Eye Infection/Vit A deficiency?

[Misha]

Hi, I am new to the Forum. Thank for accepting me!

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon (Male) Age is N/A possibly 3+ months. Got him this past Friday 3/10/17 and he was from Petco. And please, I don't need a whole speech of Petco animals bc I didn't now all the bad things until I read about them all. So I have him and I'm not giving up on him. Simple.
• Handling - Only to clean his cage at the moment.
• Feeding - Small/Medium Crickets as his feeder and as a snack super worms. About 7 crickets and 2 super worms every other day. I feed him when I wake up in the morning before I leave for work at 7am. Gut-loading my feeders with " Fluker's Orange Cube Complete Cricket Diet" I change the food every 24hrs as directed on the back and change the water sponge every day. The super worms stay in the container.
• Supplements - Calcium is by "Zoo Med" Repti Calcium and Vitamins (Was) by Rep-Cal Herptivite with Beta Carotene Multivitamins. But I noticed it didn't have Vitamin A in it so I stopped and went with "Zoo Med" Reptivite Reptile Vitamins. But I didn't start using Reptivite until Monday after noticing that Rep-Cal Herptivite didn't have Vit A. I read that I am to mix my Calcium powder with the Vitamin Powder and dust every feeding for a baby so I have bin.
• Watering - I use hand misting with warm water and I have a little dripper that runs all night until the lights go out. I will do a good long mist before I go to work and I do see him drink. He will also drink drops off his mouth if I put some there. I don't ever see him drink off the leaves but he will run when I mist but open his mouth and drink lol. I mist when I get home and ill mist for a few second till he gets pretty good and when and when I see him open his mouth.
• Fecal Description - Droppings are brown with some white so them seem pretty normal. Slimy too but not runny. And he has not bin checked for parasites.
• History - Other then the fact that he is from Petco. No other history was reported about him or how old he is.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Zoo Med Repti Breeze Chameleon Kit, 16" L X 16" W X 30" H
• Lighting - (Zoo Med Mini Combo Deep Dome Lamp Fixture, 5.5" L X 10" W X 7" H) Zoo Med ReptiSun 5.0 Fluorescent light and a Basking light of 75watts but I'm not sure of the brand. I threw the box away. Lights come on when I wake up in the Morning for work and then get shut off around 7:30-8pm for the night. Both get shut off. Temp in my room does not go below 70. I like my room warm. I hate the cold.
• Temperature - Temp in the cage stays between 79-83 and mid part of the cage stays around 75. I have a digital thermostat that wraps around a branch and stays in the middle and I have another temp gauge at the top, zip tied to the screen as well with a humidity gauge next to it as well. Over night temp gets to about 70-72. I check them when I wake up sometimes in the middle of the night.
• Humidity - Humidity was hard to manage in the beginning but I got two real plants along with some fake and got it to rise so now it goes from 70-90.
• Plants - Using live plants, yes. Pothos and a Schefflera. Went to dan shantz for them.
• Placement - Cage is close to my bed and sits on a dresser night stand and sits about 1ft- 1 1/2.
• Location - Pennsylvania

Current Problem - I had looked all over this forum and read up on almost all I could find about eye problems with your chameleon and I even took a look at the thread by "ataraxia" which was REALLY great! But I have not seen anyone with my problem unless there just not saying all details or what not but I cant tell if my Chameleon "Calcifer" has a Vit A deficiency or has a eye infection. I only had him for a few days and he didn't have this or at least I didn't notice till Sunday. He gets this little bulge/casing cover over his eye and he will shut it but when you really get his attention he will suck in his eye and kinda blink and then you can see his eye again. But he wont keep it open for long periods of time. And he has bin using his other eye to hunt, he wont use the eye he keeps shut (left eye). I took pictures of when he closes his eye with the bulge/casing thing over his eye and then I took a picture when it goes away and you can actually see his eye again. He even rubs it on the vines and he even rubbed his eye on my hand. Now I'm not sure if its a Vit A deficiency bc he has not started to get Vit A till Monday bc like I said above that when I got the Rep-Cal Herptivite Multivitamins I didn't know it didn't have Vit A in it.... and I didn't notice till Sunday. So then that's when I used the sample pack of the Zoo Med Reptivite I got with my kit and started dusting the crickets and worms with it on Monday and into today. So I'm not sure if that could be why. I also ordered Terramycin but that wont arrive till this up coming Monday. How would I use Terramycin? How many times a day or how often or how long? If the Terramycin has no affect I will be taking him to a Vet then. I have to call around tomorrow to different Vets in my area who specialize in reptiles. I don't want them to ignore that it could be maybe a Vit A deficiency if at all. I hope I caught this early. Id hate for something to happen to him. He eats really well and he rarely misses catching the crickets and he is very active as well. I will upload the pictures of the eye. Any help will be grateful. I am a first time owner and I did plenty of research about them for weeks before getting Calcifer, minus the whole bad reviews from Petco. Thank you! I added a video but I'm not sure if they upload here or how to but I attached it so hopefully you can see it. I recorded him when you can see him looking around with the eye and then him blinking and that bulge thing covers it and then I bump the branch and then the bulge goes away and then you can see his eye again? so I have no idea what it could be

