Cannot Solve Eye issue

[DelBoy]

Hi guys,

I have a 6 month old male ambilobe panther. Around 4-5 weeks ago, i noticed him scratching his right eye on a branch and the eye would buldge out in an attempt to clean itself. I've been keeping a watch on it to see if it cleared up, but it hasn't.

First, i took him to an exotic reptile shop where they used Saline eye drops in case something had got stuck in his eye - there was no improvements.

I purchased Zoo Med Repti eye drops to give him daily which i have been doing for around a week, i was hopeful this would be the answer, but i still see him from time to tiem with his right eye shut.

When i noticed it hadn't cleared his eye up, i decided to take him to my local exotic vet. She thought the shape of his eye looked healthy, saw no cloudiness to indicate an infection, and also ruled out Vit A deficiency because, according to her, you would see other signs on the skin of the chameleon if we had a Vit A deficiancy. We did a light test, and she noticed that his right eye (the problematic one), the pupil would remain small in the dark where she'd expect it to get bigger.

She also gave him an injection of Rapidexon to encourage whatever swelling there was to die down so they eye could flush out naturally. She said if there were no improvements, an MRI would be a realistic next step.

The lighting being used is Arcadia T5 so i dont think its Retina damage from incorrect lighting. I'm dusting his food everyday with Calcium, once a month with D3 and also one a month Earthpro-A.

He is hand misted around 3 times a day.

 

[DelBoy]

Hi guys,

I have a 6 month old male ambilobe panther. Around 4-5 weeks ago, i noticed him scratching his right eye on a branch and the eye would buldge out in an attempt to clean itself. I've been keeping a watch on it to see if it cleared up, but it hasn't.

First, i took him to an exotic reptile shop where they used Saline eye drops in case something had got stuck in his eye - there was no improvements.

I purchased Zoo Med Repti eye drops to give him daily which i have been doing for around a week, i was hopeful this would be the answer, but i still see him from time to tiem with his right eye shut.

When i noticed it hadn't cleared his eye up, i decided to take him to my local exotic vet. She thought the shape of his eye looked healthy, saw no cloudiness to indicate an infection, and also ruled out Vit A deficiency because, according to her, you would see other signs on the skin of the chameleon if we had a Vit A deficiancy. We did a light test, and she noticed that his right eye (the problematic one), the pupil would remain small in the dark where she'd expect it to get bigger.

She also gave him an injection of Rapidexon to encourage whatever swelling there was to die down so they eye could flush out naturally. She said if there were no improvements, an MRI would be a realistic next step.

The lighting being used is Arcadia T5 so i dont think its Retina damage from incorrect lighting. I'm dusting his food everyday with Calcium, once a month with D3 and also one a month Earthpro-A.

He is hand misted around 3 times a day.

 

[Beman]

Hi there. Can you please copy and paste the form below into your reply and then fill it out with detail? Then post pics of the entire enclosure for me?


Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

--------------

Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[ConfusedHornwormGuy]

Hi, I actually logged in today because my panther has been having a similar issue. The eye drops my vet prescribed work somewhat to abate the symptoms temporarily but the issue comes back. What I have done to address my issues:

1. Thanks to the other members here, they pointed out my supplement routine didn't have vitamin A. I gave her a rapid dose (as I'd like to call it) of vitamin a by giving her a couple of hefty dubias dusted with Reptivite, a supplement which has vitamin A in it and from my understanding all of the other necessary nutrients and minerals they might need. This was about 2 weeks ago. This last sunday I gave her another good feeding of insects with the reptivite supplement.

2. I did some more checking on my 2 cages where I have my veiled, which is endemic to yemen, and my ambilobe panther chameleon sharing that same ballast. I moved my temperature probe around and found that my cages lacked a good temperature gradient, so I moved my two ballasts up about 6 inches. There was an immediate difference in the behavior of both of them in how they utilized the space and the lighting. I aimed to make sure they had plenty of grasping space at various levels in their cages so they can roam to the temperature they please. I noticed my lighting issue because my veiled seemed to be soaking up the rays, and my panther wasn't happy with it, I noticed I was spraying up to 6 times a day and her skin was looking a tad dry, she was dehydrating quickly, and I was having to give her a lot of water daily to keep up with what I believe now to be the heat of her enclosure.

So moving the ballast up to the right position helped save me time on not having to spray often, and making sure her health is okay. I believe my eye issue may stem from (based on what I've read of other chameleon owners with eye issues) a burn to her eye because she simply couldn't get away from the lighting and her basking branch didn't have a comfortable gradient or enough room for my panther to move around.

