Chameleon with swollen eyes, please help!!

[Jo_bo_24]

Hi everybody!

I have a 1.5 year old female veiled chameleon. She has been perfectly healthy her whole life until now. About two week ago, i noticed her eyes were slightly swollen. I misted her and they went back to normal, so i assumed she was just cleaning her eyes. Today, i noticed that her stool has been yellow for a bit, so i gave her a warm bath and misted her whole enclosure. The humidity in the cage always remains at about 80%. However, i recently noticed that her eyes started swelling up again slightly and i am worried. I think it might be a vitamin A deficiency or dehydration. I think it might be because I feed her superworms regularly, so i will be cutting back on that. The problem is that I am a minor, and vets are very expensive in my area. Please tell me if there is any way i could do this without a vet. I will bring her, but i wanted to make sure that im not just being paranoid and then getting stiffed out of $100 for an appointment. I really dont want anything to happen to her any help is greatly appreciated please . Ive attached an image of her below.

 

[Gloriawood]

Hi and welcome! I’m so sorry your gal isn’t feeling well. If you could, copy and paste the form below then fill in as much info as you can. We are not vets, but this may help us narrow down and pin point possible issues.

Chameleon Info:

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

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Can you post some more pics of the rest of her please? It would also be good if you could post some pics of her entire enclosure.

 

[Jo_bo_24]

Hi and welcome! I’m so sorry your gal isn’t feeling well. If you could, copy and paste the form below then fill in as much info as you can. We are not vets, but this may help us narrow down and pin point possible issues.

Chameleon Info:

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

Ok thank you!! I will gather the information asap.

 

[Jo_bo_24]

Hi. Can you post some more pics of the rest of her please? It would also be good if you could post some pics of her entire enclosure.

Ok, can do! Here they are:

One bulb burnt out this morning so it’s not at full brightness right now. Will be stopping by the pet store later. I just took these pictures though and her eyes went back in. They’ve been swelling on and off

 

[MissSkittles]

Which bulb burned out? If it is the uvb, don’t bother replacing it as you need a completely different one. I’m afraid the screw in type uvb bulbs aren’t able to provide the uvb levels needed beyond 2-3” away. You need a linear T5HO with either ReptiSun. 5.0 or Arcadia 6% bulb. Most chain pet stores do not sell them. PetSmart is the only one who does and this is what you would be needing from them - Arcadia ProT5 with a 6% bulb which is 24” long. https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/en...IzGuqdML6qJxUVJ7O0aIM52NyXbdLG9hoCAo0QAvD_BwE

 

[MissSkittles]

Not having the correct lights can most definitely contribute to eye and very many other serious health problems. This is something that there really is no compromise on, especially with a female veiled.

 

[Jo_bo_24]

Hi and welcome! I’m so sorry your gal isn’t feeling well. If you could, copy and paste the form below then fill in as much info as you can. We are not vets, but this may help us narrow down and pin point possible issues.

Chameleon Info:

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

Here it is:

• female veiled chameleon about 1.5-2 years old I think. Been in my care for a little over a year.
• She’s handled about two times a week gently with food as a reward. She doesn’t like human interaction much though, so I try to respect her boundaries.
• She’s feed once a day. Usually a mix of crickets/superworms/hornworms with fresh veggies like spinach, lettuce, carrots, and strawberries.
• I dust my feeders with repti-calcium from zoo med.
• I use a mist sprayer about three times a day (before school, after school, and before bed) and mist her enclosure heavily. I sometimes notice her opening her mouth when I mist her, but I think it’s out of annoyance (?)
• Usually brown/white. I recently noticed some yellow, so I started increasing her misting and gave her a warm water bath for about 10 minutes in a shallow dish.
• No previous health issues.

• Screen cage ( I posted pictures of the enclosure in another comment)
• Lighting is the zoo med tropical uvb & heat lighting kit. lights go off every night around nine and I put a blanket over her cage since I usually stay up to work on my assignments.
• Middle of cage is about 70 degrees, top is about 80 usually.
• I use a humidity gauge in my enclosure. It’s usually around 70-80%
• No live plants, she likes to eat them.
• Cage is located in my room. Loudest it gets is when I play music, but i keep it quiet, since I don’t like loud music either. Sits next to my air purifier since it can get a little stinky. sits on a small table so about 2 feet off of the ground.
• Deep South. Very humid, very warm.

