Small round bumps on juvy Veiled chameleon

[jbarrett98042]

Hi there, I have just purchased a very young baby veiled chameleon from a local petco store in town, the little fellah acts like he is just fine, and besides the bumps on his back I noticed (the bumps were present at the pet store) he seems perfectly fine. His movement is not jerky, his colors are nice and solid and bright, and he is eating three small crickets twice a day.

I only see the bumps on one side of him, his right side. They don't show up that well in the picture, but you can still see them.

Do you guys think those are bone breaks and reforms? They are very round and almost look like little pimples is why I would think them not to be breaks.


This is the side with the bumps, you can slightly see them along the top middle part of his back, and there are one or two lower bumps.

this side of him is bump free

I don't know if he was eating very well at the petco, he was a little skinny when I brought him(her) home... but has quite the appetite now. I calcium dust his crickets, and use a retpti vite on them as well. He also has proper uva and uvb lighting now and great conditions. Hoping if it is a bone condition I have caught it very early (as he's obviously only about a month old) and can give this guy a better life than he would have in a small glass cage at petco.

 

[jbarrett98042]

or are those spikes developing? I don't handle him, besides this... putting him in his cage was the only time I have handled the little one, and I let him crawl on me and not grab.

 

[jbarrett98042]

I had to bring this dude home honestly.. I had planned to purchase one from a smaller business type pet store, but I got there and they had this guy in a glass cage, sandwiched between a cage of ball pythons, and tokay geckos on the other side :/

He's gained obvious weight in the 4 days I've had him, was probably scared out of his mind the whole time he was there.

 

[carol5208]

It is hard to tell from your pic not being a close up. They can get growths of many kinds on their bodies. Are they under the skin or on top?. I cannot tell from the picture. He can eat more than 6 crickets a day if that is all you are offering. If they are small ones they can eat in upwards of 25 a day! Yes, little eating machines. Is he for sure a male? Do you know about the spurs on their feet to determine sex?

 

[jbarrett98042]

I know, I tried to take the best picture I could but the phone cam sucks.


They are under the skin, and very circular.. Like I say almost looks like a pimple shape.


I do know of the spurs, but haven't inspected him(her) close enough to tell if there are any yet.


When I feed I do put about half a dozen crickets at a time in his feeding dish, which I have sitting in some of his leaves. Seems to be content with about 3 - 4 per sitting, and then he usually climbs back upwards toward his basking spot. They aren't the newly hatched pinhead crickets, but the next size up.... just tiny. I have tried offering him dusted meal worms, but I don't think they move enough. He did not seem interested at all in the worms.

I have heard you can feed these guys greens and banannas? How do i get him interested in food that isn't moving?

He'll do that twice a day. I've seen him poo, and it looks normal and solid.


His movement is good, and the bumps are almost too round to be odd bone regrowth (in my opinion), and he shows no signs of mbd that I can see (is very young for that anyway)

 

[mvad]

Veilds can be sexed from birth. It should be obvious if there are spurs on the backs of the hind feet. Not sure about the bumps, he/she is very handsome/cute. Good luck in finding out what the bumps are. Hopefully they go away.

 

[jbarrett98042]

he's definitely a male, he's got some obvious spurs.

 

[jbarrett98042]

I was able to get a better picture of the bumps tonight. They are more evident sometimes than others. When he is more relaxed they may be less visible.

 

[jbarrett98042]

any insight on those little bumps?

He's starting a shed now, so we'll see if maybe it's something that goes away in a couple of sheds.

 

[djfunkshowkid]

Bumpies...

If the little "bumps" are along the very tip of vertebrae, then yes....they are probably just his lil spikes growing.

However, if there are bumps along his sides...then you need to take a closer look:

If the bumps are along it's rib cage (you should be able to see its ribs when he breathes, then they could either be calcium deposits (which isn't horrible)...or worse, they could be cysts....(which is bad).

If the bumps are very very small and random along his whole body, then it could just the regular reptile skin...specially if it follows the pattern of the rest of his "texture".

Try posting some hi-res photos of him, focusing on the bumps that your referring to.

 

[jbarrett98042]

I was able to get a better picture of the bumps tonight. They are more evident sometimes than others. When he is more relaxed they may be less visible.

This last picture posted shows the bumps quite well.



UPDATE :

So after he shed the skin off of his body today the bumps are much LESS evident. Still there, but they are quite a bit smaller now. They seem to somewhat follow the top of his ribcage, and there are one or two lower bumps you can see that look fairly randomly placed..

They do seem to be a lot smaller now after the shed though.

 

[jbarrett98042]

anyone that might know?

 

[Carlton]

anyone that might know?

One other idea to consider:

If each bump seems to be located right at the top of each rib, there's the possibility they are small partial fractures or calcium deposits related to each rib. Chams' ribs are not completely bony, but partly cartilage. If he had a calcium deficiency for some time maybe he'd developed bony calluses at the weakened points. Again, from your pic its hard to say. And, this little guy is young to show so many.

A very thin fast growing juvenile might show more of the joint between the top of the rib and the vertebrae too. Just can't tell, and I suspect the bumps wouldn't always be as obvious as he changes position.

 

[jbarrett98042]

thanks guys.


Little guy is doing extremely well, very active lately, and is so much bigger than when I got him.

Bumps appear to be much less evident now.Think the last poster got it, you can't see them all the time, certain angles, and certain ways he is positioned make them more evident.

 

[jbarrett98042]

One other thing I've noticed, is he gets calcium (or vitamin) buildup on his nostrils at times.

I have been dusting my crickets a bit less, and have cut back the vitamins to every other day of feeding (but calcium dust every feeding still).

Should I cut back to calcium every other feeding as well?

 

[Carlton]

One other thing I've noticed, is he gets calcium (or vitamin) buildup on his nostrils at times.

I have been dusting my crickets a bit less, and have cut back the vitamins to every other day of feeding (but calcium dust every feeding still).

Should I cut back to calcium every other feeding as well?

No. Maybe use less per day. Its not a crisis unless the buildup blocks his nostrils or irritates him. Maybe mist more to help him get rid of it.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

They are not spikes growing.

 

[jbarrett98042]

Check out his growth The bumps can't be seen anymore honestly.


He was very skinny and small when I brought him home from petco. I honestly wouldn't recommend getting anything from petco, they are just kept in too large of quantities and don't get the attention they deserve.

This little guy is definitely being taken care of now. He does regularly get the calcium around his nostrils though (no matter how little or much I dust his crickets with), so I just keep up on the humidity so he can get rid of crusties easier.

 

[jbarrett98042]

and here is his previously "bumpy" side. Looka how pretty he is for the camera when he's showing his agression. No bumps evident anymore.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

good progress!