The eye drops I was given for my panther are antibiotic. She has no RI as far as I can tell, no popping when breathing. She seems to have a good immune balance at this point and her enclosure has been cleaned, so I'm crossing my fingers it's not parasite load being too high pending fecals at the vet later this month.

I think that addressing the 2 things I had addressed, may help you root out issues. It's my understanding chameleons take a good bit of time to heal, so I'm trying to maintain my patience with the eye issue at this point. The lighting correction is a recent adjustment, so far it seems to be helping, both of her eyes are open this morning.

My panther since I bought her has had a habit of climbing up and trying to sit under her ballast, no matter where I position it really. I believe that somewhere along the line she may have suffered some damage to that eye which is why it's being expressed in this off and on closing behavior and the eye going from swollen to normal like yours.

I want to mention I'm using Acadia bulbs as well, I don't think using them necessarily makes your chameleon immune from burns, the lighting from my understanding is still capable of causing damage, especially if too close.

Take a look at your lighting, and make sure your chameleon has a good hydrating session, let them drink their fill, and make sure supplements are on point. I hope my experience helps!

 

[ConfusedHornwormGuy]

Not hijacking your thread at all but this is the oicture of my setups post changes. Previously my ballast was right up against the roof of their cages, which is why my veiled is now basking up higher and my panther basking at her normal level. (Veiled as of posting is high in her enclosure, picture was taken just after they woke up.

 

[DelBoy]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Ambilobe Panther Chameleon, male, 6 months old. I've had him for 3 months.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? 3/4 times a week for 10 mins a time.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Mixed diet, Crickets/Locust as staples (8-10 daily), BSFL (2 per day), 1-2 Calci worms a day and recently got Morio worms as a treat along with wax worms.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Arcadia Calcium (daily), Arcadia Earthpro A (once a month) and Arcadia Revitalize D3 (once a month)
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Using RO water, i hand mist 3-4 times a day. I see him drinking every day.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Healthy looking stool., got it tested 2 weeks back and no concerns.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 48 x 24 x 24 screen mesh enclosure
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Arcadia T5 lighting, Ceramic heat bulb and Jungle dawn UV for the plants. Lighting is scheduled for 12 hours a day.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Temp is around 28-30 degrees at basking spot (10 inches below heat source), with a 22-23 degree level at lower levels. Night time drops to around 20 degrees.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? around 45-50% during day, and up to 60 at night. Struggling on how to mantain high humidity at night
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? 2 x Pothos, lots of climbing branches, 2 bits of fake ivy to allow for hiding spots.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? in the corner of my office, on a table that stands around 2ft tall (so cage stands to around 6 feet on top of table).
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Hertfordshire, UK.

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. His eye, cannot figure out what is causing it to be shut/puff out/irritate him

 

[DelBoy]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Ambilobe Panther Chameleon, male, 6 months old. I've had him for 3 months.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? 3/4 times a week for 10 mins a time.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Mixed diet, Crickets/Locust as staples (8-10 daily), BSFL (2 per day), 1-2 Calci worms a day and recently got Morio worms as a treat along with wax worms.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Arcadia Calcium (daily), Arcadia Earthpro A (once a month) and Arcadia Revitalize D3 (once a month)
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Using RO water, i hand mist 3-4 times a day. I see him drinking every day.
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Healthy looking stool., got it tested 2 weeks back and no concerns.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 48 x 24 x 24 screen mesh enclosure
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Arcadia T5 lighting, Ceramic heat bulb and Jungle dawn UV for the plants. Lighting is scheduled for 12 hours a day.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Temp is around 28-30 degrees at basking spot (10 inches below heat source), with a 22-23 degree level at lower levels. Night time drops to around 20 degrees.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? around 45-50% during day, and up to 60 at night. Struggling on how to mantain high humidity at night
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? 2 x Pothos, lots of climbing branches, 2 bits of fake ivy to allow for hiding spots.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? in the corner of my office, on a table that stands around 2ft tall (so cage stands to around 6 feet on top of table).
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Hertfordshire, UK.

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. His eye, cannot figure out what is causing it to be shut/puff out/irritate him

 

[Beman]

Give me a bit to go through all your info.

 

[Beman]

@DelBoy See my feedback in bold.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Ambilobe Panther Chameleon, male, 6 months old. I've had him for 3 months.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? 3/4 times a week for 10 mins a time.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Mixed diet, Crickets/Locust as staples (8-10 daily), BSFL (2 per day), 1-2 Calci worms a day and recently got Morio worms as a treat along with wax worms.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Arcadia Calcium (daily), Arcadia Earthpro A (once a month) and Arcadia Revitalize D3 (once a month) So these supplements are supposed to be used in an 8 feed cycle.
• EP-A on feed 1,2,3. THEN Ca-Mg on feed 4. THEN EP-A on 5,6,7 THEN RevitaliseD3 on 8 and back to the beginning of the 8 feed cycle. Earthpro A is calcium without D3 and some water soluble vitamins, Cal- MG is calcium without D3 and Magnesium with water soluble vitamins, and revitaliseD3 is calcium with D3 and vitamin A both are fat soluble vitamins but the lowest levels of both that are on the market making it much harder to overdose with.
  
