My Chameleon is looking ill any help would be really appreciated

[djgeorge07]

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?Vieled,female 4 months old ive had her for a month.

Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?twice a week

Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?Locust about 6 medium a day.I add bug gel(water) and nutrobal in there pot with some green veg for locust to eat

Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?Nutrobal calcium balancer and multivitamin supplement.I put two pinches in the tub of locust and give them a shake(recomended by the pet shop)

Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?I have a Little Dripper system and a water bowl.I mist 3 times a day.I see her drinking from the dripper.

Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?Dark brown


Cage Info:

Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?exo terra glass tank.Sorry not sure on the size its the largest exo terra glass tank ive seen ill add a picture.

Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?2x 5.0 Repti Glo bulbs i leave them both on 12 hours a day

Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?80f exo terra gauge.I have the 2 uv lights on the left of the tankt and heat lamp on the right

Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?50% on average a few times ive sat a wet towel on top of the mesh to raise the humidty but was not sure if this was a god idea.

Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? no live plants

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?placed in the corner of a room no fans or vents

Location - Where are you geographically located?uk


Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

I noticed 2 days ago my chameleons had her eyes both shut after keeping a eye on here i can see they stay shut pretty much all day,She would open them rarely.Ive seen her open them and go on the hunt for food but then its pretty much spend a bit of time under the heat lamp then back under the uv and sits still with her eyes closed.She still sleeps in her normal spot im just not sure what else i can do as i took her to the local vets and they say they are no experts on chameleons and will just work from the book so its best i find a exotic animal expert

Any help will be much appreciated thanks for your time


Pictures Attached of the tank setup and cham with eyes both open and closed

 

[camimom]

Ok several things.

remove one of the uvb bulbs,
she could be keeping her eyes closed because the uvb is hurting her eyes.
second- remove the sand or whatever is on the bottom if she ingests it, it can cause impaction
next- why is there a bulb in the cage? she could get burned.
is that bulb red, if so, why?

and remove the waterbowl, she wont drink from it. and if you are using it to catch the dripping water, put mesh or something over it to prevent her from falling in it.

 

[Canny Chams]

umm another key thing, that is a glass terrarium, that she is WAY to big for, get a screen terrarium 24" X 24" X 48" tall. Im in such a rush i cant even point the other stuff out atm

 

[chameleonfan101]

welcome to the forums!! you have a nice looking cham!! listen to what CAMIMOM pointed out i completely agree with her. good luck!

 

[KatCham]

Hello and welcome to the mad house!! You've come to the right place. I have added comments through your post

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?Vieled,female 4 months old ive had her for a month.

Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?twice a week
This may be too often for a young cham that you have only had for a little while?
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?Locust about 6 medium a day.I add bug gel(water) and nutrobal in there pot with some green veg for locust to eat
Bug gel and veg great. Check out Sandra chameleons blog for gutloading tips! Leave Nutrobal for just dusting the feeders, don't actually feed it to them. Also add bug grub in there for them[/COLOR]

Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?Nutrobal calcium balancer and multivitamin supplement.I put two pinches in the tub of locust and give them a shake(recomended by the pet shop) Apologies, I assumed before that you fed your locusts the nutrobal LOL DOH! You only want to dust them lightly. If they look white afterwards, you have dusted too much. Less is more! Also, this shouldn't be at every feed. It contains D3 and Vit A which should only be given around twice a month. EVERY other feed should be dusted with a calcium only supplement. eg komodo cricket dust(calcium only)

Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?I have a Little Dripper system and a water bowl.I mist 3 times a day.How long for?I see her drinking from the dripper.
Remove the water bowl as she won't drink from it. As previously said, if you are using it to catch water, put mesh on top so she and feeders don't fall in. Make sure you clean it regularly too so no bacteria builds up in there

Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?Dark brown As well as the dark brown part(solids) there is normally a powdery white part (urates) if it is white great, if it is yellow, she may be a little dehydrated.


Cage Info:

Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?exo terra glass tank.Sorry not sure on the size its the largest exo terra glass tank ive seen ill add a picture.
Might just be me but I can't see cham in there to work out size compared to her
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?2x 5.0 Repti Glo bulbs i leave them both on 12 hours a day
Remove one of these bulbs. Too much light could be hurting her eyes and cause increase in temp so she may be too hot
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?80f is this the basking spot or ambient temp? exo terra gaugeBest to use a digital thermometer so you can get a probe right under the basking light where she will sit, so as to measure temps more accurately and reduce the risk of overheating.I have the 2 uv lights on the left of the tankt and heat lamp on the right
Can you locate the basking light outside of the cage? if she climbs on that she will burn herself, without even realising!! Also, lose the red bulb and just use a regular 60w house bulb for basking as it resembles the sun more closely so she will associate that spot with heat

Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?50% on average a few times ive sat a wet towel on top of the mesh to raise the humidty but was not sure if this was a god idea.
Live plants help with humidity! Have a look on the safe plant list on here and pop one in there. The leaves hold the water better too
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? no live plants

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?placed in the corner of a room no fans or vents

Location - Where are you geographically located?uk WOOHOO a fellow UK keeper!! LOL

