Another health problem thread.

[pinkeye714]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - a male and female red bar ambilobe panther cham. both around 9 month old. i have had them a week.
Handling - only held the first day i got them to insure no lumps and alertness then photos. then no more touching.
Feeding - currently have dubia in my care. i give them water, carrots, and an other veggies i have in the house. cucumber or green leaf lettus but the dubia i have had for 2 months (i wanted large ones for a project). female ate 2 for me the first day. male ate 3 dubia 2 days ago. 2 yesterday and one today.
Supplements - i have multivitiman i believe reptical for once a month and reptical vit d3 twice a month. i have not used it but i was considering it.
repashy supercal med.
Watering - i have a mist bottle. i mist the top of both cages for a good 5-10 min. with warm water so i do not shock them. i have not seen either drink.
Fecal Description - not been tested for parasites. honestly. poop looks total norm. smelly too. female pooped once for me. male 3 times.
History - doubt it. i only had them a week. the chams were being taken care of by children.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - female is in a med reptibreeze and male is in a large.
Lighting - i recently changed their lights to intense basking spot 75w. they both had 25w regular household bulbs. both have 5.0 uvb tube lights. and i have the lights set from 8am to 8pm.
Temperature - they had 88 basking with the 25w. when i changed to the 75w. basking is around 95. seen the male sleep under it. bottom is 80. the house is 75. at night temps get to 70. i mesure with a temp gun by pro exotics.
Humidity - i have a humidity gauge in both cages. when misted (i do it 3 to 4 times a day and you will see why at the bottom) it is around 80. when i let it dry it is 50.
Plants - currently no live plants.
Placement - cages are in a spare room i have for the dogs when i leave. not very high traffic because we dont use the room less we leave and put the dogs in there. there is an AC vent in the top of the room but the Ac has not been on since i got them. it has been to cold for me. 75F.
Location - san antonio TX

Current Problem - so, female first. I got a lay bin for her.she has about ten inchs to dig. she does not look gravid but i did not want to take a chance. she shed for me 3 days ago. so i understood her not wanting to eat. she keeps both eyes closed during the day though i have seen her move spots occasional when i check on her every now and then. she has not eat for me after shed nor have i seen her drink. mostly sleep during the day. she is not dark from stress. i have seen her rub her eye as if something is in her turret. considering terramycin. she is not skinny like parasites but i didn't test it yet.
Male so he also sleeps during the day. lights go on at 8am. have not seen him slightly awake and move occasional till 1 or 2 pm. he will use his tongue but i noticed it is not sticky. it does not look like he is going into shed, i know some guys close one eye when about to shed. i have also not seen him drink either. i have noticed his eye also moving under like he is trying to push something out.
photos below.

 

[freddyf385]

I would do a fecal test on both of them and as far as eye issues. Ive used unisol 4 saline solution, without any type of conditioner. I used it as needed. But closing of the eye is not good. Vet would be the best for him.

 

[Carlton]

Your Chameleon - a male and female red bar ambilobe panther cham. both around 9 month old. i have had them a week.

Supplements - i have multivitiman i believe reptical for once a month and reptical vit d3 twice a month. i have not used it but i was considering it.
repashy supercal med.

Do you know anything about how the chams were supplemented before you got them? Now they should be getting a dusting of plain calcium (no D3) daily, dusting with calcium WITH D3 every 2 weeks, and dusting with a herp multivitamin every 2 weeks.


Fecal Description - not been tested for parasites. honestly. poop looks total norm. smelly too. female pooped once for me. male 3 times.

History - doubt it. i only had them a week. the chams were being taken care of by children.

Doesn't sound good and I bet you are seeing long term problems coming out now.


Lighting - i recently changed their lights to intense basking spot 75w. they both had 25w regular household bulbs. both have 5.0 uvb tube lights. and i have the lights set from 8am to 8pm.

Are the 5.0 UVB tubes new? If not, how long have they been in use? Do you know what their previous owner was using?


Temperature - they had 88 basking with the 25w. when i changed to the 75w. basking is around 95. seen the male sleep under it. bottom is 80. the house is 75. at night temps get to 70. i mesure with a temp gun by pro exotics.

Can you drop the temps a little? Moving the basking spot farther away from the cage should do it. The nighttime temps are too warm, so possibly they are not able to rest.


Humidity - i have a humidity gauge in both cages. when misted (i do it 3 to 4 times a day and you will see why at the bottom) it is around 80. when i let it dry it is 50.

Plants - currently no live plants.

Get some. They will help stabilize the humidity level. Rubbing eyes can be a sign of dehydration and eye irritation. If there is eye discharge there's an infection going on. I think you want to make sure these guys can drink often for a long time (lots of bushy live foliage will provide water longer) and it will also encourage them to clear their eyes.


