Help black spot on the head?

[netweaver]

Hi you guys!

I have a question from sweden, my first in this forum (sorry for my bad english hope you understand).

I have a veiled chameleon approx 8 months now, and the problem is when she sheds her skin there has for the last months been som "left" behind on the helm (not sure if it's called that on top of the head). This has resulted in som black skin on top of the head, this is not spreading and she is in good condition otherwise. But every time she sheds it's always the last part of her to shed of the old skin. Should i assist with taking of the old skin och just leave it as is? Or could it be a disease?



I attached a picture.

As i know the setup is not much at all as yours living in a totally different climate than me, i have a semi-netted enclosure 120cm high 70cm with and 60cm deep.
It's filled with different types of plants and lots of branches for her to climb but her favorite spot is at the very top next to the lamps.

I have a Uv-lamp inside the enclosure and a 100w on top for heat.
The humidity is keept by a rain-system with reverse osmosis water, the heart of this system is a Seisun pump.

Im asking this question in your forum as we don't have much forums like this in sweden, nor any speciallist vet nearby. Once again sorry for my bad english/us.

 

[Justin Carl]

ok, first things first.
get rid of that compact reptiglo. they are dangerous to several species of reptiles. one includes chameleons. you need to replace it with a Flourecent tube light.
about the skin give it a luke warm shower for about 15 mins.
dont rip it off it is very painful

 

[bg77]

UUHHHHH the UVB bulb is inside the cage??? Why is that??

 

[christyo2o2]

Its hard to tell from the picture but it seams to look fine to me. Just looks like its sheading. Many people on here will tell you that you need to change your UVB bulb though. There have been studies shown that the compact bulbs can harm your cham.

 

[netweaver]

What's the problem with the compact bulb? I'm looking for some kind of external light solution that can sit neatly on top of the enclosure with proper uv and a heat spot.

 

[netweaver]

Here is another pic that shows it better, could she had suffered burns from the uv perhaps? The problem is that the top spot of the head/helmet or what it's called in english remains black.
I will change the bulb tomorrow if there is any hint to that it could be harmful, don't wan't that.

 

[christyo2o2]

i think the compact bulb can cause a bone problem. the others on know more about it.. i think there is actually a whole thread on here about how harmful they are. From this new pic i can def see the black spot but im not sure what caused it. it could very well be from a burn. a 100 watt bulb is prob. to hot for your cham

 

[Justin Carl]

yea, get rid of that bulb. i dont think that caused it unless its head had bumbed the light because it is mounted inside,
The compact bulbs usually cause eye problems.
Give her a shower. put a fake plant inside of your shower make the water slightly warm. direct the water spray to the wall so it bounces onto the plant.
if that dosent work I'm sure someone else will post an idea.

 

[netweaver]

Thanks alot for your replies, i will remove the uv first thing tomorrow.

The 100w is probably going to be changed to a 75W i had a 60W but that wasn't enough for the new enclosure.

I'll also try to shower her tomorrow, she is sleeping now

 

[Justin Carl]

good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Sepioteuthis]

Looks like a burn to me. I would start with increasing the distance from the lamps (both heat and UV) to the branches/plants so it can't get worse and start putting some antibiotic cream on the burn every day. Burns heal slowly, but as long as it doesn't get infected it should dissapear with 2 or 3 sheds.

 

[netweaver]

I'll increase the distance to both the uv and heatlamp now, i just moved her to this new enclosure i suspect if it's a burn she would have cought it in the old enclosure.
I'll try to print some hi-res photo's of the problem and call some vets tomorrow to see if anyone nearby has the appropriate skills to help me with this and if needed get some antibiotic cream as well.

 

[joefarah]

Looks like a burn to me. I would start with increasing the distance from the lamps (both heat and UV) to the branches/plants so it can't get worse and start putting some antibiotic cream on the burn every day. Burns heal slowly, but as long as it doesn't get infected it should dissapear with 2 or 3 sheds.

ditto that

 

[Kosmo]

I wasn’t going to comment originally, however after reading some of these comments I feel obligated to say something. It has been made clear that yes it is indeed a burn to the casque. Shower the Chameleon GENTLY, it will begin to heal over time however, keep an eye out for infection. The Burn is probably a result of that blub being located inside the cage so I would suggest moving it to an elevated position outside the enclosure.

That being said, I have one thing to say… RESEARCH PEOPLE, research! I am reading comments made on this page in regards to the compact fluorescents and I don’t think anyone has gotten it right yet. Firstly it was mentioned that these blubs create bone related issues, this is not the case. In actual fact a LACK of UVA/UVB lighting will cause bone disease in your Chameleon. The study in question was done in relation to issues occurring in none chameleon species (not to imply chameleons are not prone to the disease). It was noticed that there had been a small increase in the number of cases of “photopkerato-conjuncivitus”. Symptom generally include closed eyes, lethargy, blindness, lack of basking and in some cases skin legions. Treatment options very however the main suggestion is to turn off the uvb lamps and monitor the reptile. That being said, the photo supplied to this post clearly shows an Exotera light, currently there is no evidence to support that exotera lights effect reptiles in the for mentioned manner. On that note however, the blub is a 10.0 and i would suggest only a 5.0. Currently the lights in question are ZooMed Reptisun 10.0 Compacts and to a lesser extent the 5.0 lamps, the study also mentions the R-Zilla desert series.

Information on the matter can be found here
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm#intro

In conclusion I have to say the burn was caused by the proximity to the lamp and nothing more. I must say I am disappointed by some of these replies. Regardless, take care of your little guy and keep us up-to-date.

Good luck, and get that light out of the cage!

cheers

 

[netweaver]

Ok, this is what i've been told at my local store as well, they recommended this type of uv, the only reason that it's still in the cage is that i got the new cage up and running only a few days ago.
I will wait to see if any more will answer to this thread but one thing is sure the bulb will be outside first thing tomorrow.

She is lika a family member to us and wouldn't wan't her to suffer in any way.

 

[christyo2o2]

sooo sorry some of us are not perfect.. i was the one that said bone problems but also in front of it i said " i think" i dont use a compact bulb so i dnt have to worry about it!

 

[christyo2o2]

p.s i hope your cham gets better.

 

[Kosmo]

Perfection has nothing to do with it, we're here for the health of this and other chameleon's... don't take it personally.

 

[netweaver]

The main concern is her health, we can discuss the bulb later as well as the enclosures that we use here in scandinavia.

I will keep you posted on her health, she doesn't seem to be in any pain or something like that. She is eating well and drinking well so i didn't expect a disease i think my self that she could have been burned in the old enclosure due to that the light was directly on top of the cage and sometimes she would get in touch with the netting directly under the lamp, my bad i can only now prevent it from happening again and make sure she is treated the best way.

 

[lillamy]

Nice with more Swedes on this forum!

One thing that is said in the report is that some companies pre-burn the bulbs before selling them. Exo-Terra isn't mentioned and to be on the safe side I let my new UVB-bulbs pre-burn for a couple of days before I let my reptiles bask under them.