!

 

[Tiosk]

Was he rubbing vertically or horizontally?

 

[Ryanoceros]

Kind of both. He mainly climbed down so he could climb back up through the branches.

 

[Tiosk]

Is he done sheddding?

 

[Tiosk]

Mabye something went wrong during his shedding and messed up his skin.

 

[Ryanoceros]

Yea he finished up last night. His head and paws are always a little stubborn. That was my first thought as well.