Help my chameleon is really ill

[watts]

Hi
Our chameleon is called Robert he is about 1yr and 4 months old, always been healthy.
A few weeks ago he couldn't open his eye, it had some sort of gunk in it, we washed it and tried to get it out, but it hasn't gone, i think it has now spread to his other eye.
He has now become extremely placid and he hasn't been eating or moving very much. I have been trying to feed him some water with nutrients in, using a pipet, but i dont think he can open his mouth much anymore.
He tried to puff up at me earlier but it took all his might, and he opened his mouth a few milimeters and couldn't open it any further.
He has become really thin and he is now very cold.
I have moved him slightly closer to the lamp to try and warm him up but i dont know what to do!
Can anybody help?!

 

[carol5208]

Sounds like he needs to be seen by a vet immediately. If he has an eye infection he will need meds and treatment

 

[Poptartjake]

First and for most you should get him to a vet ASAP. This should be your main priority, especially since it has already appeared to have spread.

Pictures. The more pictures you can provide us of him, preferably before and afters (before he got sick and now that he is) for comparison. What is his constant humidity? Has anything changed in the time since him getting sick? Maybe you put a new plant in, tried a new feeder...etc and so forth. The more information you can provide us, the better we can help.

 

[watts]

Thank you, we have a vet appointment for later in the week, i really hope thats not too late. Do you know of any way i could make him feel more comfortable?

 

[Poptartjake]

Could you please give us some pictures of your Cham and his enclosure? Eye problems can be related to his lighting, but unless you have recently changed something I doubt this is the cause.

For a more experienced member to answer:

Could lowering the hours that their UVB light is on help reduce strain on their eyes?

 

[watts]

I dont have any recent photos of them, the humidity is at 30 and he usually eats meal worms. We havent added any new plants for anything for a while now so i don't think its anything to do with that.
He has now moved himself up closer to the lamp, to warm himself up a bit.
We have made an appointment for him tomorrow morning, as thats the earliest we could get.
My main concern until we get him to the vets is his temperature, is there anything i can do to warm him up at all?

 

[watts]

This is the best photo of his eye I could get because he is sitting right under the light..

 

[Poptartjake]

He looks dehydrated. How often do you mist and for how long? Do you use a dripper? How often do you see him drinking?

Mealworms are not a good feeder at all due to their high fat content. You should try using gutloaded crickets or dubia cockroaches if possible. I would also try and get some hornworms and silkworms if possible as they are high in moisture content.

 

[watts]

This is his cage.. He's sitting up the top there.

 

[watts]

We mist him twice a day for a few minutes, until most of the plants are dripping. We used to have a waterfall in there for him but that made him ill, and yes we do use a dripper.
He also used to drink straight from the misting bottle, but he hasn't been doing that recently, because I guess he has been getting ill.

Ok, we used to feed him little crickets, but they kept escaping and they'd be all over the house!

 

[Poptartjake]

You should NOT have a light within the enclosure itself. They should always be raised off the top to prevent burns.

What type of UVB bulb is that? There are reports of UVB bulbs causing swollen eyes within reptiles, this is why I ask.

 

[watts]

You were right, he was very dehydrated, I just misted him and he drank his little heart out!! That little bit of water has actually improved his whole state altogether!
Thank you, your advice helped an awful lot, but i will be sure to take him straight to the vets tomorrow morning!
thanks, poptartjake and carol5208

 

[watts]

Ohhh, he did used to get burns, but thats because we used to have the heater inside the actual cage, i didn't know they light could affect it aswell. I'm not sure on the bulb i"ll have to look into that, I will take the light out asap!

 

[carol5208]

Is that a bump on the bridge of his nose???? If so, that is a sinus infection which can cause eye problems. How long has he been like this? Also, can you post a few more pics. His casque looks very swollen to me. He does not look dehydrated to me from that pic, it is his eye. Also, that could be an abcess on his nose which will need to be cleaned out by the vet. I took a quick look at your cage...no offense but it should could use some revamping. What size is it? It looks small for an adult veild and also it is not a good idea to have mulch at the bottom as it can become easily injested and cause digestion problems. He could use some more branches, vines and plants too. He would be a lot happier in a larger enclosure with more place for him to explore and hide.

 

[CLP]

Is that a bump on the bridge of his nose???? If so, that is a sinus infection which can cause eye problems. How long has he been like this? Also, can you post a few more pics. His casque looks very swollen to me. He does not look dehydrated to me from that pic, it is his eye. Also, that could be an abcess on his nose which will need to be cleaned out by the vet. I took a quick look at your cage...no offense but it should could use some revamping. What size is it? It looks small for an adult veild and also it is not a good idea to have mulch at the bottom as it can become easily injested and cause digestion problems. He could use some more branches, vines and plants too. He would be a lot happier in a larger enclosure with more place for him to explore and hide.

I agree with all of this. Also, I couldn't tell, but do you also have a basking light for him? And I am assuming your cage is 18" x 18" x 24". That is way too small for for an adult male veiled. Minimum recommended size is 24" x 24" x 48".

 

[chameleonowner32]

Could you please give us some pictures of your Cham and his enclosure? Eye problems can be related to his lighting, but unless you have recently changed something I doubt this is the cause.

For a more experienced member to answer:

Could lowering the hours that their UVB light is on help reduce strain on their eyes?

Uvb wont cause gunk in the eyes. And it wouldnt spread if it was just too much light.

 

[chameleonowner32]

You should NOT have a light within the enclosure itself. They should always be raised off the top to prevent burns.

What type of UVB bulb is that? There are reports of UVB bulbs causing swollen eyes within reptiles, this is why I ask.

You can have a light in their cage if its just uvb. Most people dont because of the hasal of it possibly getting wet or a cham climbing on it but its less loss of uvb that way. You can have a basking inside a cage if you have too, thats why they make mesh cover for them.

 

[szpond]

You can have a light in their cage if its just uvb. Most people dont because of the hasal of it possibly getting wet or a cham climbing on it but its less loss of uvb that way. You can have a basking inside a cage if you have too, thats why they make mesh cover for them.

I disagree with this post.

Having a light inside of a cage at all is very dangerous - - I have also seen instances of a chameleon catching its tongue on a hot light causing severe tongue burns. Covers I have seen for heat lamps usually are large-gapped, which is how it happened.

Also I'd prefer to utilize all of my cage and not have my large UVB rod light taking up the important part of the cage - the top, where he basks.

 

[chameleonowner32]

I disagree with this post.

Having a light inside of a cage at all is very dangerous - - I have also seen instances of a chameleon catching its tongue on a hot light causing severe tongue burns. Covers I have seen for heat lamps usually are large-gapped, which is how it happened.

Also I'd prefer to utilize all of my cage and not have my large UVB rod light taking up the important part of the cage - the top, where he basks.

You have to think of the circumstances. I personally cup feed which alot of people do to which elimenates the tongue going afrter a crcket in the light. I personally dont havae a light inside the cage but it also depends on what size cage you have. I use 175gal reptarium so i have plenty room. There are different circumstances for everyone man.

 

[watts]

Hi everyone, the light is a 'reptiglow 10.0' i dont know if that is harmful to him?

Also thank you all for your advice, we will be sure to upgrade his enclosure after he's been taken to the vets!!