Help !! Thermal burn.

Pascal1

New Member
Hi all I've noticed this morning my Cham has what I think is a thermal burn to his casque the top appears charred but not open and dry there is a small area that is open and bled a little but has now stopped. I've bathed it in sterile salty water but my vet is closed over bank holiday and emergency vets don't do exotics so here for advice with what I can do in mean time. I have polyfax (polysporin) cream will this be good to put on the burn ? The burn itself happened today he's had the same set up a year but must of just had a growth spurt he managed to climb right up to the uvb bulb and was hanging out up there when I found him I think it may be from there as he was very close to it. I've made the adjustments to his cage so this can't happen again but wondered if I can treat with salt bathes and polyfax or if he needs vet when open. He still seems himself mobile in cage, strong grip, seen him eat since the incident, gone to toilet and wound appears clean he let me clean it no problem so guessing pain is not an issue. Would really appreciate any help thanks in advance.

Chameleon info:

Your chameleon: male veiled chameleon. 9 months old had him since 8 weeks.

Handling: pretty much daily for short times he loves coming out very friendly.

Feeding: mainly crickets 8 per day gut loaded on veg dusted with calci dust daily, d3 weekly and nutrobal monthly. Also fed on large locusts

Watering: misted 3-4 times daily

Faecal description: brown and white with yellow end to it good consistency.

History: none always been otherwise well

Cage info :

Cage: Viv exotic (wooden sides, glass front) has repti fan in for ventilation.

Lighting: reptiglo 5.0 uvb bulb and Exo terra 75w ceramic bulb 12 hours on off overnight.

Temperature: basking area 80-85f and lowered throughout rest of cage. Over night no less than 60 f

Humidity: 50-60% with misting

Plants: no live plants

Placement: low traffic area.

Location: U.K.

Would appreciate any advice please.

Thanks in advance.
 

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That looks like a burn. My vet recommends silver Sulfadiazine cream for burns. You might be able to find it on the internet but I always get mine from the vets. Try using neosporine until you get the Sulfadiazine. I recommend moving the light up higher off the top of the cage. Also at nine months old I keep male veileds basking area around 88.
 
I think you should get some betadine while you are at the store getting newsprint. Wash his wound thoroughly with a q tip. DO NOT GET NEOSPORIN IN HIS EYES. PUT a small amount of NEOSPORIN. Go to the vet for the sulfa dizziness asap.
 
I think you should get some betadine while you are at the store getting newsprint. Wash his wound thoroughly with a q tip. DO NOT GET NEOSPORIN IN HIS EYES. PUT a small amount of NEOSPORIN. Go to the vet for the sulfa dizziness asap.
Not newsprint. The damn spellchecker on this phone is horrible. NEOSPORIN. Sorry
 
Thanks for the advice if i can get hold of the cream would that be ok to treat with and clean daily or would you say i still need to take him to the vet ? Im just gutted it happened really hes always done so well just hope this doesnt effect him :(
 
My chameleon stuck his head thru a hole in his screen. Long story, short, I got a cup of warm water w a good squirt of betadine in it every night and washed the torn up place right between his eyes. I was very careful with the qtip. Put a small amount of newsprint. No trip to the Dr. She healed.
I went a friend's house one night and his dog had torn up his tortois' under side she'll. Same thing, I took him home, cleaned him every night It was necessary to cut away dead tissue w a fingernai) clipper. NOT LIVING TISSUE, but as it blackened and became frazzled looking, I cut it away. Kept it clean.3 years later I still have him and he bites my toes when he is hungry.
So, if you can get the stuff Jan said was for burns, I imagine if you were diligent and kept it clean you could avoid the very costly vet bill. I, myself, would try.
 
Oh really !! There always up to mischief arent they !! Thanks very much for the advice i think ive found the cream flaminol is another brand name for it is that the one it says silver sulfadine on the front of it think that must be a trade name ? My mum had a minor burn and thats what she was prescribed is that ok to use ? Think ill give it a go and monitoe closely for infection !!
 
