Puffy eyes on a 2y-o Veiled male

[Juantxo]

Chameleon Info:

• Veiled Chameleon called Juantxo, male, a little over 2 years old, in my care for 1,5 years.
• Handling - usually once a week, sometimes more often (he really likes to discover the outside)
• Feeding - Krickets every other day (3 big ones or 5 if they are smaller) + an occasional mealworm. Krickets are gutloaded, usually with lettuce
• Supplements - ExoTerra Multivitamin (once a week) and ExoTerra Calcium+D3 (once a week)
• Watering - Misting 3 times a day until all the plants are covered with water droplets.. If I haven't seen him drink for a while I drop some water on his mouth to encourage him
• Fecal Description - Looks healthy - the solid part is dark-brown and moist; urate white, jelly-ish, sometimes a little yellowish on one side. Never tested for parasites.
• History - Eyes started to get puffy about three weeks ago; otherwise a healthy and happy chameleon

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - 3 glass walls, large screen door, 90x60x60cm
• Lighting - 12 hours with lights on, 12 all off. Heat-bulb + 13w Reptile UVB 100 (placed on the upper side next to the screen)
• Temperature - cage floor about 22 degrees celsius; basking spot around 28 degrees celsius.
• Humidity - Just regular misting (don't have a hygrometer)
• Plants - Live plants - parlor palm and umbrella plant
• Placement - Cage is located in the corner of the living room, top of the cage relative to the room floor is about 140 cm
• Location - Estonia (it's quite cold and dark outside during winter, but during summer we can bask in the sun on the balcony)

Current problem: Puffy eyes. We've already been to the vet once and got some eyedrops and a liquid multivitamin, but I'm still a little worried and was hoping to get some additional tips... Right now we are rubbing the eyedrops on the swollen part of his eye twice a day with a cotton swab and giving additional vitamins twice a week (VeyFo Multi-C-Mulgat). He is friendly and is already quite used to his treatment, waiting patiently until I'm done. The vet thought there might me something with the tear ducts - nasolacrimal duct blockage.

Overall he is active, eating well etc. Sometimes rubs his eyes against a branch; also I noticed that the skin-change takes longer than usual. The casque (and "cheeks") seem a little more swollen than usual - like having softer pads in the middle-part (see pics)

 

[kinyonga]

What sources of vitamin A are in the vitamins you have been giving him all along?
What do you feed/gutload the insects with?

 

[kinyonga]

It's recommended that you dust at most feedings with a phosphorous-free calcium powder and twice a month with a vitamin powder that contains a beta carotene (prOformed) source of vitamin A and twice a month with a phosphorous-free calcium/D3 powder.

 

[JaniP]

His eyes do look like they aren't doing well By your info above, it doesn't appear that you are giving him regular phosphorus-free calcium (as mentioned above as well). He needs that almost daily. If that wasn't a typo then he is absolutely under-supplemented

 

[Juantxo]

Thanks for your replies! I was afraid I must've missed something about supplementing, it's hard to get right and there's much varying information around.. hopefully we'll get to the bottom of this.

- When I got the cham I was given some sort of sepia powder with calcium and a multivitamin - it has Vitamin A from beta carotene;
- (as I mentioned) I gutload with lettuce (sometimes with cucumber or carrot or whatever else is available, but 90% of the time - lettuce) I also put some lettuce in his cage from time to time cause he seems to like it (takes a bite every now and then).

I recently changed supplements from "Terra additive sepia powder" to the one with D3; He got the regular calcium more often as a youngster (when he had feeding times more often too) and his bones etc. are healthy.. I think the exotics vet would have mentioned if he had calcium deficiency? But I didn't know about the different types of calcium until recently and he didn't mention this either - this forum has been really helpful!

So I take it I should start giving the regular (without D3) more often (every feeding) and the one with D3 only twice a month.. and also I've been giving the multivitamin too much, it seems?