Baby eyes and sleep

[itiacnstein92]

I’m a first time chameleon owner, I just got a baby one last Saturday. I’m thinking she’s around 1 month old. We’re struggling to keep the humidity in her enclosure at 50%. We have a humidifier and a fogger going in the room 24/7. My question is about her eyes. She keeps them closed to little slits 90% of the time. She also does this thing were she like sucks the eyeball in and then bulges out her eyelids in the corner. I tried my best at explaining that. I don’t know if her eyes are dry or if she might have an infection. I also want to add that I have seen her a couple of times when holding her she will rub her eyes against my shirt like she’s itching her eyes.

I also feel like she sleeps a ton. Is that normal for baby chameleons?

 

[GrannyK]

This does not sound normal, Im sure an expert will chime in. in the meantime filling out this form the best you can will paint a better picture of the chams environment since in your care. I’ve copied and pasted below. You can do the same and supply your answers.

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. long has it been in your care?How
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.

 

[itiacnstein92]

I’m a first time chameleon owner, I just got a baby one last Saturday. I’m thinking she’s around 1 month old. We’re struggling to keep the humidity in her enclosure at 50%. We have a humidifier and a fogger going in the room 24/7. My question is about her eyes. She keeps them closed to little slits 90% of the time. She also does this thing were she like sucks the eyeball in and then bulges out her eyelids in the corner. I tried my best at explaining that. I don’t know if her eyes are dry or if she might have an infection. I also want to add that I have seen her a couple of times when holding her she will rub her eyes against my shirt like she’s itching her eyes.

I also feel like she sleeps a ton. Is that normal for baby chameleons?

Your Chameleon - Veiled chameleon, unsure of the sex - thinking male because there is a bulge under the tail but I don’t note any spurs present. Thinking he is about a month old because of his size. I’ve had him since last Saturday.
Handling - 1-2 times per day. He actually likes being held and will sleep on my chest or shoulder. I only have him out of the enclosure for about 45 minutes at a time.
Feeding - Small crickets. He usually eats 4 small crickets per day. He gets fed in the morning right now. He seems to be most awake in the morning. I’m gut loading with store bought cricket food and hydration. Today, 11/24, he was not super interested in eating. He did eat at least 2 crickets.
Supplements - He was purchased from petsmart and they stated they were not doing any type of supplements. I’ve started him on zoo med repti calcium without vitamin D - he gets this daily. Zoo med retivite with vitamin D twice per month is the plan. I also plan to do bee pollen daily, just need to order some.
Watering - Misting 2-3x per day for about 30 seconds. I mist until everything is basically saturated and dripping. Bought a dripper just need to hang it and cut a whole on the screen to put the tubing through. He drank from my fingers today and that is the first time I’ve seen him take in any water.
Fecal Description - I have not seen any dropping since having him. This Saturday will be a week of no droppings. I’m a little concerned by this. I have read that sometimes when they first come home they may not poop for 2 weeks. Correct me if I’m wrong.
History - No history that I’m aware of.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen enclosure wrapped with a shower curtain around 3 sides to trap the humidity. 30 in x 16 in
Lighting - Basking light - zoo med daylight blue bulb 60w, - uva, heat, daylight. UVB - zoo med reptisun T5 HO 5.0 UVB fluorescent lamp, 22 inches in the zoo med reptisun T5 hood. Lights are on for 12-13 hours.
Temperature - Basking area is 90-92. Cage floor is 64-68. I have a thermometer and the top under the basking lamp and one at the bottom of the cage. As of now guessing the lowest overnight temp is anywhere from 68-70. We have the house set at 72.
Humidity - I’ve been struggling with the humidity levels. It is anywhere from 30-50%. We are trying very hard to keep it at 50% at all times. We have a fogger and humidifier running 24/7 to maintain the humidity. We have also wrapped the cage with plastic shower curtains to maintain the humidity. We have a hygrometer at the top of the cage. As of now there are two medium size Pothos in the enclosure. There are two fake plants on either side to help with coverage until the Pothos get bigger.
Placement - Cage is located in our spare bedroom. Not a high foot traffic area. Door is cracked to keep the room warm. No fans, heat vent near the enclosure. We have about 9 ft ceilings and the top of the enclosure is about 4 feet from the ceiling.
Location - Midwest Illinois

