Discolouration

[wondercollie]

Hi,

My Panther Chameleon is 1 year old now and two weeks ago an area on the top of his spine became yellow/white in colour. I thought he was about to shed but this hasn't happened and the discolouration still remains. He is his usual active self and everything else about him seems normal. Does this look like a burn? Will it resolve itself?

 

[Carlton]

Does this look like a burn? Will it resolve itself?

View attachment 92442

View attachment 92441

Yes, looks like a burn to me. Classic location for one too. Whether it will resolve on its own or not is very hard to say, as we don't know how deep or severe the tissue damage is (just the skin layers or deeper into the muscle beneath). Either way, you can prevent infection, ease healing, and protect the newly forming tissue as it heals by getting some Silvadene burn ointment from a vet. At some point the dead tissue will start to pull off and needs to be handled correctly to minimize scarring. It will take time as chams heal slowly, but it will heal. Hard to say how much scarring there will be too. Many sheds later it might not be noticeable.

 

[wondercollie]

Thanks for the info, I will pick up some ointment to help with the helping process.
Oh dear, I feel guilty now as I've recently upgraded my Cham into a larger vivarium and I also upgraded my basking bulb in order to maintain the same temperature. I'm guessing that I have this positioned his lamp too close to his basking area. Can you recommend what sort of distance I should have between the bulb and his basking point for 160watts?

 

[Carlton]

Thanks for the info, I will pick up some ointment to help with the helping process.
Oh dear, I feel guilty now as I've recently upgraded my Cham into a larger vivarium and I also upgraded my basking bulb in order to maintain the same temperature. I'm guessing that I have this positioned his lamp too close to his basking area. Can you recommend what sort of distance I should have between the bulb and his basking point for 160watts?

It's really hard to recommend a specific distance because everyone's cage situation is different (affected by the room etc). Measure the temp right where the cham sits to bask. If that temp is too high, move the lamp farther away. Measure the temp again and adjust. It is safer to err on the cool side. He'll just bask a little longer to warm up in the mornings.

If the rest of the cage is a lot cooler than the basking area for most of the day, your cham may be sitting in the heat more than you realize. This can result in a burn not just because of the temp itself, but the length of time he's exposed to it. Maybe the temp gradient in the cage is too abrupt and a smaller simple bulb at another area would help.

 

[wondercollie]

Thanks your advice is much appreciated.

 

[carol5208]

Sorry to see your chameleon was burned. Have you thought about maybe trying a lesser wattage bulb? 160 watt is pretty strong. If you cannot get the Silvadene for some reason, you can use polysporin or Neosporin if it is available.