Eyes closed during the day.

[buzkill]

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Exo-terra glass with screen top, 18" x 18" x 24"
* Lighting - im using a medium heat lamp and a compact fluorescent terrarium canopy top with 2 bulbs, a UVa and UVb
* Temperature - basking spot of about 85-90 and a cooling spot of about 70-85
* Humidity - humidity ranges from 35-55 normaly
* Plants - wanting to get a live plant...
* Location - on my dresser....really she only sees me sit at my computer...not near a window


Chameleon Info:

* My Chameleon - unknown age, got her end of November, veiled
* Feeding - Crickets and veggies?
* Supplements - calcium powder and vitamin supplement, calcium every day or every other day and vitamin's every couple days
* Watering - eye dropper, dripper or ice cube, all seem to work great
* Fecal Description - brown and white, squishy
* History - she seemed to be very dehydrated when i got her and she has a symmetrical bump just above her tail...i think it might just be her hip...


* Current Problem... She seems to sleep during the day or just basking with one or both eyes closed..mostly its her right eye. I've seen her try and clean it but it doesn't seem to have anything wrong with it...looks good. I'm planing on taking her in to the vet to check it out, but i already phoned him and he said eyes closed is fine as long as she's eating (which she is)- but everywhere on the internet it says otherwise...can anyone out there help me, plez... I've only just got her.

 

[CamoChameleons]

Turn your sink on with air temp - slighty warm water and have the water running slow. Cup your hands with your chameleon in them and run the water over her body slowly. See how she reacts and if she opens her eye. If so see if it looks clean. This should help moisten and clean her skin in and around the eyes. Sometimes they need this. Its like a shower or bath for them.

 

[CamoChameleons]

and definatley get a live plant. a couple is good. They really enjoy them and will actually eat them sometimes

 

[buzkill]

thanks allot...i think i'll do that right now

 

[CamoChameleons]

No problem. Just know that chameleons dont really like water. But since yours is a baby you should be ok.

Let me know how everything goes
Good luck

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

Sleeping during the day is your first sign that your cham is not doing well. I would start misting her, not only does it provide drinking water but it helps the chams clean their eyes. It sounds like she may be a bit dehydrated if you can see her hips. Give her a good misting or shower and see if she opens her eyes and drinks. Also look in her eyes to see if there is anything in there, like a sleeper aka eyebugger...haha

-Chris

 

[buzkill]

well she didn't seem to like it much but she behaved im not sure how long she should be in the shower but that was about 10-15 min No i dont see any eye boogers or anything in it....can it possibly be that she's tired, she does get up early with me on weekends as i do not have a timer for her yet or looking into the light- she does try and get as close as passable....to cool?

 

[CamoChameleons]

she could be. she is young and its gonna take time for her to get used to everything. She'll probably be ok. Just make sure she stays hydrated. If she wont drink then help her. do the sink thing and if you have a mister put it in front of her mouth and let it slowly drip out and see if she drinks.

 

[buzkill]

as an update

...well seems to have gotten worse since the bath, now it seems it hard for her to open her right eye and she keep puffing it up- i guess she's pulling it inside. And as im writing this she's rubbing it on a leaf.

and she does drink quite often...i dont think thats a problem.

 

[CamoChameleons]

Its normal for them to puff their eyes and rub them on objects so dont worry about that.

Mine like to rub their eyes on my hand if im holding them, its funny.

This might take time. Remember she is young. Usually all Chameleons arent sold until they are at least 3 months old.

Has she ate much within the past 2 days????????

 

[buzkill]

Ive seen her eat a couple, and she was deffinently interested in them yesterday..was down playing in her food bowl

 

[Julirs]

1 month old is a really tiny baby-so the tank you have her in isn't terrible for now-however-please search this forum for all of the posts on eye issues and cham deaths from using compact fourescent UVB bubs. Also for one month old I would keep temps close to 80.

 

[CamoChameleons]

Well thats good.
Shes been eating and drinking which are most important. Now just sit back and relax. she should be ok. check her eyes out daily and make sure theirs no boogers and that they arent crusty or dry.

you should be fine
good luck

 

[Julirs]

Also with one month olds be careful to not drown her with "showers"-misting would be better. They dehydrate fast at this age usually due to overheating and glass tanks heat fast-no night heat unless temps drop below 65, and then room heat is better than tank heat.

