Burnt spine off back?

[closchameleon]

Enchilada went to the vet last month to get a check up and i asked them about this white spot on his spine

it started out like that and my vet ruled it out as stuck shed and recommended i get a little piece of cotton soaked with water and apply it.

This morning i noticed this

should i take him to the vet again in case?
i called them this morning and they said to mix iodine with water and apply it and then apply plain neosporin on top.

Also since i initially noticed the white spot, his lamp has been propped up with two rocks so it isnt touching the screen. Hes also eating and drinking as normal, his basking temp was raised slightly after his checkup as that was the recommendation of my vet.

 

[kinyonga]

There's a cream, flamazine that is recommended for burns...but you'll need a prescription for it.

 

[DocZ]

It does look like a burn. I think you can follow your vets recommendations if it does not appear to be worsening
Silver sulfadiazine cream is what is traditionally used to prevent infections in second and third degree burns. If it worsens at all, you should return to the vet

Your immediate goal is preventing another burn. You need to raise the lamp or change the bulb wattage to prevent more burns. If you can’t comfortably hold your hand under the bulb for an extended period, your shouldn’t let your Cham sit under it

I believe that all heat sources should be on an automatic dimming thermostat. There will be large variations at your basking spot through the day and seasons and a thermostat will regulate your bulb output through all of them

 

[Gingero]

Definitely looks like a thermal burn. What is your new basking temperature after you made some changes?

 

[Gingero]

Luckily the burn is pretty minor.

 

[kinyonga]

You can test your basking bulb to see if it will burn your chameleon by holding your hand inside the cage at the closest spot possible to the basking light. If you want to move your hand then it's going to burn your chameleon and needs to be raised off the top of the cage or a smaller wattage bulb be used.

 

[closchameleon]

There's a cream, flamazine that is recommended for burns...but you'll need a prescription for it.

Ill call my vet and ask if shes able to write me a prescription

 

[closchameleon]

Definitely looks like a thermal burn. What is your new basking temperature after you made some changes?

It was around 80 degrees before, and she asked me to raise it to 85. its been consistently that, measured with a digital thermometer. His ambient temp is around 78 degrees

 

[closchameleon]

It does look like a burn. I think you can follow your vets recommendations if it does not appear to be worsening
Silver sulfadiazine cream is what is traditionally used to prevent infections in second and third degree burns. If it worsens at all, you should return to the vet

Your immediate goal is preventing another burn. You need to raise the lamp or change the bulb wattage to prevent more burns. If you can’t comfortably hold your hand under the bulb for an extended period, your shouldn’t let your Cham sit under it

I believe that all heat sources should be on an automatic dimming thermostat. There will be large variations at your basking spot through the day and seasons and a thermostat will regulate your bulb output through all of them

Would i need a prescription for the cream or is it something i can pick up? His lamp is raised by two wooden slats now after i noticed the initial white spot

 

[DocZ]

Would i need a prescription for the cream or is it something i can pick up? His lamp is raised by two wooden slats now after i noticed the initial white spot

It may be something you can find over the counter, but you should be cautious using any medication on your animals without the direction of a qualified vet. You can cause more harm than good if they’re used inappropriately

 

[closchameleon]

In case anyone wanted an update, I managed to get some silver sulfadiazine cream, still waiting on beta-dine/iodine to be delivered so i can clean it properly but for now i'm cleaning it with warm sterilised water and q tips and applying the cream 3x a day. enchilada is doing better thank you

 

[DocZ]

In case anyone wanted an update, I managed to get some silver sulfadiazine cream, still waiting on beta-dine/iodine to be delivered so i can clean it properly but for now i'm cleaning it with warm sterilised water and q tips and applying the cream 3x a day. enchilada is doing better thank youView attachment 318605View attachment 318606

I love his grumpy look

 

[Mendez]

It was around 80 degrees before, and she asked me to raise it to 85. its been consistently that, measured with a digital thermometer. His ambient temp is around 78 degrees

80F should be fine for the basking spot. Especially if you are taking those measurements at the branch and not accounting for the amount of heat delivered at the chameleon's back that is a couple of inches off the branch. His ambient temperature, i.e. the temperature at the bottom or middle part of his cage should ideally be no greater than 75F. Anywhere between 69F and 75F should work for the ambient temp.

Also, apologies for not thinking it was a burn before. The first pic with the shed skin over the single spine spike really looked like stuck shed. I guess I didn't notice the other slight whitening around the spinal ridge. He still looks great, and he is in good hands with you.

What are you using to measure the basking temperature? Temperature probe or temperature gun?

 

[closchameleon]

80F should be fine for the basking spot. Especially if you are taking those measurements at the branch and not accounting for the amount of heat delivered at the chameleon's back that is a couple of inches off the branch. His ambient temperature, i.e. the temperature at the bottom or middle part of his cage should ideally be no greater than 75F. Anywhere between 69F and 75F should work for the ambient temp.

