Panther chameleons eye sight

[devynnogood]

I think my 1 year old Nosy boraha Panther Chameleon has vision problems. I’m not to concerned about it, he’s able to find and eat his food just fine. At first I thought maybe it was a tongue issue but it’s not. His depth perception seems to be off. He doesn’t shoot his tongue far enough. Once he misses the first time he’ll then shoot it farther and hit his target. Sometimes he also shoots to far. When my Panther takes worms from my hand, he perfectly grabs the worm without hardly touching my hand. When my Boraha goes for a worm on my hand if he doesn’t miss he shoots to far and suction cups to my hand at the same time he grabs the worm. He’s not accurate depth wise. He also mistakes my fingers for worms all the time. He’s always been this way and doesn’t seem to be getting any worse. After he misses he always corrects himself the 2nd or 3rd time. Both my chameleons receive all the same husbandry, supplements, and food and my Faly is just fine. I think it may be something he was born with.


I was just curious if anyone has experienced anything like this with their Chams. I have good reason to believe it is his eyes and not his tongue(I know that’s a common issue with chameleons)

 

[CamrynTheCham22]

Well, I would suggest getting a proper veterinarian diagnosis. As for the part where you said he mistakes your fingers for worms . . . my cham does the same thing. Anything that moves, especially the tongs, she will run after with her tongue cocked.

Maybe fill this out so we can get more information:

hameleon 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.

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?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

 

[devynnogood]

I’m not going to fill that out, that’s not necessary lol. If at anytime I think his eye sight is affecting his daily life(eating, climbing, ect.) I would take him to the vet. I was mainly just curious if others have seen this before.

 

[Decadancin]

Yes, commonly associated with husbandry issues effecting chameleon health.

 

[devynnogood]

Yes, commonly associated with husbandry issues effecting chameleon health.

If that were the case my Faly would be experiencing similar side effects. But like I said, my boraha(Blizzard) has been like this pretty much since he was a baby.

 

[Cobalt145]

So like most animals, two different chameleons might respond differently to husbandry issues especially two chams from different regions your Faly could simply be tougher when dealing with minor issues also different kinds of chams have different needs. Filling out that care sheet really is in your best interest. as for mistaking your fingers and tongs for worms mines does that all the time anything that moves is fair game.

 

[Graves923]

I had two clown fish in my reef tank years ago. One died due to a parasitic infection called ick which normally occurs when the fish has a weak immune system. By your logic, both of my fish should have experienced the same infection since they got the same exact husbandry but the surviving fish lived almost 5 years longer then the other.

Point is, the husbandry can be identical between two animals but, as Cobalt mentioned, one animal might react differently.

I agree with you though that since it doesnt seem to be effecting his day to day life then Vet advice isnt necessary. I would keep track of the issue though that way if it gets worse you can intervene.

 

[JimO]

I had a Werner's chameleon male that couldn't extend his tongue very far when he got older. Fortunately, he seemed to like being held, especially when he was rewarded with food. So, I hand fed him in his last year of life. He would make a mad dash for the door as soon as he saw me, hoping it was dinner time. I loved that little guy. But, sadly they don't live forever.

Anyway, his problem seemed to be age related, but give that your panther is only a year old, you might reconsider completing the form. It could be something that appears to be small and that would be easy to fix, such as lighting type or duration. Aside from the time it takes to fill out the form, the advice is excellent and free! Good luck!

 

[Nelsoem]

Mine is the same way, I feel like her depth perception is off. She has fallen off her branches multiple times because she doesn't realize what she is reaching for is too far away.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Mine is the same way, I feel like her depth perception is off. She has fallen off her branches multiple times because she doesn't realize what she is reaching for is too far away.

Multiple falls is not normal for us not normal or healthy for any chameleon.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

No one can make you fill out the form but just for the record, your assumption that the shared husbandry will result in identical outcomes couldn’t be more wrong.

 

[Nelsoem]

Multiple falls is not normal for us not normal or healthy for any chameleon.

Yeah I’m working on stuff to figure out what is going on, she isn’t doing it as much anymore

 

[devynnogood]

Alright here you all go lol


Chameleon Info:

◦ Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?

Panther Chameleon-male-12 months old


◦ Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?

1-2 times a week


◦ Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?

Main diet consists of Crickets, Super worms, Phoenix worms, bsfl flies, and wax worms for treats. All crickets and worms are dusted and gut loaded with “cricket crack”


◦ Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?

Rep-cal calcium without D3 daily, Rep-cal multi vitamins given every 2 weeks, and zoo med calcium with D3 given every 2 weeks. (I have recently been looking into another type of multi vitamins as I’ve heard they’ve got better ones on the market)


◦ 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 Mistking system hooked up to both my Chameleon cages that goes off every other hour for 45 seconds. I also periodically hand mist throughout the day. Blizzard loves to drink and will typically drink right after a misting. He likes to drink the droplets off the front of the cage.


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

His fecal has always looked good. All in one moist solid chunk. His urates typically begin with the slightest yellow and go into a good full white.


◦ History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Nothing I believe that would affect his eye site. About 4 months ago we had an accident, a large gust of wind came and blew his window perch off the window and he fell to the floor. Durning the process he cut his foot very deeply. We took him to the vet and she was able to glue his foot back together and gave us a strong topical antibiotic. I’m happy to say his foot is back to 100% function.


Cage Info:

◦ Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?)

He’s in a Large reptibreeze screen cage with plastic shower curtain taped to 3 sides to help maintain humidity. I’m planning to up his cage to an XL like my other chams in the next coming weeks.


◦ Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?

60watt basking bulb in the summer and 100watt basking bulb in the winter. Reptisun T5 linear UV. 12 hours on 12 hours off.


◦ Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?

Highest basking spot reaches right under 90 mid day, and he has multiple lower level branches for gradience. I have a wired thermostat in his basking spot and a regular thermostat on the wall mid level of the cage.


◦ Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?

Humidity is never below 40 in the cages. It averages about 60 with spikes up to 85 when misted.


◦ Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?

I recently ridded my live plants from my cage. They were to smelly and made cleaning the cage a hassle. I had a ton of umbrella plants. I have a boat load of plastic plants and vines in the cage for cover and water droplets to form on. Humidity hasn’t been an issue.


◦ 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?

Cages are located in our bedroom. Highest point of Blizzards cage is eye level with myself, I’m 5”7.


◦ Location - Where are you geographically located?

California