Won't eat! Keeping eyes closed as well

[Noahtb54]

Problem: I have a male veiled chameleon named Charlie, he's a little more then a year old and he seems to show no interest in eating. He's had a few problems with his eyes in the past but always got better. For the last week I've noticed his eyes stayed closed and that every now and then he would rub his eye on a branch. I tried flushing with water and saline. It seemed to help the problem temporally but would always go back to keeping his eyes closed. He used to go after the crickets I fed him very fast and now he shows no interest in eating them. He's also shown more of his mad and stressed colors then his happy green and blue

*Chameleon info: male veiled, a little more then a year old. Got him from a pet store at 5 months old.
*Handling: I try to take him out and let him crawl around on my hands and couple times a week for a half hour or so and he loves it but is not showing interest in me anymore(seems scared of me)
*Feeding: I feed him around 7-9 crickets daily but sometimes he will go a day or two without them if I run out. Occasionally if I'm to busy to get crickets I will feed him some lettuce to fill his stomach up a little bit.
*Supplements: I use Fulkers calcium and a couple times a month dust the crickets with his zoo med multivitamins he needs.
*Watering: I mist a couple times daily(normally hates it) and every now and then I put him in a shower. I also use a dropper to physically give him water when he opens his mouth.
*Fecal description: his poop is brown and hasn't changed, and his urate is mostly white with some yellow ( I know the yellow means he needs more water) hasn't ate in 2 days so I haven't seen any recent droppings
*History: got from a pet store when he was around 5 months old. He's awesome and when he's happy his colors are pretty. I want to make sure he's okay.

*Cage description: 16X16X30 reptibreeze screen cage chameleon kit(planning to get a more large one soon)
*lighting: 1 heat bulb and 1 exoterra uvb 100 bulb( pretty sure it's a 25 watt)
*Temperature: around 80-82 at the top and 65-70 on the bottom.
*Humidity: I spray a couple times daily but I think it's around 50-55 when I spray.
*plants: has a medium sized pothos plant on the bottom of the cage. Grows upwards like vines sometimes. Also have fake plants on the sides of the cage and real sticks and the fake vine you can wrap.
Location- southern Indiana

Please help! I don't want to lose my little guy, he's awesome. Anything can help! I will upload pictures of Charlie in his cage here soon

 

[Noahtb54]

Current cage

 

[Noahtb54]

He's normally bright green with blue spots. As you can see he's really dull colored

 

[Pitcard]

My recommendations:

1) At the very least he needs an XL Reptibreeze. I keep my adults in large bird cages, even.

2) When is the last time the cage was fully washed? I would suggest taking him out, rinsing the cage and vines with hot water, then an antibacterial cleaner, then rinse again and let dry. You never know what he could be tracking into his eyes when he rubs them.

3) Make sure his basking spot's temperature is set according to the care sheet on this website. More importantly, change UVB brands. I would go with ZooMed at the very least, and Arcadia if possible.

4) Gutload his feeders with fresh veggies nightly to ensure he's getting proper nutrition. His closed eyes could very well the the result of a vitamin deficiency.

5) Use 'Repashy Calcium Plus' dust suppliment 3-4 times a week.

 

[Decadancin]

*Supplements: I use Fulkers calcium and a couple times a month dust the crickets with his zoo med multivitamins he needs. For a veiled chameleon you really should be using a calcium with no D3 every feeding, calcium with D3 twice monthly, and multivitamin twice monthly as well. Are you gutloading the feeders with anything?
*lighting: 1 heat bulb and 1 exoterra uvb 100 bulb( pretty sure it's a 25 watt) Probably time to change the UVB bulb if you've had it 6 months.
*Humidity: I spray a couple times daily but I think it's around 50-55 when I spray. You may want to spray a bit longer to achieve higher humidity. How are you measuring it?

 

[Noahtb54]

My recommendations:

1) At the very least he needs an XL Reptibreeze. I keep my adults in large bird cages, even.

2) When is the last time the cage was fully washed? I would suggest taking him out, rinsing the cage and vines with hot water, then an antibacterial cleaner, then rinse again and let dry. You never know what he could be tracking into his eyes when he rubs them.

3) Make sure his basking spot's temperature is set according to the care sheet on this website. More importantly, change UVB brands. I would go with ZooMed at the very least, and Arcadia if possible.

4) Gutload his feeders with fresh veggies nightly to ensure he's getting proper nutrition. His closed eyes could very well the the result of a vitamin deficiency.

5) Use 'Repashy Calcium Plus' dust suppliment 3-4 times a week.

His cage hasn't been cleaned in awhile. I've been wanting to upgrade his cage to a larger one. He's been awful lazy as well It's hard to tell if he's sleeping or if his eyes are just closed. But thank you!

 

[Noahtb54]

*Supplements: I use Fulkers calcium and a couple times a month dust the crickets with his zoo med multivitamins he needs. For a veiled chameleon you really should be using a calcium with no D3 every feeding, calcium with D3 twice monthly, and multivitamin twice monthly as well. Are you gutloading the feeders with anything?
*lighting: 1 heat bulb and 1 exoterra uvb 100 bulb( pretty sure it's a 25 watt) Probably time to change the UVB bulb if you've had it 6 months.
*Humidity: I spray a couple times daily but I think it's around 50-55 when I spray. You may want to spray a bit longer to achieve higher humidity. How are you measuring it?