Also, apologies for not thinking it was a burn before. The first pic with the shed skin over the single spine spike really looked like stuck shed. I guess I didn't notice the other slight whitening around the spinal ridge. He still looks great, and he is in good hands with you.

What are you using to measure the basking temperature? Temperature probe or temperature gun?

Its all good thank you, even my vet said it was stuck shed because it was so small and only that one spine. I have a digital thermometer/hygrometer at the top near the basking branch and i use a temp gun occasionally to check the ambient temp. Sometimes the 100w heating bulb i have gets too hot, can i switch it out to a 75w and see if it makes a difference?

 

[Lindasjackson]

Hi there, I’m sorry for your poor guy! I have a Jackson’s as well and I only use a 60 watt basking light. I live in Maine where it’s cold and my house temp runs around 69 degrees F during the day. I think your light is just too hot for him and the 85 degree temp the vet told you to keep him at is just too high. Jackson’s are a montane species as you know and they don’t require high temps that other chams do. My guys basking temp during the day is around 75-79 degrees. His basking branch is about 8-9 inches below his basking light and he’s a happy guy. Temp guns are not good too measure the temp really. I use a wired temp probe attached to the basking branch where he typically sits and that’s how I measure the temp and it’s much more accurate. I would recommend you do that to. Also don’t forget he needs a big temp drop at night and high humidity. Temps should be under 65 at night and preferably in the 50s. His humidity during the day should be in the 40-50% during the day and 80-100% at night.

 

[Highway61]

Its all good thank you, even my vet said it was stuck shed because it was so small and only that one spine. I have a digital thermometer/hygrometer at the top near the basking branch and i use a temp gun occasionally to check the ambient temp. Sometimes the 100w heating bulb i have gets too hot, can i switch it out to a 75w and see if it makes a difference?

I use this with a 100w bulb and it gives me all the control and flexibilty I need (rated for 125w)

 

[closchameleon]

Hi there, I’m sorry for your poor guy! I have a Jackson’s as well and I only use a 60 watt basking light. I live in Maine where it’s cold and my house temp runs around 69 degrees F during the day. I think your light is just too hot for him and the 85 degree temp the vet told you to keep him at is just too high. Jackson’s are a montane species as you know and they don’t require high temps that other chams do. My guys basking temp during the day is around 75-79 degrees. His basking branch is about 8-9 inches below his basking light and he’s a happy guy. Temp guns are not good too measure the temp really. I use a wired temp probe attached to the basking branch where he typically sits and that’s how I measure the temp and it’s much more accurate. I would recommend you do that to. Also don’t forget he needs a big temp drop at night and high humidity. Temps should be under 65 at night and preferably in the 50s. His humidity during the day should be in the 40-50% during the day and 80-100% at night.

Thank you! ive always been confused about the correct temp for jacksons. I live in california so it gets extremely hot in my area, my room itself gets up to 80 degrees. I switched his bulb to a 75w house bulb and the basking temp seemed to go down. i just got him a mistking so ill try running it at night for a few minutes to increase his humidity at that time.

 

[Lindasjackson]

Even a 75 watt light bulb seems a lot to me. I use a 60 watt halogen from Walmart, it’s just a household bulb but not an LED. It’s pleanty warm enough for my Jackson’s and as I said before, I live in the north where its cold!

 

[Lindasjackson]

If your room is at 80 degrees already you don’t even need a basking light because it’s already hot enough. You-really do not want it over 80. You will over heat him that way. You also want a gradient from the top of his cage down, so if the top sm80 then you want the middle to be maybe 75 and then the bottom to be 70. he needs a temp drop to at least 65 at night but preferably lower and high humidity, 80-100% at night. This is important for them to be able to sleep and rehydrate. I know Bill Strand is in Cali and raises these guys there so I highly recommend you visit chameleonacademy.com and read his info specifically on Jackson’s chams.

 

[Highway61]

If your room is at 80 degrees already you don’t even need a basking light because it’s already hot enough....

You don't? Where would the cham go for concentrated heat to help with digestion? https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/lighting/

The basking bulb
A basking bulb is any light bulb that generates heat to create a warm spot at the top of the cage. Reptiles are ectotherms (cold-blooded), meaning they need to absorb heat from their environment to regulate their own body heat since they cannot produce it. Therefore a temperature gradient in their cage is essential to good health. They need a warm place to bask in order to digest food properly but they also need cooler places to cool down so they do not overheat since they can’t sweat or pant. A basking bulb provides warmer temperatures at the top of the cage but should not be so hot that it heats the entire cage. Your chameleon will utilize different temperature zones throughout the day depending on its metabolism and needs.