EC22
New Member
Hey gals and guys,
Today I explored a new facet of the chameleon husbandry.
About two weeks ago my melleri started shedding. Around that time I noticed a plug sticking out of his cloaqua. I had never seen any sticking out but had seen several ones wiped off branches.
These last couple days, he's been hanging out in his tree. He did not move to get a drink under the nozzles or roamed as he usually does when he's hungry.
He usually does not change behavior when shedding but it might have affected him somehow.
I decided to give him a kinda warm bath, just filling the bath with 2 inches of water or so. I let him soak for about 15 min after which I sprinkled water on his face to let him drink. He drank for a while. After that I let him get on a stick so that I could inspect the big ass plug. It looked semi wet. As I had read several times on the forum, I tried to very gently pull on the plug. His Hemepene sticked out a bit so I let it go. I retried, pulling a bit more this time. I worked the plug out after 2 tries. His hemepene retracted without any problem. I saw during the process that there was another plug. It's big but nothing's sticking out so I can't reach it. What would be the next step? Wait it out?
The other thing I noticed was an infection on the dorsal crest. I think it could be due to the shed. There was some dead skin over the wound but I noticed a darker spot around that area. I very gently removed the skin. I think that the infection is caused by the shed taking too long, causing wetness for long periods of time and promoting bacterial growth. A lamp burn is out of the question because his heat spot cannot be reached. I applied some Polysporin on the wound. Is there anything else I can do?
Here's the help form filled out:
Chameleon Info:
* Your Chameleon - Jacques, Male Melleri, age unknown
* Handling - Only for check ups
* Feeding - 3-4 nicely sized bugs every other day
* Supplements - Cal+D3 2x per month
Herptivite 2x per month
Regular calcium at other feedings
I very lightly dust the feeders.
* Watering - Every day: 2x15 min + 1x3min
* Fecal Description - Normal, white urates and big log
* History - I got this guy in July 2009. I treated him with Panacur. All his fecals were A1 since then. Never got injured.
Cage Info:
* Cage Type - Free range, 5'x3'x6'
* Lighting - MV lamp, 100W low by Megaray. I verified the uv level today and got a reading of 15uW/m2 at his basking spot (I use a solarmeter 6.2). The UV reading is a bit low.
* Temperature - 83-85F at basking. Room temp is about 70-75F
* Humidity - From 30% to 75%
* Plants - Draceana, ficus, pothos, Bougainvillea (he never eats greens)
* Placement - Cage is against a wall. Nothing special, no traffic, no draft.
* Location - Quebec, Canada
I am sorry for the very long post and I sincerely thank the ones who read through it or brought any help.
Today I explored a new facet of the chameleon husbandry.
About two weeks ago my melleri started shedding. Around that time I noticed a plug sticking out of his cloaqua. I had never seen any sticking out but had seen several ones wiped off branches.
These last couple days, he's been hanging out in his tree. He did not move to get a drink under the nozzles or roamed as he usually does when he's hungry.
He usually does not change behavior when shedding but it might have affected him somehow.
I decided to give him a kinda warm bath, just filling the bath with 2 inches of water or so. I let him soak for about 15 min after which I sprinkled water on his face to let him drink. He drank for a while. After that I let him get on a stick so that I could inspect the big ass plug. It looked semi wet. As I had read several times on the forum, I tried to very gently pull on the plug. His Hemepene sticked out a bit so I let it go. I retried, pulling a bit more this time. I worked the plug out after 2 tries. His hemepene retracted without any problem. I saw during the process that there was another plug. It's big but nothing's sticking out so I can't reach it. What would be the next step? Wait it out?
The other thing I noticed was an infection on the dorsal crest. I think it could be due to the shed. There was some dead skin over the wound but I noticed a darker spot around that area. I very gently removed the skin. I think that the infection is caused by the shed taking too long, causing wetness for long periods of time and promoting bacterial growth. A lamp burn is out of the question because his heat spot cannot be reached. I applied some Polysporin on the wound. Is there anything else I can do?
Here's the help form filled out:
Chameleon Info:
* Your Chameleon - Jacques, Male Melleri, age unknown
* Handling - Only for check ups
* Feeding - 3-4 nicely sized bugs every other day
* Supplements - Cal+D3 2x per month
Herptivite 2x per month
Regular calcium at other feedings
I very lightly dust the feeders.
* Watering - Every day: 2x15 min + 1x3min
* Fecal Description - Normal, white urates and big log
* History - I got this guy in July 2009. I treated him with Panacur. All his fecals were A1 since then. Never got injured.
Cage Info:
* Cage Type - Free range, 5'x3'x6'
* Lighting - MV lamp, 100W low by Megaray. I verified the uv level today and got a reading of 15uW/m2 at his basking spot (I use a solarmeter 6.2). The UV reading is a bit low.
* Temperature - 83-85F at basking. Room temp is about 70-75F
* Humidity - From 30% to 75%
* Plants - Draceana, ficus, pothos, Bougainvillea (he never eats greens)
* Placement - Cage is against a wall. Nothing special, no traffic, no draft.
* Location - Quebec, Canada
I am sorry for the very long post and I sincerely thank the ones who read through it or brought any help.
He's beautiful, by the way, absolutely stunning. 
