Eye closed

J

Jennyontheblock

Member
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Panther, hatched 10/2016. In care since 4/17
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Weekly
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Crickets,Dubias staple, hornworms as treat. Offered daily, sometimes every other day. Gutload with r. Bugburger as staple, mix in irregular addition of organic veggies- sweet potatoes. Carrots, kale or collard greens, occasional orange.
Leave about 6 crickets in bottom with carrot, they cannot get to top so there is always food avail. Otherwise I typically cup feed 5-6 dail, every other. He recently has shown stronger hunting on own. Previously he was lazy and relied on me.
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Rep. Calcium plus every feeding. Its 1yr old and expires 9/19. Keep it in cooler basement. Started this summer doing rep California with d-3 1x month and also rep-cal & herptivite 1x month. Dont use the repashy in this day.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Ro water, mist king. Lights on at 8, 8:05 5min 8:30 15min, 10:30 15 min, 5:00 15 min. I just reduced the 5pm from 30 minutes.
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? No test. Poops about every 10 days, top of updates white but gets orange closer to decal. About half and half white, orange.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. He ate a bunch of vine a year ago, was impacted but eventually passed it. Was a

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?18x21x48 dragon strand with 3 solid sides, screen bottom with bin under to catch water.
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Reptisun 5.0..2 bulbs. Keep one thtbis 6mo and younger in at all times. Leave the newest of the older bulbs in for extra light. Also have a agrosun full spectrum mounted vertical on 1 side for plants...but he likes to sit in front of it. Flukers 75w basking. On 12 hrs day in winter...I increase gradually to 15 in summer along with misting.
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Temp gun. 89 basking down to 69 at floor. Room is 72 -75 degrees
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? 24 hr digital temp and humidity guage. Ranges 60 -80 daytime, nights down to 30% it measures min and max.
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes, orchids, pothos
  • 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 basement, little activity. Cage is protected from views on all but the front. He is so tame and tries to come out when feeding.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Cleveland Ohio

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. I check on him daily and yesterday for first time, saw him midlevel in cage with r. Eye closed. He did it again today. I assumed he was flushing eyes at first. I misted him w water to try and flush it not sure it's fixed or not. Made apt to see vet in morning. Am I doing something wrong?

Coincidentally, I found a clear slimy chewed but not digested cricket a week ago. Not sure if it was puked, pooped or what. He had a fabulous looking bowel 3 days ago so I disregarded it. He has been hunting on his own with great appetite, seems better than ever. Now I'm in full panic mode.

Should note he is also shedding and I have seen him rubbing head but this is typical of him.

Thanks in advance for any input on my care or otherwise.
 
This was taken week ago...wrong eye. Finely figured out how to post here so I will take pic of setup and him. Thanks
 

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Are your UVB's reptisun 5.0 compacts or linear? Compacts are supposedly* responsible for eye damage in some chameleons, especially if they are exposed to them over long periods of time and/or they are very close to the compacts.

I don't know how accurate that statement is, since lots of people say compacts are OK nowadays (as in not harmful; they're still objectively worse than linear) but I didn't see any glaring husbandry issues that would cause the problem you're describing.
 
Jennyontheblock said:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Panther, hatched 10/2016. In care since 4/17
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? Weekly
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? Crickets,Dubias staple, hornworms as treat. Offered daily, sometimes every other day. Gutload with r. Bugburger as staple, mix in irregular addition of organic veggies- sweet potatoes. Carrots, kale or collard greens, occasional orange.
Leave about 6 crickets in bottom with carrot, they cannot get to top so there is always food avail. Otherwise I typically cup feed 5-6 dail, every other. He recently has shown stronger hunting on own. Previously he was lazy and relied on me.
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Rep. Calcium plus every feeding. Its 1yr old and expires 9/19. Keep it in cooler basement. Started this summer doing rep California with d-3 1x month and also rep-cal & herptivite 1x month. Dont use the repashy in this day.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? Ro water, mist king. Lights on at 8, 8:05 5min 8:30 15min, 10:30 15 min, 5:00 15 min. I just reduced the 5pm from 30 minutes.
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? No test. Poops about every 10 days, top of updates white but gets orange closer to decal. About half and half white, orange.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. He ate a bunch of vine a year ago, was impacted but eventually passed it. Was a

