chameleon wont open its eyes

[jeanieofthelamp]

I need help my chameleon hasnt opened his eyes for about 1 and a half weeks going on to two weeks. I am really worried about him and i dont know what to do. Please help me out. He is also not eating very much. He has gotten quite skinny over the last two weeks. I really care about him and need help soon!!!

 

[kinyonga]

We need more information....
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[jeanieofthelamp]

chameleon wont open his eyes

Cage Type -my cage is a glass cage that is pretty small, the dimentions are 12" by 12" by 18". He is still pretty small though.
Lighting - my daily lighting schedual is that it is on from 7 to 1 off from 1 to 2and back on from 2 to 10. I have a Repti Glo and it is a 5.0 UVB light.
Temperature -I have created a temperature range of about 50-70 degrees F I mesure these temps with a thermometer.
Humidity - the humidity level is at about 50 -60 and keep the humidity by having a water fall in his cage and misting it regularly.
Plants - no I am not using any live plants but am planning to get some as soon as i can get a hold of one.
Location - My cage is located in my dining room by a heater and is about 3 feet off the floor.
Your Chameleon - my chameleon is about 2 and a half months old, I dont know what sex it is yet but it is a veiled chameleon.
How long has it been in your care? It has been in my care for about a month now.
Handling - i try to handle him 4 times a week so he can get used to me
Feeding - i feed him 4 to 5 small crickets a day depending on if he eats them or not. I usually feed him in the morning and through out the day as he eats them.
Watering - I mist my plants for his water. I mist them two to three times a day and i have seen him drink from the leaves.
Fecal Description - the color of his fecal matter is usually a white with some black in it now and then.
Current Problem- his current problem is that he wont open his eyes at all and he hasnt eaten very much at all in the last 2 weeks

 

[ColorChanginClick]

Please read through this page http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/ it is VERY helpful and is the recommended source of info for raising veileds. In the mean time, IMMEDIATELY discontinue using that 5.0 repti glo IF it is the compact type.. unless it is a single long bulb STOP USING IT this could be at least one if not the only/main reason your little guy is having eye problems, the compact UVB type bulb can be very bad on their eyes. Also, those temps are TOOOOO LOW - 50-70F! 70 F should be on the lower end of its ambient temp and basking should at least be 85 this is definitely a contributing factor to his lack of movement HE NEEDS TO WARM UP. I'm sure others will come along with advice, please read that link though, it will GREATLY help you out.

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

Greetings, and welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear about your little chameleon.

Two things:

1. Exo Terra Repti Glo comes in a compact fluorescent style. These have been known to cause eye problems, such as you mention. Use of these type bulbs on Chameleons has been known to eventually (rather quickly) lead to death. If the Repti Glo you have now is a compact fluorescent, you need to turn it off now. DO not wait until you can replace it. Keep it off and replace it with a tube-type, UVB fluorescent bulb. If you are using a compact bulb now, that is probably what is causing the problem, and your chameleon is possibly in dire straits.

2. You don't mention a basking lamp or basking temperatures. Your chameleon does need 2 lamps. One for UVB, the Repti Glo 5.0 TUBE style, and one for heat and UVA, such as a zoo med Repti basking spot lamp. Your basking temperature should be about 85 degrees. The basking bulb should be above the cage, not too close to the screen (so the cham cannot get burned). The basking temperature should be measured, after a period of time, by placing the thermometer as close to within the basking area as possible. Your chameleon is very young. I do remember one other instance of a keeper whose baby chameleons were keeping their eyes shut, and it seems to me low temperature was a factor then too. It is possible, if a compact UVB bulb is not the issue, that low temperature may be causing the physical problems.

Here is a great website for the care of veiled chameleons:
http://raisingkittytheveiledchameleon.blogspot.com/

Looks like you have your research cut out for you. Best of luck and please let us know how things go.

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

Here is a good forum thread wherein Dave Weldon, a Senior Member+ here describes the problems with compact bulbs:
https://www.chameleonforums.com/reptiglo-spiral-bulbs-ok-9827/

You may also want to back down your lighting hours to 12 hours a day, or to simulate the number of hours of daylight your area is actually getting at this time of year.

Also, I realize you are using a glass tank, and so temperature control will be more tricky. In some countries glass tanks are used routinely for chameleons. I don't know how to help you set up a basking area above a glass tank. Someone else who uses glass tanks will hopefully chime in here. I would hate to give you advice that would cook your chameleon. Your tank is small enough that it would heat up awful fast.

