healthy Panther one eye closed

[naturalsunmiami]

Before I posted this request for help I did do a search for an answer . I did not find anything
I have a 1 year old panther living outside in Miami. the weather is starting to get colder at night. I purchased herpstat4 controller ( considered the best in the industry) to assure temp never dropped under 70 degrees although I know many say in the 60s. I wanted a cushion . It was 74 degrees today so I purchased 150 watt exoterra halogen light for daytime to bring the temp up and for night a 250 watt emitter. which when on the controller will only go on in the evening if temp falls below 73 degrees .


Today One on the panthers is hunting,eating, doing his thing, seems very happy but I Noticed 1 EYE is closed and he will open it when I come over

I purchased this guy from one of our members and it was a horrible experience he arrived labeled fragile flowers on the box and was barely alive held by fed ex 27 hours as suspesious cargo, Just plain stupidity on the part of the so called expert. He still has some nerve damage and I got him thru a very rough time . He was doing fine till this incident .

Can anyone tell me what I can do about the closed eye ? I use repti safe in the mist . There is no Ficus in the habitat. which is known to irritate there eyes. I turned off the halogens in the event they were irritating I have seen posts with similar issues but I guess Im nervous and can't find them now

 

[NHenn]

If that is all the changed in his setup, I would give it a shot and keep it off and see if that corrects the issue.

Also, I would check and examine his eye more closely to make sure he just doesn't have something in it which is causing irritation. If he continues to keep it closed, a vet visit should be in your near future.

 

[Chameleon Company]

The new halogen light could be problematic. A simpler basking light, and then just a reliable Reptisun 5.0 tube is recommended instead of the halogens. He is also the right age for Vitamin A deficiency as well. Will send you a PM.

Edit in: Due to PM size restrictions, I have to send the Vitamin A info in two parts. The first part made it, but with the second, it says your inbox is full. If you clear out some of the old stuff, I can send Part 2. Thanks.

 

[Olimpia]

A good shower couldn't hurt either, in case it's just a case of a little debris in the eye. A tiny bit of bark, shed, etc.

 

[ataraxia]

1. Nerve damage? Nerve damage from being held for 27 hours? Im lost here...
2. Please fill this out. https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

Probably not related to the eye issue but still a concern.
How far are both the heat lights from the animal?
Night: Since he is outside, where is the probe for the herp stat? Does he sleep in the same spot (I mean literally) every single night?
Day: Do your daytime temps fall below 70* ever? If so, do you have a second probe for the daytime light and where is it situated?

***You can easily burn your chameleon with this set up improperly.

Related to the eye issue/
Supplement schedule may be lacking a good source of vit A. Could also be over doing a preformed vitamin also. Its hard to help with lacking pertinent information.

 

[naturalsunmiami]

one eye closed - Vit A OUTSIDE habitats

To be clear I purchased several wattage emmiters these are outside habitats and i want to be ready for anything . (at worst I would bring the 2 panthers inside if the weather was beyond my control. )

The temperature ( outside) to date has not fallen during the daytime below 74 degrees which was today. the emitter 250 watts angle 45 degrees is approx 12 in away from the screen another 3-4 inches from where the cham would bask he sometimes goes to this area but most of the time If no sun is present in his normal basking area ( like today) a warmer area was needed . Now these are outside cages there is another area he will bask which only gets heat from sunlight from 8 am till about 12-1 pm and shortening as the sun shifts he prefers this area today the temp was 74 (by temp gun and herpstat4 prob) from where he basks . ( note I cannot fit another emitter due to space. This is why I added the daytime emitter . daytime ** it caps out at 85 degrees which usually the natural sun kicks it off , today this did not happen it is rare that it goes on except today it was cloudy and windy outside temp was at a low of 74 .
In addition to safety of the animal there are fans that will kick off all emitters and turn on fans till the fan prob reads under 90 degrees by theory its best of all worlds
His night time sleeping area is different and there is a 75 watt emitter placed 6-7 inches away from the screen , this emitter will only kick on if temp drops below 72 and if I'm lucky will add 5 degrees to the cage ambient temp. To date the herpstat4 records highs and lows and it has not gone off once in the the month I am using the controller, it does however turn on fans which I will solve with the manufactor. My nighttime cycle is set to 72 degrees. most evenings its 74-75 degrees so fans kick on.


