Female Veiled with a "Black" eye?

[Hardwyre]

I'm a relatively new herp owner.

I purchased a female chameleon from PetCo (which I later found out may have been my first mistake...), and we bought a cage (soon learned was too small) and food, and so the research began.

We've owned Camille ("the Colorful Chameleon") for a total of four weeks now. Her enclosure has upgraded to a 6-foot monstrosity full of Pothos plants and a small herp-safe ficus (did the research).

starting yesterday, she has not gone for water or food, and this morning I noticed a black circle around her right eye. Eye movement does not seem to be affected, it is not swollen nor sunken, and she has no issues climbing all over her cage or tracking movement with the eye.


CAGE:
30"x30"x6', fiber netting
Repti-glo 5.0 tube UVB (12-14 hrs daily)
PHILLIPS 125w clear Heat Light (hung from ceiling)
mist with filtered water 4-5 times a day (it's dry here in Utah... needed to keep humidity above 40%, usually 50-60% range)
home-made drip (which until recently she has had no issues using)

DIET
rep-cal Herpative+beta carotene multivit
rep-cal Calcium with Vit.D3

Crickets (gut load = grain-based calcium load + oranges, kale, carrots, mango, etc. to mix it up)
Silk Worms and Butterworms for a high-cal "treat"
some diced kale and collard greens when she's in the mood

Feces has been clay-grey (dries black) and white urea with the occasional yellow tinge on the end (once or twice).


Any advice from a knowledgeable herp owner would be much appreciated!

Black Eye

NORMAL eye

 

[Hardwyre]

Her "Reptarium":

Top half:

Bottom half:

Cage with things labeled:

 

[Andrew The Chameleon]

well im not a chameleon expert and i know im wrong but do you think she fell on her eye from trying to climb but she fell. i dont know but that is what i think

 

[Hardwyre]

well im not a chameleon expert and i know im wrong but do you think she fell on her eye from trying to climb but she fell. i dont know but that is what i think

I have not WITNESSED her falling (She has a very powerful tail, and always seems to catch herself from falling at the last second.)

HOWEVER. She has been more aggressive as of late (wondering if she is gravid?) and has attacked and headbutted my hand pretty hard recently.... I too thought it looked like a bruise. Esp considering that it was a lot worse yesterday then it was today.

 

[SarahChamlove]

please don't take anything i say offensive

I think the cage you have for her is very unstable. rope that is tied to one side to can still swing, especially under heat lamps, rope with thin out. using cut up shirts can as well become unstable for your chameleon.

I get jungle vines from lllreptile.com they are very reasonable with price.

I also think you need to provide more uvb light. I see that you have a very small hood in the left corner. You will need a bigger one and have it in the middle.

 

[Hardwyre]

She's currently climbing all over her cage, eyeing the crickets, worms, and water drip but does not seem to be interested in them at all (third day of this behavior)

The ropes are highly secured hemp line (vet approved) and the green thing is a huge scarf that she LOVES (basically a cheaper version of the Chameleon Hammock at the pet store). Just enough slack so she can pull her self from one spot to another, but not enough for the line to "swing".

I agree with the UVB comment, and the hood was over the entire cage, but she kept climbing around it and I moved it yesterday, fearing a burn.

I was keeping her UVB light on 3-4 nights a week, but I also thought it could be a UVB burn (after reading a UVB-herp study) so I moved it aside and started shutting it off at night.

 

[Kansascity]

Sorry can’t help myself... Looks like she got into the worse fight ever a real knock down drag out! (we don’t have enough smily’s for this one) she very well could have fell.

 

[carol5208]

you did not mention what your temps are. If you have it too hot it can effect her appetite. 125 watt seems awfully high wattage. how old is she and what is you ambient cage temp as well as basking? You also need a plain calcium which should use at ever feeding. The one without d3 twice a month and the multi twice a month.

 

[Kansascity]

you did not mention what your temps are. If you have it too hot it can effect her appetite. 125 watt seems awfully high wattage. how old is she and what is you ambient cage temp as well as basking? You also need a plain calcium which should use at ever feeding. The one without d3 twice a month and the multi twice a month.

Carol is right seriously, please fill the form out ( I know it looks horrific, but the advice you may get could help you tremendously) . No one is an exotic vet here but the majority of these awesome people have a wealth of knowledge !

 

[Fearling]

She's currently climbing all over her cage, eyeing the crickets, worms, and water drip but does not seem to be interested in them at all (third day of this behavior)

The ropes are highly secured hemp line (vet approved) and the green thing is a huge scarf that she LOVES (basically a cheaper version of the Chameleon Hammock at the pet store). Just enough slack so she can pull her self from one spot to another, but not enough for the line to "swing".

I agree with the UVB comment, and the hood was over the entire cage, but she kept climbing around it and I moved it yesterday, fearing a burn.

I was keeping her UVB light on 3-4 nights a week, but I also thought it could be a UVB burn (after reading a UVB-herp study) so I moved it aside and started shutting it off at night.