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Using RO water, i hand mist 3-4 times a day. I see him drinking every day. Are you misting long enough that he can clean his eyes out?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Healthy looking stool., got it tested 2 weeks back and no concerns.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 48 x 24 x 24 screen mesh enclosure
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Arcadia T5 lighting, Ceramic heat bulb and Jungle dawn UV for the plants. Lighting is scheduled for 12 hours a day. What is the total distance from the bottom of the UVB to his branch below it? And are you using a 6% bulb or a 12% bulb? Careful with the Ceramic Heat bulb these can cause extreme hot spots and very bad thermal burns.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Temp is around 28-30 degrees at basking spot (10 inches below heat source), with a 22-23 degree level at lower levels. Night time drops to around 20 degrees. They need the temp drop at night so try to get it down a bit farther. Make sure the Che is not running at night.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? around 45-50% during day, and up to 60 at night. Struggling on how to mantain high humidity at night. So the only way to get high humidity at night is with a cool mist humidifier but these should not be used unless you can achieve a temp drop below 19C at night. It is another point of hydration and is not an absolute must have.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? 2 x Pothos, lots of climbing branches, 2 bits of fake ivy to allow for hiding spots.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? in the corner of my office, on a table that stands around 2ft tall (so cage stands to around 6 feet on top of table).
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Hertfordshire, UK.

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. His eye, cannot figure out what is causing it to be shut/puff out/irritate him

The top vines look like exo terra jungle vines. If they are they should be removed. These vines are known for causing eye issues because the coating comes off in tiny pieces when they rub on them.

 

[DelBoy]

@DelBoy See my feedback in bold.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Ambilobe Panther Chameleon, male, 6 months old. I've had him for 3 months.
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? 3/4 times a week for 10 mins a time.
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Mixed diet, Crickets/Locust as staples (8-10 daily), BSFL (2 per day), 1-2 Calci worms a day and recently got Morio worms as a treat along with wax worms.
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Arcadia Calcium (daily), Arcadia Earthpro A (once a month) and Arcadia Revitalize D3 (once a month) So these supplements are supposed to be used in an 8 feed cycle.
• EP-A on feed 1,2,3. THEN Ca-Mg on feed 4. THEN EP-A on 5,6,7 THEN RevitaliseD3 on 8 and back to the beginning of the 8 feed cycle. Earthpro A is calcium without D3 and some water soluble vitamins, Cal- MG is calcium without D3 and Magnesium with water soluble vitamins, and revitaliseD3 is calcium with D3 and vitamin A both are fat soluble vitamins but the lowest levels of both that are on the market making it much harder to overdose with.
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Using RO water, i hand mist 3-4 times a day. I see him drinking every day. Are you misting long enough that he can clean his eyes out?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Healthy looking stool., got it tested 2 weeks back and no concerns.
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? 48 x 24 x 24 screen mesh enclosure
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Arcadia T5 lighting, Ceramic heat bulb and Jungle dawn UV for the plants. Lighting is scheduled for 12 hours a day. What is the total distance from the bottom of the UVB to his branch below it? And are you using a 6% bulb or a 12% bulb? Careful with the Ceramic Heat bulb these can cause extreme hot spots and very bad thermal burns.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Temp is around 28-30 degrees at basking spot (10 inches below heat source), with a 22-23 degree level at lower levels. Night time drops to around 20 degrees. They need the temp drop at night so try to get it down a bit farther. Make sure the Che is not running at night.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? around 45-50% during day, and up to 60 at night. Struggling on how to mantain high humidity at night. So the only way to get high humidity at night is with a cool mist humidifier but these should not be used unless you can achieve a temp drop below 19C at night. It is another point of hydration and is not an absolute must have.
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? 2 x Pothos, lots of climbing branches, 2 bits of fake ivy to allow for hiding spots.
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? in the corner of my office, on a table that stands around 2ft tall (so cage stands to around 6 feet on top of table).
• Location - Where are you geographically located? Hertfordshire, UK.

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. His eye, cannot figure out what is causing it to be shut/puff out/irritate him

The top vines look like exo terra jungle vines. If they are they should be removed. These vines are known for causing eye issues because the coating comes off in tiny pieces when they rub on them.

