is he ok?

[fullhouse]

burns

we had a veiled with similar problems (had the burns when we got him) - our vet thought it was b/c he had been too close to his lights and this had caused burns. his skin would not shed well on his knees/elbows and top of his head (sorry I dont really know the proper technical names for the parts of a chameleon). Anyway - I dont know if it is something that will heal or not but - that may be how it was caused. good luck (the one we had ended up dying - I dont know why - dont even know how old he was.... when we got him we had not had any chameleons before but he needed a home and we adopted him b/c his owner had abandoned him - anyway, my point is that his death was probably our fault b/c we were just learning how to care for chams and probably did not do great w/ him or he may have been old or who knows.... I dont think he died b/c of the burns on him)

 

[theorangeaffair]

I, actually, just fought the battle of the sepsis/heat lamp struggle with my panther.
Poor guy- I guess I didn't really see it coming. The lamp had always been at the same height, and the little guy loves the heat lamp, so I never thought anything of it. In fact, I have seen him turn white (due to excessive heat- an attempt of his body to regulate temperature) and removed him only to see him right under that darn lamp an hour later. So it just became a part of his nature. The temperature in his cage was always right- 60 on the bottom, 70-80 in the middle, and a high 90-100 depending upon how he positioned himself upon his vine.
When I first saw the burn, I really didn't know what to think. He was in complete and total pain. It's amazing to see their reactions to pain- for him, it was more of a "OH MY GOD DON'T TOUCH THAT" with a startling look rather than an open mouth and "I'M GONNA BITE YA.. I SWEAR." Before going to the doctor, I decided to treat it with neosporin and see how he did. No need in the stress of going to the doctor if he could fight it off himself.
By day three, I realized there was NO WAY he could fight it off by himself. Not only had he burned his side, right where your vieled, Baha, had been burned, but his knee cap and the OTHER side as well, right on his stomach and behind the thigh. When I put on neosporin, his eyes shot open for the split second I touched it. As any pet lover is aware, I could not see him in this amount of pain any longer.
Sepsis was always floating around as an interesting issue, but I had no idea that it stemmed from burns. I suppose I first heard about it when my friend had been bitten by a wild caught and needed to go into the doctor for a shot. My chameleons eyes were closed tight probably through the entire examination save when they weighed him, and still do close tight when I give him his daily batryl. My amazing vet gave me batryl (antibiotics), a pain killer, daily water-- I'm talking as much as I could get into him every two to three hours, and suggested Vitamin E for scarring. He recommended the powder, but I ended up getting the oil. It's easier to apply and I don't want the wound to dry out too much. Already there is a high ability of infection just from him walking around and sleeping, because of the location of the wound.
After a week and constant watering, batryl, and painkillers, he is doing better and is expected to make it through the Sepsis stage. His organs, fortunately, were not damaged during this experience, and can eat alright. Because of the pain he must endure to walk, I have been hand feeding him. Needless to say, he is not doing great, but doing alright for being burned to the extent he was.
I still, after a month, give him batryl and cup feed him. He walks to his dripper and has actually become a lot more active.

The point of this post is the importance of watching the heat lamp and the amount of time your chameleon spends beneathe it CONSTANTLY. My baby is still in pain, and although we have won the war, he will always have a scar. Being only a year and a few months old, we were lucky as he endured through. It is important to treat your cham as soon as possible for burns-- YES YOU CAN USE NEOSPORIN! As for anything else, I would consult a vet. From my experience, those are DEFINATELY burn scars on Baha's side, but they look healed and healthy. Take this as a warning- your chameleon likes to bask!

Hopefully someone learns something from my mistake. My advatar is of him before his burns. Beautiful, he is.
Chelsea and the King