if and when a cold front comes I will use the 250 watt emitter day and night This emitter does not go on regardless of temp at night because I don't expect that drastic a temp drop . Before adding the 250 watt emitter I tested how hot it will bring the overall temp at 12 inches away ( and in proportional setting ( this means the herpstat4 will gradually add wattage not sudden burst ) I did it in my home and at 12 inches it can make a change of about 10 degrees the closer it is brought to the screen the more efficient it will produce heat. Its purpose is really nighttime temp not to fall below 72 degrees from his sleeping area. Daytime temps will rarely go below 68 but I am just preparing for the worst.

Back to the real issue one eye closed . There is no irritation , I hand misted him thinking maybe it was a bit of dirt it was a very windy day . he does not seem in distress I did add extra wind protection for the evening and will monitor the temp As far as Vitamin A These guys get natural sun and have plenty of vines and hiding places I am not sure dusting with calcium is necessary but I it I switched to flickers calcium quencher .

I will keep you posted as to if there is an eye issue or just a overly worried daddy .


The question of nerve damage . I purchased this very fine looking cham from one of our members classifieds. The person I thought was responsible But to make a long story short. He was about $$ not the safety of the animal he sent it overnight am delivery but did not want fed ex to think it may be a poisonous reptile so he marked it FRAGILE FLOWERS and did not want to spend the minimal difference in freight charges . I requested the animal be sent through a reputable animal frieght company fee $77 he saved $1 being an expert.
Yes there are some really dumb morons still roaming the the earth. The fed ex employee as Im told did not ask what the contents were BS BS BS When the box reached memphis someone raised an eyebrow and it was pulled from cargo and remained in memphis 27 hours as they can hear the movement in the box.
When I received the cham it was almost dead , Paypal said send it back . This would have killed the creature. and very cold hearted .

A word of warning there is a PAYPAL disclosure for animals . Paypal does not protect the animal for safe arrival only arrival .
a word of warning to those who may not know this.
As long as you receive the package the seller has performed there duties
regardless if the animal was marked improperly , arrives dead etc.
The animal has a permanent tremor when it walks . I would not use this members name in this reply out of respect . I do hope the next thing he sells is not one of gods creatures . The dumb *** should only be selling objects that require him to say " Would you like fries with your order ? Cause he is Fried .

Other folks Orlando what do you do ? weds the nighttime temp my be in the 50's Please call or respond you are close by and must have a set emergency practice ?

 

[naturalsunmiami]

Update All is good i guess a piece of dust flew into his eye it was gone by the time i read all the posts for help

 

[chameleon owner 770]

i also have the same problem my baby vailed cham does the same thing
and i noticed that yesterday he stopped eating though he ate this morning
through force feed cuz he wont eat by him self



INFO
tank:he is in a 10 gal glass tank
age: about 2 weeks old
food:i feed him crickets every day and repti cal
handeling: about every hour,for a copple of mins
and i let him sleep on my hand alot
spray: i spray him every 2 hours
light:i have a 60 wtt heat bulb

if you have any info on it please help me

 

[chameleon owner 770]

can the fact that i dont have a reg light and only a heat lamp be the cause

 

[camimom]

i also have the same problem my baby vailed cham does the same thing
and i noticed that yesterday he stopped eating though he ate this morning
through force feed cuz he wont eat by him self



INFO
tank:he is in a 10 gal glass tank
age: about 2 weeks old
food:i feed him crickets every day and repti cal
handeling: about every hour,for a copple of mins
and i let him sleep on my hand alot
spray: i spray him every 2 hours
light:i have a 60 wtt heat bulb

if you have any info on it please help me

can the fact that i dont have a reg light and only a heat lamp be the cause

You need to start your own thread, and cill in the help form completely.