 

[buzkill]

yeah i turn her heat light of earlier than her UV lights, letting it get around 70-75
before her bed time,,,

 

[dodolah]

see my response in red

age Info:

* Cage Type - Exo-terra glass with screen top, 18" x 18" x 24"
quite too big for 1 month old baby cham.. but please do be reminded that you will soon need to get a screen cage (around 3 months old) 24X12X24 is a good size

* Lighting - im using a medium heat lamp and a compact fluorescent terrarium canopy top with 2 bulbs, a UVa and UVb The problem with his eyes might come from this compact fluorescent. compact fluorescent has been known to cause photo kerato conjunctivitis. Get reptisun 5.0 tube (not compact) asap

* Temperature - basking spot of about 85-90 and a cooling spot of about 70-85 cooling spot should be in low 70s and never rise above 80s. Basking spot should be never rise above 85. i think 80 is ideal. IMHO 90F is too hot for a baby
* Humidity - humidity ranges from 35-55 normaly
try to get the humidity range 50% to 70%. 35% is a little bit too dry. Increase misting
* Plants - wanting to get a live plant...
well, what are you waiting for? live plant is superior compared to fake one. hibiscus, ficus, and pothos are the plants that people normally use

* Location - on my dresser....really she only sees me sit at my computer...not near a window is your dresser humid.. i would say air circulation is mostly needed especially since you are using exo terra. you might want to change the location


Chameleon Info:

* My Chameleon - She is a one month old veiled a bit too young to be sold to somebody who is new to a chameleon. Did you buy it at a petstore? Petco? Petsmart? if you bought it from a breeder, may i know his/her name?
* Feeding - Crickets and veggies? how many crickets? what size? for a month old i would suggest fruit flies

* Supplements - calcium powder and vitamin supplement, calcium every day or every other day and vitamin's every couple days try to get the supplement constant. don't switch around the schedule here and there. why Calcium supplied every day or every other day?

* Watering - eye dropper, dripper or ice cube, all seem to work great
don't use ice cube. use dripper and mist your enclosure at least twice a day

* Fecal Description - brown and white, squishy

* History - she seemed to be very dehydrated when i got her and she has a symmetrical bump just above her tail...i think it might just be her hip...
She is dehydrated and malnourished. Generally, you do not want to be able to see a pronounced definition of her pelvic bone

* Current Problem... She seems to sleep during the day or just basking with one or both eyes closed..mostly its her right eye. I've seen her try and clean it but it doesn't seem to have anything wrong with it...looks good. I'm planing on taking her in to the vet to check it out, but i already phoned him and he said eyes closed is fine as long as she's eating (which she is)- but everywhere on the internet it says otherwise...can anyone out there help me, plez... I've only just got her. Chameleon is diurnal. She will never sleep during the day if she is in healthy condition. Your chameleon is definitely sick. Some vet are just not knowledgeable in chameleon. Eyes closed is a huge sign of sickness. you really do need to find a better vet. seems your chameleon is in serious condition. Just as a curiosity, please don't misunderstood this as a judgment or any negative remarks...it seemed to me that you are bit unprepared in caring a chameleon. my suggestion is get that cham to a qualified vet immediately and research a LOT about chameleon. This forum is perfect for that. Dehydration, conjunctivitis, and malnutrition is a serious condition. if you delay, it will be too late to save her. Chameleon is very tricky animal. they are often mask their sickness well and by the time they exhibit symptoms, the sickness usually already in an advance stage

 

[dodolah]

yeah i turn her heat light of earlier than her UV lights, letting it get around 70-75
before her bed time,,,

veiled chameleon need 10 degrees drop at night.
as long as it does not drop below 60, your chameleon will be doing fine without the night heat.

 

[herp essentials]

My baby ambanja sleeps all the time. I have had him to the vet, everythng is good. He eats and drinks but then goes back for a nap. We are stumped as to why. He is now approx 8 weeks old and still around the size of a loonie stretched out. It's a waiting game for me

 

[dodolah]

My baby ambanja sleeps all the time. I have had him to the vet, everythng is good. He eats and drinks but then goes back for a nap. We are stumped as to why. He is now approx 8 weeks old and still around the size of a loonie stretched out. It's a waiting game for me

his eyes might be irritated.

 

[desultadox]

Thread resurrection!

My 1.25 year old male Ambilobe seems to have this problem now... With the recent cold front he naturally kicked it into slow gear... he was eating less and sleeping more. Anyway, I guess from having his eyes closed for such long intervals, these past couple of days he seems to struggle to open his eyes and is ALWAYS cleaning them and rubbing them on branches/my hand. The other day I helped him out with a Q-tip and Visine and pulled out a huge eye booger (at least that's what it looked like), but they don't seem to be right over his iris, but I guess off to the side under his eyelid. Anyway, is this normal or a more serious health condition? Is there anything I can do for him? It seems to really annoy him and obviously he can't eat when he can't open his eyes! He drinks plenty.

As you can see, he's otherwise pretty healthy: