Is a crooked casque a bad casque?

[mgebbie]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon -Veile male, 10 months old
Handling - once per week
Feeding - about 6-8 medium crickets per day
How are you gut- butternut squash, water crystals, dark lettuce
Supplements - Repcal Herptivite everyother Monday, Repcal calcium with Vit D3 opposite Mondays, and Reptical Calcium everyday
Watering - Dripper at all times, misting 3 times per day, see him drink almost everyday
Fecal Description - brown fecal, and white urate, sometimes the urate is stilghtly yellow (not often).
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? No, captive breed
History - Burn on his back spine when he was about 7 months old. He went to the vet was prescribed baytril, and silvadene. He recovered well.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 18x18x36 screen
Lighting - Reptiglo UVB light (recently replaced), and 25 watt heating bulb
Temperature - Hottest: 83 F, Coldest: 69 F
Humidity - about 63% at highest, but goes down to 40% occasionally
Plants - no live... I have tried them, but I can't keep them alive
Placement - living room, sort of high traffic, but we avoid going near the cage, and we're hardly home during the day
Location - Greenbelt, MD

Current Problem -His casque has recently begun to grow crooked in the last month. He eats well and is constantly active. Is this something I should worry about?

 

[djfishygillz]

It looks like your cham either has burnt his top scales and casque off or is scraping the top of the cage so bad it is shaving them off. Have you tried placing the cage up high so that he doesn't feel the need to be at the top of the cage hurting himself? Other then that your husbandry looks correct. He may just need a bigger cage and more room to climb so that he doesn't keep rubbing his casque and back.

 

[mgebbie]

He has a tendency to purposefully rub his casque on the edges of the screen, as if he's trying to get out... He isn't always at the top of the cage either. He makes his "rounds" all over the cage every day. He circles his territory probably a dozen times.

 

[xeonic]

I'm also interested to learn why his scales are missing form his back. Did he get burned at some point? or is all this from rubbing against the cage? Did you buy him like this?

 

[reptilover]

His basking spot needs to be about 10 degrees hotter. U put 83 at the hottest. Should be 90-93 .
I also believe his cage shoukd be bigger at about 24"x24"x48" minimum.
Either of these coukd cause him to rub up on the screen. Do u have a free rage he can visit?

 

[mgebbie]

He was burned many months ago, but had a visit with the vet. The vet gave him baytril and silvadene. He's healed from that injury.

 

[mgebbie]

Reptilover: I was told when I did have it at 90F that the temp was "WAY" too high, and that was why he got his original burn on his back. I'll up it another 5 degrees.

 

[xeonic]

90F wont burn a chameleon like that. That's the basking temp I use for my Panther who isn't burned. He must have gotten to close to the bulb. Is the basking light in your tank?

 

[mgebbie]

The basking lamp is about 6 inches above his cage. He does not have access to a free range. My apartment isn't cham safe at the moment, and we're moving soon. I'm hoping to get him a larger cage when we move.

 

[xeonic]

what do you measure the basking temperature with?

 

[mgebbie]

Digital thermometer with a probe at his basking spot.

 

[xeonic]

Hmmm. I cant explain how your chameleon got burned then. I suspect that the casque looks funny because of the burn. im 100% sure 90F wont cause that type of burn. maybe your thermometer isn't reading the temperature right.

 

[mgebbie]

I've gotten several thermometers in there, and they all read the same. That was my original thought. I'll get it up to the high 80s and see how he reacts for the week.

 

[xeonic]

what are you using for a basking light? never mind lol 25W.

 

[xeonic]

Is it possible the screen is being heated up by the lights, then when he rubs on it, he's burning himself.

 

[Elizadolots]

Does he have ample opportunity to get away from the basking spot and is it significantly cooler at the bottom of the cage? 90 degrees is fine if the chameleon is not trapped in it. If he cannot get away from it...if there are not comfortable places to climb and rest in cooler parts of the cage, then he can be burned.

 

[mgebbie]

The screen is only about a degree hotter than the basking spot (I just checked it). He has lots of spots to go to. He frequently sleeps in the middle of the cage.

 

[xeonic]

Does he have ample opportunity to get away from the basking spot and is it significantly cooler at the bottom of the cage? 90 degrees is fine if the chameleon is not trapped in it. If he cannot get away from it...if there are not comfortable places to climb and rest in cooler parts of the cage, then he can be burned.

good thinking. I wouldn't have thought of that.