Hi dont know if people will still see this but my cham has been off his food since this has happened he has been seen to eat a few but not enough and now he hasnt seemed to eat at all today :( is this normal after a burn like shock or should i get him to the vet ? Ive been cleaning the burn daily with betadine and applying silvadene cream and he seems to be in no pain from it. Ive seen him drink and done toilet since the incident but that seems to be tailing off .. i also dont know whether hes throwing a strop because his cage has been altered since he burnt himself but hes usually ok with things like that. Just after some more advice really thanks in advance.
 
He's being handled daily which adds stress. If he's otherwise in good condition I wouldn't worry too much.
 
Well I went to tractor supply and got

E3 Medicated Horse Wound Care Cream​

I would be cautious using this. If you look at the ingredients it has a lot of additional stuff in it. For thermal burns silver sulfadiazine cream is the standard of care. It is not harmful to the cham and treats the burn and the underlying infection.
 
What kind of UVB bulb is it. I’m assuming he just got burnt climbing to the bulb but I have heard that some of the old compact uvb bulbs can also burn the cask and skin over time that’s why the linear one is preferred. You probably have it im just throwing that out there.
 
I would be cautious using this. If you look at the ingredients it has a lot of additional stuff in it. For thermal burns silver sulfadiazine cream is the standard of care. It is not harmful to the cham and treats the burn and the underlying infection.
Only reason I'm not to concerned about using it is because I have used it on all my pets/myself in the past.
Also it is a white paste. ( He isn't always friendly) so I rather slap it on for a day and try not to get bit tomorrow! ( Washing it off with a light paint brush)
We are so worried about added chemicals and what not for our animals but have you ever looked up what's in your own tap water! (What falls from the sky the drink in the wild?) My main concern here is infection and possible later cause of a fungal infection I rather nip it in the butt with one solution. I appreciate everyone's feedback and I'll let you know how it works.
 
Only reason I'm not to concerned about using it is because I have used it on all my pets/myself in the past.
Also it is a white paste. ( He isn't always friendly) so I rather slap it on for a day and try not to get bit tomorrow! ( Washing it off with a light paint brush)
We are so worried about added chemicals and what not for our animals but have you ever looked up what's in your own tap water! (What falls from the sky the drink in the wild?) My main concern here is infection and possible later cause of a fungal infection I rather nip it in the butt with one solution. I appreciate everyone's feedback and I'll let you know how it works.
I agree I hope everything goes well keep us updated. And I do know what is in tap, I drink spring water and use spring water for my chameleons too it’s cheap only $2 a gallon at Walmart.
 
Only reason I'm not to concerned about using it is because I have used it on all my pets/myself in the past.
Also it is a white paste. ( He isn't always friendly) so I rather slap it on for a day and try not to get bit tomorrow! ( Washing it off with a light paint brush)
We are so worried about added chemicals and what not for our animals but have you ever looked up what's in your own tap water! (What falls from the sky the drink in the wild?) My main concern here is infection and possible later cause of a fungal infection I rather nip it in the butt with one solution. I appreciate everyone's feedback and I'll let you know how it works.
Correct and if you want to use it for your animals that is great. But we have to be cautious what we recommend for others to use for their animals. Say a chameleon died due to something someone read was personally recommended. Granted this is worst case scenario. It is important to note when we post our personal advice like this that you chose to do for your cham without the advice of a vet and what the standard treatment is. Because most people that come here will only read through threads looking for info rather than posting to get help. Especially in really old threads like this that are no longer active. While it may not be harmful at all it may not be the right item to actually treat a burn on a reptile.
 
This might help…
”Contains zinc oxide, polyhexanide, petrolatum, lanolin, beeswax, calendula officinalis (calendula) extract, citrus gandis (grapefruit) seed extract, foeniculum vulgare (fennel seed) extract and eucalyptus citriodora (lemon eucalyptus) leaf oil.”…
https://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/e3-medicated-wound-care-cream/p/17241/#:~:text=Contains zinc oxide, polyhexanide, petrolatum,(lemon eucalyptus) leaf oil.

Polyhexanide…
”When applied to the skin, eyes, epithelium of the nose, or wounds, there have been no reports of PHMB causing any adverse effects. This substance is considered to be reasonably safe”…
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/polyhexanide
 
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