1yo Female Panther Holding Left Eye Closed

[Correlophus]

Hello! I have fairly recently come into ownership of a female panther chameleon. I have had her for about a month now. She’s 1 year old. She is the first chameleon I’ve ever owned. The other experiences I have are with Leo’s, cresties, beardies, and some blue tongue skink care.

2 days (going on 3) ago she started holding her left eye closed. I noticed she would close whichever eye was closest to her uvb while basking. But this is not the same. She does not open it to look at me when I approach the cage or do anything inside the enclosure. I’ve taken her out and tried just dripping water, very gently, to see if that would help. She opens her eye for a little while after that but eventually closes it again and won’t open it. I’ve noticed that she will itch her eye on branches and leaves. She even did it on my hand last night.

I did take her in the shower and just let it get steamy and she seemed to enjoy the warmth and kept her eye open.

I’ve read that chams will do this with vitamin A deficiency and debris in the eye. I’m leaning toward debris in her eye because I feed my crickets and dubias carrots. Occasionally I will offer a couple meal or waxworms for variation but she doesn’t seem to care much for those.

She’s in a 2x2x4 enclosure with a fogger at night and dripper during the day. I mist twice a day. She has one of the swirly UVB bulbs, I can’t remember the wattage, maybe 100… The previous owner recommended that to me. Her heat source is a ceramic bulb that’s about 60 watts. Basking spot is held at 80 (about 8 inches from ceramic). My room is about 70 consistently. Humidity is about 60-70 at night and then 50 during the day. I’m aware that this likely needs an adjustment and am working on that. The floor of her cage is a layer of newspaper and then a layer of paper towel. Her feeding area is like a “shooting range” type feeder. It keeps the bugs in one spot but allows them to climb. She does well eating from that. Her poops look fine, nothing notable there. Although she took a big one on my arm yesterday…. I feed 2-5 medium Dubia roaches or 5 medium crickets and rotate those daily. I provide more during a single feeding as I just started a new job and cannot feed twice a day in a timely manner. She gets fed in the mornings. MWF they get calcium dusted and then Sundays they’re dusted with the vitamin D3.

I’m trying to avoid a vet visit if possible as the one near me is RARELY in the office and I fear I wouldn’t be able to visit for a couple weeks anyway due to her availability…

I’ve attached a pic of her enclosure and some images of her eye. The images make her look darker than she was. I don’t immediately see anything in her eye and she can use it, but that’s only when I have her out. One of the images I got mid-blink so it looks a little odd.

I’ve been handling her more recently just because I’ve been trying to remedy her eye. Usually I’ll hold her every other day for like 20-30 mins. Once she gets restless I put her back. She is used to me putting my hands in her enclosure and doesn’t puff or hiss.

Any advice or help is GREATLY appreciated.

 

[Beman]

I am going to go through all your info... But did the previous owner tell you if she has laid a clutch? Can I get more pics of her so I can take a look at her arms? Do you have the box for the compact UVB bulb so I can take a look at what exactly you are using?

 

[Correlophus]

—

 

[Correlophus]

I am going to go through all your info... But did the previous owner tell you if she has laid a clutch? Can I get more pics of her so I can take a look at her arms? Do you have the box for the compact UVB bulb so I can take a look at what exactly you are using?

Previous owner did not mention a clutch but encouraged a lay box for her. I’m working on a more permanent solution to that.

I do not have the box for the uvb bulb, and I’m realizing that’s an important bit of information. Since I removed her red heat bulb she tends to bask under her UVB, so I know she gets plenty of that exposure. It is a 100w bulb, says on the base of it.

I’ve been keeping an eye on her legs and arms and haven’t noticed a difference in those at all. The previous owner did mention that her siblings have eye problems because her clutch was not properly cared for during incubation. She is also missing part of her tail, I’m not sure why, so she’s a little clumsy. She gets around great though.

She does not like my phone haha. She was also using the eye in question.

 

[Beman]

See my feedback in bold.