Current Problem - He keeps them closed to little slits 90% of the time. He also does this thing were he like sucks the eyeball in and then bulges out his eyelids in the corner. I tried my best at explaining that. I don’t know if his eyes are dry or if he might have an infection. I also want to add that I have seen him a couple of times when holding him, he will rub his eyes against my shirt like he’s itching his eyes.

I also feel like he sleeps a ton. Is that normal for baby chameleons?

Also, what is an affordable grow light you use for your real plants that are safe for a chameleon?

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi and welcome. I’ll be putting my feedback in bold.
Your Chameleon - Veiled chameleon, unsure of the sex - thinking male because there is a bulge under the tail but I don’t note any spurs present. Males will have tarsal spurs. If you post some pics of his back feet, we can confirm gender. Thinking he is about a month old because of his size. I’ve had him since last Saturday.
Handling - 1-2 times per day. He actually likes being held and will sleep on my chest or shoulder. I hate to tell you this, but he should not be having his eyes closed at any time during the day. If he’s doing it while you’re holding him, it most likely means that he has become so stressed that he has just shut down and given up and is waiting to be eaten/die. I only have him out of the enclosure for about 45 minutes at a time. Try not to handle him so much for now.
Feeding - Small crickets. He usually eats 4 small crickets per day. If he is as young as you say, he should be getting way more than that to eat. Chams younger than 4 months should be given all they can eat in a 15-20 minute period, twice a day. Perhaps the crickets are too big? Anything larger than the space between the eyes he can’t manage. You may need to order smaller feeders on line. He gets fed in the morning right now. He seems to be most awake in the morning. I’m gut loading with store bought cricket food and hydration. Usually the commercial cricket diets available at chain pet stores aren’t good for more than hydrating. More on this later. Today, 11/24, he was not super interested in eating. Not good. He did eat at least 2 crickets.
Supplements - He was purchased from petsmart and they stated they were not doing any type of supplements. Not good. I’ve started him on zoo med repti calcium without vitamin D - he gets this daily. Zoo med retivite with vitamin D twice per month is the plan. Perfect! I also plan to do bee pollen daily, just need to order some. I’m going to suggest NOT giving the bee pollen. Anecdotally causes edema. Is better to give to your insect feeders and have them pass it on to your cham.
Watering - Misting 2-3x per day for about 30 seconds. I mist until everything is basically saturated and dripping. Usually we suggest misting for 2 minutes, 2-3 times a day. Bought a dripper just need to hang it and cut a whole on the screen to put the tubing through. You’ll only want to use the dripper for about 20 minutes around mid day and instead of the 3rd misting. He drank from my fingers today and that is the first time I’ve seen him take in any water. Many chameleons are very secretive about drinking.
Fecal Description - I have not seen any dropping since having him. This Saturday will be a week of no droppings. I’m a little concerned by this. I have read that sometimes when they first come home they may not poop for 2 weeks. Correct me if I’m wrong. He needs to poop.
History - No history that I’m aware of.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen enclosure wrapped with a shower curtain around 3 sides to trap the humidity. 30 in x 16 in Irregardless of gender, your chameleon will be needing much larger than this as it grows into an adult. The minimum for an adult is 2x2x4’ or equivalent. I’m all for giving them larger if you can.
Lighting - Basking light - zoo med daylight blue bulb 60w, - uva, heat, daylight. UVB - zoo med reptisun T5 HO 5.0 UVB fluorescent lamp, 22 inches in the zoo med reptisun T5 hood. Lights are on for 12-13 hours. All sounds good. No lights or heat at night.
Temperature - Basking area is 90-92. Too hot! Needs to come down to about 80. I advise raising the lights off of the screen top by several inches, which will help reduce your temps. Babies screen walk along the top and can easily get burned. Your uvb should be about 8-9” above your basking area for optimal range. Cage floor is 64-68. I have a thermometer and the top under the basking lamp and one at the bottom of the cage. As of now guessing the lowest overnight temp is anywhere from 68-70. Nice. We have the house set at 72.
Humidity - I’ve been struggling with the humidity levels. It is anywhere from 30-50%. That is exactly the range that you want. Veileds like and need it a bit drier. We are trying very hard to keep it at 50% at all times. We have a fogger and humidifier running 24/7 to maintain the humidity. No! Never run a humidifier during the day when temps are high…increases risks for respiratory infections. As your night time temps are below 70, you can run the humidifier at night and boost humidity all the way up. That simulates natural hydration gotten from fog. We have also wrapped the cage with plastic shower curtains to maintain the humidity. We have a hygrometer at the top of the cage. As of now there are two medium size Pothos in the enclosure. There are two fake plants on either side to help with coverage until the Pothos get bigger. More live plants. No fake ones. I suggest getting a taller center plant like a schefflera or weeping fig.
Placement - Cage is located in our spare bedroom. Not a high foot traffic area. Door is cracked to keep the room warm. No fans, heat vent near the enclosure. We have about 9 ft ceilings and the top of the enclosure is about 4 feet from the ceiling. Very nice. Height = safety.
Location - Midwest Illinois

