She's rubbing her eye against the wall is she ok.?
- Thread starter ItsOnlyKeen
- Start date
Ghostbirb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hello and welcome to the forum! How long has your chameleon been doing this? Is It only one eye closed or both?
Could you fill out these husbandry questions to help us learn more about your chameleon and their home?
Also if you could show us clear photos of your chameleons back feet that would be awesome (to double check gender)
Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
--------------
Please Note:
Could you fill out these husbandry questions to help us learn more about your chameleon and their home?
Also if you could show us clear photos of your chameleons back feet that would be awesome (to double check gender)
Chameleon 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.
--------------
Please Note:
- The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
- Photos can be very helpful.
Last edited:
ItsOnlyKeen
New Member
This just started happening and only the left eye is closed. Give me a bit for the photos I'm a bit pre occupied hopefully this helps so far
A veild chameleon, i believe female, not sure on the age i believe a couple months old. Shes been in my care for about a month.
Handling - About once a week or every 2 weeks
Feeding - about 12 to 19 1/2 crickets half in the morning and have before bed. They have a slice of a sweet potato and eater gel.
Supplements - Flukers Repta Calcium and i lightly dust every other feeding.
Watering - I use a humidifier, a big dripper into a little waterfall and a handheld spray bottle
Fecal Description - I believe she isn't drinking enough water since I haven't seen her drink but that's also because I work alot, her poop is white like it's supposed to be but a bit yellow. I haven't had her tested for parasites
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Not sure on dimension but it's a mesh cage
Lighting - Don't remember the brand but there is a noght and day buld, and I cycle each when I wake up around 9 and before I sleep at 9
Temperature - My thermometer stays around 75 to 80. The lowest it goes is to 70. I use a reptile thermometer and humidity gauge.
Humidity - 60%
Plants - I have no live plants but I do throw in an occasional mustard leaf.
Placement - it's not near any fans and it's a quiet are a couple feet off the floor
Location - Florida
A veild chameleon, i believe female, not sure on the age i believe a couple months old. Shes been in my care for about a month.
Handling - About once a week or every 2 weeks
Feeding - about 12 to 19 1/2 crickets half in the morning and have before bed. They have a slice of a sweet potato and eater gel.
Supplements - Flukers Repta Calcium and i lightly dust every other feeding.
Watering - I use a humidifier, a big dripper into a little waterfall and a handheld spray bottle
Fecal Description - I believe she isn't drinking enough water since I haven't seen her drink but that's also because I work alot, her poop is white like it's supposed to be but a bit yellow. I haven't had her tested for parasites
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Not sure on dimension but it's a mesh cage
Lighting - Don't remember the brand but there is a noght and day buld, and I cycle each when I wake up around 9 and before I sleep at 9
Temperature - My thermometer stays around 75 to 80. The lowest it goes is to 70. I use a reptile thermometer and humidity gauge.
Humidity - 60%
Plants - I have no live plants but I do throw in an occasional mustard leaf.