I just replaced the uvb about 2 weeks ago. The old one was a 5.0 reptisun uvb but when I got the exo terra one they don't have the reptisun 5.0. I don't gut the crickets but I will defiantly start! His eyes don't appear swollen just closed

 

[Noahtb54]

Any tips to help keep his eyes open?

 

[Pitcard]

Not really, no. It's more about fixing the underlying factors.

Just my 2 cents, Veilds do not need to be misted into oblivion. Remember, they are native to Yemen. Check the weather there, get an idea of what humidity they deal with. I misted mine once a day, as long as they have a dropped or constant water source such as a clear cup, they will stay hydrated which is the important part. Not the humidity.

 

[Decadancin]

It's more about fixing the underlying factors.

Just my 2 cents, Veilds do not need to be misted into oblivion. Remember, they are native to Yemen. Check the weather there, get an idea of what humidity they deal with. I misted mine once a day, as long as they have a dropped or constant water source such as a clear cup, they will stay hydrated which is the important part. Not the humidity.

Many will not drink from a dripper. True about the range that they live in, they can be in semi-arid conditions, but as you said it's about fixing the underlying factors. A chameleon that does not utilize a dripper will not get hydration from it. Also, it is more natural for them to get moisture from droplets on leaves in the mornings in their range, and they will tend to munch on any available vegetation to help also. Most will not drink from or recognize a bowl or cup as a water source. Therefore, the misting sessions are the water source.

 

[Pitcard]

Many will not drink from a dripper. True about the range that they live in, they can be in semi-arid conditions, but as you said it's about fixing the underlying factors. A chameleon that does not utilize a dripper will not get hydration from it. Also, it is more natural for them to get moisture from droplets on leaves in the mornings in their range, and they will tend to munch on any available vegetation to help also. Most will not drink from or recognize a bowl or cup as a water source. Therefore, the misting sessions are the water source.

While I concede there may be a few who won't drink from a cup, all chameleons will recognize droplets on leaves. Regardless of whether they come from mist or a dripper, it does not matter. Misting is *a* way to hydrate chameleons, not *the* way.

Over misting in an attempt to hydrate can cause more harm than good. There's no harm in trying new (proven) methods.

 

[alphakenc]

Any tips to help keep his eyes open?

Ur last choice will be seeing a Chameleon specialist vet,it could be anything on the closed eyes,especially the way u already described,eye is a very sensitive part ,when the eye is not open it means something is bothering ur cham,if the humidity and everything else the above is correct,than that will be lead to an infection which u will need ur vet to identify the problem,do not try mess with the eyes,let the vet do the treatment.

 

[Decadancin]

While I concede there may be a few who won't drink from a cup, all chameleons will recognize droplets on leaves. Regardless of whether they come from mist or a dripper, it does not matter. Misting is *a* way to hydrate chameleons, not *the* way.

Over misting in an attempt to hydrate can cause more harm than good. There's no harm in trying new (proven) methods.

I don't see cups of water as a proven method for hydration of chameleons. It has always been my understanding that the majority of them will not utilize this method and this has been my experience as well. I have not seen any evidence to support this statement, but I'm not trying to argue about this. I am usually one for giving differing opinions of the "normal" way to do things, but not in this case. I would say that there would be few that would drink from a cup, but the advice is for best chances for success. Also, misting as well as drippers are trying to provide the best options for chameleons to have water sources, not the only ones. For most keepers this would be "the" way because an automated system allows for consistent results. Some other suggestions such as diet have been made, so I haven't seen anyone saying it is the only way. Also, your statement about droplets on leaves is incorrect in my experience. The actual dripping water was enough to make my veiled avoid that section of the enclosure. He absolutely hates the mister when it goes off. I'm sure he does drink from the leaves when he feels like it, but unlike many he will not do it during a misting session or with the dripper. I have experimented with quite a few scenarios and have not been able to spark an interest.

 

[Noahtb54]

While I concede there may be a few who won't drink from a cup, all chameleons will recognize droplets on leaves. Regardless of whether they come from mist or a dripper, it does not matter. Misting is *a* way to hydrate chameleons, not *the* way.

Over misting in an attempt to hydrate can cause more harm than good. There's no harm in trying new (proven) methods.

I've tried using a dropper and he never used it that I saw. I used cups of water and I saw him take some gulps here and there but eventually quit using it. I still mist everyday and I've never seen him show much interest in drinking in that form either. He's never showed much interest in drinking water at all since I've had him. If I notice he's dehydrated I will get a syringe and squirt some in his mouth. I've tried about what everything and I've always had to resort making him hiss at me so I can squirt water in his mouth.

 

[Pitcard]

I almost never see my chams drink. That doesn't mean that they never do.

I would keep a water cup in there, clean it daily, keep misting and keep a dripper going. All animals like to drink, it's instinctual.

I have a feeling your chams problem is that he isn't getting enough nutrition in his diet. Focus on gut loading, proper and consistent dusting routines.

There are two ways to go about dusting. The all in one Repashy, or the calcium, d3 and vitamin regiment.

 

[Noahtb54]

I got gut load for my crickets 2 days ago and dusting properly with calcium. Feeding 7-8 every day or every other so hopefully he can start to get better

 

[Vanjan]

You can try other feeders as well. New feeders will surely get his attention. Silkworms contain a lot of nutritious thing from mulberry and also helps in hydration. BSF larvae are a like a living calcium shot.
You can order them online if there is no access to good a shop in your area.