First of all Beman, thank you very much for taking the time out to go through that and to give me your recommendations, i do have a couples of Q's for you;

When you talk about cycling the feeds in 8's, does 8 represent 8 days? so EP-A on days 1-3, Ca on day 4 .. so on and so fourth? or does 8 mean 8 insects?

The stick directly under the UVB light is slanted, with one end being around 3 inches and the lower end around 5.5 inches below. the UVB bulb is 6%.

I'd been keeping the heating on on his room because as we approach winter, i was worried it would get too cold for him at night, but i'll turn the heating off for a week and keep my eye on his progress.

Lastly, yes they are jungle vines from exo terra, which he spends a lot of time on. i shall remove those if they could be the problem, are there any other safe alternatives that i could put in place?

 

[Beman]

First of all Beman, thank you very much for taking the time out to go through that and to give me your recommendations, i do have a couples of Q's for you;

When you talk about cycling the feeds in 8's, does 8 represent 8 days? so EP-A on days 1-3, Ca on day 4 .. so on and so fourth? or does 8 mean 8 insects?

The stick directly under the UVB light is slanted, with one end being around 3 inches and the lower end around 5.5 inches below. the UVB bulb is 6%.

I'd been keeping the heating on on his room because as we approach winter, i was worried it would get too cold for him at night, but i'll turn the heating off for a week and keep my eye on his progress.

Lastly, yes they are jungle vines from exo terra, which he spends a lot of time on. i shall remove those if they could be the problem, are there any other safe alternatives that i could put in place?

Of course my pleasure to help...

Ok so 8 feed cycle represents feeding days.... So if your feeding everyday then it is per day. EPA on day 1 day 2 and day three etc. Now when you go to every other day feeding it is still per feeding day. So EPA on Monday wed then friday and cal mg on Sunday and so on. When I used Arcadia I always used a calendar to track it because it can get messed up without it. lol.

Now then... UVB he is sitting way too close. So with an arcadia 6% bulb in a single bulb fixture and sitting on the screen cage top you want a full 8-9 inches to the branches below it. This will put the cham in the UVI level he needs where he is sitting up off the branch. So right now he is way too close to the UVB and is in overexposure distances. Which could very well be contributing the the eye issues.

Pull the exo terra vines out and measure to the branches below them the total distance to the branch from the UVB.

For night time temps they are perfectly fine down to 50F at night. I would not stress temps at night unless they dip below that. See what the temps are sitting at. I personally prefer 60ish.


I think the issue we are looking at with the eye is potentially a few things. Under supplementation of vitamin A. Doing the 8 feed cycle will correct this. Over exposure to UVI levels that are much too high. Correcting the distance to basking will correct this. And then the jungle vines which are just not the best for chams.
Now ensuring that he can clean his eyes when you mist will help him dislodge something if it has to do with the vines.

This is an excellent resource for correct husbandry https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

 

[DelBoy]

Thank you so much man ... its amazing to see a community so helpful in todays world.

He'll be nodding off to sleep soon, so i'll make all of those changes as you've suggested tomorrow and hope to see some improvements over the next days and weeks.

 

[Beman]

Thank you so much man ... its amazing to see a community so helpful in todays world.

He'll be nodding off to sleep soon, so i'll make all of those changes as you've suggested tomorrow and hope to see some improvements over the next days and weeks.

Your welcome. Let me know if you have any questions. Just double check your distances too. It is important that it is a measured 8-9 inches to the closest branch from the bottom of the fixture.

My name is Becca. Welcome to the forum.

 

[DelBoy]

Your welcome. Let me know if you have any questions. Just double check your distances too. It is important that it is a measured 8-9 inches to the closest branch from the bottom of the fixture.

My name is Becca. Welcome to the forum.

Thank you Becca

 

[ConfusedHornwormGuy]

First of all Beman, thank you very much for taking the time out to go through that and to give me your recommendations, i do have a couples of Q's for you;

When you talk about cycling the feeds in 8's, does 8 represent 8 days? so EP-A on days 1-3, Ca on day 4 .. so on and so fourth? or does 8 mean 8 insects?

The stick directly under the UVB light is slanted, with one end being around 3 inches and the lower end around 5.5 inches below. the UVB bulb is 6%.

I'd been keeping the heating on on his room because as we approach winter, i was worried it would get too cold for him at night, but i'll turn the heating off for a week and keep my eye on his progress.

Lastly, yes they are jungle vines from exo terra, which he spends a lot of time on. i shall remove those if they could be the problem, are there any other safe alternatives that i could put in place?

Of course my pleasure to help...