Placement - it's not near any fans and it's a quiet are a couple feet off the floor
Location - Florida
ItsOnlyKeen
New Member
Hello. I will let one of the pros here go thru your husbandry. Personally I believe your Cham is older than two months Possibly 5 months. The pronounced casque may make her a male. Can’t see the hind feet. If there are single bump on the back of each hind foot then you have a male. Oh the white is not poop, it’s a urate for urine and calcium the poo drops at the same place right after urate comes out. It looks like brown poo. If the urate is slightly discolored that’s ok but if it get orange it means urine has crystallized and indication of dehydration. Now you have to move the fake plants to the other side of the screen. Veileds eat plants and will take a bite of the fake ones and get impacted. Very dangerous, if not deadly. Also water does not stick to fake plants. I recommend a Swiss cheese plant or monsteria plant The leaves are big and stalks strong to hold their weight. Also you have to get a linear UVB light that is the width of the cage or bigger. Overhang is ok. Without UVB she will get MBD metabolic bone disease which chameleons suffer from. It is a horrible disease that causes the bones to soften and break in his little as 6 to 8 weeks without UVB light they can get this disease. This is the number one priority for you also a day/night bulb is no good, you need to get a 75 W bulb and since she is a screen climber prop it up at least an inch or two above the screen so she does not get burned by the hot metal. Also make sure her basking branch is 6 to 8 inches below the light fixture./screen. The UVB does not give off much heat, so I would not worry about that, FLUKERS makes a basking bulb that is splash proof since you use a hand pump it will save you from busting bulbs by accidentally hitting them with spray. Also, I have noticed that my plants fair much better using the splash proof bulbs. if you need to add vines FLUKERS makes Bend a branch in 3 Thicknesses that won’t fall apart and last forever. Usually the reason why my chams rub their eyes is to get rid of any skin that is flaking off as it inhibits their view. It does not look like she’s molting, but it does look like some molt is on her eye. Hold her and blow short quick blast onto the Eye area to try and dislodge it. Just like you would try to get an eyelash out of someone’s eye. Also, the molt can cover up Her nostrils and prevent her from breathing through her nose if the molt does not dislodge from her eye, get a magnifying glass and look carefully at it it is possible that her eye was tearing and has caused a substance to harden on her eye. You must be very very careful when dealing with their eyes, if there is a substance that is hardened on her eye that she’s trying to get off the only way that I know to get that off is to use Bosch and Lomb Contact solution for sensitive eyes and let it drip onto her eye. hold her sideways on a towel and do not spray the solution onto the eye. Just let it drip very easy onto the erye lid and eye. Hopefully it will soften the harden stuff on her eye, so you can blow/wipe it off, just be very careful to wipe the eyelid not the eyeball. Look online for chameleon safe plants so you don’t get any plants that can harm her. Also, the plants need to be propped up on some thing like a cinderblock or a upside down pot so their leaves are up higher if you set them all on the bottom she won’t get any use out of them, as they are tree dwellers not floor dwellers. She needs shaded areas at different levels to hide in when she’s overheated or scared. The chameleon academy.com. Has some great husband guidelines. Also buy a bag of multi size zip ties cause it’s the easiest way to make a nice jungle gym for her , also you can put holes in a plastic plant pot and zip tie them to branches to get them up higher. You said you created a waterfall she possibly won’t drink out of the waterfall but it is a draw for mold so clean it every couple of weeks. They like to drink off of plant leaves, running water, etc. they rarely will drink from standing water . I would position your dripper over a potted plant and have it drip as slow as you can get it let it drip onto a leaf or branch so it will go down and deposit in the soil of the plant. Keep it at the same place so she knows where to go once she figures it out. Also some chams hate to be sprayed some love it. You will have to let her temp you what she prefers. Best of luck you to you. Oh no light at night and don’t let the room temp drop below 55. No heat for cage but heat for room is best. Good luck I hope you heed some of my suggestions to help your Cham grow up healthy and strong!
Ghostbirb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Arighty! give me a little while to go through the information you provided
Ghostbirb
Chameleon Enthusiast
I'll put my feedback in bold, we usually talk a lot on here, so Ill split it up into two parts
A veild chameleon, i believe female, not sure on the age i believe a couple months old. Shes been in my care for about a month.
I also think your chameleon is a boy, but I would love a little clearer photos of the back of their feet to make sure. They would have tarsal spurs and would look something like this if its a male
Handling - About once a week or every 2 weeks
Great! Earning trust from your chameleon is also a good idea, so here is a blog that is a good resource for it: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
Feeding - about 12 to 19 1/2 crickets half in the morning and have before bed. They have a slice of a sweet potato and eater gel.
Ok so chameleons can be prone to obesity, so as they grow we cut back on their feeding to make sure they dont get over weight. If we are guessing that your chameleon is about 5-6 months old feeding amounts would go like this: for your juvenile you would feed about 10-15 bugs a day, but once they hit about 8-9 months you would want to cut back to 3-4 bugs every other day and by the time they are about a year old you will want to be feeding 3-4 appropriately sized bugs every 2-3 days or 3 days a week! We feed our chams in the morning so they can digest throughout the day when basking. I will attach a feeder guide of what bugs to feed below, variety is best! . You have a good start to gut loading, I will attach a chart on the best way to gut load your bugs.