Hello! I have fairly recently come into ownership of a female panther chameleon. I have had her for about a month now. She’s 1 year old. She is the first chameleon I’ve ever owned. The other experiences I have are with Leo’s, cresties, beardies, and some blue tongue skink care.

2 days (going on 3) ago she started holding her left eye closed. I noticed she would close whichever eye was closest to her uvb while basking. But this is not the same. She does not open it to look at me when I approach the cage or do anything inside the enclosure. I’ve taken her out and tried just dripping water, very gently, to see if that would help. She opens her eye for a little while after that but eventually closes it again and won’t open it. I’ve noticed that she will itch her eye on branches and leaves. She even did it on my hand last night.
I did take her in the shower and just let it get steamy and she seemed to enjoy the warmth and kept her eye open. So no hot showers... Hot moisture is actually bad for chams and can lead to a respiratory infections.
I’ve read that chams will do this with vitamin A deficiency and debris in the eye. I’m leaning toward debris in her eye because I feed my crickets and dubias carrots. Occasionally I will offer a couple meal or waxworms for variation but she doesn’t seem to care much for those. What supplements are you using and in what rotation? Take pics of the bottles if you can.
She’s in a 2x2x4 enclosure with a fogger at night and dripper during the day. I mist twice a day. She has one of the swirly UVB bulbs, I can’t remember the wattage, maybe 100… The previous owner recommended that to me. UVB type is incorrect for a cham. Depending on the type your using she is either being over exposed or under exposed to UVB. You want to buy a T5HO fixture and a 5.0 or 6% UVB bulb for her. Place on the top of the cage and have a measured 8-9 inches to the branches below for the correct UVI level. Her heat source is a ceramic bulb that’s about 60 watts. Basking spot is held at 80 (about 8 inches from ceramic). I personally do not like ceramic heat bulbs. They do not tend to bask under them because they do not see a light. I use regular incandescent 60 watt bulbs. 78-80 at basking and no hotter. Make sure you are not running the heat bulb at night. She needs the cool down. My room is about 70 consistently. Humidity is about 60-70 at night and then 50 during the day. I’m aware that this likely needs an adjustment and am working on that. No adjustment needed for humidity. At night we only want high humidity if you are able to get temp drops like 67 and below. The floor of her cage is a layer of newspaper and then a layer of paper towel. Better off pulling this out and having it bare bottom. Her feeding area is like a “shooting range” type feeder. It keeps the bugs in one spot but allows them to climb. She does well eating from that. Her poops look fine, nothing notable there. Although she took a big one on my arm yesterday…. I feed 2-5 medium Dubia roaches or 5 medium crickets and rotate those daily. I provide more during a single feeding as I just started a new job and cannot feed twice a day in a timely manner. She gets fed in the mornings. MWF they get calcium dusted and then Sundays they’re dusted with the vitamin D3. So she is eating way to often. And you can tell she is holding quite a bit of extra weight. She should be fed 3 days a week with 3 feeders. Calcium without D3 on almost all feedings except you want a multi vitamin like Repashy calcium Plus LOD version 2 times a month say the 1st and the 15th. Females have to have a controlled diet along with basking temp to reduce clutch size.
I’m trying to avoid a vet visit if possible as the one near me is RARELY in the office and I fear I wouldn’t be able to visit for a couple weeks anyway due to her availability… Vets when they have the experience are great. However I do not think you need to rush into going. Make an appointment for a few weeks out and make the husbandry changes needed to see if it corrects the issues prior to the visit.

I’ve attached a pic of her enclosure and some images of her eye. The images make her look darker than she was. I don’t immediately see anything in her eye and she can use it, but that’s only when I have her out.

I’ve been handling her more recently just because I’ve been trying to remedy her eye. Usually I’ll hold her every other day for like 20-30 mins. Once she gets restless I put her back. She is used to me putting my hands in her enclosure and doesn’t puff or hiss.

Any advice or help is GREATLY appreciated.


So this could be a combo of things... Wrong UVB type being high on the list. If your not using a multivitamin this could contribute as well. It almost looks like she has a clear film over the eyeball. so this would be a concern and a reason to set up the vet appointment. At least you have one set up if the changes do not take care of the issue. Could be she has something stuck and just needs some longer misting to help flush it. But I am leaning towards your coil bulb being one that is too strong. You see they are either way too strong or way too weak. Too strong can cause issues like eye issues for the cham. Too weak can cause MBD.