Ok so 8 feed cycle represents feeding days.... So if your feeding everyday then it is per day. EPA on day 1 day 2 and day three etc. Now when you go to every other day feeding it is still per feeding day. So EPA on Monday wed then friday and cal mg on Sunday and so on. When I used Arcadia I always used a calendar to track it because it can get messed up without it. lol.

Now then... UVB he is sitting way too close. So with an arcadia 6% bulb in a single bulb fixture and sitting on the screen cage top you want a full 8-9 inches to the branches below it. This will put the cham in the UVI level he needs where he is sitting up off the branch. So right now he is way too close to the UVB and is in overexposure distances. Which could very well be contributing the the eye issues.

Pull the exo terra vines out and measure to the branches below them the total distance to the branch from the UVB.

For night time temps they are perfectly fine down to 50F at night. I would not stress temps at night unless they dip below that. See what the temps are sitting at. I personally prefer 60ish.


I think the issue we are looking at with the eye is potentially a few things. Under supplementation of vitamin A. Doing the 8 feed cycle will correct this. Over exposure to UVI levels that are much too high. Correcting the distance to basking will correct this. And then the jungle vines which are just not the best for chams.
Now ensuring that he can clean his eyes when you mist will help him dislodge something if it has to do with the vines.

This is an excellent resource for correct husbandry https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-husbandry-program-getting-started-with-chameleons/

Glad to see my suggestions were decent based on my experience, albeit coming from a negative or bad situation, the advice we can offer from experience helps. we all still have learning to do and it's kinda up to the individual to heed the advice and feedback. Sometimes it just takes awhile to make sure you have everything on point, chameleons can be tough to take care of.

The thing is my veiled chameleon is right next door - and hasn't expressed the same issues. It could be pointing to her health, but it could also mean different species require slightly different tweaks to their husbandry. With that said, my veiled doesn't seem all too upset with her ballast being a little higher. Again for me once I raised my ballasts it made a big difference as far as their behavior goes, particularly with my panther.

Beman has been a wealth of help for me, most of what I did came from her advice or other way more experienced members of the community, so it's sound advice that has helped prolongue and arguably saved the lives of my chameleons in the future, helping to avoid health issues and things that cam be somewhat easily avoided with proper care.

 

[ConfusedHornwormGuy]

I wanted to share. Yesterday I raised my ballasts another 2 inches. It is winter season and it got pretty cold last night so I think my panther and jacksons chameleons are waking up cold, which would explain screen climbing behavior, as it really only happens when they wake up cold, they start scrambling for the heat, so night temperatures are important. I mention this because I believe that is what caused her to burn her eye in the first place. I also had stopped using their humidifier for some time and started using big drippers, but I'm finding that tbe drippers fill their water resevoirs so quickly that they rapidly become chambers for bacteria and parasites. I've carefully placed my humidifier to blow the mist at leaves in my chameleons cages for them to drink.

I did a deep clean last night on all of my cages, including the humidifier which hasn't been used for some time, to limit bacteria buildup. My plan is to regularly use the humidifier to supply their drinking water, and clean the humidifier regularly. I also made sure the humidifier was over their sand containers so the sand and plants can absorb the water. So it kills a few birds with one stone. I still plan to mist regularly and provide water as needed, but this will help prevent water loss/dehydration which I believe also was causing her to overheat even worse when she would wake up cold.

Today I caught her intentionally putting her eye into the mist, so I do believe it is a burn. Perhaps this could help aid your chameleon in their healing process as well, assuming eye irritation is the issue.

Since moving the ballast up and adding the humidifer, and addressing my supplement issues, she is using her eye a little more and more every day. She hasn't eaten in a couple of days so that is a point of concern for me, but she is still drinking/hydrating so she maybe just isn't hungry yet, I'm keeping an eye on it, she may get hungry later today. Other than that she is seeming to do better.

 

[ConfusedHornwormGuy]

She loves the humidifier! Eyes open on their own this morning, no eye drops! The left eye is the one that has been having the problem.

 

[ConfusedHornwormGuy]

A beautiful happy little camper this morning!

 

[Tarzanfam]

Following this, as my panther is also having some eye issues that sound just the same. I have done a full review of my lighting and I know it is correct, but don't know how quickly I could expect to see a difference if that is indeed the issue he has been having (uvb too close). It's been about a week and a half and no improvement yet. I didn't know those vines could be causing problems! gah!

 

[Beman]

Just to jump in here. Not ALL eye issues mean your chams are experiencing the exact same issue. Please keep that in mind when you compare your situation to another. In this specific thread there were multiple potential issues that could cause eye issues. It could be one thing or a combo.