Variety is always best, so you will want to add some more bugs to your chameleons diet. You also might want a shooting gallery, they keep your bugs in one spot in the enclosure and are then accessible for your chameleon. Here is a link to one: https://tkchameleons.com/products/shooting-gallery?variant=30018608595032
Supplements - Flukers Repta Calcium and i lightly dust every other feeding.
So supplements are super important and if they are wrong they can also cause eye problems. You will want a calcium supplement without d3 to feed every day, I would recommend Repitcalcium without D3. You then will also want some supplements with D3 and Vitamin, we have to be careful with these because we can overdose our cham with them if given too much. I don't know too much about Flukers Repta Calcium but If yours contains D3, then feeding it every other day would be too much. If anyone else knows more about this calcium it would be great if they could chime in! I would recommend Reptivite multivitamin with D3 where you would feed it twice a month, like on the 1st and 15th.
Watering - I use a humidifier, a big dripper into a little waterfall and a handheld spray bottle
To start off, chameleons can be shy drinkers, so we usually tell how hydrated they are through their poops. I'm not sure what waterfall thing you're using but if it's automatic and causes a standing pool of water we usually don't recommend it as it can be a breeding ground for bacteria, it's also found that chameleons also don't often recognize standing water as a water source. For watering we suggest a good long spray in the morning and at night , somewhere between 2-4 minutes right before/after lights go on and off. If you're worried about dehydration you can spray shortly midday/have your dripper running for 15-20 minutes and give some bugs that are hydrating.
Fecal Description - I believe she isn't drinking enough water since I haven't seen her drink but that's also because I work alot, her poop is white like it's supposed to be but a bit yellow. I haven't had her tested for parasites
It's always a good idea to test for parasites, pet stores often don't get their chameleons from good sources so they can be sick. Chameleons can be shy drinkers and we usually see how hydrated they are through their poops. The urates of the poop should be mainly white with a little bit of orange/yellow at the end of the poop to be a sign of good hydration whereas maily dark yellow or orange is a sign of not good hydration in poops. If you have a photo of a poop you can show us and we can help determine hydration.
Also do you know if you have a good reptile vet around you? If not we can get the vet list we have here and share it with you!
A veild chameleon, i believe female, not sure on the age i believe a couple months old. Shes been in my care for about a month.
I also think your chameleon is a boy, but I would love a little clearer photos of the back of their feet to make sure. They would have tarsal spurs and would look something like this if its a male
Handling - About once a week or every 2 weeks
Great! Earning trust from your chameleon is also a good idea, so here is a blog that is a good resource for it: https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
Feeding - about 12 to 19 1/2 crickets half in the morning and have before bed. They have a slice of a sweet potato and eater gel.
Ok so chameleons can be prone to obesity, so as they grow we cut back on their feeding to make sure they dont get over weight. If we are guessing that your chameleon is about 5-6 months old feeding amounts would go like this: for your juvenile you would feed about 10-15 bugs a day, but once they hit about 8-9 months you would want to cut back to 3-4 bugs every other day and by the time they are about a year old you will want to be feeding 3-4 appropriately sized bugs every 2-3 days or 3 days a week! We feed our chams in the morning so they can digest throughout the day when basking. I will attach a feeder guide of what bugs to feed below, variety is best! . You have a good start to gut loading, I will attach a chart on the best way to gut load your bugs.
Variety is always best, so you will want to add some more bugs to your chameleons diet. You also might want a shooting gallery, they keep your bugs in one spot in the enclosure and are then accessible for your chameleon. Here is a link to one: https://tkchameleons.com/products/shooting-gallery?variant=30018608595032
Supplements - Flukers Repta Calcium and i lightly dust every other feeding.
So supplements are super important and if they are wrong they can also cause eye problems. You will want a calcium supplement without d3 to feed every day, I would recommend Repitcalcium without D3. You then will also want some supplements with D3 and Vitamin, we have to be careful with these because we can overdose our cham with them if given too much. I don't know too much about Flukers Repta Calcium but If yours contains D3, then feeding it every other day would be too much. If anyone else knows more about this calcium it would be great if they could chime in! I would recommend Reptivite multivitamin with D3 where you would feed it twice a month, like on the 1st and 15th.