Current Problem - He keeps them closed to little slits 90% of the time. Not good and not normal. He also does this thing were he like sucks the eyeball in and then bulges out his eyelids in the corner. Is normal way that they clean their eyes. I tried my best at explaining that. I don’t know if his eyes are dry or if he might have an infection. I also want to add that I have seen him a couple of times when holding him, he will rub his eyes against my shirt like he’s itching his eyes.

I also feel like he sleeps a ton. Is that normal for baby chameleons? Not normal and is sign of sickness.

Also, what is an affordable grow light you use for your real plants that are safe for a chameleon? I’m a fan of Sansi and use their 70w primarily, although I do have some of their 36w bulbs too. On sale now. https://www.sansiled.com/pages/deals
To be continued….

 

[MissSkittles]

I’d really like to see some photos of your chameleon and entire enclosure please. Often that shows things that aren’t mentioned.
It is very concerning that your cham is closing his eyes during the day. It isn’t necessarily a problem with the eyes, but can be anything. Coming from a chain pet store, increases the possible causes. That he hasn’t been given any supplements at all is very bad. That may be the problem, or he could have parasites, or who knows. Continue using the supplements as you plan and that can rule that out. A veterinary visit with a vet experienced with chameleons is a very good idea. Make sure to have a fecal done. One of the forum members may be able to help locate an experienced vet in your area. Do note that it is not unusual to have a bit of a commute to a good vet, but usually well worth it. (Many vets treat chams the same as bearded dragons).
Baby needs to be eating much much more. It’s always better to have your feeders be a bit smaller than you think your chameleon can handle. Currently some of the on line feeder venders are having sales. (I haven’t checked the details) https://new.joshsfrogs.com/c/eight_days_of_awesome https://dubiaroaches.com/ https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/
Regarding feeders, crickets are a fine staple feeder, but variety is better. Roaches, bsfl, silkworms are great additions to your staple feeders. Attaching a couple of graphics. Then it’s also very important that you feed your bugs well and keep them healthy, so that they will provide your cham more nutrition.
Additionally, you really have a limited amount of time to get baby well fed and solve the issue causing sleeping/eyes closed during the day. Babies have zero resources to fall back on and can go downhill very fast.
Hold off on handling until you get baby to optimal health. The stress is only adding to the problems. Even if baby were 100%, he needs time to get accustomed to his new home and environment. Plus, chams of any age don’t like being handled and are more of a look and don’t touch ‘pet’.

