Please help! New baby veiled won't open eyes

[jennkk]

I just got a baby veiled from petco yesterday evening. It's been about 24 hours and she hasn't opened her eyes or eaten since she's been home. At first she wasn't even moving anywhere, but while I was gone today she managed to find her way to the top of the cage and was hanging there when I got home. She seemed fine in the store. She was in a pretty large, glass enclosure at the store and was sharing it with two other much larger veiled chameleons. There were no plants in there, simply a vine and some fake plants on the side. All three chameleons were hanging upside down at the top of the enclosure. They said that they had been hand feeding her. Her legs look really skinny, but not malformed.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Veiled, female, ? age, her body is about 3 inches long, I've had her for one day
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I handled her a little bit today to help her around her cage, since her eyes are closed
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I tried to feed her small crickets this morning and again this afternoon, but she didn't eat any
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I have Zoo Med Repticalcium with D3, I also got Rep-Cal Herptivite and Calcium
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 not seen her drinking, I've misted about 5 times since I got her yesterday
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Off white/Yellowish (what I think was her feces)
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. See above

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? screen, 16x16x20, I know this is small, but she is a baby and I will upgrade her cage as she grows
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? zoo med bulbs, 75W, I kept the lights on during the day, a basking light and a red heat light (not sure if the red heat light is really necessary, I left it on for a while last night but eventually turned it off), I inadvertantly bought the wrong size hood/Reptisun 5.0 bulb so she didn't have the UVB light until about 24 hours after I got her
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? basking area is high 80's, lower as you move down the cage, I have thermometers in the cage, low temp overnight was around 70
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? humidity is low end of moderate and drops down as water evaporates from the plants, i have a humidity measuring device similar to the thermometer, I mist as often as I can, but I am gone for work during the day so there are significant periods of time without misting
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? I just put a ficus benjamina in there, but up until now she had store bought, fake 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? cage is in my bedroom, not near fans or vents, not high traffic, the cage is on a table, the top is about 4 feet off the floor
Location - Where are you geographically located? santa clara/san jose ca

I'm really worried that something could be wrong with her, but I'm also thinking maybe she just needs time adjusting to her new home. How long should I wait before bringing her to a vet? Is there any way I can encourage her to eat/drink? That is my biggest concern, that she is not drinking or eating.

 

[Jay1501]

Im no exbert but i would say she needs time to settle were her eyes open in the shop? If they were hand feeding her and she wont eat if it goes on much longer ask a few guys on her about makeing bug juice for her i cant find the thread rite now but someone will know

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

When you observed her at the store were the chameleons eyes closed? A chameleon should not have its eyes closed during day hours. If the light is on, they should have their eyes open. If the eyes are closed it is usually the result of improper lighting or sickness.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

You do not need the red heat light. Your cham needs 12 hours of total darkness at night. I would let her adjust and get a good night sleep and see what happens. Offer water then. If she still does not have her eyes open, I would seek help. Just my opinion

 

[jennkk]

I'm pretty sure her eyes were open in the store. I probably would've noticed if they weren't, but I was also kind of focused on getting her out of there away from the two big ones. The overnight temp got lower last night, down to about 65.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

65 is no problem. Chams prefer a temperature drop of about 10 degrees. I keep my cages at 70-72 degrees during day and at night the temps can drop into the high 50's. chams can handle low temps at night as long as they have access to a heat lamp in the morning to wake up

 

[jennkk]

I just saw her rubbing her eyes against her basking branch quite a bit. I still haven't been able to get her to eat either.

 

[camimom]

Try getting some plain saline, like what we use for contacts.. (make sure ingredient list says saline ONLY)

put a drop or two in her eyes.. its possible she has smething in them.

do this about 3 times a day fora few days and see waht happens.

 

[jennkk]

I started the saline drops, but no effect so far. I'm looking for a good herp vet to take her to. I still haven't really seen her drink and she definitely hasn't eaten. Although, it seems like she might be interested in drinking this morning. She did open her mouth a few times, but was not actually drinking anything.

 

[jennkk]

She seems a little bit better today. She was moving around more and faster. She also seems to be able to move her eyes around more than she did before, even when they're closed. I was able to get her to drink a few drops and she seems to be able to force at least one of her eyes open, but only for a second. Then it will close to a slit again. She is usally able to force open her eye after I put the saline in. She still hasn't eaten at all. I'm hoping maybe she was just dehydrated and once she gets some more water in her, she will get better and better. How long would she be able to go without eating? Is there a way to force feed her? I just want her to feel better.

 

[camimom]

Ok a few things.

What do you gut load with?

What is your supplement schedule?

She sounds dehydrated (yellow urates indicate this)

Part of your issue I think is light at night. DON'T USE LIGHTS AT NIGHT. THEY NEED DARKNESS TO SLEEP.

How high is your basking temp?

New chams may not eat their first days home.

How much foliage is in her cage?

 

[PantherEnvy]

Try placing the cham in a shower for 30-45 minutes to hydrate and possibly flush the eyes. It is natural for them to not eat for a while, but if they do not drink; that is a problem.

 

[szpond]

This sounds pretty familiar to the problem a friend of mine had with a chameleon she purchased from a pet store. Though, the cham showed these sighs awhile after...still, to this day, we don't know what caused it. This was a veiled of perhaps 4-5 months and had been in their care for a month. She kept her eyes closed during a day or two, they got ahold of me, I found them vets in the area and phone numbers. The next day they said it was better (she opened her eyes and ate, but then closed them), then the next day better, next day better. They said she passed a VERY large poo (some kind of impaction?) and seemed to be instantly better. And I mentioned that she may not be drinking, even though they spray and have a dripper (they didn't spray for 5-10 minutes, it was more like 2 or less) - so I recommended trying an eye dropper when she was awake. They said she drank a ton from the dropper, and now she is not dehydrated, and back to normal.

Their care was correct, though that is what happened. It's all too weird, these chameleons. Wish they could talk!

 

[jennkk]

She's getting better. Much more active over the last couple days and she is eating on her own now. She is still closing her eyes a good amount, but is able to keep them open for much longer than she was the first few days. Petco covered a visit to a vet and he said she is looking pretty good now.

I don't use the lights at night, just during the day. I was gut loading with fluker's orange cubes, but now that she's eating more will be gut loading with veggies and such.

 

[midcoastchameleon]

She seems a little bit better today. She was moving around more and faster. She also seems to be able to move her eyes around more than she did before, even when they're closed. I was able to get her to drink a few drops and she seems to be able to force at least one of her eyes open, but only for a second. Then it will close to a slit again. She is usally able to force open her eye after I put the saline in. She still hasn't eaten at all. I'm hoping maybe she was just dehydrated and once she gets some more water in her, she will get better and better. How long would she be able to go without eating? Is there a way to force feed her? I just want her to feel better.

As long as she is drinking, dont be to alarmed if she goes without eating for several days, if not over a week. Some chams need to get adjusted and settled before accepting any feeders. As others have probably suggested, make sure she is in a quiet and private location as she settles, and minimum invasive actions are a plus. Force feeding should be a last resort ordeal as it can potentially stress your cham out even more. posting pictures of her and her eyes along with her habitat can really be helpful on the forum. Members can usually pick apart what might be causing the stress or problems within.