5.0 or 10.0???

RogerVeiled

RogerVeiled

New Member
Hi everyone, im new to the forums and Lizards in general.

I bought a Veiled last week and he has be fine, a real joy.

Yesterday he developed a "closed eye" :( I upped the humidity and he seems fine now.

As I was going through my setup and from reading on here I noticed my UVB bulb is a 10.0 and everyone on here seems to recomend the 5.0! Why and whats the difference.

Also I have the infrared basking spot and it seems to heat the general temp between 88-92 (not basking temp). Its a 75w and was wondering if this was causing my veileds eye to dry out a bit?!

Any help would be great thanks ;)
 
a 10.0 uvb bulb is fine so you dont need to change it. Just keep the umidity up and the eye should be fine and imo the bulb will be fine:D
 
I think 10.0 is too much- that's for desert animals that can't hide themselves from the sun much. I'd definitely use 5.0...
 
I use 10.0 on all my larger cages especially on the bigger ones. If you really feel there is a problem you could raise it up 6 or so inches and then the output would be exactly the same as a 5.0. Just make sure and have plenty of places to get out of the light
 
I use 10.0 on all my veileds and they do great! What type and how large of a cage do you have him in? Also your temps seem fine, warm is good for veileds.
 
I was told he's about 4-6 months old

I have a repti glo 15w 10.0 18"

The enclosure is wooden with sliding glass front sized 18D 24W 36T


Im gonna swap to the 5.0 because it seems to be what everyone is recomending. I think the 75w basking light is making the overall temp too high also so gonna change it to a 50.

I didnt fill in the asking for help form because I was asking about the uvb, I had also researched all the previous posts regarding the closed eyes on chams with not much more success than vet time, so im gonna take him 2moz as its closed now :(

Thanks for all your help, I just hope he can get on the road to recovery soon :)
 
90 is a bit high for a 4 month old. UVB lights aren't the only reason why they close their eyes, perhaps people can help more if you fill out the how to ask for help form and post some pictures. A vet visit never hurts though :)
 
Since you asked so politley ;) and Rogers health being my number one concern:-

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Veiled, male, 4-6 months. I have had him now since tuesday 23rd.
Handling - I have handled him the first 2 nights I had him for rougly 15mins, I havent had time since.
Feeding - Crickets and Locusts fed on apple. 6-8 every other day.
Supplements - Nutrobal, have only done this once.
Watering - I was told he would drink when I misted the leaves, I have yet to see him drink.
Fecal Description - One half brown one whitish yellow.
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? - as far as I know, no.
History - ?

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Wooden enclosure with glass sliding doors, the enclosure is 18D x 24W x 36H. The enclosure has two vents at the top of the rear panel.
Lighting - Repti glo 10.0 15W 18" tube. 75W red basking spot. 12 hrs for the repti glo and I turn the spot on and off during the day depending on the temp.
Temperature - Roughly between 75-93 depending on when I have the basking light on and off. Lowest overnight 60-65. I have been using analogue but got a digital one today.
Humidity - Havent been able to measure humidity till today so I will have to fill this in later. Edit - 76% :( I think this is a bit too high (how would I reduce this when he needs the heat from the basking lamp and needs spraying for drinking water?!)
Plants - Artificail
Placement - In the kitchen, Cold side (large kitchen) low traffic. Top of cage must be at least 6 and a half feet off the floor.
Location - North wales, UK

Current Problem - His right eye started closing for a few mins roughly 2 days ago, I assuemd dirt or something so didnt worry, I tried a few things like upping the humidity (guess work obviously, thats why I got a humidity digi today) but today he is worse with the eye being closed 90% of the time. Not changing colour much, He used to be brown alot (not as dark a brown as he was) and changed to green when I was handeling him or when he was asleep. He has been green alot since he has been ill. Today when I was checking his eye for dirt he was a speckled blue and gree colour ( I have not seen blue on him till today but I havent had him long either).

Edit: Also he has a preference to locust over the crickets. He would go straight to a locust as soon as I put it in to eat but with crickets he will eat them over a two day period?!
 
I cant comment on U.V.B. bulbs with chameleons but I have had a fair deal of experience with Phelsuma.
I bought an utraviolet meter and it was interesting to notice how much ultraviolet was diffused through the aluminium mesh.To gain a good dose the reptiles need to be within about 6" of the tube otherwise the U.V. is dissipated.It is also useful to use a reflector as this greatly increases the amount of U.V.
The tubes don`t last long either,although this depends on the number of hours per day that the tubes are used.
I hope this is of interest.
 