This is a great link for learning correct housing and husbandry. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

Lay bin is needed. Here is a link that will help you with that and an image. Most of our female keepers use the tub with moist playsand. These are kept as permanent fixtures in the cage. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video.77225/

 

[Correlophus]

See my feedback in bold.


Hello! I have fairly recently come into ownership of a female panther chameleon. I have had her for about a month now. She’s 1 year old. She is the first chameleon I’ve ever owned. The other experiences I have are with Leo’s, cresties, beardies, and some blue tongue skink care.

2 days (going on 3) ago she started holding her left eye closed. I noticed she would close whichever eye was closest to her uvb while basking. But this is not the same. She does not open it to look at me when I approach the cage or do anything inside the enclosure. I’ve taken her out and tried just dripping water, very gently, to see if that would help. She opens her eye for a little while after that but eventually closes it again and won’t open it. I’ve noticed that she will itch her eye on branches and leaves. She even did it on my hand last night.
I did take her in the shower and just let it get steamy and she seemed to enjoy the warmth and kept her eye open. So no hot showers... Hot moisture is actually bad for chams and can lead to a respiratory infections.
I’ve read that chams will do this with vitamin A deficiency and debris in the eye. I’m leaning toward debris in her eye because I feed my crickets and dubias carrots. Occasionally I will offer a couple meal or waxworms for variation but she doesn’t seem to care much for those. What supplements are you using and in what rotation? Take pics of the bottles if you can.
She’s in a 2x2x4 enclosure with a fogger at night and dripper during the day. I mist twice a day. She has one of the swirly UVB bulbs, I can’t remember the wattage, maybe 100… The previous owner recommended that to me. UVB type is incorrect for a cham. Depending on the type your using she is either being over exposed or under exposed to UVB. You want to buy a T5HO fixture and a 5.0 or 6% UVB bulb for her. Place on the top of the cage and have a measured 8-9 inches to the branches below for the correct UVI level. Her heat source is a ceramic bulb that’s about 60 watts. Basking spot is held at 80 (about 8 inches from ceramic). I personally do not like ceramic heat bulbs. They do not tend to bask under them because they do not see a light. I use regular incandescent 60 watt bulbs. 78-80 at basking and no hotter. Make sure you are not running the heat bulb at night. She needs the cool down. My room is about 70 consistently. Humidity is about 60-70 at night and then 50 during the day. I’m aware that this likely needs an adjustment and am working on that. No adjustment needed for humidity. At night we only want high humidity if you are able to get temp drops like 67 and below. The floor of her cage is a layer of newspaper and then a layer of paper towel. Better off pulling this out and having it bare bottom. Her feeding area is like a “shooting range” type feeder. It keeps the bugs in one spot but allows them to climb. She does well eating from that. Her poops look fine, nothing notable there. Although she took a big one on my arm yesterday…. I feed 2-5 medium Dubia roaches or 5 medium crickets and rotate those daily. I provide more during a single feeding as I just started a new job and cannot feed twice a day in a timely manner. She gets fed in the mornings. MWF they get calcium dusted and then Sundays they’re dusted with the vitamin D3. So she is eating way to often. And you can tell she is holding quite a bit of extra weight. She should be fed 3 days a week with 3 feeders. Calcium without D3 on almost all feedings except you want a multi vitamin like Repashy calcium Plus LOD version 2 times a month say the 1st and the 15th. Females have to have a controlled diet along with basking temp to reduce clutch size.
I’m trying to avoid a vet visit if possible as the one near me is RARELY in the office and I fear I wouldn’t be able to visit for a couple weeks anyway due to her availability… Vets when they have the experience are great. However I do not think you need to rush into going. Make an appointment for a few weeks out and make the husbandry changes needed to see if it corrects the issues prior to the visit.