As chamimom said, remove the substrate. If she swallows it!!! Oh doesn't bear thinking about

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

I noticed 2 days ago my chameleons had her eyes both shut after keeping a eye on here i can see they stay shut pretty much all day,She would open them rarely.Ive seen her open them and go on the hunt for food but then its pretty much spend a bit of time under the heat lamp then back under the uv and sits still with her eyes closed.She still sleeps in her normal spot im just not sure what else i can do as i took her to the local vets and they say they are no experts on chameleons and will just work from the book so its best i find a exotic animal expert

Any help will be much appreciated thanks for your time


Pictures Attached of the tank setup and cham with eyes both open and closed

I'd amend your husbandry as advised and see if she gets any better. Whatever happens have alook round for an experienced chameleon vet. You never know when you might need em If she shows no improvement, take her to that experienced vet. Until then, good luck with her. She's a peach!! xx

JMO. I'll let the more experienced veiled keepers correct or add to my comments (I have a 14mo panther and am slowly but surely learning the requirements of the other species as I go

Also check out this link from Jannb's blog. She has kept veileds for years!:

 

[Elizadolots]

Hi! I have a question about the water bowl: is it there to catch the water from the dripper?

If that's the case you'll probably want to look at establishing a drainage system (drainage is your friend...getting good drainage is one of the happiest moments in a new chameleon owner's life).

Until then, you should cover the bowl with nylon net or tuilling or something to make sure your chameleon can't fall into the bowl and drown (low possibility, but check around, there are stories about chameleons falling in the catch bowl).

 

[djgeorge07]

Thanks for the replys i just wanted to add that the sand is calcium sand is this ok?The water bowl i bought originally for her to drink out of and was concerned as i never seen her use it so bought the dripper,i just the bowl there in case.And as for the bulbs i literally bought the second one yesterday because i thought she was not getting enough uv light.The bulb is red is this not right?I bought the setup how it was in the shop they also had the red bulb in the tank.Although it may seem it she cannot actually reach it to burn herself.I told the pet store i wanted everything i need and what i have is all they recommened.She is very friendly and happily comes out thats why i handled her a few times a week.Bit confused on the tank being to small...I was told it was a bit big for a baby cham?it was the biggest exo terra sold.

Sorry i know my questions and answers are all over they place just trying to remember what i want to ask and answering peoples questions

I really am grateful for all your guys/girls help and ill be making alot of changes and hope she gets better ill keep you guys/girls updated

 

[KatCham]

Thanks for the replys i just wanted to add that the sand is calcium sand is this ok?The water bowl i bought originally for her to drink out of and was concerned as i never seen her use it so bought the dripper,i just the bowl there in case.And as for the bulbs i literally bought the second one yesterday because i thought she was not getting enough uv light.The bulb is red is this not right?I bought the setup how it was in the shop they also had the red bulb in the tank.Although it may seem it she cannot actually reach it to burn herself.I told the pet store i wanted everything i need and what i have is all they recommened.She is very friendly and happily comes out thats why i handled her a few times a week.Bit confused on the tank being to small...I was told it was a bit big for a baby cham?it was the biggest exo terra sold.

Sorry i know my questions and answers are all over they place just trying to remember what i want to ask and answering peoples questions

I really am grateful for all your guys/girls help and ill be making alot of changes and hope she gets better ill keep you guys/girls updated

If she shoots at a feeder which is on the sand she could ingest it leading to impaction which can be fatal.
She will need a laying bin eventually though, so can an experienced female veiled keeper advise on this please?

If the bowl is in there 'just in case' and not to catch any dripper water I would remove it, but you do NEED drainage.

One bulb is fine! The second one could be making it too bright/hot in there causing her to keep her eyes closed.

As I said, a regular house bulb resembles the sun, what they use to heat themselves up in the wild to digest their food. I don't think they recognise red light. Bulbs in enclosures are a hazard! You'd be surprised where they can get themsleves actually and if she ever does make it to the light she could really hurt herself. Do you want to risk that?

Pet stores have MANY different opinions on what is required for chams. Sadly some are inaccurate, or incorrect all together.

Trust me, if you follow the advice of the experienced keepers on here, you stand more of a chance of improving the health of your cham in the short term.
Keeping her in the right conditions will keep her healthy for the longterm

If you could measure your enclosure, that'd help as pics can be misleading.

It's nice that she is friendly, but this may be because she is happy to be out of her enclosure because it isn't comfortable for her. I hope she does remain friendly. Some do, some don't like being handled at all. She will let you know I'm sure though

Don't beat yourself up. I was in your situation just over a year ago. So many conflicting opinions of pet stores. This forum saved my sanity and my cham is thriving (touch wood nothing happens now I've said that LOL!) You have only followed the advice of a pet store as probably all of us have done at some point and faced issues. We all still ask questions from time to time. Even just for reassurance
So much support on here. Most have kept chams for years and know their stuff! I don't think I'd go anywhere else!!

Please follow the advice to amend your husbandry and I'm pretty sure you'll see positive results.

Good luck with your little one