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?18x21x48 dragon strand with 3 solid sides, screen bottom with bin under to catch water.
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? Reptisun 5.0..2 bulbs. Keep one thtbis 6mo and younger in at all times. Leave the newest of the older bulbs in for extra light. Also have a agrosun full spectrum mounted vertical on 1 side for plants...but he likes to sit in front of it. Flukers 75w basking. On 12 hrs day in winter...I increase gradually to 15 in summer along with misting.
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Temp gun. 89 basking down to 69 at floor. Room is 72 -75 degrees
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? 24 hr digital temp and humidity guage. Ranges 60 -80 daytime, nights down to 30% it measures min and max.
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes, orchids, pothos
  • 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 basement, little activity. Cage is protected from views on all but the front. He is so tame and tries to come out when feeding.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located? Cleveland Ohio

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. I check on him daily and yesterday for first time, saw him midlevel in cage with r. Eye closed. He did it again today. I assumed he was flushing eyes at first. I misted him w water to try and flush it not sure it's fixed or not. Made apt to see vet in morning. Am I doing something wrong?

Coincidentally, I found a clear slimy chewed but not digested cricket a week ago. Not sure if it was puked, pooped or what. He had a fabulous looking bowel 3 days ago so I disregarded it. He has been hunting on his own with great appetite, seems better than ever. Now I'm in full panic mode.

Should note he is also shedding and I have seen him rubbing head but this is typical of him.

Thanks in advance for any input on my care or otherwise.
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He might need more crickets/dubias given each feeding than that. Did you read the panther care sheet here? You should only give him one multivitamin monthly, if at all, with Repashy Calcium Plus. His eyes look a little sunken in, could he be dehydrated? Every ten days is a long time to go without pooping. Orange urates means at least dehydration, if not something more. Remember to take a fecal sample with you to the vet! Did you take him to the vet when he ate the vines? Were they fake or real? He needs a screen cage at minimum size of 2’ by 2’ by 4’ tall! When you get the money, get an Arcadia t5HO linear 6% bulb and fixture. Take off the LED light from the side of the cage and put it on top. A cham should have 12 hours of uvb and basking and 12 hours of complete darkness, what temp does it drop to at night? Maybe get a humidifier for nighttime? If he tries to come out, it means he wants to get out to explore elsewhere. Could you post a pic of his cage, please? Is his cage on the ground or in a stand? Good call on going to the vet ASAP!
 
Ok, so I dont have any LED lights. I have reptisun 5.0 t5 tubes on the top with basking. I mounted vertical on the side, a single t12 full spectrum bulb just for plants. He seems to like it though. I have experimented with it and when I have it mounted, he hunts for the extra crickets in the enclosure. When it's not there, he rarely hunts or goes below the top 2/3 of the enclosure. Crickets are at the bottom. He goes out weather permitting in summer for natural UV.

I have read the care sheets. I feed as many as he will eat and there is always food available to him. I used general numbers of bugs, if he eats everything, I add more. 7-10 days pooping is the norm for him, not sure how to speed it up. He does have some as little as 4 days, but not normally. It's possible the pothos pot is catching some. The top half of urates are white, bottom half orange. I can increase watering but it's not seemed to change urates. It created issues of too wet.

I have temp and humidity guage, reported daytime basking and ambient temps. Mentioned we keep house at 75 degrees so it's never cooler than that.

Nature provides flexes in humidity. I didnt think I wanted max humidity at night. What humidity range are you suggesting for night?

I assumed buying a dragon strand chameleon breeder cage, was sufficient size. It's off by a few inches. Regardless, I am working on finding a larger enclosure. As for the comment on when I have enough money, get an Arcadia 5.0...this kind of comment is unnecessary. I spare no expense for the health or husbandry of my animals. I waited 20 years to purchase my first chameleon for that very reason. I called a vet before I came to this site but I do know that some hobbyists have far more experience than a vet. I'm sure you didnt mean to insult me but I'm pretty upset my cham may be ill when I have put so much time to research to be the best keeper possible.

Pics of enclosure, animal and such after we get back from vet.
 
Jennyontheblock said:
Ok, so I dont have any LED lights. I have reptisun 5.0 t5 tubes on the top with basking. I mounted vertical on the side, a single t12 full spectrum bulb just for plants. He seems to like it though. I have experimented with it and when I have it mounted, he hunts for the extra crickets in the enclosure. When it's not there, he rarely hunts or goes below the top 2/3 of the enclosure. Crickets are at the bottom. He goes out weather permitting in summer for natural UV.

