Eyes are closed a lot of the time.

[Eleto428]

Your Chameleon – Male veiled chameleon that will be 2 years old next November or December. I got him when he was a few months old, so about a year and and a half approximately is how long I’ve had him.
Handling – he is handled at least once a month when I thoroughly clean out his cage.
Feeding – He is being fed crickets and large meal worms. I rotate between the two every few months. I usually feed him between 5-7 crickets a week or 5 mealworms a week/ depending if he eats them could be a little more or less. I don’t have a set schedule. I go by how fast he eats them.
Supplements – When he was a baby, I focused more on flukers dusting crickets with the calcium powder you get at Petsmart. Now I just use the Fluker’s quencher calcium for my crickets.
Watering – the watering technique that I use is misting with a spray bottle. I mist the plants in his cage until they are drenched, and I do it twice a day. Once at 5am and once at 5pm. Sometimes I see him drink, but it’s rare. He does have a little bowl for water. However, I’m working 10 hour days so I don’t see him during the day to know if he drinks then.
Fecal Description – the poo is dark brown with white/whitish yellow pieces attached to the end or sometimes separate from the poo. He was tested for parasites when he was a baby.
History – I bought him from petsmart and had a good temperament. For some reason, he doesn’t like my boyfriend. He gets nasty when I try to take him out of the cage when he’s there. When it’s just me, he’s fine. He puffs up and hisses when he gets mad.

Cage Info:
Cage Type – ZooMed Reptibreeze screen cage that is 16x16x30in
Lighting – zoo med UVB bulb that came with the cage.Daylight reptisun 60w bulb zoo medand and a 50w basking bulb by exo terra.
Temperature – Bottom is 65 degrees F, top is 80-85 degrees, and basking spot is 90 degrees. Lowest overnight temp is 64-66 degrees. I have two thermometers: one at the top of the cage that also shows humidity level, and a thermometer at the bottom of the cage.
Humidity – 20-60% during the day and 80% during nighttime. The cage has a large live plant in there and I make sure to mist it 2-3 times a day. Because my bedroom is naturally humid, I don’t spray as often. I use a thermometer that measures humidity and temperature.
Plants - I use a large live plant that I switch out every 6 months or so. Right now I have a Massangeana Cane plant in there.
Placement – cage is located in my room which is in the basement. Its against my wall on a table.
Location – I live in PA, USA

Current Problem – I don’t see his eyes open as much anymore, and I don’t see him drinking that much. I’m working long hours during the day so I don’t know if he’s doing it then. He does move around during the day (I noice on my days off), but not as much as he used to. I’m thinking he’s dehydrated. How do I get him to drink water?

 

[Wildwilson]

I see a few problems here.
1. Mealworms have very little nutritional value and are very hard on a chams digestion. You can use super worms instead. Stop the meal worms asap.
2. You should be dusting your crickets with calcium without vitamin d3 every feeding. Dusting with a multi vitamin 2 times a month. And using calcium WITH d3 twice a month.
3. Your misting schedule is not ideal... at all. You should invest in an automatic misting system and have it timed atleast every 2 hours for at least 2 minutes a time. He looks dehydrated to me in this picture and the misting schedule would absolutely be thr cause of that.
4. I dont understand why you have 3 bulbs. A regular white 60 to 75 watt household bulb works just fine for basking. And then you need a uvb. Thats all.
5. Going back to the misting... you say at first you mist him 2 times a day at 5 and 5. Later you say you mist his plant 3 times a day? Which is it? If you are only doing 2 times a day at 5 and 5... you are aware that chams need 12 hours of darkness and 12 hours of light.. right? So your misting of 12 hours apart is simply not enough and nost likely not at the right time. Now... if its 3 timea a day like you claimed later in the post... it absolutely does not matter how humid your room is. The point of misting is to get them to drink. So unless your room is so humid that water gathers on the plant... the answer to your problem is simple

 

[Eleto428]

