Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone,
I normally do a lot of lurking and don't post often, but this one's got me stumped. My female Jackson's just finished a shed and I noticed she had some very dark, almost black coloring along her side. There is the possibility that she is gravid so I didn't think much of the coloring at the time. Then I looked a little closer and it turns out that it's dried blood. I cleaned the area as best I could and applied some bacitracin and now she's doind the same thing with the other side. She appears to be catching her side with her hind legs when she walks and her claws are scraping her sides. She's actually picking up her legs higher than she needs to. I'm open to suggestions. She eats fine and all the normal husbandry stuff is ok. Temps, humidity, etc, I'm very familiar with what is required for proper care. Has anyone ever seen this type of behavior? Thanks in advance. If I can figure out how, I'll post a picture.

Jay from VA

My Veiled Chameleon has a black area on each side of his body, but I don't think there is anything you can do about this. Just apply some of the medicine each time it does it.

My Veiled Chameleon has a black area on each side of his body, but I don't think there is anything you can do about this. Just apply some of the medicine each time it does it.

Weird. Is she possibly scratching at loose skin during a shed? Is the blood around the edges of unshed old skin? Does she scratch at her sides at other times? I wonder if she has some type of skin irritation that makes her scratch at herself or if the shedding process itself was delayed and annoying her. If she seems to scratch at an irritation there is a cream that might soothe and protect the area to let it heal. Ask your vet for a sample tube of Silvadene. It was first developed as a burn dressing but seems to help a lot of herp skin problems. One little side effect. Silvadene contains silver and the cham's skin may look dark or black temporarily because of it.

I thought at first that it was due to the shed. Even after she finished, she continued to do this. I did apply some Silvadene as well. It seemed to help but she continues to scratch so it's not getting any better.Unfortunately, I'm not home most of the day to watch her. When I do get the chance, it seems more or less that she does it as she is trying to walk. Thanks for the suggestions.

Jay