Help, BURNS!

[brighteyez]

How do you know if your chameleon has been burned? What are the signs? What do burns look like?

My husband wired a light into our baby jackson's cage the other day because he said it wasn't hot enough to burn him, (it doesn't feel hot to the touch to us). I took it out this morning and placed it on top of the cage after reading that they could burn themselves. Just now I got home and he was hanging upside down on the wire screen top just underneth the light, ad looked like he was trying to get to it. I took the light away from him right away but i don't know how long he was there or if he actually touched it. He turned black when I took it away.

Do I need to worry? I just want to make sure he's ok!

Whitley

 

[jannb]

Post a picture of your chameleon and your set up.

 

[brighteyez]

I can't. I don't have a camra.

If you could just give me some symptoms of a burn. Does the area peel? change color? swell? etc

 

[SSimsswiSS]

I can't. I don't have a camra.

If you could just give me some symptoms of a burn. Does the area peel? change color? swell? etc

Can appear both as black , or white markings. Is the black your seeing... in a certain patch or area of skin? That would lead you to believe it's a burn? Chameleons will turn dark when cold, to try to absorb more heat/light. If in a wire screen cage, the bulb can heat up the metal wire too.

 

[SSimsswiSS]

My husband wired a light into our baby jackson's cage the other day because he said it wasn't hot enough to burn him, (it doesn't feel hot to the touch to us).

What temp. is the bulb putting off, or how many watts? If it does'nt feel hot to touch, maybe it's not putting off enough heat for Jackson, and he's trying to get as close as he/she can to the light/heat source.

 

[dondeb562]

Pix would help, but if his whole body turned dark he may be trying to absorb heat. Depending on the size cage you have will determine the wattage. Jacksons do not tolerate high heat. I usually used 40-60 watt bulbs on adults and 25-40 watt on babies depending on cage size.

 

[brighteyez]

Thank you so much for your replies!!!!!

I've been watching him and there doesn't appear to be any white or black areas. He had turned totally black, so I guess he must have just been trying to warm up. He has a 15w bulb, which I guess wasn't enough. I think I may have it figured it out though, I didn't have a basking bulb in there, which I've fixed.

Thanks so much, now I'll know what to look for in the future! Really appreciate it!