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So, while stopping by a local pet store to pick up some stuff for Charlie I noticed this little lady. She's a female Jackson's Chameleon, not sure how old. She was being kept in a very small glass enclosure with nothing but a single vine for her to climb on. The temperature was about 60 under the basking light, and the humidity was around 30%. I'm almost positive she had no UVB bulb, and she was being fed nothing but worms. I spoke with their animal manager and he informed me that she was special ordered for a customer recently. Turns out the customer only wanted a male, and opted to leave her there. I'm not sure if the store is just inexperence with Chameleons, but it was clear that she was fairly neglected. The employee I spoke with definitly gave off a "we just want her gone" vibe. It broke my heart, and I just couldn't bring myself to leave her behind. Maybe some of you will give me flak for taking on a second animal despite being new to Chameleon husbandry, but I just couldn't leave here there in those conditions. She seems fairly healthy. Her color has been vibrant for the most part (she's much darker than normal in the pictures, I think she was just stressed with me trying to get a good shot of her eye), she seems strong in limb and jaw, and she's quite sociable (or so it seems). The only thing that is bothering me is the fact that her right eye is swollen. It's very dark, and quite swollen as you can see in the pictures below. She can still open it, but seems to keep it closed most of the time. When climbing she really looks as if she's just blindly feeling (more like flailing) for something to grab onto when moving towards her right. I'm concerned she won't be able to eat if it's imparing her vision (which I am almost certain it is). I've got her in a nice, big vivarium with a lot of plants for her to climb on. Basking spot is around 80 degrees and she's got a Reptisun 5.0. I've been keeping the humidity very high, and spraying her more frequently than Charlie incase this is some how related to her last shed (she has a few bits of skin on her spines so I assume she shed recently). I've reached out to a local herp vet, but they won't be free to see her until next week. I'm curious if this is something that warrants traveling to get her to a vet sooner? Is there something I can do here at home to help her heal? Like I said, I'm just worried she will be unable to eat. I've given her some crickets, but I can't tell if she's eaten any. I tried to entice her with a worm as well, but she didn't even seem to notice. Any help is appreciated. I do know she's drinking at least.
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