Skin Abnormality

[blafferty7]

Hello!

I have a 13 month Panther Chameleon named Bruce who I recently noticed a skin thing. I am very paranoid with chameleons since I have my last one to MBD so I believe I did all the proper research for this one.

He is in a 36x18x18 wired cage. The back has an animal friendly water sealant to help hold heat in since I lived in a cold place when I got him. He has a long 24 watt D3 Reptile T5 lamp 6% UVB and then just a normal 24 watt bulb in the long one pictured. I have a extra 100 w bulb in the dual lamp for extra heat. The 24 watt doesn't produce any heat. His basking spot runs 85-90 degrees F

I spray him 2-3 times a day and he does drink

Poop and urine are normal which he did both today

He is fed a variety of meal worms, crickets, and horn worms on occasion. I feed him everyday to every other day depending. He eats about 6-7 a day. I also use Calcium supplement 4-5 times a week and a multi vitamin once a week.

I recently saw this "lesion" looking thing on him and am not sure if anyone has had any experience with fungal/bacterial infections or just has any insight. His last shed was about 5 days ago which you can see it doesn't look like it was a good shed.

That bulb is also about 8 months old. What is the recommendation on replacing the UVB bulb?

Thank you for all recommendations!

 

[Syreptyon]

Unfortunately skin conditions can be difficult to identify, so I'm not totally sure. Hopefully someone else has additional feedback on that. Here are some additional husbandry notes I can offer, though:

(1) His enclosure is much too small for him at that age. He's overdue for an upgrade to his adult-sized 24"x24"x48" enclosure ASAP
(2) The UVB light is due to be replaced now (I change them out every 6ish months)
(3) Mealworms should actually not ever be fed to chameleons. They are an impaction risk and offer no nutritional value whatsoever.

What exactly do you use for supplements?

 

[Carlton]

Could be a small thermal burn. The grayish scab and the location suggests it. Does the discolored area change color along with the rest of the surrounding area? I was a bit confused about your lighting description. You have two bulbs that emit heat? Are you sure he can't get too close to one of them? A burn not only needs a hot temp but too much time too close to the heat source. If the rest of the cage is a lot cooler when the room is cold he may sit too close to a heat emitter too long, he can end up burning himself, and the dorsal crest area is the most common place for it to happen. Ask a vet for some Silvadene burn cream. It will help heal and protect against secondary infection.

The UVB emitting bulb probably needs to be replaced but the brand of the bulb can play in to this. What manufacturer? ReptiSun and similar need to be replaced at about 6 month intervals. This probably has nothing to do with the injury.

 

[blafferty7]

These are the two dustings I use for supplements.
I have read that mealworms have no value but I usually use them as a last resort if I ran out of crickets
As for the cage. Do you have any recommendations on where I can find that size? I have not had any luck finding it for less than 200 dollars.

Unfortunately skin conditions can be difficult to identify, so I'm not totally sure. Hopefully someone else has additional feedback on that. Here are some additional husbandry notes I can offer, though:

(1) His enclosure is much too small for him at that age. He's overdue for an upgrade to his adult-sized 24"x24"x48" enclosure ASAP
(2) The UVB light is due to be replaced now (I change them out every 6ish months)
(3) Mealworms should actually not ever be fed to chameleons. They are an impaction risk and offer no nutritional value whatsoever.

What exactly do you use for supplements?

 

[Carlton]

These are the two dustings I use for supplements.
I have read that mealworms have no value but I usually use them as a last resort if I ran out of crickets
As for the cage. Do you have any recommendations on where I can find that size? I have not had any luck finding it for less than 200 dollars.

Caging for adult chams is expensive. You can build your own. Lots of caging ideas here if you search under the Enclosures and Supplies forum. There's a sticky about them.

 

[blafferty7]

Could be a small thermal burn. The grayish scab and the location suggests it. Does the discolored area change color along with the rest of the surrounding area? I was a bit confused about your lighting description. You have two bulbs that emit heat? Are you sure he can't get too close to one of them? A burn not only needs a hot temp but too much time too close to the heat source. If the rest of the cage is a lot cooler when the room is cold he may sit too close to a heat emitter too long, he can end up burning himself, and the dorsal crest area is the most common place for it to happen. Ask a vet for some Silvadene burn cream. It will help heal and protect against secondary infection.

The UVB emitting bulb probably needs to be replaced but the brand of the bulb can play in to this. What manufacturer? ReptiSun and similar need to be replaced at about 6 month intervals. This probably has nothing to do with the injury.

When my air conditioning is on if that one 24 watt long light is only on his basking spot will go down to 70 degrees and I have not had any luck finding a stronger wattage bulb at that length. It is both Arcadia brand for the long bulbs.

 

[Syreptyon]

These are the two dustings I use for supplements.
I have read that mealworms have no value but I usually use them as a last resort if I ran out of crickets
As for the cage. Do you have any recommendations on where I can find that size? I have not had any luck finding it for less than 200 dollars.

The zoomed reptibreeze is by far the most common and least expensive: https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Rept...s=reptibreeze&qid=1567978675&s=gateway&sr=8-1

 

[AnamCara]

As for the cage. Do you have any recommendations on where I can find that size? I have not had any luck finding it for less than 200 dollars.

Unless you are VERY diy everything about keeping healthy chameleons is expensive. Unless he is outside an aweful lot you'll need go dust every feeder with calcium, then every other week alternate calcium w d3 and the multi. You could also swap them all out for repashy calcium plus LoD