Potential Eye Issue

[HannahGrace]

Okay, so I saw something very strange and rather alarming on the inside of my veiled chameleon's eye. I only saw a glimpse of it, but what I did see it appeared to be a light colored bump/lump on the inside of his eye. He was scratching it against one of his branches, but when I went to grab my phone to try to get a picture he had already stopped and it wasn't there anymore. Is it possible that he pulled his eye back in and it's still there in the inside of his eye torrent? I did some looking around it the closest I could find in appearance to what I saw was a sinus infection or stuck shed. Should I just take him to the vet to be safe? He doesn't appear to have any other symptoms.


Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Male. His age is a pretty big guess, somewhere in 8-10 month range.
• Handling - Very rarely. Only really when I take him out on the patio sometimes for sunlight, but I put him on a hibiscus plant quickly. Also on the odd occasion when he tries to make a run for it when I'm cleaning is cage.
• Feeding - I’m feeding him about about 8-12 large crickets a day. I gut load them with a store bought organic gut-load called the BioDudes Bug Grub, as well as a various of greens. I also see him eat on the live plant leaves in his cage, mostly on the Pothos.
• Supplements - I dust them in RepCal calcium daily, and rotate between calcium with D3 and multivitamin on Fridays.
• Watering - I have a dripper that runs all day, and I heavily mist 3 times a day. I see him drink regularly directly from the dripper.
• Fecal Description - Dark brown, and most often firm or on occasion a little watery. Looks normal according to what I’ve seen. His urates have always been a solid white, with just the occasional orange tinge.
• History - Nothing unusual.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - A screened 24x24x48, with three sides covered for humidity purposes.
• Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 UV, 75 watt for basking. His lights are set for 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.
• Temperature - Basking stays around 85-90. Top is 77-85, middle is in the 72-76ish, bottom stays in the lower 70s.
• Humidity - Stays around 64-72 percent with the lowest I’ve seen being 54 percent. I mist regularly and have live plants to regulate humidity, and keep 3 sides covered. I also live in a climate that is pretty humid.
• Plants - I have live plants. Two Pothos, and a Schefflera,. As well as one faking plant on the door to make him feel more secure.
• Placement - Corner in my room. A little near a vent, but I have something to redirect airflow. I keep my fan off. It’s on a wide end table, and the top is about about 6 feet from the floor.
• Location - Houston, Texas

 

[Tucklander]

A few good quality pictures of the eye in question would help out. How’s he doing today?

 

[HannahGrace]

That's the thing. He has no behavioral difference, and is acting just fine. I took some pictures yesterday of his eye, but keep in mind you can't see what I was talking about. But maybe someone with more experience can tell if somethings off, it just looks rather normal to me. Although, I do see a speck of what looks like a bit of shed when he rotates his eye down - which is why I was concerned it might a stuck shed issue? He doesn't have any visible on his body however, and hasn't had issues with shedding before.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Is that it, second pic top center of the turret?Where the turret meets his head?

Edit - never mind just saw where you said it’s not pictured. It’s going to be impossible for you to get a decent evaluation without a pic. I suggest you get a cheap macro lense(like $10 on Amazon) for your phone. It makes getting detailed pics of potential health issues much easier!

 

[HannahGrace]

The, what I believe is, stuck shed? Yes.

Edit: Yeah, I believe the issue is in his inner eye. I couldn’t get a picture of it unfortunately which is why I didn’t post one at start

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Is it possible that he was cleaning his eye

The, what I believe is, stuck shed? Yes.

Wait your confusing me, I thought you said it wasn’t pictured. Is this what your concerned about?

 

[Tucklander]

Thanks @Brodybreaux25 she had asked yesterday and no one replied...I was just trying to get her some advice from a more educated member

 

[HannahGrace]

Sorry I confused you. No, that isn't the concern I was describing. I thought it might have caused by that, but I was just spit-balling. Hopefully he was just cleaning his eye.

 

[Brodybreaux25]

Thanks @Brodybreaux25 she had asked yesterday and no one replied...I was just trying to get her some advice from a more educated member

Honestly I don’t know much more than you about what happens when they clean their eyes...

I just started a thread asking some of the real experts(def not me!) to explain the mechanics of how they clean their eyes. Hopefully we can all learn a little somethin’!

 

[HannahGrace]

Okay, well I looked into chameleon eye cleaning...and I think it might have been that. I've never seen them do anything other than the whole sucking them in when you mist, but on some videos they do this rotating thing and it kinda looks like a bulge forms. I believe he was rubbing his eye trying to get the shed off.

Edit: This is a link to one of the videos. It wasn't exactly like this, but it was very similar. He wasn't rotating it when he was rubbing his eye on the branch, which is why it looked just like a lump.