Speckled blue? Can you post a picture? Is it possible he is a she?

Gutloading, you should be using greens like collard greens, mustard greens, dandelions, endive, kale, and escarole. Use fruits and veggies like carrots, yams, oranges, papaya, sweet peppers, and squash.

Yellow urates mean he is slightly dehydrated. You should probably set up a dripper and mist a bit longer so he has more opportunities to drink. You should start dusting with calcium without d3 at most feedings, a calcium with d3 twice a month, and a multivitamin once a month.

90 is a bit hot for a 4 month old and should be brought down to 80-83. I suggest buying a normal incandescent house bulb of a lower wattage (no need for those lame red bulbs, chameleons associate white light with the sun and heat.)

76 for the humidity is a bit high and I would suggest adding more ventilation. It should be around 40-50% dry, 70-90+% after misting, and hang around 60-70% for an hour or two after misting.

Again, pictures can really help.
 
pssh said:
Speckled blue? Can you post a picture? Is it possible he is a she?

Gutloading, you should be using greens like collard greens, mustard greens, dandelions, endive, kale, and escarole. Use fruits and veggies like carrots, yams, oranges, papaya, sweet peppers, and squash.

Yellow urates mean he is slightly dehydrated. You should probably set up a dripper and mist a bit longer so he has more opportunities to drink. You should start dusting with calcium without d3 at most feedings, a calcium with d3 twice a month, and a multivitamin once a month.

90 is a bit hot for a 4 month old and should be brought down to 80-83. I suggest buying a normal incandescent house bulb of a lower wattage (no need for those lame red bulbs, chameleons associate white light with the sun and heat.)

76 for the humidity is a bit high and I would suggest adding more ventilation. It should be around 40-50% dry, 70-90+% after misting, and hang around 60-70% for an hour or two after misting.

Again, pictures can really help.
Click to expand...

I dont think he is a she as he has those little bits on the back of his feet, also the "tiger" stripes down his side which i dont think females have?!

I would post some pics but dont have a decent camera as I have borrowed it out. Also to catch him doing his "blue" trick I think would be very difficult. I know they change colour depending on mood and such but the strange thing was I was wearing a blue top lol

Sorry the humidity was 70+ after I had misted so is that ok???

edit: The Nutrobal i have given him seems to be a multi vit as well, is this ok (sorry for the dumb questions) :(
 
Yeah, the humidity that high is fine after misting.

Okay, he's a male. Sometimes people come on here thinking they're the opposite sex than they really are, and robin blue spots on a female usually mean they're receptive. :) my bad
 
Maybe he's confused and their isnt much wrong with his eye... he's just winking at me (receptive lol) :D

No worry's then, I will get him off to the vet 2moz then let you guys and gals know the results :)
 
Hi, I had a big conversation about this with Phil, one of the owner of the nearest reptiles store to me. He told me 10.0 is fine bec in the wild chams. get much higher uv from the sun, but I think hi is not perfectly right bec. I lost my first cham. with eye problem using 10.0 without realise that' s could be the problem and after I bought a pair of veiled and my boy had eye problem again, not infection just like as human got 'cross eyes' ha can't catch his food bec. he goes about 1\2-1" on the side and I have to feed him. after his eyes got this problem I immediately realised that must be the 10.0 reptisun and changed to a 5.0. I think probably the most important thing how close is the cham. can get to the uv. if too close 10.0 is defenetely too high. this is my opinion. have a good day. my boy is just about to climbe on top of the curtain :) I must go....
 
Because the light is in the viv, and his basking spot is at the top he is definatly too near. I need to get a 5.0 straight away :eek:
 
Wait, they're in the cage? I would take them out and put them on top so that he doesnt burn himself.
 
I have 10.0's on both of my veileds,

They seem fine with this. but i have them on the outside,

And they are then jacked up about 4 inches above the mesh, so they have about 8-10 inches away from the bulb, plus the mesh must absorb some of the rays, I use reflectors too.

However when its time to change i will swap for 5.0 as they seem the one to go for, sorry for the hi jack.
 
pssh said:
Wait, they're in the cage? I would take them out and put them on top so that he doesnt burn himself.
Click to expand...

It isnt a cage, its a wooden enclosure with glass doors :confused:

Just ordered a tone of stuff for the little guy (new bulbs, meds/vits, dripper etc) and I took some pics with my iphone so will try and get them on soon :)
 
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