Eye Squinting? Head rubbing?

[Pascal_Sunny]

Hey guys, my cham just started squinting his eyes today, i've noticed him clean them before but today while he sits under his heat bulb his eyes will squint. Also this morninh he is rubbing his head on his vines in the enclosure. He is still eating and drinking normally my bulb is a 75 watt bulb, he has had this for the last year, could it be too much though? I only noticed this today and there was no squinting when he was out of it thats why im wondering...

 

[Pascal_Sunny]

Could he be getting ready to shed again? Kinda worried, eye infection starting? HELP!!!!

 

[Chameleomom]

Could your UVB bulb be to strong or your heat lamp too hot? What is your basking temp? and UVB bulb?

 

[Pascal_Sunny]

Could your UVB bulb be to strong or your heat lamp too hot? What is your basking temp? and UVB bulb?

Basking temp is 26.5°C and both bulbs are 75 watts

 

[Chameleomom]

Is it a 5.0 or 10.0 and how big is your enclose? or better yet post pics and fill out the help sheet

 

[Pascal_Sunny]

This is him under his heat lamp

 

[Chameleomom]

Let's see that would be 79.6F. The basking temp should be around 85F What about the UVB bulb?

 

[Pascal_Sunny]

Let's see that would be 79.6F. The basking temp should be around 85F What about the UVB bulb?

UVB Is 23 °C

 

[Chameleomom]

Ok let's start over.... what type and what is the name of the bulbs you have

 

[ChamDE86]

You're better off filling out the "How to ask for help" form. Much easier to help us better understand your situation.

 

[Pascal_Sunny]

Ok let's start over.... what type and what is the name of the bulbs you have

75 watt type A 5.5 i will attach a pic

 

[Pascal_Sunny]

Ok let's start over.... what type and what is the name of the bulbs you have

And here is the other bulb

 

[Pascal_Sunny]

You're better off filling out the "How to ask for help" form. Much easier to help us better understand your situation.

Okay filling it out now!

 

[Pascal_Sunny]

You're better off filling out the "How to ask for help" form. Much easier to help us better understand your situation.

Your Chameleon (species, sex, and age) : male veiled chameleon 1 year old
Handling: 4 times a week, very sweet boy and loves to be handled
Feeding: crickets, gutloaded with a premade gutload formula bought from live feeder producer; made with bran, wheat, carrots, oats, and collard greens in a kibble form.
Supplements: straight calcium every feeding and repashy cal plus 2x a month
Watering: well hydrated
Fecal Description: greenish brownish with a good amount of white
History: was a rescue from Petland saved by a professional reptile conservationist who runs a rescue and who help get him back to normal and clear up his parasites. Now he has a clean bill of health by a reptil vet.
Cage Type: 40 gallon glass tank with mesh top cover, good ventilation/airflow
Lighting: 75 watt heat lamp 5.5, 75 watt uvb 5.5
Temperature: currently its 24.4 under uvb
Humidity: currently 61%
Plants: I honestly dont know the names of them he is in a live ivarium i got him with his enclosure from the reptile conservationist.
Cage Placement: on a stand beside a wall in my bedroom
Geographic: canadian mountains (it gets cold here lol)

 

[ChamDE86]

There are several corrections that you need to make.

1) Repashy Calcium Plus has a low concentration of D3 and vitamin, so that it is safe to use at every feeding. I use it about 3-4 times a week and have been doing so for 2 years now. If you decide to use the regular calcium, you will need to buy a calcium with d3 and a vitamin supplement. That's a total of 3 different supplements. The D3 and vitamin contents are more potent, which is why it is only used twice a month.

2) Your basking temp is way too low! It needs to be about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. He won't be able to digest his food properly at your current temp.

3) 40 gallon glass tank is way too small for an adult Veiled. They really do need a screen cage, minimum 2x2x4. The height is more important since they are arboreal and spend the majority of their lives in trees.

Could you also take a photo of your entire setup?

 

[Pascal_Sunny]

There are several corrections that you need to make.