If Kinyonga does not come back to this thread, then please PM her and ask about setting up lighting for proper temperatures in a glass tank. She is in Canada and perhaps successfully uses glass, as many Canadians do. Your pet store will not know how to do this properly, trust me on that. So please do not ask them.

 

[jeanieofthelamp]

thanx so much for all the tips. I didnt know i would need two light. The guy i bought it from said i only needed the light i have now which is bad for my chmeleon.(I have learned) and he said that i wouldnt need to worry to much about temperatures. I really love my chameleon to death and i dont wanna lose him. I am tearing up just thinking about that.

Is it true that if his tail is straight and his eyes are closed and he is a little duller in color that he is dieing?

 

[Chameleons Northwest]

thanx so much for all the tips. I didnt know i would need two light. The guy i bought it from said i only needed the light i have now which is bad for my chmeleon.(I have learned) and he said that i wouldnt need to worry to much about temperatures. I really love my chameleon to death and i dont wanna lose him. I am tearing up just thinking about that.

Is it true that if his tail is straight and his eyes are closed and he is a little duller in color that he is dieing?

Chams turn dull for various reasons. Sometimes it's just because they are about to shed. Also, we have one male veiled cham who sometimes sleeps with his tail straight out behind him. It's rather comical. But closed eyes during the day is always a situation that needs attention.


Don't panic. You do mention that he appears to be eating. I will assume that he is eating, and not that the crickets are just disappearing. In my opinion, if he is still eating, then it is not too late to help him. Right now he is quite ill. You just need to turn off the compact light, and that will help alot. Then you also need to up his temperatures so that he can heal. As I said in my earlier post, I don't really know how to do this with a small glass tank. But it can be done without a great deal of expense. You can buy a simple "clamp light" at a home improvement store like Home Depot. And you don't even need to get a fancy UVA reptile spot lamp right away if you can't afford it. A simple household bulb, screwed into the clamp light, will work for upping his temps. You will want to achieve an 85 degree basking temp during the day. How you do that safely in a glass tank I would ask Kinyonga. Then, also, because he is ill, you will want to keep him a little warmer at night. But NOT with a basking lamp. You just want to keep him somewhere where his nightime temp will be about 75 degrees. One way to achieve this, if his room gets cooler than that, is to change bulbs at night. Take out the basking bulb, and screw in a moderate wattage purple nighttime reptile warming bulb from the pet store. These are only a few dollars.

It is true that they need a drop in temp at night. But, when they are ill, they only really need it to drop down to mid 70s. No lower. This is on my Veterinarians advice, and it has worked for us. he explains that if they get too cool at night, then the next day their little body has to start all over again with the healing process.

Too-cool temperatures interfere with their digestion, nutritional absorption, and overall health. It can bring on cascading health issues.

Hopefully you have caught it in time. If you keep him warmer, and turn off that coil bulb, you will hopefully see immediate results.

Do confirm that he is actually eating.

 

[Dave Weldon]

Lighting - my daily lighting schedual is that it is on from 7 to 1 off from 1 to 2and back on from 2 to 10. I have a Repti Glo and it is a 5.0 UVB light.

Temperature -I have created a temperature range of about 50-70 degrees F I mesure these temps with a thermometer.

Handling - i try to handle him 4 times a week so he can get used to me

Watering - I mist my plants for his water. I mist them two to three times a day and i have seen him drink from the leaves.

Current Problem- his current problem is that he wont open his eyes at all and he hasnt eaten very much at all in the last 2 weeks

Howdy Jeanie,

Just to summarize what others have already mentioned:

Lighting schedule - Try something closer to turn-on at 6-7am and turn-off at ~6pm. Your Repti-Glo UVB source should be a linear tube not a compact unit.

Temp gradient during the daytime of ~70F at the bottom to ~85F at the basking area (for one that young). This might be accomplished using something like a 40W-50W incandescent floodlight. Being that your enclosure is so small and glass, it is ok if the bottom is warmer than 70F in the daytime. Nighttime temps are ok down to 60F throughout the enclosure without too much of an issue.

Handling - Minimize handling to what is absolutely necessary for maintenance only.

Watering - You may want to try light but direct misting using a handheld pump-up misting bottle filled with warm water. This may trigger a longer drinking response. If he acts stressed-out from it, give him a break and try another time. Mainly, be sure that he is given an opportunity to consume misted water. (The waterfall will need to go but it isn't likely to be what is killing him at the moment .)

