eating problems plus white spots on eyes Panther Cham.

[geoff135]

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon- Panther chameleon, male, about 9-10 months old, had him for about 2 weeks.
Handling - once every 2 weeks ish maybe less
Feeding - cricket/ silk worms, about 10-12 crickets a day some times less or more depending on appetite, gut load: romaine lettuce, red leaf lettuce, carrots, yams, apples, oranges, and whole wheat. total bites also.
Supplements - reptivite w/o d3 dusted before every feeding. D3 and Multi vitamins 2 times a month.
Watering - misting cage every 4 hours for 30-40 sec. yes he does drink
Fecal Description - looks normal, brown, lumpy, with white thing.
History - got him from a local pet shop.


Cage Info:

Cage Type - its a 2x3x4ft all screen
Lighting - zoo med, UVB, and 50 watt heat, 12 hrs a day on timer.
Temperature – 80-92 in basking, 75 at bottom. 72 lowest temp recorded.
Humidity - about 50-70 with misting and live plant. thermometer and humidity sensor.
Plants - Schefflera
Placement - in my room on top a dresser. ceiling fan is on time to time. not high traffic barely in my room cuz of classes and work. cage is sitting about 3-4 ft off ground.
Location - Gainesville(north Florida)

EYEs Closed!

Video of the problem with feeding

http://youtu.be/_IOFa8RpnCc

 

[Alexl]

There's definitely something going on with his eyes. His tongue muscles seem to work, but he can't focus his eyes properly on the feeders or just misses them due to lack of sight. Could be e.g. a conjunctivits caused by short-waved UVB or even a bacterial infection or a foreign body under the eye lid or...., that's hard to say without reptile vet visit including an eye flush and a bacteriological culture. The white "spots" look like shedding residues to me, but the picture isn't the best. Is he closing both eyes during the day or just this one in the picture?

Besides the eye problem, don't you supplement with pure calcium, too?
And you should cut down feeding. A subadult panther chameleon needs days without any food and even the half of your food amount (which is up to date about 50 to 70 crickets a week!) would be really too much. Just look at your chameleon's casque, it's already a bit chubby and bulged, which means he's storing fat inside his jaw muscles (shouldn't be).

 

[carol5208]

you live in FLA.. do you take him outside for natural uvb? If not, you should, as it is very good for them.

 

[carol5208]

His tongue is working but it is not extending far enough from what I can see. If you hold the cup closer for him does he still miss?The white definitely looks like shed to me.

 

[geoff135]

I just got him from a pet shop, so i dont know what kind of food they have been feeding him. I try and take him out in the sun but, also i try not to handle him alot since i just got him and i wanted him to adjust.

As far as both eyes he closes both of them almost all the time. the white does not look like sheddings, looks like the pigment on his skin is being affected by it.

guys at pet shop said about 7-10 crickets a day are normal. but if ur saying less i can see the fat patches.

i sup. regular calcium almost every day with multivitamin and D3 every month. he just seems sluggish and not well.

Im trying to get this guy better thanks for the response, but let me know what the right direction should be to take this guy

 

[carol5208]

wow that is weird if you say it does not look like shed. I have no idea then, cause that is what it looks like and on his nose too. It is possible if you just got him he was not given the proper nutrients in his gutload or supplementation. It is possible the tongue could be injured too if he cannot shoot it completely It is hard to say cause you just got him and really do not know his history. I would gutload his feeders real good. Give him a multi vitamin once a week. Some people take liquid vitamin A (the one in the liquicaps) and squeeze that onto a feeder for extra vitamin A. It wouldn't hurt to get a fecal sample and have it tested for parasites. Dehydration can lead to eye closing but so can parasites. Although you said his urate is white and he does drink. Were his eyes closed at the pet store at all before you bought him or just since you got him home?

 

[geoff135]

he looked good at the pet shop, but i mean it wasnt till i was feeding him my self that i started to notice hints here and here for health problems

 

[Silkyslim]

All I can think of is a burn of sorts. Perhaps the bulb is too strong? You do have the basking spot (from the pic with eyes closed) about 5-6 inches away from the top? Pretty close in my eyes. Being on for 12 hours a day could be slowly burning him through the day?

I just watched your vid and your lights are just glaring! However, the angle is a bit upward so its to be expected.

I have read in the past that over supplementation of D3 can cause tongue extension issues. Most not extending far enough or at all, some cases were targeting issues with the cham just missing a lot.

Are you using 10.0 lights? CFL lights perhaps? You should lay out your lighting configuration out in more detail here for us, I bet your issue lies there.

 

[geoff135]

5.0 UVB 50W heat bulb, and double housed in a zoo-med dome.

all the injuries and/or healthproblems where from another owner, i dont really see these issues developing over the 2 weeks ive had him so far, the white eye marks i thought were just shedding, so i didnt think anything of it, and i never saw him eat till i owned him, so its hard to say that ive done anything wrong, im wondering it its just a vet visit i need to make but for just getting him id rather not go down on another 80+ dollars to find out its just vitamins i need to give him

 

[carol5208]

5.0 UVB 50W heat bulb, and double housed in a zoo-med dome.

all the injuries and/or healthproblems where from another owner, i dont really see these issues developing over the 2 weeks ive had him so far, the white eye marks i thought were just shedding, so i didnt think anything of it, and i never saw him eat till i owned him, so its hard to say that ive done anything wrong, im wondering it its just a vet visit i need to make but for just getting him id rather not go down on another 80+ dollars to find out its just vitamins i need to give him

well I would get him outside in the sun. It will be good for him in every way. Just hold the cup closer so he can eat and gutload your feeders good and give him the multivitamin. Atleast he has an appetite which is a good thing. Poor thing, I hate to see him trying to catch the feeders. I would say if he continues to keep his eyes closed, I would take a fecal and go to the vet.

 

[draftgirl]

The seniors on here are very open about sharing their knowledge. It's scary to bring home a new cham and have problems right away. The good thing is he IS eating and pooping. I would call your vet and ask advice and try to get a fecal done as soon as possible. Good luck, I hope your cham feels better soon.

 

[Silkyslim]

Yeah it's most odd no doubt. I only suspected a "burn" as it looks like the edges of the white are a little black.

When my panther was about 10-12 months old, I caught him closing his eyes a little under the basking light. Nothing ever advanced from it, and he's had x rays and blood work since then just to be thorough. I just thought that maybe he was getting relaxed? Gotta be a new feeling for a prey animal.

Maybe its fungal?