Watering - I use a humidifier, a big dripper into a little waterfall and a handheld spray bottle
To start off, chameleons can be shy drinkers, so we usually tell how hydrated they are through their poops. I'm not sure what waterfall thing you're using but if it's automatic and causes a standing pool of water we usually don't recommend it as it can be a breeding ground for bacteria, it's also found that chameleons also don't often recognize standing water as a water source. For watering we suggest a good long spray in the morning and at night , somewhere between 2-4 minutes right before/after lights go on and off. If you're worried about dehydration you can spray shortly midday/have your dripper running for 15-20 minutes and give some bugs that are hydrating.
Fecal Description - I believe she isn't drinking enough water since I haven't seen her drink but that's also because I work alot, her poop is white like it's supposed to be but a bit yellow. I haven't had her tested for parasites
It's always a good idea to test for parasites, pet stores often don't get their chameleons from good sources so they can be sick. Chameleons can be shy drinkers and we usually see how hydrated they are through their poops. The urates of the poop should be mainly white with a little bit of orange/yellow at the end of the poop to be a sign of good hydration whereas maily dark yellow or orange is a sign of not good hydration in poops. If you have a photo of a poop you can show us and we can help determine hydration.
Also do you know if you have a good reptile vet around you? If not we can get the vet list we have here and share it with you!
Last edited:
Ghostbirb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Not sure on dimension but it's a mesh cage
Chameleons need a minimum cage size of 2x2x4 feet. Yours looks pretty large so you might already have the correct dimensions. I see you have a rope hammock thing in the cage, I would recommend removing that as chameleons can get their claws stuck in it and cause injury.
Lighting - Don't remember the brand but there is a noght and day buld, and I cycle each when I wake up around 9 and before I sleep at 9
Lights are also super important. It's good that you have a 12 hour light schedule! There should not be any lights on at night. Red and Blue lights are also not recommended as they can hurt your chameleon's eyes, so if you have some of those I would get rid of them.
UVB lights are a must as they are important to helping your chameleons not get MBD, usually you will want to get a T5HO uvb fixture of either 5.0 or 6% that spans the top of your cage. You will also want the UVB fixture to be 6-8 inches above the basking branch, Then you may want a basking bulb. An incandescent bulb is best, I use a 60w bulb for my basking.
Temperature - My thermometer stays around 75 to 80. The lowest it goes is to 70. I use a reptile thermometer and humidity gauge.
Awesome! At night your chameleon will then need a decent temperature drop in the 60s.
Humidity - 60%
This is a bit high for a veiled chameleon, you will want daytime humidity to be 30%-50%, too high of a humidity may cause respiratory issues. At night you will then want an increase to 80%-100% humidity. That is the best time to use the fogger.
Plants - I have no live plants but I do throw in an occasional mustard leaf.
So veiled chameleons are notorious plant eaters. You will want live plants in the cage. Pothos are probably the best plant to use. They are safe for chameleons and can cover a lot of area!
Even though veiled chameleons sometimes eat their plants they really shouldn't be fed fruits and veggies deliberately as they aren't really built to digest them.
You will also want to add branches, they are like a little highway for your chameleon. You can attach them together with zip ties! Flukers or Pangea vines are suggested vines for climbing and you can get sticks from outside. Stay away from moss and black coated vines as those can also flake off and get in the eyes.
Here's some videos from Neptune the chameleon that can help: How to attach branches in a chameleon cage
How to clean outdoor branches for chameleons
What plants to use for a chameleon cage
Placement - it's not near any fans and it's a quiet are a couple feet off the floor
Great
Location - Florida
I would recommend checking out chameleon academy and Neptune the chameleon on youtube, they both have a whole bunch of great information.
Neptune the Chameleon
https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-basics/
As for the eye problem it could be a multitude of things such as some sort of stuck debris or issues through husbandry. @Beman @MissSkittles may know more about eye issue than me
I'm sure other keepers will chime in and add to what I said in case I missed anything!
If you have any questions feel free to ask, we are here to help you!