Going two weeks in this condition doesn't leave much "headroom" to get things turned around before it can't . Post photos of him and his setup. Try using photobucket.com for linking photos into your posts (IMG method).

You haven't yet listed your location in your profile. What part of the world are you located?

 

[Slofe]

Lighting - my daily lighting schedual is that it is on from 7 to 1 off from 1 to 2and back on from 2 to 10. I have a Repti Glo and it is a 5.0 UVB light.

I second what everyone else says but I have to ask, why do you turn the light off for an hour? this is probably not helping matters either. Get yourself a separate basking spot light and UV tube, reptisun 5.0 is best and leave both on for 12 - 14 hours straight, there's no need for the hour break in between. I hope your little fella gets better soon

 

[jeanieofthelamp]

I second what everyone else says but I have to ask, why do you turn the light off for an hour? this is probably not helping matters either. Get yourself a separate basking spot light and UV tube, reptisun 5.0 is best and leave both on for 12 - 14 hours straight, there's no need for the hour break in between. I hope your little fella gets better soon

Well we turn the light off in between because my dad said he can nly have so many hous of light and he wanted it to turn off and on at a certain time.Thanx for the help everyone. I just hope i can save him in time

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Well we turn the light off in between because my dad said he can nly have so many hous of light and he wanted it to turn off and on at a certain time.Thanx for the help everyone. I just hope i can save him in time

?????

-Brad

 

[jeanieofthelamp]

Do confirm that he is actually eating.[/QUOTE]

Yes he is eating. I put 3 crickets in there yesterday and dont see them today so i am pretty sure he ate them

 

[jeanieofthelamp]

okay i got a new light that was pretty expensive but i hope it is an okay light. It is a Repti sun 5.0 UVB Tropical. The box says it is iseal or all topical reptiles including chameleons. Did i make the right choice for the light. The pet store lady told me that it would work. It is like a whole bunch of little tubes put together. Did i make the right choice?

 

[Julirs]

No-I am afraid not-take it back pronto-it sounds like a compact. They are bad for cham eyes. You need one that looks like a long tube.
Zoomed Reptisun 5.0 linear flourescnet tube-in 18" or 24" or 36" or 48".

 

[jeanieofthelamp]

we also got a basking lamp. It is a a sun glo and it is a tight beam that is 50 watts. Is that acceptable? I hope this one is the right one. Is it?

 

[Julirs]

That will work for basking, and so would a normal household lightbulb. The UVB light is esential to prevent metabolic bone disease.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

So many people have trouble with this.

Repti-Sun 5.0 linear tube (fluorescent light, long tube ... needs a fluorescent fixture, does not screw in.)

Regular incandescent household light bulb (like you screw in a lamp) Wattage is determined by where you place the basking lamp.
You need a good digital thermometer with a probe or a temp gun to check.
I use 25 watt bulbs over my females and a 40 watt over the male.

-Brad

 

[Slofe]

okay i got a new light that was pretty expensive but i hope it is an okay light. It is a Repti sun 5.0 UVB Tropical. The box says it is iseal or all topical reptiles including chameleons. Did i make the right choice for the light. The pet store lady told me that it would work. It is like a whole bunch of little tubes put together. Did i make the right choice?

You need to get one that looks like this

You also need to get a starter for it and i'd recommend a reflector too. I use an aquarium reflector hood for it and it works very well and spreads the UV all over the viv so he gets the rays wherever he goes, and has the option of hiding under a leaf should he want to. In terms of wattage to get, get a tube that stretches the whole width of your cage. My UV light is 20 watts and it's 2 feet long, therefore stretching the width of the cage.

Your basking light is ok but you need to test how hot the temperatures get at the basking spot and how far away you need to put the bulb. Too close and it will get too hot and you chameleon may burn himself, too far and not hot enough. Mine is a 100w household spot bulb, but the branch he basks on is about 13-14 inches away from the bulb so the temperature is about 85 (he's still only a baby) and it's winter, with the heating on it goes up to about 95. When the weather warms up i'll drop the wattage of the bulb to around 60. I hope that helps you out.

 

[jeanieofthelamp]

thanx you guys for everything but it was too late! He died over night and i am really disipointed. If only i has fixed it sooner.i feel so bad. Thanxs for all the help. Really i appreciate it so much.