I see a few problems here.
1. Mealworms have very little nutritional value and are very hard on a chams digestion. You can use super worms instead. Stop the meal worms asap.
2. You should be dusting your crickets with calcium without vitamin d3 every feeding. Dusting with a multi vitamin 2 times a month. And using calcium WITH d3 twice a month.
3. Your misting schedule is not ideal... at all. You should invest in an automatic misting system and have it timed atleast every 2 hours for at least 2 minutes a time. He looks dehydrated to me in this picture and the misting schedule would absolutely be thr cause of that.
4. I dont understand why you have 3 bulbs. A regular white 60 to 75 watt household bulb works just fine for basking. And then you need a uvb. Thats all.
5. Going back to the misting... you say at first you mist him 2 times a day at 5 and 5. Later you say you mist his plant 3 times a day? Which is it? If you are only doing 2 times a day at 5 and 5... you are aware that chams need 12 hours of darkness and 12 hours of light.. right? So your misting of 12 hours apart is simply not enough and nost likely not at the right time. Now... if its 3 timea a day like you claimed later in the post... it absolutely does not matter how humid your room is. The point of misting is to get them to drink. So unless your room is so humid that water gathers on the plant... the answer to your problem is simple

 

[Eleto428]

Thank you.

First off, I was mistaken when I said mealworms. They are super worms. Second, the majority of the time I mist him 2 times a day, however, I will mist him 3 times when I have short work days. I will invest in a mister. Also, even if the cricket food I am using has calcium already in it, you want me to still dust them?

The reason I have three bulbs is because I couldn’t get it warm enough. Should I just use a heating bulb that doesn’t produce light?

 

[Wildwilson]

Try using a higher watt white household buld. I personally use a 60 watt and it keeps my chams bask at 87. When i tried a 75 it was like 106 lol. I wouldn't use cricket food. Just get like an apple or mango and feed them that. Sometimes the cricket food has chemicals and other stuff thats not good for chams. Nothing beats natural food. If you havent already, go to the homepage here and read the care sheets.

 

[Syreptyon]

As above, yes you absolutely have to dust with calcium, regardless of your gutload. You’ll want to stop using the commercially available cricket food immediately - its ingredients are not at all suited for chameleons.

While WildWilson is mostly correct, just an apple or a mango is also not nearly enough nutrition... apples are nearly useless. You’ll want to focus on leafy greens and healthier produce like: collards, turnip greens, dandelion greens, escarole, papaya, seeet potato, alfalfa, pollen, etc.

 

[timw1]

He looks dehydrated.

 

[Eleto428]

Try using a higher watt white household buld. I personally use a 60 watt and it keeps my chams bask at 87. When i tried a 75 it was like 106 lol. I wouldn't use cricket food. Just get like an apple or mango and feed them that. Sometimes the cricket food has chemicals and other stuff thats not good for chams. Nothing beats natural food. If you havent already, go to the homepage here and read the care sheets.

 

[Eleto428]

I have bought a mister and have it set to spray every hour for 60 seconds. The humidity is now at a constant of 60-70% and the leaves are constantly covered with water. I took out the one heat bulb and the temperature is 80 degrees and 85 degrees at the basking spot.

He is definitely responding better (obviously). I just feel so stupid for letting this happen. It almost looks like he has some dead skin over his eyes. Today I noticed him trying to rub his eye on a branch.

 

[blue_cham]

Don't feel too bad! Even with lots a research, new cham owners will make mistakes unfortunately *tentatively raises hand*. The thing that counts is that you noticed something was wrong and are asking for help to get your cham on the right track And dehydration and humidity issues can definitely effect shedding. If he does have stuck shed on this eyes, I have read somewhere on the forums about using saline solution to help out... lemme see if I can find it

 

[blue_cham]

Ack... well this is the one I remembered... https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/saline-solution.163538/ however it doesn't go into detail. If you type Saline solution into the search bar though, a few pop up. Hopefully someone with experience using it can shed some light on technique etc

 

[Wildwilson]

Hey dont feel bad. My first cham died and i beat myself up about it for like 3 months. I did lots of research and now things are going much better the second time around. He might have something in his eye. Hopefully the misting will help it get out of his eye

 

[Eleto428]

Don't feel too bad! Even with lots a research, new cham owners will make mistakes unfortunately *tentatively raises hand*. The thing that counts is that you noticed something was wrong and are asking for help to get your cham on the right track And dehydration and humidity issues can definitely effect shedding. If he does have stuck shed on this eyes, I have read somewhere on the forums about using saline solution to help out... lemme see if I can find it

Thank you!

 

[Eleto428]

I have bought a mister and have it set to spray every hour for 60 seconds. The humidity is now at a constant of 60-70% and the leaves are constantly covered with water. I took out the one heat bulb and the temperature is 80 degrees and 85 degrees at the basking spot.

