Chameleon cannot close its eyes while sleeping
- Thread starter 利群劲大
- Start date
elizaann2
Chameleon Enthusiast
Hello and welcome! It looks like your little guy has some gunk build up in his eyes. Do you have a vet that has chameleon experience you can take him to? This may need to be treated by a vet with medication. The eyes are very important to a chameleon.
@MissSkittles do you have any suggestions on helping out this chameleon?
@MissSkittles do you have any suggestions on helping out this chameleon?
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
This looks serious and definitely a good vet with experience with chameleons is needed for immediate care. Later we can go thru and make sure all is correct. I’m very curious about general husbandry - types of uvb, supplements, humidity levels…all of it.
利群劲大
New Member
Kodyf
Established Member
Please send more pictures for the people here to analyze. This is very serious your chameleon could be experiencing blindness not just his eyes not closing during sleep which will lead to stress and stop the chameleon from eating and drinking due to the blindness leading to malnutrition. I don’t know how this happened but if his eye does not get attention the buildup will cause a bacterial infection which will take over his eyes, lungs, skin and energy slowly making the chameleon lethargic as the infection would push on and without attention from a vet ASAP to sterilize and flush the eye you are risking paying much more for the antibiotic you would need for the infection that could possible still result in your chameleon passing away if you don’t get attention for him in time.
Long story short he needs attention from a vet experienced with exotic reptiles, I see you’re not from the US so im not sure of what help we will be finding a vet for you. I recommend to do an internet search for a reptile vet in your country and find a reputable one closest to you for a diagnostic for the safest route for the chameleon.
Your husbandry could have caused the issue, This will not fix the issue you need to get him seen by a vet and I am not a vet or a professional but their are plenty of well informed staff members and enthusiasts such as @Beman and @MissSkittles on this forum that can help fix your husbandry if something is off please provide them pictures so they can analyze it.
Also is it one or both eyes.
Long story short he needs attention from a vet experienced with exotic reptiles, I see you’re not from the US so im not sure of what help we will be finding a vet for you. I recommend to do an internet search for a reptile vet in your country and find a reputable one closest to you for a diagnostic for the safest route for the chameleon.
Your husbandry could have caused the issue, This will not fix the issue you need to get him seen by a vet and I am not a vet or a professional but their are plenty of well informed staff members and enthusiasts such as @Beman and @MissSkittles on this forum that can help fix your husbandry if something is off please provide them pictures so they can analyze it.
Also is it one or both eyes.
Kodyf
Established Member
I see you say you do not have veterinary uvb there I’m assuming your country doesn’t sell uvb like ours, and that 5.0 is a supplement that is not used yet. So this means your chameleons does not get UVB or correct UVB? The chameleon is probably suffering from vitamin deficiencies and as said before that eye will get infected without attention.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
I believe ReptiZoo is a Chinese based company and am guessing that you should be able to obtain their products in China. Although this is from the USA based store of theirs, it should help guide you on correct uvb that should be available to you. https://reptizoo.store/collections/...it-with-detachable-curved-reflector-at2824stt Then this light would need to be a distance of about 20-22 cm above his basking area.
This would be the correct size enclosure needed. https://reptizoo.store/collections/...ical-reptile-tank-24lx24wx48h-chameleons-cage
ReptiZoo does not have any supplements and I’m not sure what is available to you. You need a phosphorus free calcium without vitamin D3, like one of these. You’ll use it to lightly dust every feeding.
In addition to plain calcium, your chameleon needs vitamin D3 and multivitamins too, but not as often. These two products are combination of D3 and the multivitamins and easiest to use. They also have a good form of vitamin A for healthy eyes. You would use one of these products lightly dusted for one feeding every other week/14 days.
If neither of these two products is available, you‘ll need to get a calcium that contains vitamin D3 and a separate multivitamin. Each product will need to be used for one feeding every other week/14 days, but not at the same time. For example, on day 1 and day 15, you would use the calcium with D3 and on days 7 and 21 you would use the multivitamin.
There are many other items that can be causing this problem with your chameleon’s eyes, but if you haven’t had the correct uvb light and not using any supplements, that is the point to start making corrections. It is essential to correct these things as soon as possible. Your chameleon could suffer permanent damage to his eyes and rest of his health and body. If his eye problem is from not having correct lighting and supplements, it will take time to heal. You may notice some improvement in the first 2-4 weeks, but full healing can take months. I do advise that a vet visit along with the changes is best. You mention translation issues, so I don’t know how well that all works for you or how much English you understand. This is the best source for learning about chameleon care https://chameleonacademy.com/ but it may be a lot if you need to translate. Another excellent source is https://www.neptunethechameleon.com/ and she has videos on different platforms. Of course, we’re always happy to help here however we can and try to work around any language problems.
Do you have the long tube UVB or a screw in bulb? Show us pictures of what you bought for vitamins and calcium and your uvb. This will help us help you.
Post a picture of the entire enclosure as well. My concern is that the issue started before you purchased the chameleon. This may not be reversible without a vet depending on the root of the issue.
Kodyf
Established Member
He does look better, I’m glad he is showing signs of improvement and not the other way around. What cage do you have. Does the light penetrate the top of the cage good enough. Check your basking temperature and hopefully uvb rays make it through the cage. I see your using the compact bulbs, some of the old compact UVB bulbs are known for burning chameleons and blinding them. The linear UVB bulb is really the ideal bulb if you can find it. Eye drops might fix his eye temporarily for now which is great to less stress the chameleon but if it’s an infection or vitamin deficiency from not having proper lighting or supplements his eyes will develop more problems until those issues are fixed. I am so glad I can see his eye close it makes me feel just as much relief as you do for him.
MissSkittles
Chameleon Enthusiast
While it really doesn’t directly affect much with the eyes, other than not providing any shade from the lights, you really need to fill up the enclosure with more plants and branches. You want it to look more like a tree or forest edge. All of the empty space is wasted. Here are a couple of my enclosures to give you an idea of what you want yours to be like.
利群劲大
New Member
Yes I have also noticed this problem Other plants purchased have not arrived yet Thanks for your advice Thank you