 

[Misha]

 

[Nursemaia]

He's shedding, it's probably just a piece of stuck shed in his eye. Mist him a lot to help flush his eye out and invest in an automatic mister when you can

 

[JaguarShark]

Hello, welcome
I agree with Nursemaia that it's probably a minor thing. Unless it's constant or lasts longer than his shedding I think it's nothing to worry about. When you are a new owner a chameleon cleaning his eye can look pretty weird.
You have a good basic idea of what he needs to stay healthy, but the flukers gutload is surprisingly poor quality (it keeps the crickets hydrated, but little else useful).
For your supplements I think you are probably giving too much of the multivitamin if you are using it everyday (depends how much you put in the mix, but usually people will give Veileds multivit only twice per month).
Does your calcium or multivit have vitamin D3 in it?

Also, at his age it would be better to feed him every day, he can have as much as he wants.
Here is a basic caresheet with information about supplements https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
Here is more information about gutloads and different insects to feed him https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/

From all the information you gave I am sure your little guy will be very happy and healthy with you.
I have kept veileds and only used hand misting the same as you describe, so you really don't need an automatic mister for them if you are prepared to put in the standing around and spraying time

 

[Misha]

He's shedding, it's probably just a piece of stuck shed in his eye. Mist him a lot to help flush his eye out and invest in an automatic mister when you can

Thank you for your advice! And a quick response. I was all ready looking at a mister but I'm not sure how it really works and if it will get everything around it wet?

 

[Misha]

Hello, welcome
I agree with Nursemaia that it's probably a minor thing. Unless it's constant or lasts longer than his shedding I think it's nothing to worry about. When you are a new owner a chameleon cleaning his eye can look pretty weird.
You have a good basic idea of what he needs to stay healthy, but the flukers gutload is surprisingly poor quality (it keeps the crickets hydrated, but little else useful).
For your supplements I think you are probably giving too much of the multivitamin if you are using it everyday (depends how much you put in the mix, but usually people will give Veileds multivit only twice per month).
Does your calcium or multivit have vitamin D3 in it?

Also, at his age it would be better to feed him every day, he can have as much as he wants.
Here is a basic caresheet with information about supplements https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/caresheets/veiled/
Here is more information about gutloads and different insects to feed him https://www.chameleonforums.com/care/food/

From all the information you gave I am sure your little guy will be very happy and healthy with you.
I have kept veileds and only used hand misting the same as you describe, so you really don't need an automatic mister for them if you are prepared to put in the standing around and spraying time

Thank you so much for your advice and with some more informational links for me I will take a look at them! And yes my Calcium has D3 in it. I was dusting the crickets with the Calcium every feeding and then I read up on that I should dust the feeders with Vit every other feeding or so? But ill take a look at your links to obtain more knowledge on the Vit and Calcium intakes. Thank you again kindly!

 

[jajeanpierre]

@Misha It looks like he has debris in his eye and hasn't been able to get it out. That is one reason an automatic mister is so important. A hand mister usually produces big droplets that the chameleons hate being hit with so they run for cover and don't get time under a mist to clean their eyes. A hand mister won't produce a fine foggy mist. Plus few people can sit and mist for long periods of time. They say they do but I don't believe them most of the time.

Buy yourself a good automatic mister--one that doesn't break and become garbage if and WHEN you run the reservoir dry. MistKing sells a kit for about $130. Add extra tubing, maybe a shut-off ball valve and an extra nozzle plus a tube cutter (more than just a convenience--it is a safety issue--I can't cut tubing without risking my fingers unless I use a tube cutter) and you have a good system that will last a long time. I've run my MistKing pumps dry for hours and they still work really well.

In the mean time, he needs to be misted for 20 minutes or more a couple of times a day until he gets the debris out of his eyes. You can put the whole cage in the shower and run a luke warm shower bouncing off the walls (NOT hitting the cage directly) which will give him a foggy mist and the time he needs to get that junk out of his eyes.