1) Repashy Calcium Plus has a low concentration of D3 and vitamin, so that it is safe to use at every feeding. I use it about 3-4 times a week and have been doing so for 2 years now. If you decide to use the regular calcium, you will need to buy a calcium with d3 and a vitamin supplement. That's a total of 3 different supplements. The D3 and vitamin contents are more potent, which is why it is only used twice a month.

2) Your basking temp is way too low! It needs to be about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. He won't be able to digest his food properly at your current temp.

3) 40 gallon glass tank is way too small for an adult Veiled. They really do need a screen cage, minimum 2x2x4. The height is more important since they are arboreal and spend the majority of their lives in trees.

Could you also take a photo of your entire setup?

Hey, I apologize. My basking temp is 32°C under his infared heat lamp, I placed my thermometer under my uvb lamp so I just read the temo under there. I measured the temp in his basking spot, So thats all in check And i will go get a vitamin supplement today and a d3 I know these mesh cages are all the rage, I dont have one for a number of reasons. Firstly I had a professional reptile conservationist design my whole setup for me, as she does this for work and works with vetrinarians and has gone to school to study this, Im trusting that this is the best for him. She frequently gives lectures to universities and zoos for care of their reptiles, and also runs a reptile rescue herself where she has rehabilitated many chameleons in very rough condition. I'm going by what she has told me. Mesh cages are fine of you live in climates where is doesnt get as cold and unpredictable as it does here. Because as well they are so large the humidity and temperature is very difficult to control and be constant in all areas of the enclosure. The other reason is that its a misconception that bigger is better when it comes to enclosures. Chameleons get stressed and intimidated when their enclosure is too large. Because I recieved this information from a professional I'm going to stick with it. Pascal isn't very big and still has growing to do, so I will stick with this one and then eventually move him to a larger front opening one.

 

[WAMBO]

Try misting the cham too. They sometimes rub their eyes when their eyes are dry.

 

[ChamDE86]

You are correct in that a glass setup will work, but your tank is really not ideal for an adult veiled. Other than the two branches, he has no where else to move about. This forum has plenty of vets and long time keepers, some with decades of experience. You can definitely do well with a screen cage. Many on here use a shower curtain to cover up the back and sides of the cage. This will allow you to control the temps and humidity levels a little better. I do not agree that a bigger enclosure means more stress on your cham as long as plenty of branches and foilage is provided. They will eventually explore and become more familiarize with their new environment. My panther at 3 months old was exploring his 2x2x4 screen cage after a week. All in all though, keep us updated on your little guy!

 

[Andee]

Large cages are actually recommended for chameleons. Some panthers when they are your chameleons size get a cage that is 9ftx8ftx6ft. At one year old your chameleon is pretty much full grown, he may grow in the next few months a little more but not enough to make a hug difference. They usually stop growing around 16 months to 18 months. I do agree he needs more foliage and branches. Chameleons in the wild have rather large territories and are constantly being forced to change territories. I think if you plan to keep him in a glass cage he needs to upgraded to something much larger like a 100 gallon as soon as possible. It is possible he needs to clean his eyes too, which means he needs a shower to prevent unneeded humidity in his enclosure.

 

[Pascal_Sunny]

You are correct in that a glass setup will work, but your tank is really not ideal for an adult veiled. Other than the two branches, he has no where else to move about. This forum has plenty of vets and long time keepers, some with decades of experience. You can definitely do well with a screen cage. Many on here use a shower curtain to cover up the back and sides of the cage. This will allow you to control the temps and humidity levels a little better. I do not agree that a bigger enclosure means more stress on your cham as long as plenty of branches and foilage is provided. They will eventually explore and become more familiarize with their new environment. My panther at 3 months old was exploring his 2x2x4 screen cage after a week. All in all though, keep us updated on your little guy!

Thanks yea he is doing great! Turns out he was just cleaning his eyes and getting ready to shed thats what all the rubbing was about lol! Yea i was thinking of maybe moving him to a bigger tank but he isnt thay big, only 20 grams i weighed him last week before he ate.