Grayson Payne
Avid Member
Hey everyone! This is going to be a rather long read so be prepared!
On June 16th, I had come home from hanging out with my girlfriend only to find Gatsby on the top of his screen cage, hanging upside down. This had been an issue before where he would constantly try to climb on top, and I'd either have to stop him or get him down. I knew this couldn't keep on as I had to work often and this was also causing a lot of stress on him. Before he got his burn, I had cut some corrugated plastic to the measurements of his cage about 4 inches long. I then put this up on each side of the cage, which blocked off the top 4 inches of his screen, which wouldn't allow him to climb up on the top (I got this idea from another forum member). This was great! It worked for about two weeks until June 16th.
I own a herpstat 1 and I use a 100 watt bulb in it. Because he is younger, I had it set to 60% power usage so that it wouldn't fry him after it misted and the heat amped up. My logic was, the 60% was roughly 60 watts, so technically I was using a 60 watt bulb. On June 15th (I believe), the night before his burn occurred, I had been messing with the settings on my herpstat. I believe that when I was doing this, it had reset the power usage back to 100%.
Back to the day of June 16th. This was the day I found out that Gatsby had grown enough to reach above the 4 inches of plastic and was able to reach the top with his front two legs, and pull himself up. When I got home that day, I immediately got Gatsby down from the top, where he was sitting under his basking bulb (which is raised about 3-5 inches off the top). It was then that I had noticed Gatsby had a burn around his chest. I was completely devastated. As stupid as this may sound, it felt like I had failed completely. After months and months, even years, of doing research, I thought that Gatsby was going to be completely healthy. I especially never even thought that he would get burnt.
My first reaction was to find a vet, then post here. That night, I had to work and was completely out of it. Not only was it one of my first times leading in my store (i'm currently training to be a lead), I couldn't focus and couldn't stop thinking about Gatsby.
It took me the day of, and the next, to find a vet that was experienced in chameleons and had an opening soon. The burn happened on a Tuesday, and I was able to get him an appointment for Thursday. I wanted to post here to ask if there was anything I could do in the mean time, but I was afraid to. Feeling like I failed and scared to be critiqued, let my feelings take over what was best for him. The vet said that he was completely healthy apart from the burn and that his fecal came back negative. Since the vet trip, I have been putting the silver sulfadiazine cream on as directed. I also added another layer of corrugated plastic to stop him from climbing any higher.
A few days after Gatsby's burn occurred, he shed, which left behind skin that was stuck on his burn. I began to freak out again, but continued to apply the cream as directed. The skin eventually came off, revealing his black spot once again. He has shed again and, while the burn is still there, seems to be completely healthy! He weighted 26g when he had his trip to the vet. As of yesterday, he weighs 48g! He is still only 6-7 months old but is showing some amazing colors. Although I stopped posting on the forums for a while, I was still around and reading what all was happening.
Although I wanted to post this earlier, I never had the nerve to do it. And I don't really know why because this community is my friends and family, and no one should be afraid to ask for help with mistakes they have made.
Back to Gatsby, he still screen climbs occasionally but does't really try to go on the top anymore. I am hoping that soon I will be able to take the plastic down without he fear of him hanging from his basking bulb. Also, he has actually began to climb on my hand without any bribe or anything else. He loves to free roam his money tree and some random wall piece but still despises any phone that comes near him. He has the best personality and he's everything I've ever wanted from a chameleon.
I never could've done it if it wasn't for my amazing girlfriend who has supported me in everything I do. And I never would've been where I'm at today without you guys! I'm happy to say that I'm officially back and will be active on the forums again. Thanks for everything that everyone has ever done for me on these forums.
Also, I will post pictures below as I'm sure some people will be interested to see.
On June 16th, I had come home from hanging out with my girlfriend only to find Gatsby on the top of his screen cage, hanging upside down. This had been an issue before where he would constantly try to climb on top, and I'd either have to stop him or get him down. I knew this couldn't keep on as I had to work often and this was also causing a lot of stress on him. Before he got his burn, I had cut some corrugated plastic to the measurements of his cage about 4 inches long. I then put this up on each side of the cage, which blocked off the top 4 inches of his screen, which wouldn't allow him to climb up on the top (I got this idea from another forum member). This was great! It worked for about two weeks until June 16th.
I own a herpstat 1 and I use a 100 watt bulb in it. Because he is younger, I had it set to 60% power usage so that it wouldn't fry him after it misted and the heat amped up. My logic was, the 60% was roughly 60 watts, so technically I was using a 60 watt bulb. On June 15th (I believe), the night before his burn occurred, I had been messing with the settings on my herpstat. I believe that when I was doing this, it had reset the power usage back to 100%.
Back to the day of June 16th. This was the day I found out that Gatsby had grown enough to reach above the 4 inches of plastic and was able to reach the top with his front two legs, and pull himself up. When I got home that day, I immediately got Gatsby down from the top, where he was sitting under his basking bulb (which is raised about 3-5 inches off the top). It was then that I had noticed Gatsby had a burn around his chest. I was completely devastated. As stupid as this may sound, it felt like I had failed completely. After months and months, even years, of doing research, I thought that Gatsby was going to be completely healthy. I especially never even thought that he would get burnt.
My first reaction was to find a vet, then post here. That night, I had to work and was completely out of it. Not only was it one of my first times leading in my store (i'm currently training to be a lead), I couldn't focus and couldn't stop thinking about Gatsby.
It took me the day of, and the next, to find a vet that was experienced in chameleons and had an opening soon. The burn happened on a Tuesday, and I was able to get him an appointment for Thursday. I wanted to post here to ask if there was anything I could do in the mean time, but I was afraid to. Feeling like I failed and scared to be critiqued, let my feelings take over what was best for him. The vet said that he was completely healthy apart from the burn and that his fecal came back negative. Since the vet trip, I have been putting the silver sulfadiazine cream on as directed. I also added another layer of corrugated plastic to stop him from climbing any higher.
A few days after Gatsby's burn occurred, he shed, which left behind skin that was stuck on his burn. I began to freak out again, but continued to apply the cream as directed. The skin eventually came off, revealing his black spot once again. He has shed again and, while the burn is still there, seems to be completely healthy! He weighted 26g when he had his trip to the vet. As of yesterday, he weighs 48g! He is still only 6-7 months old but is showing some amazing colors. Although I stopped posting on the forums for a while, I was still around and reading what all was happening.
Although I wanted to post this earlier, I never had the nerve to do it. And I don't really know why because this community is my friends and family, and no one should be afraid to ask for help with mistakes they have made.
Back to Gatsby, he still screen climbs occasionally but does't really try to go on the top anymore. I am hoping that soon I will be able to take the plastic down without he fear of him hanging from his basking bulb. Also, he has actually began to climb on my hand without any bribe or anything else. He loves to free roam his money tree and some random wall piece but still despises any phone that comes near him. He has the best personality and he's everything I've ever wanted from a chameleon.
I never could've done it if it wasn't for my amazing girlfriend who has supported me in everything I do. And I never would've been where I'm at today without you guys! I'm happy to say that I'm officially back and will be active on the forums again. Thanks for everything that everyone has ever done for me on these forums.
Also, I will post pictures below as I'm sure some people will be interested to see.
