Sparatic Bulging Right Eye

[kiddjsh]

I have a vieled chamaleon. Name is Chloe. I'm new to the chameleon world,
however I think I have everything needed, right lighting (UV 10.0 and Heat Lamp 75watt), vitamin supplement, misting, running water, etc.. She's currently in a 20galW aquarium but I'm building a larger screened caged to house live plants, etc. because I don't like her being in the glass tank.. she's always seemed very healthy. Every once in a while I take her out to climb around on plants for a few hours in the evening. She's recently been shedding, it seems spontaneous, her feet shed, then her head started.. had some dead skin around the eye's. Last night after I put her up I noticed that when she moves her right eye back to look behind her, she seems to have this spartic bulge come out of the corner, then she'll close her eye for a moment and then reopen it. It seems to be irritating her because she sometimes rubs the side of her head now on the drift wood she casually sits on. I usually observe her quite often, and this is definatley something that just sprung up. Seems very strange and disturbing. Have tried reading some of the post on here, seems like everyone has different opinions on this related. Some say there trying to clean their eye and its normal, others seem to think it may be an infection.

Is there anyone that may have had this kind of experience, is it serious? Or if they know a link to a post that would best help me please post.


Thanks.

Joshua

 

[chrisandpugs]

Possibly a Vitamin A deficiency??

Hi Joshua,
Yes, that same eye condition happened to my Panther who I lost to a Vitamin A deficiency.
Initially, we saw this same kind of condition happen to one of his eyes. It was a weird kind of way that one of his eyes would open...slight bulge. I did bring hiim in to see the Vet and he examined the eye and said that everything was O.K and gave me Baytril anyway if it was a slight URI. To make a long, long story short...misdignosed him. Brought him to another Vet and it was too late...Dignosed with a Vitamin A deficiency and to remedy the problem, gave him a Vitamin A shot. Too late because at that stage, he was too weak and fragile already.
My recommendation: Take him to a well-qualified Vet and have him assess the eye condition.
Does your Cham eat greens?? That's high in Vitamin A and are you feeding him silkworms..etc. that have lots of Vitamin A in their diet due to the mulberry mash. At that time, I was so new to Chameleons and lacked the experience that I know now.

Christine

 

[kiddjsh]

I generally feed her everyday. Sometime's not everyday because I don't like keeping un-eaten crickets in the cage, they tend to hide or whatnot. I always coat them with the two powders I got from the pet store. One was for calcium which I use on every feeding, the other which I only use once a week is for bones or something I think. Is Vit A and Calcium the same? I've been following the instructions they gave from the care sheet and what little I have read about from various site's. I also throw in some super mealworms on occasion, because she doesn't always go after the crickets. It's hard keeping the mealworms coated though with the powder. (I believe I was told that Vit A should be limited in case of over amounts, I believe thats the one I was told to use once a week.)


How long do you think it was before it was too late to recover the cham from? Would I be able to nurse her back to health myself? Just by bringing up the Vit A? Could I include it in the misting water I supply for a short while?

 

[Julirs]

A few questions--how old is your chameleon?
What type of 10.0 is that? Compact or tube? 10.0 on that tank is way too close to your cham.
What supplements exactly? Brand?
Are you misting? Waterfalls are BAD NEWS.

 

[kinyonga]

kiddjsh said..."I always coat them with the two powders I got from the pet store. One was for calcium which I use on every feeding, the other which I only use once a week is for bones or something I think. Is Vit A and Calcium the same?"...here's some information but not directly to do with the eyes...

I dust the insects at most feedings with a phosphorous-free calcium powder because most insects that we use as feeders have a poor ratio of calcium to phos. and this helps to make up for it.

I use a vitamin powder with a beta carotene source of vitamin A on the insects twice a month. Beta carotene cannot build up in the system. However there is controversy as to whether all species of chameleon can convert beta carotene to vitamin A or not. Some people use a preformed vitamin A once in a while to ensure that they get some. Excess vitamin A will prevent the D3 from doing its job and can lead to MBD...so be careful with it.