 

[Jo_bo_24]

Which bulb burned out? If it is the uvb, don’t bother replacing it as you need a completely different one. I’m afraid the screw in type uvb bulbs aren’t able to provide the uvb levels needed beyond 2-3” away. You need a linear T5HO with either ReptiSun. 5.0 or Arcadia 6% bulb. Most chain pet stores do not sell them. PetSmart is the only one who does and this is what you would be needing from them - Arcadia ProT5 with a 6% bulb which is 24” long. https://www.petsmart.com/reptile/en...IzGuqdML6qJxUVJ7O0aIM52NyXbdLG9hoCAo0QAvD_BwE

UVB bulb is fine, it was the heat bulb. I currently use the daylight blue reptile bulb by zoomed. It burnt out this afternoon and has only been off for about an hour and a half lol but I will remember this

 

[Gloriawood]

I’m going to let someone with experience with females do a full review for you, but you definitly need a different UVB and you need to add in a multivitamin twice monthly. The UVB needs to be a linear fixture. T5 High Output with a 5.0 bulb. The incorrect UVB and no multivitamin can for sure cause eye issues. When you replace her heat bulb, do not get a blue one again as these can also mess with eyes. Just plain white. Hopefully we can help you get this sorted out. Does your gal have a name?

 

[kinyonga]

Welcome to the forum!

Can you please post some photos of your chameleon so we can see all of her from the side?

Are you aware that veiled females can lay eggs without having been mated and require different treatment/husbandry to some extent then we give the males?

She needs a proper lay bin in her cage at all times at this age too…asap.

There are more things that need attention as well.

 

[GrannyK]

Hey there! I don’t see a lay bin, does she have a bin to lay eggs? It could be the angles but she looks a little plump.

 

[Jo_bo_24]

I’m going to let someone with experience with females do a full review for you, but you definitly need a different UVB and you need to add in a multivitamin twice monthly. The UVB needs to be a linear fixture. T5 High Output with a 5.0 bulb. The incorrect UVB and no multivitamin can for sure cause eye issues. When you replace her heat bulb, do not get a blue one again as these can also mess with eyes. Just plain white. Hopefully we can help you get this sorted out. Does your gal have a name?

Ok, I will sort this out asap!! Thank you so much for these recommendations. I will also be trying to better her diet by adding more supplements and feeding her a more balanced blend. And her name is Pesto by the way )

 

[Jo_bo_24]

Welcome to the forum!

Can you please post some photos of your chameleon so we can see all of her from the side?

Are you aware that veiled females can lay eggs without having been mated and require different treatment/husbandry to some extent then we give the males?

She needs a proper lay bin in her cage at all times at this age too…asap.

There are more things that need attention as well.

I posted full body pictures and pictures of her enclosure in a previous comment. And I actually didn’t know this, I never read anything about laying bins! I will find out about these asap. She’s never laid an egg though.

 

[Jo_bo_24]

Hey there! I don’t see a lay bin, does she have a bin to lay eggs? It could be the angles but she looks a little plump.

No laying bin, i never even realized i needed one! And she looks a little plump because she was puffed up since my evil phone violated her precious personal space, lol

 

[Ghostbirb]

I see that there is yet to be a reply to your husbandry form. If you give me a little bit I will go through it!
From what I can see of your girl, she has definitely gone through a receptive period and is probably chocked full of eggs.
If no one has posted this yet, you should check this blog out on egg laying, it has a lot of very good information on exactly what happens and how you can support your girl through laying, it also includes how to make a lay bin.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/

We are so glad you came to us! There is unfortunately so much misinformation about chameleons so many keepers unintentionally start off with the wrong set up.

 

[kinyonga]

I posted full body pictures and pictures of her enclosure in a previous comment. And I actually didn’t know this, I never read anything about laying bins! I will find out about these asap. She’s never laid an egg though.

I looked at those photos. I need to see all of her…not hidden by leaves. She looks like she might be full of eggs and her husbandry and the lack of a laying bin will push her to develop reproductive issues and likely die if it’s not solved.

 

[Jo_bo_24]

I see that there is yet to be a reply to your husbandry form. If you give me a little bit I will go through it!
From what I can see of your girl, she has definitely gone through a receptive period and is probably chocked full of eggs.
If no one has posted this yet, you should check this blog out on egg laying, it has a lot of very good information on exactly what happens and how you can support your girl through laying, it also includes how to make a lay bin.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/veiled-chameleon-laying-101.2488/

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We are so glad you came to us! There is unfortunately so much misinformation about chameleons so many keepers unintentionally start off with the wrong set up.

Several people have commented about laying bins! I genuinely had no idea how important these were, and I thought I did a lot of research before I got her! I ran to set one up. I used equal parts play sand and potting soil with a stick so she can climb in/out. Do you think it’s adequate?

 

[Jo_bo_24]

I looked at those photos. I need to see all of her…not hidden by leaves. She looks like she might be full of eggs and her husbandry and the lack of a laying bin will push her to develop reproductive issues and likely die if it’s not solved.

Ohh I misunderstood, my bad! Here you go:

I read more about egg laying and I think this might be the issue

 

[Jo_bo_24]

Welcome to the forum!

Can you please post some photos of your chameleon so we can see all of her from the side?

Are you aware that veiled females can lay eggs without having been mated and require different treatment/husbandry to some extent then we give the males?

She needs a proper lay bin in her cage at all times at this age too…asap.

There are more things that need attention as well.

Got it!! Did some expediated research