Ambilobe with bulging eyes

[PITBULL]

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 29 gal with cage topper because she is still too small to go into the bigger cage
Lighting - tube UVB 5.0 and standard heat lamp 65 watts
Temperature - ambient temp of 75-77 and 86 in basking area during the day and at night 70.
Humidity - 60-80 depending on if i just finished misting
Plants - live and fake live - schefflera
Location - kitchen window
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - ambilobe owned for 2 weeks about 4 months old for my local pet store and was told that they came from krammerflage chameleons/chameleonsonly.
Handling - so far only to put in enclosure and will be handling during regular cleaning and when she is ready for larger enclosure
Feeding - waxworms and gutloaded crickets
Supplements - repcal 1-2 weekly
Watering - cham does drink from leaves after misting
Fecal Description - normal dark brown
History - never owned ambilobes before but have owned veileds and jacksoni.
Current Problem - My concern is with her bulging eyes. They seem to only bulge when I'm misting her enclosure. Its not a bulge with abnormal lumps but the entire eye bulges to a consistant size. The water is warm not hot. She doesn't like being misted so I just mist the plants. Her eyes go back to normal after an hour or so. I have never had this problem in the past and just wondering if this is normal. She doesn't seem to have any ill effect because she is still very active and can hit her targeted prey. Any thoughts or suggestions? I'll try to get some pics up later tonight.

 

[Syn]

Seems to me like she's just cleaning her eyes?

 

[PITBULL]

Seems to me like she's just cleaning her eyes?

Is that normal to bulge out like that during cleaning? I have never seen this in my veileds and jacksoni so naturally I'm concerned.

 

[Syn]

My veiled has done it when he had a little eye problems.. is it crusting? Can you get some pictures?

 

[Chameleon Company]

Is that normal to bulge out like that during cleaning?

Yes, as noted, it can be. When it persists, then its a problem, symptomatic of something non-voluntary. While I write often about vitamin deficiencies related to eye irritation and closing, we also believe that vitamin deficiency, particularly the notorious vitamin A, can be behind bulging as well. Bulging can occur for many other reasons, such as infections in or around the turret, but those usually have a more imbalanced appearance, often with pus or other secondary issues.

We have been heavily recommending Reptivite over other supplements for this reason, as it contains pre-formed A. I traded notes today with someone who used a different supplement, but also used a cricket gutload with pre-fromed A. Our experience with vitamins via cricket gutload (not to be confused with putting liquid vitamin on the back of a cricket which is then hand-fed to the chameleon) is that it does not work effectively, if at all. Good luck with all !

 

[BocaJan]

My 4 month old has bulgie eyes too. I think that the baby ambilobes have bulgier eyes then vields. My girl likes to roll her eyes around a lot and when she does they even look bigger. As she grows the bulging seems to be not as pronounced. Just be sure to keep misting it well so it can clean eyes well.

 

[Syn]

I know my Nosy Be has HUGE eyes, but this is an always thing, not when misting. Speaking of misting I need to go do that!

 

[PITBULL]

Sorry for no pics at the moment her eyes are normal right now even after misting but when/if it happens again I'll definately post some pics. Hopefully its just cleaning rather than major problems.