My chameleons only get UVB from tube lights (rarely sunlight) so I dust the insects twice a month with a phos.-free calcium/D3 powder. D3 from supplements can build up in the system so don't overdo it.

Exposure to UVB allows the chameleon to produce D3 which in turn allows it to use the calcium in its diet.

Calcium, phos., D3 and vitamin A are the main players in bone health (and play important parts in other functions in the body too)...so its important for them to be in balance. When balancing them, you need to look at the supplements, what you feed to the chameleon and what you feed to the insects that you feed to the chameleon.

Appropriate basking temperature also plays a part because it aids in proper digestion.

Its important to gutload your insects and feed them a nutritious diet too.

BTW...greens and veggies and mulberry leaves all have beta carotene sources of vitamin A. Plant products do not contain PREformed vitamin A.

As background...I have been keeping chameleons for about 20 years. My veiled females usually live to be about 6 years old and the males even older. I haven't had to take a veiled to the vets for a long time and they produce healthy hatchlings that I have also raised to ripe old ages.

Here are some sites that have good information...
http://web.archive.org/web/20060502...als.com/vet/index.php?show=8.Gout.Basics.html
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm
http://www.chameleonnews.com/
http://www.adcham.com/

 

[Brad Ramsey]

http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

-Brad

 

[kiddjsh]

A few questions--how old is your chameleon? 4 going on 5 months.
What type of 10.0 is that? Compact or tube? 10.0 on that tank is way too close to your cham. Tube. Found out today it should be at least 6in away. So I was going to keep it off during the day and turn it at night or vise versa.
What supplements exactly? Brand? Zoo Meds Reptile Vitamins, contains vitamin a. T-rex Bone Aid Calcium Powder. I have been feeding it the right dusting's Zoo Meds once a day, however I think Im'a take it down to every other day as the instructions state on the bottle, and Bone Aid once a week without the Zoo Med Brand.
Are you misting? Waterfalls are BAD NEWS. I mist generally in the morning before work and when I get home in the evening. I do have a waterfall but clean it once a week.



Today when I got home from work the eye was still buldged alittle. I went to the store to get some things to clean the tank. While cleaning the tank I put her in the tree I bought for my standing cage I'm building, cleaned the cage, added about 30 crickets with the calcium dusting. Since I have been back from the store her eye has not buldged once and has not buldged since I put her back in the aquarium. She's been feeding heavily. And is basking under the light. Ima monitor her for the next few days and if I see the abnormaly again am going to contact a vet.

I'll be checking the forums regularly, and post if I have specific questions.

 

[Julirs]

4-5 months certainly is ready for some vertical room to move around in. You should have lights on 10-12 hours a day-both the UVB and the basking lamp. In any glass tank you should have a good probed digital thermometer as glass tanks heat up very, very fast. The 10.0 should be raised at least 10" from the top of a cage that short. The UVB being that close alone could have caused eye issues. I am not familiar with any of those supplements, most people suggest Repcal with VitD, Repcal without VitD, and Herptivite. Check the forums or Brad's site for supplementing schedules. The waterfall really should be removed. There are dozens of posts here about the dangers of waterfalls. They can cause serious bacterial issues. Are you gutloading your crickets? 30 crickets is WAY too may to be dumping in at once. A cham that old, esp. a female, should be eating less than 10 gutloaded and properly dusted crickets. At this age she could certainly lay a clutch of infertile eggs, so you hopefully have a laying container for her. It sounds like you have gotten the typical Petstore version of "How to keep chameleons". Please read Brad Ramsey's site-it has excellent advice.

 

[kinyonga]

kiddjsh said..."Tube. Found out today it should be at least 6in away. So I was going to keep it off during the day and turn it at night or vise versa"...chameleons don't need light at night.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Yeah ..... there's quite a bit that I personally don't agree with concerning your husbandry.
Juli ... thanks for recommending the site so strongly.


http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

-Brad