Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my 4 month old veiled cham just got burnt under a 75 watt basking lamp...

are there any treatments for minor burns liek he got???

or will it come off with his next shed???

I'm not a vet by any means, but I've been told by my vet that it's ok to use hydrogen peroxide on chameleon cuts and scrapes, and assumingly, burns. She also said you could use neosporin. I'm sure trying those wouldn't hurt, but it also wouldn't hurt to get to a good vet, depending on how bad it is. Use the peroxide first and let it foam up and keep putting it on (every 5 minutes) until it stops foaming (if it is at all) then let it dry and put on the neosporin. Do it again the next day.
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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
1.2 Nosy Be Panthers
2.2 Sambava Panthers
1.0 Tamatave Panther
1.0 Nosy Be X Unknown Cross
1.1 Veiled Chameleons
0.0.2 CBB Desert Tortoises
0.0.1 Sulcatta Tortoise

i used aloe vera on the burn---- it was just a slight difference in pigmentation but definetly noticeable

it has already shown drastic improvements and is hardly noticeable.

i found on a website that burns should be treated with aloe vera.....

thx for your input tyler--- you reply the most and with good inputs all the time.... thx

The cream Silvadene available from a vet (ask for a sample...you can often get it for nothing) that was specifically designed to treat burns. It will coat, moisturize and most importantly fight infection. Aloe vera good as it is cannot do this and you don't have to handle your cham as long as it would take to do the peroxide thing. The other treatment? Move your light or the basking perch. Depending on how deep the burn is it might take several sheds to clear away.

I've read thing about cham's getting burned and such, but where is the light when this is happening? I'm just interested so that I can learn...and I want to make sure there is no possibility that this could happen to ours the way they are set up.

I hope your cham fully recovers...

Kristen
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0.1 pygmy leaf
1.0 carpet
1.0 jackson

Depending on your temperature, you don't nessesarily need 75W bulbs. The hottest bulb I have in any of my cages is a 60W right now on an adult veiled cage. In the winter, I may go a little higher to keep them warm since the room gets a little cooler (I don't go through the cycle winter summer thing too much, just kinda keep them year round the same). But right now almost every cage I have is 50W. I use the Zoo Med spot bulbs and they make a nice bright beam of warmth wherever they're pointed. Just check the temperatures. All of my lights are set directly on top of the screen and all my basking sites are right on, like 90-100 degrees. My veileds I keep a little warmer than panthers. Besides that, if you've got alot of cages and you can make the temperatures work with a 50W bulb (moving it closer) in the long run you'll save money on power (I have about 15 spot bulbs in my cham room) and you'll save on cooling the room that your light bulbs are heating up. Understand what I mean? A 50W bulb shouldn't burn a chameleon. I've never had a chameleon burn and I've mostly used 50W and they've always been resting on top of the screen with the basking site the branch about a foot away.
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Tyler Stewart
Las Vegas NV
1.2 Nosy Be Panthers
2.2 Sambava Panthers
1.0 Tamatave Panther
1.0 Nosy Be X Unknown Cross
1.1 Veiled Chameleons
0.0.2 CBB Desert Tortoises
0.0.1 Sulcatta Tortoise

One reason I got a temp gun (Pro Exotics has a nice small one for about $45) was to have the ability to measure skin temp on the back of a basking cham. I found that sometimes depending on how long the cham sat under the spot it's actual skin temp got fairly high especially on casques, crests, dorsal ridges. So, the length of time the cham sits directly under heat may be partly responsible for a burn as well as the actual lamp temp. Even measuring the temp right at the basking spot or perch was not always accurate in predicting the cham's body temp. I also think some individuals or species are more prone to burns than others. Of my melleri two burned fairly easily and one did not under the same lights (they were free ranged and used the same basking spots).