Current Problem - so, female first. I got a lay bin for her.she has about ten inchs to dig. she does not look gravid but i did not want to take a chance. she shed for me 3 days ago. so i understood her not wanting to eat. she keeps both eyes closed during the day though i have seen her move spots occasional when i check on her every now and then. she has not eat for me after shed nor have i seen her drink. mostly sleep during the day. she is not dark from stress. i have seen her rub her eye as if something is in her turret. considering terramycin. she is not skinny like parasites but i didn't test it yet.
Male so he also sleeps during the day. lights go on at 8am. have not seen him slightly awake and move occasional till 1 or 2 pm. he will use his tongue but i noticed it is not sticky.

Tongue "stickiness" can be affected by dehydration and nutritional deficiencies both of which you may be seeing. There is a gland on the tip of the tongue that produces mucous that helps prey stick to it on impact.

 

[pinkeye714]

changed

I am sorry. I do not have calcium without d3. I do have the multivitamin and calcium with d3. I also have a low cal with d3 though that is for animals such as crested geckos who are never out during the day.
I will go get some live plants. I just have not added it yet because if it was an eye infection, i don't want real dirt and such to get in eyes.
I added more fake plants to both their enclosures. Also changed their lights to 50W instead of 75w. Maybe that will be better for basking. Though at night, i cannot make the house go below 70°F (caresheets said this was an acceptable temp for night)
The female and male drank a lot of water for me today. They also have a vet app tmr as well.

 

[freddyf385]

Outdoor natural sunlight, with some nice long misting helps as well. With eye issues.

 

[ataraxia]

I have to ask. Did you buy them with their eyes closed? You did state you checked for alertness but nothing previous on the eye situation.

Both eyes shut...I would start with your lights. Turn them off and just put a regular house bulb. NOT the coil type just a regular house bulb for heat and thats it. It is possible your uvb bulb is defective and is putting out improper waves.

If this does not clear the eye prob in a couple days. I would then go for a possible vitamin deficiency. Dont blame yourself for this as it takes many, many more days than a week to cause this onset. Again, try the lights first and then this. Go to any drug store and buy COD liver oil capsules. Pierce a capsule with a needle and then take a drop of it and smear it on a feeder of your choice. JUST ONE. If they open to eat great but if not you will need to feed them the one feeder. If you do not feel comfortable doing this. I would suggest consulting a vet. Do this for no more than 3-5 days in a row and only once a day.

Lastly, if the first two do not solve the issue. This guy and gale may have a illness.

Best case would be to consult with a vet that is well versed with chameleons.

Also that female looks quite swollen, possible edema. Could be from being gravid, possible organ issues, over weight/ improper nutrition, etc...Dont know without seeing her first hand.

 

[pinkeye714]

I have to ask. Did you buy them with their eyes closed? You did state you checked for alertness but nothing previous on the eye situation.

Both eyes shut...I would start with your lights. Turn them off and just put a regular house bulb. NOT the coil type just a regular house bulb for heat and thats it. It is possible your uvb bulb is defective and is putting out improper waves.

If this does not clear the eye prob in a couple days. I would then go for a possible vitamin deficiency. Dont blame yourself for this as it takes many, many more days than a week to cause this onset. Again, try the lights first and then this. Go to any drug store and buy COD liver oil capsules. Pierce a capsule with a needle and then take a drop of it and smear it on a feeder of your choice. JUST ONE. If they open to eat great but if not you will need to feed them the one feeder. If you do not feel comfortable doing this. I would suggest consulting a vet. Do this for no more than 3-5 days in a row and only once a day.

Lastly, if the first two do not solve the issue. This guy and gale may have a illness.

Best case would be to consult with a vet that is well versed with chameleons.

Also that female looks quite swollen, possible edema. Could be from being gravid, possible organ issues, over weight/ improper nutrition, etc...Dont know without seeing her first hand.

When i first got them. Both eyes on both animals were open. They were looking around and very strong grips. They previous had house lights. I will keep the uvb off. See if that is an issue then change them.
So they had a vet check on 11-7. Went to a herp vet my local reptile community uses. He said female has fluids in one eye. Male does not. Might be suck shed in his. I got terramycin for their eyes and baytril for internal bacteria. (Though from reading online it looks like that is just something vets give out for everything)
I have been giving it to the female but i am stressing her out a lot. I can tell. I force feed her one dubia with calcium after medication. She stays black all day since the vet and medication. Wondering when i should try cod liver. Though the vet said she was not gravid. She still has a lay box regardless.

 

[ataraxia]

I would also turn off the intense basking bulb too. I doubt it is it but we need to do a process of elimination.

If it is indeed from the lights. It will take a few days to clear up.

This will help if you believe it is debris or infection. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ataraxia/594-shower-chamber-treatment.html