We wanted to the bigger UVB bulb, but we couldn't find a hood that fit it! The freaking pet store was NO HELP. So, we got what they had (being the smaller hood and smaller bulb) and we are still looking for a bigger one, or we might just get a second to place in the cage.

The Heat bulb is what was recommended to us (the 125w) because temp can be a hard thing to maintain in a mesh cage?

Oh, btw, Im camilles OTHER owner. lol.

 

[Hardwyre]

I thought I had all the info from the form up, apparently I missed some info...

unknown age, she is about 8" from nose to anus.

Her temps are
85F - top of the cage
72F - bottom of the cage in her ficus (where she likes to sleep)
95F+ - basking spot. the 125w was recommended by a herp owner, but the light may be a little close, i'll raise it a bit.

UPDATE:
Petco says she was housed with a male, who was about 2/3 her size. we have had her for 45 days now and she is trying to hide on the top of her cage, behind the UVB hood.

the time frame seems about right...
Is this Gravid behavior? should I start setting up her laying chambers?
or, even more importantly,
IS THERE A CHANCE SHE HAS BEEN MATED?!

 

[SarahChamlove]

Really go to www.lllreptile.com I got my hood and light for under 20 dollars. I got a heat lamp that you can adjust the tempature higher or lower for under 10 dollars. Look in to it. They have alot of great stuff. I got to get their repfogger next They are the cheapest site I ever came across. They tend to be slow for shipping, but the products are fairly good for their prices

 

[Hardwyre]

Really go to www.lllreptile.com I got my hood and light for under 20 dollars. I got a heat lamp that you can adjust the tempature higher or lower for under 10 dollars. Look in to it. They have alot of great stuff. I got to get their repfogger next They are the cheapest site I ever came across. They tend to be slow for shipping, but the products are fairly good for their prices

Awesome site, thank you Sarah!

But she has been very energetic and looks much healthier than before we put her in her new enclosure.

I'm really trying to figure out if she's gravid, because she does not seem to exhibit any signs of distress or illness... save that damned black eye!

 

[AReptile]

Her basking spot is wayy too high. Female veileds should have cooler basking spots, that spot would be good if you had an adult male. Higher basking spots affect how large their clutch is when they are gravid.

 

[Fearling]

Really go to www.lllreptile.com I got my hood and light for under 20 dollars. I got a heat lamp that you can adjust the tempature higher or lower for under 10 dollars. Look in to it. They have alot of great stuff. I got to get their repfogger next They are the cheapest site I ever came across. They tend to be slow for shipping, but the products are fairly good for their prices

Thanks Sarah. Shipping shouldnt be an issue now that we at least have the basics for what she needs. We weren't planning on the hemp being there forever.

and basking spot too high? how much lower should we put it? (our first chameleon...... we have been trying to figure out everything we need to do)

 

[carol5208]

Basking spot should be in the low 80's like about 82 degrees or so. You overall cage temp should be in the low to mid 70's. How old is your cham?. They usually can produce eggs from about 6 months on. If if she wasn't mated with the male she can still produce infertile clutches of eggs. Monitoring food intakes and keeping temps lower can aid in her not producing eggs. Get a regular housebulb like a 40 watt and see if you can lower your basking and cage temps with that change. Make sure you get the PLAIN calcium also.

 

[Fearling]

Basking spot should be in the low 80's like about 82 degrees or so. You overall cage temp should be in the low to mid 70's. How old is your cham?. They usually can produce eggs from about 6 months on. If if she wasn't mated with the male she can still produce infertile clutches of eggs. Monitoring food intakes and keeping temps lower can aid in her not producing eggs. Get a regular housebulb like a 40 watt and see if you can lower your basking and cage temps with that change. Make sure you get the PLAIN calcium also.

Petco was unsure of her age. In fact, they thought she was old. They gave us a discount because she had been there for a bit. We've had her for 42 days. She has a vet appointment on the 20th, hopefully the vet might have an idea of her age.

AND we are planning on getting the plain calcium next time we are at the store.

Thank you for all you help.

 

[carol5208]

Here is a blog from one of our members for you to read on egglaying and preparation for it. She should have a egglaying bin in there if she is older then. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/jannb/345-egg-laying-laying-bin.html No offense, but in looking at your set up those ropes need to be changed out. Get some Bio Vines(they sell them at the pet store) and find some sturdy branches. Those are not near supportive enough for her to climb around on comfortably, atleast I don't see how they would be.

 

[biglittle]

just gonna throw this out there but could it just be a mood she's in? i know that my male veiled started showing more black in his head when i moved him to his free range while he was getting settled in.

 

[Hardwyre]

WOW a lot of good info!
Thanks guys, I will get to work on "Reptarium 2.0" and see if any of these changes helps her mood and complexion.

Question, though: if I were to set up a laying bin (thinking a rubber trash bin or something) in her cage with a way to climb into it would she use it? Where should I put it?... or would the "isolation" method I read about be better?

I'm really loving my cham and want her to be as happy as possible