ALso please go in depth explaining you lights, since you say only a heat lamp, not a reg lamp, and this makes no sense.

 

[Chameleon Company]

Update All is good i guess a piece of dust flew into his eye it was gone by the time i read all the posts for help

Glad that he is doing better.

I read your expanded version of the original seller, how they labeled the box, the issues with FedEx, etc. and wanted to inform a bit for those who may be concerned about shipping chameleons.

Both FedEx and UPS allow for the shipping of harmless lizards, with no waiver or other arrangement needed. There's is no need to hide anything, so the seller truly erred in their premise, much less actions. All one need do is write "Live Harmless Lizard" on the top of the box.

Secondly, services such as Ship Your Reptiles offer easy and reduced-cost shipping labels with major carriers. With SYR it is FedEx. Your expert seller was clearly inexperienced, and then made poor decisions.

I would hope that folks realize that there is no need to even contemplate being clandestine in the shipping of chameleons within the US.

Good luck.

 

[pigglett79]

The vitamin they get from the sun is vitamin D. You still need to dust feeders with a poor calcium to phosphorus ratio, such as crickets, super worms and roaches with plain calcium. You just don't need the calcium that contains D3 as your guy is outside. Vitamin A would come from good gutloading and a multivitamin. If you aren't properly gutloading or giving a multivitamin then he likely isn't getting much vitamin A. Just wanted to clarify per your statement above.

 

[Montium]

I keep my panthers out all year in Florida. I tarp their enclosure and add heat lamps when it is going to drop below 50. A good gut load for the feeders and you are golden. They have been outside for three years now and love it.

Here is a recent shot of a Faly cross I got from Jim two years ago now I think

 

[Olimpia]

Wow he's beautiful, I love him!

You definitely can't beat the Florida sunshine for raising chameleons.

 

[naturalsunmiami]

Scary outdoor weather last night I followed your lead bought tarps and space heater 1500 watts. I was thinking I would rig it to rep temp but that has a low preset of 70 but it could not handle the wattage of I remember correctly it's limited to 600 watts . I am pretty sure within the enclosure it never fell l below 68 the problem I ran into even at the lowest setting cold air from the bottom was setting off the heater. at one point I measured with temp gun the highest point under the tarp at 80. Daytime temp now is 64 I'm just keeping them covered night and day . I will rig something better next cold snap . I think the only thing that annoyed them was me checking the temp all night long
outside temp in Miami fell to 48

 

[raphael14]

I keep mine outside all the time, In rare cold days like the ones we getting these days, I move them inside the house for couple days. Just to make sure.

 

[Olimpia]

I had to bring in my Meller's last night, here the "feels like" was down to 39-40F, and my personal cut-off is 50F. So I put them back in their Florida room with a window cracked so they would still benefit from the cold night but the temps wouldn't drop quite as terribly.

I'm sure they could tolerate colder, but I don't want to take unnecessary risks with them. It's taken me too long to get this little group together and healthy!

 

[naturalsunmiami]

I'm sorry I didn't . Back in Nov we had 3 cold days and I brought them in I stayed home to manually mist them I used tube UVA and UVB bulbs and a small basking light one of them had a lot of trouble adapting from sunlight to the bulbs actually had to take him to vet because one then both eyes were irritated ?

I knew I couldn't stay home today
And read another members thread about the tarp and heater took a shot but now I think ill purchase two small enclosures just for this issue. They normally are in 72x24x24 luxury Cham condos high tech automation with the Mistking the probes from the herpstat4 controlling everything.

 

[Chameleon Company]

........... You definitely can't beat the Florida sunshine for raising chameleons.

This is true. While folks may cringe at the notion, panther chameleons have a surprising tolerance for cold. I am not recommending this as a matter of husbandry, but they can take cool-downs into the mid 30's, and will bounce back just fine provided they get warm, body temp into the 80's, each day. While many of us are familiar with tropical reptile species that easily pick up a respiratory infection if cooled even into the '50's, such as ball pythons and many tropical tortoise species, not so with pardalis.