I’ve attached a pic of her enclosure and some images of her eye. The images make her look darker than she was. I don’t immediately see anything in her eye and she can use it, but that’s only when I have her out.

I’ve been handling her more recently just because I’ve been trying to remedy her eye. Usually I’ll hold her every other day for like 20-30 mins. Once she gets restless I put her back. She is used to me putting my hands in her enclosure and doesn’t puff or hiss.

Any advice or help is GREATLY appreciated.


So this could be a combo of things... Wrong UVB type being high on the list. If your not using a multivitamin this could contribute as well. It almost looks like she has a clear film over the eyeball. so this would be a concern and a reason to set up the vet appointment. At least you have one set up if the changes do not take care of the issue. Could be she has something stuck and just needs some longer misting to help flush it. But I am leaning towards your coil bulb being one that is too strong. You see they are either way too strong or way too weak. Too strong can cause issues like eye issues for the cham. Too weak can cause MBD.

This is a great link for learning correct housing and husbandry. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

Lay bin is needed. Here is a link that will help you with that and an image. Most of our female keepers use the tub with moist playsand. These are kept as permanent fixtures in the cage. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video.77225/

I’ve attached another pic of her. And these are the supplements that were handed to me. Calcium MWF and the beta carotene on sundays.

 

[kinyonga]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet...You said..."I’m leaning toward debris in her eye because I feed my crickets and dubias carrots"...carrots contain beta carotene form of vitamin A. There is question as to whether chameleons can convert carotene sources of vitamin A into a useful source or not...so that why we use a supplement with PrEformed vitamin A in it once or twice a month depending on the chameleon species.
There are two forms of vitamin A...prEformed and PrOformed. Preformed is already ready to go. It comes from animal sources (look for words like retinol, retinal, acetate in the supplement's form of vitamin A). The prEformed vitamin A can build up in the system and lead to health issues. PrOformed, on the other hand, won't build up in the system because it's converted as needed. It comes from carotene sources in veggies. The carrots might not be enough depending on if they can be converted or not.

 

[Correlophus]

See my feedback in bold.


Hello! I have fairly recently come into ownership of a female panther chameleon. I have had her for about a month now. She’s 1 year old. She is the first chameleon I’ve ever owned. The other experiences I have are with Leo’s, cresties, beardies, and some blue tongue skink care.

2 days (going on 3) ago she started holding her left eye closed. I noticed she would close whichever eye was closest to her uvb while basking. But this is not the same. She does not open it to look at me when I approach the cage or do anything inside the enclosure. I’ve taken her out and tried just dripping water, very gently, to see if that would help. She opens her eye for a little while after that but eventually closes it again and won’t open it. I’ve noticed that she will itch her eye on branches and leaves. She even did it on my hand last night.
I did take her in the shower and just let it get steamy and she seemed to enjoy the warmth and kept her eye open. So no hot showers... Hot moisture is actually bad for chams and can lead to a respiratory infections.
I’ve read that chams will do this with vitamin A deficiency and debris in the eye. I’m leaning toward debris in her eye because I feed my crickets and dubias carrots. Occasionally I will offer a couple meal or waxworms for variation but she doesn’t seem to care much for those. What supplements are you using and in what rotation? Take pics of the bottles if you can.
She’s in a 2x2x4 enclosure with a fogger at night and dripper during the day. I mist twice a day. She has one of the swirly UVB bulbs, I can’t remember the wattage, maybe 100… The previous owner recommended that to me. UVB type is incorrect for a cham. Depending on the type your using she is either being over exposed or under exposed to UVB. You want to buy a T5HO fixture and a 5.0 or 6% UVB bulb for her. Place on the top of the cage and have a measured 8-9 inches to the branches below for the correct UVI level. Her heat source is a ceramic bulb that’s about 60 watts. Basking spot is held at 80 (about 8 inches from ceramic). I personally do not like ceramic heat bulbs. They do not tend to bask under them because they do not see a light. I use regular incandescent 60 watt bulbs. 78-80 at basking and no hotter. Make sure you are not running the heat bulb at night. She needs the cool down. My room is about 70 consistently. Humidity is about 60-70 at night and then 50 during the day. I’m aware that this likely needs an adjustment and am working on that. No adjustment needed for humidity. At night we only want high humidity if you are able to get temp drops like 67 and below. The floor of her cage is a layer of newspaper and then a layer of paper towel. Better off pulling this out and having it bare bottom. Her feeding area is like a “shooting range” type feeder. It keeps the bugs in one spot but allows them to climb. She does well eating from that. Her poops look fine, nothing notable there. Although she took a big one on my arm yesterday…. I feed 2-5 medium Dubia roaches or 5 medium crickets and rotate those daily. I provide more during a single feeding as I just started a new job and cannot feed twice a day in a timely manner. She gets fed in the mornings. MWF they get calcium dusted and then Sundays they’re dusted with the vitamin D3. So she is eating way to often. And you can tell she is holding quite a bit of extra weight. She should be fed 3 days a week with 3 feeders. Calcium without D3 on almost all feedings except you want a multi vitamin like Repashy calcium Plus LOD version 2 times a month say the 1st and the 15th. Females have to have a controlled diet along with basking temp to reduce clutch size.
I’m trying to avoid a vet visit if possible as the one near me is RARELY in the office and I fear I wouldn’t be able to visit for a couple weeks anyway due to her availability… Vets when they have the experience are great. However I do not think you need to rush into going. Make an appointment for a few weeks out and make the husbandry changes needed to see if it corrects the issues prior to the visit.