I have read the care sheets. I feed as many as he will eat and there is always food available to him. I used general numbers of bugs, if he eats everything, I add more. 7-10 days pooping is the norm for him, not sure how to speed it up. He does have some as little as 4 days, but not normally. It's possible the pothos pot is catching some. The top half of urates are white, bottom half orange. I can increase watering but it's not seemed to change urates. It created issues of too wet.

I have temp and humidity guage, reported daytime basking and ambient temps. Mentioned we keep house at 75 degrees so it's never cooler than that.

Nature provides flexes in humidity. I didnt think I wanted max humidity at night. What humidity range are you suggesting for night?

I assumed buying a dragon strand chameleon breeder cage, was sufficient size. It's off by a few inches. Regardless, I am working on finding a larger enclosure. As for the comment on when I have enough money, get an Arcadia 5.0...this kind of comment is unnecessary. I spare no expense for the health or husbandry of my animals. I waited 20 years to purchase my first chameleon for that very reason. I called a vet before I came to this site but I do know that some hobbyists have far more experience than a vet. I'm sure you didnt mean to insult me but I'm pretty upset my cham may be ill when I have put so much time to research to be the best keeper possible.

Pics of enclosure, animal and such after we get back from vet.
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I didn’t mean it like that. Most new members don’t have a lot of spare cash, so I say that for when they have it, it could be now, I never know. I was abrupt because I noticed some husbandry flaws and one member said everything was fine, I wanted to give you correct info. Mount the full spectrum bulb on top of the enclosure. Great job on the vet, make sure to bring a fecal with you if you have one. For humidity at night, try to raise it to around 50% if possible. If more watering doesn’t help hydrate his urates, something else is probably going on. I didn’t mean to imply you weren’t a suitable keeper, that was never my intention! I just wanted to give you some info since I noticed some discrepancies.
 
I get that which is why I am here. I am not an expert but that doesn't mean I cannot care for my pets like one.

Please look at my pics. I'm ok with constructive criticism, its helpful.
 
Pics of Sid at 940am. Hour after misting. Btw..didnt notice eye closed but still going to vet.
 

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His cage looks good, but you could add some more branches and vines throughout, mostly horizontal. His front left leg looks a little bendy, could be a sign of MBD. Not trying to scare you, my Ambilobe came to me with parasites, MBD, and no working tongue. The breeder was supposedly good and I didn’t notice anything until a week after I got him and took him to the vet. The MBD hasn’t progressed, he’s parasite free now, but still can’t use his tongue. It’s not always our fault when our chams are sick.
 
Jennyontheblock said:
How could it be when I've had him as cbb from one if the sponsors...change out my lights religiously and always us repashy plus?
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I switched from Repashy Calcium Plus to Miner-all and Vit-all, I don’t think it had anything to do with it, but I switched them up for peace of mind. You could always ask your vet for their recommended supplements. You could always do the classic phosphorous free calcium without D3 every feeding, phosphorous free calcium with D3 twice monthly, and a multivitamin twice monthly.
 
Elbow also looks fine to me. Nice enclosure. I had a similar problem with an ambilobe male just 2 months ago here is what i did to fix it. I found out i have a 12% uvb on his enclosure instead of a 6% so i switched it to a 6% arcadia t5. He loves to bask under his uvb right out in the open so it may have been to much exposure, since he basks 6 inches from it. If you have 2, 6% uvb bulbs id recommend switching one out since your enclosure is not dense with foliage. switch it to a 6500k grow bulb or something. I increased misting and give daily luke warm showers (10-15 mins on a plant in the shower. Place him so the water bounces off the wall and gently on to him) his eye began to get better from this after about a week. I then bought liquid gel vitamin A capsules (10,000 IU Palmitate) poked a small hole in one with with a pin and placed one tiny drop on one cricket and fed him. Eye shed 4 days later and he has been good ever since.
 
Ok, finally back from vet. Dr. Jamie Lindstrom at Animal Clinic Northview in Avon Ohio. He concluded it may be from him rubbing due to recent shed and provided a topical antibiotic to put on the eye 2x day for 7 days. He used some special machine to look at the eye in good detail. Cornea, retina everything looks great. No edema, discharge - nothing notable except he was sensitive to light. He was happy that the fecal showed healthy micro-flora and clear of parasites. Urates looked good to him. He said Im doing a great job providing nutrition and NO MBD!

As for my setup - I took out a branch that held a big dracaena prior to the picture of my enclosure. I purchased a 36 x 18 x 36 that Im building for him. Will share pics once its up and running. Lots of work to do!

Thanks for the help and advice. I hope this resolves the issue.
 
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