He is definitely responding better (obviously). I just feel so stupid for letting this happen. It almost looks like he has some dead skin over his

 

[Eleto428]

I switched up the one heat bulb and I am now using a heating ceramic bulb that does not produce light. So he has the daylight blue reptile bulb and the long UVB bulb. Because I am located in a cooler area, I had to add in the ceramic heating bulb. With it, it’s 80 degrees at the top layer and 85 at his basking spot. I got a misting system that sprays mist every hour for 30 seconds. He’s got a large hibiscus plant in there. I also got him saline eye drops that I have been giving him every day. His one eye looks like it’s trying to open and it is more open than it was. However his other eye is still closed. I will try misting him in the shower later today. Additionally, because eye issues can mean all sorts of things, I scheduled a vet appointment for Friday since that was the only day they had available and I didn’t want to take any chances.

 

[timw1]

It's great that you scheduled a vet appt. hopefully the vet knows reptiles. Spraying for 30 seconds is not sufficient,the consensus is 2 minutes of water is needed to trigger drinking and eye washing.

 

[Eleto428]

It has been changed over to 2 minutes. Thank you!

 

[Curlytails]

Your Chameleon – Male veiled chameleon that will be 2 years old next November or December. I got him when he was a few months old, so about a year and and a half approximately is how long I’ve had him.
Handling – he is handled at least once a month when I thoroughly clean out his cage.
Feeding – He is being fed crickets and large meal worms. I rotate between the two every few months. I usually feed him between 5-7 crickets a week or 5 mealworms a week/ depending if he eats them could be a little more or less. I don’t have a set schedule. I go by how fast he eats them.
Supplements – When he was a baby, I focused more on flukers dusting crickets with the calcium powder you get at Petsmart. Now I just use the Fluker’s quencher calcium for my crickets.
Watering – the watering technique that I use is misting with a spray bottle. I mist the plants in his cage until they are drenched, and I do it twice a day. Once at 5am and once at 5pm. Sometimes I see him drink, but it’s rare. He does have a little bowl for water. However, I’m working 10 hour days so I don’t see him during the day to know if he drinks then.
Fecal Description – the poo is dark brown with white/whitish yellow pieces attached to the end or sometimes separate from the poo. He was tested for parasites when he was a baby.
History – I bought him from petsmart and had a good temperament. For some reason, he doesn’t like my boyfriend. He gets nasty when I try to take him out of the cage when he’s there. When it’s just me, he’s fine. He puffs up and hisses when he gets mad.

Cage Info:
Cage Type – ZooMed Reptibreeze screen cage that is 16x16x30in
Lighting – zoo med UVB bulb that came with the cage.Daylight reptisun 60w bulb zoo medand and a 50w basking bulb by exo terra.
Temperature – Bottom is 65 degrees F, top is 80-85 degrees, and basking spot is 90 degrees. Lowest overnight temp is 64-66 degrees. I have two thermometers: one at the top of the cage that also shows humidity level, and a thermometer at the bottom of the cage.
Humidity – 20-60% during the day and 80% during nighttime. The cage has a large live plant in there and I make sure to mist it 2-3 times a day. Because my bedroom is naturally humid, I don’t spray as often. I use a thermometer that measures humidity and temperature.
Plants - I use a large live plant that I switch out every 6 months or so. Right now I have a Massangeana Cane plant in there.
Placement – cage is located in my room which is in the basement. Its against my wall on a table.
Location – I live in PA, USA

Current Problem – I don’t see his eyes open as much anymore, and I don’t see him drinking that much. I’m working long hours during the day so I don’t know if he’s doing it then. He does move around during the day (I noice on my days off), but not as much as he used to. I’m thinking he’s dehydrated. How do I get him to drink water?

did you buy the chameleon kit by zoomed? if so the uvb bulb is bad as it is a cfl and they have been known to cause eye damage. get a linear bulb instead. preferably arcadia or zoomed brand

 

[Curlytails]

did you buy the chameleon kit by zoomed? if so the uvb bulb is bad as it is a cfl and they have been known to cause eye damage. get a linear bulb instead. preferably arcadia or zoomed brand

my bad you do have a linear bulb. the exact same happened to me because of my uvb 12.0 and im still debating wether to change it to a 5.0 that i have on hand. dont worry too much. as long as there is no discharge he should be fine.

 

[Eleto428]

The vet told me that he has an upper respiratory infection and just a wee bit of mouth rott due to the humidity, and is the reason his eyes are a bit closed, so no actual eye problems. He told me that he just be misted twice a day and keep humidity to 50-60%. Additionally, he told me to use other insects to maybe peek his interest in eating. I have to give him antibiotics too to get rid of the infection and mouth rott.