I’ve attached a pic of her enclosure and some images of her eye. The images make her look darker than she was. I don’t immediately see anything in her eye and she can use it, but that’s only when I have her out.

I’ve been handling her more recently just because I’ve been trying to remedy her eye. Usually I’ll hold her every other day for like 20-30 mins. Once she gets restless I put her back. She is used to me putting my hands in her enclosure and doesn’t puff or hiss.

Any advice or help is GREATLY appreciated.


So this could be a combo of things... Wrong UVB type being high on the list. If your not using a multivitamin this could contribute as well. It almost looks like she has a clear film over the eyeball. so this would be a concern and a reason to set up the vet appointment. At least you have one set up if the changes do not take care of the issue. Could be she has something stuck and just needs some longer misting to help flush it. But I am leaning towards your coil bulb being one that is too strong. You see they are either way too strong or way too weak. Too strong can cause issues like eye issues for the cham. Too weak can cause MBD.

This is a great link for learning correct housing and husbandry. https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

Lay bin is needed. Here is a link that will help you with that and an image. Most of our female keepers use the tub with moist playsand. These are kept as permanent fixtures in the cage. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/laying-bin-set-up-educational-video.77225/


View attachment 324604

Is this an appropriate bulb? The inside of the lamp covers the top of her cage and reflects the uvb light. If possible, I’d like to keep the current fixture.

https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/en...056uKHKEqVFSmvtLTbRNxhAvc68Y102EaAuktEALw_wcB

 

[Jpeff]

Wrong bulb. Need a t5ho 5 or 6 percent uvb

 

[Beman]

Is this an appropriate bulb? The inside of the lamp covers the top of her cage and reflects the uvb light. If possible, I’d like to keep the current fixture.

https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/en...056uKHKEqVFSmvtLTbRNxhAvc68Y102EaAuktEALw_wcB

So you have to get away from the compact screw in bulbs completely. These are the ones that cause issues.
You want a linear 24 inch T5HO fixture with a 5.0 or 6% uvb bulb.

 

[Jpeff]

https://www.joshsfrogs.com/josh-s-f...t-fixture-with-reflector-24-inch-24-watt.html
Fixture
https://www.joshsfrogs.com/arcadia-d3-6-uvb-t5-bulb-22.html
Bulb
Can find cheaper just have to look. You'll want it 8 to 9 inches away

 

[Beman]

I’ve attached another pic of her. And these are the supplements that were handed to me. Calcium MWF and the beta carotene on sundays.

Ok so your actually overdosing on D3. Because your calcium is the with D3 version. You want the without D3 version. Your mulitvitamin actually is fine to use. It does have A and beta carotene along with vitamin D3.