I have just purchased a chameleon less than a month ago and things were going well till the beginning of this week. I started noticing my chameleon rub his left eye on a branch and leaving it shut. he had a hard time hunting anything but super worms. A couple days later it got worse and both eyes were shut. I am now force feeding him water and crickets. He takes both and eats it. Both his lights are inside his cage, and after researching the internet I was thinking his UV light is to bright and has temporary blinded him. I have had the light off for two days now. This morning his one eye was open for a couple of seconds. I mist him four or five times a day. What else can I be doing, what am I doing wrong?
Help, both eyes closed! whats wrong?
- Thread starter iverburg
- Start date
cushcameleon
New Member
Are you using a UV coil bulb? If so, remove it immediately and go purchase a reptisun 5.0 fluorescent tube. You need to have UV light so either take him outside for a couple hours (if you have good weather), or go purchase a reptisun 5.0 tube from a pet store (A.S.A.P). It can take some time before the chameleon has the ability to regain eyesight; the condition he is currently sufffering from is similar to snowblindness. Keep in mind, all the advice applies to you as long as you have been using a coil bulb, if not then there is a different problem. Read this section in my blog https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/cushcameleon/135-compact-bulbs-big-no.html, it will help you begin to understand why coil bulbs are so dangerous.
Julirs
New Member
Please answer the following so we can attempt to help...
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
Location - Where are you geographically located?
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Current Problem - The current problem that you are concerned about.
Here is some more information. The chameleon is a veiled chameleon about seven months old. He is male. The cage is really big, wire mesh on three sides and a hard top. Both lights are inside the cage, Im wondering if this is the problem? we have the vines placed so he can't touch the lights though. I keep humidity at sixty percent and the temperature at eighty degrees. I feed a diet of mainly crickets, about four crickets and one super worm a day, split into two feedings. I occasionally dust them. As for the light, Im not sure if it is coil? I have bought a specific reptile light from the pet store, it is a long skinny bulb. sorry if this does not help. He drinks from a water fall, and I have seen him drink when he is well. now both eyes are closed and I feed him with a syringe. All signs point to him being healthy, eating the bugs i have to put in his mouth, and he even learend to take water from the syringe by himself. He has a very strong grip still but his eyes are still closed. Is this enough information?
Julirs
New Member
How big is really big? At 7 months old though a really big cage is OK-but 80 degrees is not. I would raise those temps to 90 at that age-he may be too cool to digest properly or he could be impacted. GET THE LIGHTS OUT OF THE CAGE. It is dangerous. When was the last time he ate on his own or pooped? Do you have pictures? IF the tube is a long flourescent tube that is OK-but we need the brand. Waterfalls are dangerous bacterial breeding grounds. It needs to go and you need to be misting several times daily. Eyes closed can be a sign of many things and dehydration and malnutrition are some of those. What kind of thermometer are you using?
ok so its not a coil light its a linear. im a little cautiuos to turn it on, its in the cage now..im goign to take it out. good news, he is opening his left eye often....not keeping it open though. its been three days since i turned that light off. how long would it take to recover from the snow blindness thing? maybe cuz the light was to strong with nothing restricting it, his eyes being right beside it.
dodolah
Retired Moderator
Ahhh.. now we are getting somewhere here. linear 2.0 should not be a problem.
Just for the clarification:
Which one is your's?
A:
B:
if B is your answer, then I doubt photokeratoconjuntivitis (snow blindness) is your problem.
In fact, I would recommend you getting linear reptisun uvb 5.0 for veiled chameleon.
Also, make sure you do not put the uvb light inside of the cage. So, I would somehow take off the solid top, replace it with a screen, and put the lighting on top.
Can you post a picture of your chameleon and his limbs?
Last edited:
summoner12
Avid Member
We should see some pics of the whole enclosure... we can give you some ideas on how to set things up.
dodolah
Retired Moderator
Please realize that closing eye can be a general symptom when your chameleon feel unwell. It does not necessarily means problem of the eye.
There are a LOT of missing information here and there that you have not provided.
So, I would suggest:
1. Get an appointment with a herp vet (www.herpvetconnection.com -> if you are in US) .
2. Take pictures of your chameleon (whole body), your chameleon's eyes, your chameleon's limbs, and your chameleon cage.
3. Answer those questions Julirs provided as a whole unit instead of part by part. The more detailed you answer, the better we know what might be the cause.
Doing that will fasten the process of elimination so your chameleon survival rate is higher.
There are a LOT of missing information here and there that you have not provided.
So, I would suggest:
1. Get an appointment with a herp vet (www.herpvetconnection.com -> if you are in US) .
2. Take pictures of your chameleon (whole body), your chameleon's eyes, your chameleon's limbs, and your chameleon cage.
3. Answer those questions Julirs provided as a whole unit instead of part by part. The more detailed you answer, the better we know what might be the cause.
Doing that will fasten the process of elimination so your chameleon survival rate is higher.
Last edited:
so, the plants is not poisonous and the light will not give him that condition. how about a lack of misting? prior to his blindness i only misted once a day, a couple of squirts only, and may have missed a day or two. my girlfriend says she alot more water than that to mist. maybe this was the problem. both eyes are open today, although he still shuts them and rubs them on the branch. he does seem to be improving thoguh
dodolah
Retired Moderator
See my previous post especially the numbered responds.
It's quite hard to pinpoint a problem without the chameleon in person. So, pictures would be helpful.
