Hi- I just remodeled my chameleon enclosure & put him back in. I walked away to get some bugs to feed him & when I came back, it looked like he caught himself on something & cut all the way through his crest. It’s still intact, but it’s pretty ugly & I’m worried. What do I do?
Damage to crest
- Thread starter Ayantis44
- Start date
Hey there... Could be a thermal burn. Does not look like the start of a shed to me. How long did you walk away for? Because it would take either extremely hot temps or more than an hour to do that.
What bulb strength are you using? How close can he get to it? You typically want these raised 4 inches off the top of the cage and then 8 inches from the screen top to the basking branch below. 80-85 max basking temp.
If thermal burn you need to take him to a vet and get them to give you silver sulfadiazine cream or a perscription so you can buy it. This would need vet treatment and the cream. If thermal burn he can loose the entire casque top that burned.
What bulb strength are you using? How close can he get to it? You typically want these raised 4 inches off the top of the cage and then 8 inches from the screen top to the basking branch below. 80-85 max basking temp.
If thermal burn you need to take him to a vet and get them to give you silver sulfadiazine cream or a perscription so you can buy it. This would need vet treatment and the cream. If thermal burn he can loose the entire casque top that burned.
Hi- I don’t think it is thermal burn, I was handling him less than 10 minute before & hadn’t noticed anything. His lamp is relatively low temp and he can’t get close enough to the bulb to hurt himself. I’ve had him for a year & I haven’t changed his setup at all.
Could he have crawled up on the top since you changed the cage?
If you post a pic of the cage lights down and let me know what wattage heat bulb your using I can provide more help.
He could have, but his heat bulb was off at the time. I’m pretty sure it’s a 75 watt - I can’t take a picture right now, but there’s at least 7 inches between him and the bulb - last night I helped him with some stuck shed and there wasn’t anything there- I’m super worried because there isn’t a vet anywhere near me.
I also keep my house pretty warm for him already, so his heat lamp doesn’t get used too often.
7 inches between his casque and the bulb? Is it a focused heat bulb or a regular household incandescent?
You only want the ambient temps daytime to be low 70's no hotter. Then the basking bulb is how they warm up and then are able to move out of the heat when needed.
If you want to post pics of the set up I can provide more feedback. But from what I am seeing that looks like it could be a thermal burn. Due to the discoloration and in one picture it looks like it is not a newer burn because it looks like the casque top is separating. Typically these signs point to prolonged thermal burning.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Looks most definitely like a burn to me too. 
Lindasjackson
Chameleon Enthusiast
I tried a 75 watt bulb once and it got way too hot.. 7 inches away is still too close for a 75 watt bulb!!