 

[Misha]

@Misha It looks like he has debris in his eye and hasn't been able to get it out. That is one reason an automatic mister is so important. A hand mister usually produces big droplets that the chameleons hate being hit with so they run for cover and don't get time under a mist to clean their eyes. A hand mister won't produce a fine foggy mist. Plus few people can sit and mist for long periods of time. They say they do but I don't believe them most of the time.

Buy yourself a good automatic mister--one that doesn't break and become garbage if and WHEN you run the reservoir dry. MistKing sells a kit for about $130. Add extra tubing, maybe a shut-off ball valve and an extra nozzle plus a tube cutter (more than just a convenience--it is a safety issue--I can't cut tubing without risking my fingers unless I use a tube cutter) and you have a good system that will last a long time. I've run my MistKing pumps dry for hours and they still work really well.

In the mean time, he needs to be misted for 20 minutes or more a couple of times a day until he gets the debris out of his eyes. You can put the whole cage in the shower and run a luke warm shower bouncing off the walls (NOT hitting the cage directly) which will give him a foggy mist and the time he needs to get that junk out of his eyes.

Okay I will definitely take your advice and do that when I get home from work! Thank you kindly!!! I found a mister on coastalsilkworms.com (https://www.coastalsilkworms.com/climist-cyclone-misting-system.html) this looks like a good one? When I buy one, is there any tips to keeping things around the cage from getting wet?

And when I put the cage in the shower should the water that is bouncing off the shower wall be hitting the inside of his cage or just allowing it to get all steamed up and foggy?

Thank you again. I'm thankful for any advice!

 

[jajeanpierre]

Okay I will definitely take your advice and do that when I get home from work! Thank you kindly!!! I found a mister on coastalsilkworms.com (https://www.coastalsilkworms.com/climist-cyclone-misting-system.html) this looks like a good one? When I buy one, is there any tips to keeping things around the cage from getting wet?

And when I put the cage in the shower should the water that is bouncing off the shower wall be hitting the inside of his cage or just allowing it to get all steamed up and foggy?

Thank you again. I'm thankful for any advice!

I've never put my chameleons in a shower, always using a mister. You want lots of fine droplets to go in the cage, just not hard drops.

Drainage, drainage, drainage. Keeping chameleons is a drainage and water problem and you just have to work around it. Buy a good drainage pan and use a shop vac to remove the excess water. You can wrap your cage on three sides to avoid water splashing out the back. I put rubber matting on the front of the cage to take care of the inevitable fine mist that falls. You can also put the cage on something that won't be damaged by water and keep it over a tile floor. It's a problem and you just have to deal with it.

 

[Misha]

I've never put my chameleons in a shower, always using a mister. You want lots of fine droplets to go in the cage, just not hard drops.

Drainage, drainage, drainage. Keeping chameleons is a drainage and water problem and you just have to work around it. Buy a good drainage pan and use a shop vac to remove the excess water. You can wrap your cage on three sides to avoid water splashing out the back. I put rubber matting on the front of the cage to take care of the inevitable fine mist that falls. You can also put the cage on something that won't be damaged by water and keep it over a tile floor. It's a problem and you just have to deal with it.

Okay got it! Thank you very much

 

[Nursemaia]

I have that mister, 2 actually and they work great. It's pretty much the same as a mistking and I can buy extra nozzles and parts for a lot less on ebay. I frequently let one run dry because I forget to fill up the reservoir for it because it runs our of water much faster than the other one. Never had a problem with it working.

 

[Misha]

I have that mister, 2 actually and they work great. It's pretty much the same as a mistking and I can buy extra nozzles and parts for a lot less on ebay. I frequently let one run dry because I forget to fill up the reservoir for it because it runs our of water much faster than the other one. Never had a problem with it working.

You have the mistking or the one I'm talking about on the costalsilkworms? I'm not sure which to buy and what does DI/RO water mean? Any idea? Thanks!

 

[Nursemaia]

I have the one from coastal silkworms buy I bought it directly from climist.com DI= deionization RO= reverse osmosis

 

[Misha]

I have the one from coastal silkworms buy I bought it directly from climist.com DI= deionization RO= reverse osmosis

Oh ok sounds good! Thank you So do use tap water or do you fill it with like distilled water?

 

[jajeanpierre]

Oh ok sounds good! Thank you So do use tap water or do you fill it with like distilled water?

Use Reverse osmosis water. If you don't you'll clog up your mist heads.

 

[Misha]

Use Reverse osmosis water. If you don't you'll clog up your mist heads.

Thanks!!