New Veiled

[allicat1229]

Hello, I am new to the forum. I have had chameleons on and off for about 15 years (veiled, jackson, oustalet, pygmy). I recently rescued an adult veiled from a man who put him on craigslist b/c he was sick. He had traded a TV for him, but was unable to properly care for him. I picked him up last Friday. Here is the basic info:

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, male, age unknown, had for 1 week
Handling - Only handled to hand feed and clean eyes
Feeding - been hand feeding crickets, superworms and wax worms (he needs some extra fat b/c he is quite skinny). At each feeding he will eat approx 4 crickets or superworms and 2 wax worms.
Supplements - rep cal phos free calcium and repta-aid critical care for now
Watering - misting daily with hose, drinks for approx 5 minutes at a time
Fecal Description - has only gone once, urate portion slightly yellow.
History - was kept inside in a terrarium, not properly cared for

Cage Info:
Cage Type - wood and screen 4'x4'x3'
Lighting - outside on patio, gets partial sun
Temperature - outside cage, 80's during day, 70's at night
Humidity - kept at a minimum
Plants - very large orchid and hibiscus along with artificial vines and bendable branches
Placement -outside screened patio with partial sun
Location - west palm beach, fl

Current Problem - eyes have been closed since I rescued him. been flushing with saline and putting opthalmic ointment in them. Not sure what else I can do. I am open to suggestions

Allison

 

[justjumpit621]

Poor guy Looks like Molly. You should definitely take him to the vet if you haven't already. You also need to mist him as much as possible even though he can't see. 1) it will give humidity which he needs, 2) he may still drink it, Molly did even though she couldn't see it. Also, I may be mistaken but i think you still need the UVB light even if you are housing him outside. Make sure there is also enough shade in his cage. It sounds like it is very hot there and he needs to regulate his internal temperature. Misting the cage and him with cold water will also help with lowering the temps. do you have a picture of what he is living in? You should also be misting with purified water, hose water accumulates bacteria, as well as tap water has chlorine and minerals and posibly other chemicals harmful to your cham. I buy gallons of purified water and put it in one of those pressure sprayers that you pump up and spray.

 

[VeiledChams]

dont keep the humidity at a minimum! raise it because if urate is yellow it means he's dehydrated. They need high humidity, 75% on average.

 

[justjumpit621]

You also need a calcium w/o d3, calcium w/ d3, and a multivitamin. Plain calcium every feeding, d3 twice a month, and multivitamin once a month.

 

[VeiledChams]

try getting a fecal done too.. they are not expensive and can save you and the cham problems later on.

 

[allicat1229]

Oops...let me clarify on the humidity. I don't provide additional humidity b/c the humidity here is around 80% or higher. The cage only gets full sun around lunchtime and there is always shady areas that he can retreat to. The cage was originally built for finches, but has since been disinfected and empty for awhile. (I have attached a pic when the birds were in it). I may end up buidling a new one b/c I love a project! The last veiled I had lived over 7 years in a similar setup, so I must have done something right.

I used to work for a reptile vet (am still a vet tech, but working as an environmental scientist), so I ran him over this weekend for an exam . He thought the eyes were shut from dehydration, but I would have assumed they would have improved over a week with drinking everyday and supplemental sub-q fluids.

 

[allicat1229]

Oh and fecal was negative.

 

[justjumpit621]

He may have an infection. You should also ask the previous owner what UVB lighting he was using. If it was a coil bulb that may be why. Coil UVB lights cause blindness.

 

[allicat1229]

I emailed the guy I got him from to see if he knew any info from the woman he got him from, but I doubt I will hear back. I will take him back in tomorrow to get re-checked.

 

[carol5208]

I see you live in Royal palm beach! I live in Lake worth so we are neighbors!. I keep my cham outside most of the day right now until it gets blazing hot down here. The natural sunlight and our high humidity has got to do him some good. I hope the previous owner did not blind him or injure his eyes with the incorrect lighting. I have seen people on here using bearded dragon desert lighting on their chams and not knowing it was wrong. I hope the previous owner can give you some insight as to how he was cared for. That is so sad. I hope also that it is just some type of infection or something. It was good of you to take him and I hope things work out. Good luck to you!

 

[carol5208]

He may have an infection. You should also ask the previous owner what UVB lighting he was using. If it was a coil bulb that may be why. Coil UVB lights cause blindness.

Not all coils lights.There are members on here who use coils with no issues. you have to be more specific I think when making that statement. if he had a light from years ago(these were the lights in question) that he was using that was throwing off too much uvb, then yes it is a possibility. The new coils are ok.

 

[allicat1229]

Thanks Carol! Yes we are neighbors. Small world.

I doubt I will get any info from the original owner, but I do know he was housed in an extra large exo terra terrarium. Not the ideal size or setup. If he is blind, he can live out his life on the patio being handfed His color has already improved over the last week, and he seems quite content to be waited on lol.

 

[VeiledChams]

I live down the road in Weston, Fl..by Sunrise!.. Neighbor to the south lol.. keep us updated on his condition

 

[carol5208]

I live down the road in Weston, Fl..by Sunrise!.. Neighbor to the south lol.. keep us updated on his condition

Floridians unite!!! lol!!!! Like I said so good of you to take him in knowing his condition and all. I hope he will continue to improve and hopefully his eyesight as well. Keep us updated!!!

 

[allicat1229]

So far, "Omar" is still hanging in there. His eyes are the same, sunken in and closed despite my best re-hyrdation efforts. Any suggestions on that? Do they absorb fluids through the vent like bearded dragons? He is pooping more, but it is a lighter brownish grey color. Still eating and drinking and getting the rept-aid supplement every day. Not as much drinking as when I first got him. He is getting around rather well for being blind, and sure can run away from any misting unless he wants to be misted.