Chameleon's spikes getting ruined?

[Dori]

My chameleon used to slightly get darker spikes on her back but it was never bad and seemed to go away.

Now her spikes seem to be disintegrating and the skin near her spikes is changing colour also. (see pic)

I'm not sure if this is a health issue or if the heat lamp may be doing this, although she has had the same heat lamp for a really long time and this is only now occurring.

Any ideas or suggestions? Thank you..

 

[Jamelon]

it looks like it could be from a burn. but there isnt any casque damage which is weird. I still think its from a burn though

 

[chameleon884]

looks like a burn. often there will be damage to the spine or to the top of the casque.

 

[Cainschams]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Fill out the from and then repost it. It also looks like a burn to me.

 

[carol5208]

how close is the branch for basking under the light? Is it close enough where her back can touch the screen to get burnt?

 

[jr andrade]

Is that a water droplet on her lip or something else? she is very very pretty but yes the damages look like burns

 

[SpinyFranky]

Definitely looks like a burn, though I would have an informed vet do a checkup to rule out other things such as fungus.

If it is a burn its most likely because the basking spot is physically to close to the basking bulb. Ideally you want the branch the animal will sit on 6 inches away from the bulb, or more depending on wattages. Though for 50-75 watt heat bulbs, 6 inches is the standard.

Also if it is a burn, expect the spikes along the burn are to completely fall out. Usually they will crust over with skin, but eventually the skin dies and the spikes will fall off.

Silvadene cream (sp?) to treat the burned skin, and neosporin to prevent infection would be a good course of treatment, again if it is confirmed as a burn.

Though at this point, neosporin by itself wouldn't hurt just to prevent infection from setting in on the raw skin.

S.F

 

[dmrich]

Hi yes looks like a burn, but get it checked out.

When our chameleon got a burn we used warm salt water to clean the area and soften the hard dead skin.

Hope this helps and best of luck.

 

[shellyanne]

my nigel had something like that on his back wen i got him as a baby it was a burn n it just kinda healed and then fell off only thing is that he no longer has any spikes in the area where it was other then that hes very happy and healthy. i also just used warm salt water to soften it n it seemed to help alot. hope she gets better soon!!!

 

[Marianna]

Are the spikes going to heal up and come back?

 

[ChameleonNerd]

i agree that is most definitely not normal, but aren't burns usually darker?

 

[Elizadolots]

Do you have a mesh cage (as opposed to a screen cage)? I'm asking because I have mesh cages and one thing I have to do is make sure that the chameleons cannot push the mesh up to the bulb. They like to prowl around the top and they sometimes do push the mesh up quite a bit....so, the lights need to be higher.

 

[Bowser]

hey

hi, my chameleon has something similar going on although his spikes are starting to detach from his body.. anyone know what that could be?

 

[Sinfulintent]

Are the spikes going to heal up and come back?

I'm pretty sure they don't grow back once they've lost them, someone will confirm that eventually

Make sure you fill out the hot to ask for help form it really helps all of us out and you may get more pointers than just what you come in for!

 

[Carlton]

I'm pretty sure they don't grow back once they've lost them, someone will confirm that eventually

Make sure you fill out the hot to ask for help form it really helps all of us out and you may get more pointers than just what you come in for!

No they won't grow back. They will drop off and some of the skin at the base of the spine may drop away as well. Depends on how deep into the tissue the burn extends. Silvadene is great for burns (it was first developed to treat human burns), but if for some reason you can't get it from a vet you can try Polysporin.

Thermal burns happen to captive chams because we provide heat in a focused more intense beam from a bulb compared to being outdoors in the sun. It isn't just the temp, but the amount of time the cham sits in the same spot absorbing heat that can add up to a burn. Chams don't have very many heat sensors in the skin so by the time they feel too hot the burn has already started.

If you move the basking bulb higher off the top of the cage or use a lower watt bulb your cham may bask a little longer because the temp in that spot is lower. It is safer and won't matter all that much to the cham over time.