If you are a new chameleon owner, then you may be worried about the white spots you have noticed on your chameleon in the last day or two.
Being a new pet owner is worrying. You want to ensure you are doing everything right to ensure your chameleon remains happy and healthy.
The good news is that in most cases, white spots are absolutely nothing to worry about.
Snalt
Snalt is white that will form around your chameleon’s nose. This is due to the fact that your pet doesn’t sweat like humans. They have a gland around the nose that excretes any excess salt, which forms a white substance.
While we get rid of any excess salt through our sweat and urine, your chameleon isn’t able to do this, which is why they expel their excess salt through the gland around the nose. The gland helps to rid your pet of excess bicarbonate and chloride.
In captivity, the leading cause for your pet having excess salt is using tap or hard water when misting. Once the salt has been excreted, it forms a white crust which remains around the nose.
Stuck Shed
Chameleons shed, the same as other reptiles. Shedding is a natural process which rids your pet of its old skin, giving it a new skin to fit its body size.
You will usually notice white and flaky pieces of shed that will get stuck from time to time.
Do not pull these off, as you can injure your pet and cause unnecessary harm.
To remove a stuck shed, you can soften the skin by misting or showering your chameleon, before gently wiping the white stuck pieces with a wet cotton swab. If they refuse to come off, simply leave them and try misting again later.
Ensure you provide optimum humidity levels to help your pet shed with ease.
If your pet is experiencing stuck sheds on a regular basis, even with misting and optimum humidity levels, then it could be caused by a deficiency in their diet.
Always ensure you provide a healthy diet and optimum humidity and temperature levels. You can monitor your temperature and humidity using a digital thermometer and hygrometer, which provides you with the ability to monitor temperatures and humidity at a glance.
Prepare To Shed
White spots on a chameleon due to shedding
When your pet chameleon is about to start shedding, you will notice their color becomes paler. You may notice white spots and your pet may even lose its appetite. It’s not uncommon for chameleons to rub against decorations inside the enclosure to loosen the skin.
You may be shocked to see your chameleon’s eyes puffing out, but this is completely normal and should only last a day.
When your chameleon is shedding, you need to ensure you provide ample hydration to help the skin shed.
Misting on a more frequent basis can help. Ensure you keep your humidity levels at an optimum. Extra misting with optimum humidity should help your pet shed without any assistance.
Water Spots
If you’re using tap water or hard water to mist the enclosure and if you’re dusting your pet’s food with a calcium supplement, then both can lead to white spots, which are water spots.
It’s often a mixture of the dusted calcium supplement mixing with the water from the misting or water dripper, dropping onto your pet’s body and leaving a white mark.
Summary
White spots are not causing for alarm and are often something simple, such as water spots, your pet about to shed or has just shed or its snalt.
Providing your chameleon with a clean habitat, a healthy diet with supplementation, and optimum temperature and humidity levels will help your pet remain happy and healthy.