Cage Type - Not sure on dimension but it's a mesh cage
Chameleons need a minimum cage size of 2x2x4 feet. Yours looks pretty large so you might already have the correct dimensions. I see you have a rope hammock thing in the cage, I would recommend removing that as chameleons can get their claws stuck in it and cause injury.
Lighting - Don't remember the brand but there is a noght and day buld, and I cycle each when I wake up around 9 and before I sleep at 9
Lights are also super important. It's good that you have a 12 hour light schedule! There should not be any lights on at night. Red and Blue lights are also not recommended as they can hurt your chameleon's eyes, so if you have some of those I would get rid of them.
UVB lights are a must as they are important to helping your chameleons not get MBD, usually you will want to get a T5HO uvb fixture of either 5.0 or 6% that spans the top of your cage. You will also want the UVB fixture to be 6-8 inches above the basking branch, Then you may want a basking bulb. An incandescent bulb is best, I use a 60w bulb for my basking.
Temperature - My thermometer stays around 75 to 80. The lowest it goes is to 70. I use a reptile thermometer and humidity gauge.
Awesome! At night your chameleon will then need a decent temperature drop in the 60s.
Humidity - 60%
This is a bit high for a veiled chameleon, you will want daytime humidity to be 30%-50%, too high of a humidity may cause respiratory issues. At night you will then want an increase to 80%-100% humidity. That is the best time to use the fogger.
Plants - I have no live plants but I do throw in an occasional mustard leaf.
So veiled chameleons are notorious plant eaters. You will want live plants in the cage. Pothos are probably the best plant to use. They are safe for chameleons and can cover a lot of area!
Even though veiled chameleons sometimes eat their plants they really shouldn't be fed fruits and veggies deliberately as they aren't really built to digest them.
You will also want to add branches, they are like a little highway for your chameleon. You can attach them together with zip ties! Flukers or Pangea vines are suggested vines for climbing and you can get sticks from outside. Stay away from moss and black coated vines as those can also flake off and get in the eyes.
Here's some videos from Neptune the chameleon that can help: How to attach branches in a chameleon cage
How to clean outdoor branches for chameleons
What plants to use for a chameleon cage
Placement - it's not near any fans and it's a quiet are a couple feet off the floor
Great
Location - Florida
I would recommend checking out chameleon academy and Neptune the chameleon on youtube, they both have a whole bunch of great information.
Neptune the Chameleon
https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-basics/
As for the eye problem it could be a multitude of things such as some sort of stuck debris or issues through husbandry. @Beman @MissSkittles may know more about eye issue than me
I'm sure other keepers will chime in and add to what I said in case I missed anything!
If you have any questions feel free to ask, we are here to help you!
Hey there... May I see your lighting that is on top of the cage?
I believe the eye issues are related to husbandry and not having the right lighting. Also seems as though you are running a night heat bulb which is not advised. So she would not be able to sleep in total darkness which would increase stress reactions.
I think you do have a female. I am not seeing any sign of a tarsal spur but hard to tell for sure in the pics.
I believe the eye issues are related to husbandry and not having the right lighting. Also seems as though you are running a night heat bulb which is not advised. So she would not be able to sleep in total darkness which would increase stress reactions.
I think you do have a female. I am not seeing any sign of a tarsal spur but hard to tell for sure in the pics.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hi. @Ghostbirb and @Beman are taking great care of you with everything and I don't want to risk muddying the waters. I do want to say welcome to the forum. I believe you do have a pretty little girl and although it's possibly a bit early, once you've gotten everything else settled with husbandry, do make sure to check out https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/ Also, you don't say what part of Florida you're in, but if you are in the central part of the state, Dr Bruce Bogoslavsky in Orlando is excellent and well worth an hours or so drive if needed. https://myavho.com He always enjoys seeing chameleons and is perhaps the best in the area.
I believe you do have a pretty little girl and although it's possibly a bit early, once you've gotten everything else settled with husbandry, do make sure to check out https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/ Also, you don't say what part of Florida you're in, but if you are in the central part of the state, Dr Bruce Bogoslavsky in Orlando is excellent and well worth an hours or so drive if needed. https://myavho.com He always enjoys seeing chameleons and is perhaps the best in the area.