 

[itiacnstein92]

I’d really like to see some photos of your chameleon and entire enclosure please. Often that shows things that aren’t mentioned.
It is very concerning that your cham is closing his eyes during the day. It isn’t necessarily a problem with the eyes, but can be anything. Coming from a chain pet store, increases the possible causes. That he hasn’t been given any supplements at all is very bad. That may be the problem, or he could have parasites, or who knows. Continue using the supplements as you plan and that can rule that out. A veterinary visit with a vet experienced with chameleons is a very good idea. Make sure to have a fecal done. One of the forum members may be able to help locate an experienced vet in your area. Do note that it is not unusual to have a bit of a commute to a good vet, but usually well worth it. (Many vets treat chams the same as bearded dragons).
Baby needs to be eating much much more. It’s always better to have your feeders be a bit smaller than you think your chameleon can handle. Currently some of the on line feeder venders are having sales. (I haven’t checked the details) https://new.joshsfrogs.com/c/eight_days_of_awesome https://dubiaroaches.com/ https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/
Regarding feeders, crickets are a fine staple feeder, but variety is better. Roaches, bsfl, silkworms are great additions to your staple feeders. Attaching a couple of graphics. Then it’s also very important that you feed your bugs well and keep them healthy, so that they will provide your cham more nutrition.
Additionally, you really have a limited amount of time to get baby well fed and solve the issue causing sleeping/eyes closed during the day. Babies have zero resources to fall back on and can go downhill very fast.
Hold off on handling until you get baby to optimal health. The stress is only adding to the problems. Even if baby were 100%, he needs time to get accustomed to his new home and environment. Plus, chams of any age don’t like being handled and are more of a look and don’t touch ‘pet’.
View attachment 332023View attachment 332024

 

[itiacnstein92]

I tried attaching a video of what he is doing with his eye. I’ve also attached a picture of the back feet to confirm what sex he/she is.

 

[Beman]

You have a female. Looks like she is trying to clean her eye. How are you giving her water? Misting the cage by hand or do you have an auto mister?

What is your distance from the UVB fixture to the net thing? (net needs to be replaced you need real horizontal branches laid in 8-9 inches below the UVB and down.

Read through all the feedback @MissSkittles gave you. There are some changes like the temp she is at which needs to be corrected asap.

 

[itiacnstein92]

We are hand misting 2x daily until everything is saturated. We have not seen her drink. She did drink from our fingers a few days ago. Temperature has been corrected. Basking area is now at 80.

 

[itiacnstein92]

You have a female. Looks like she is trying to clean her eye. How are you giving her water? Misting the cage by hand or do you have an auto mister?

What is your distance from the UVB fixture to the net thing? (net needs to be replaced you need real horizontal branches laid in 8-9 inches below the UVB and down.

Read through all the feedback @MissSkittles gave you. There are some changes like the temp she is at which needs to be corrected asap.

I’m concerned because her eyes seem to stay like those little slits. She hardly opens them all the way.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’m concerned because her eyes seem to stay like those little slits. She hardly opens them all the way.

Have you started her on the multivitamin yet?

 

[itiacnstein92]

Have you started her on the multivitamin yet?

She gets calcium without vitamin D daily. Multivitamin with vitamin D twice month. She won’t eat today because her eyes are like crusted shut. I’ve tried multiple times to feed her.

 

[MissSkittles]

Little sweetie really needs a vet then. There are a couple of vet threads pinned in the health clinic section of the forum. You’ll just have to do a bit of reading. If you can’t find one there, let us know where you are located and perhaps one of the forum members can help.

 

[itiacnstein92]

Little sweetie really needs a vet then. There are a couple of vet threads pinned in the health clinic section of the forum. You’ll just have to do a bit of reading. If you can’t find one there, let us know where you are located and perhaps one of the forum members can help.

I have an exotic vet I’ve used before for my Guinea pigs.

 

[itiacnstein92]

I have an exotic vet I’ve used before for my Guinea pigs.

I’m going to call them tomorrow.

 

[MissSkittles]

I’m going to call them tomorrow.

I hope he/she can find and correct the problem. Do take a fresh poo sample for a parasite check if you can. Do come back after and provide an update.