Chamilli is sleeping a lot..?

[KingNow]

I usually cut lights out on him @ about 9:30 PM, and he settles down around that time. I usually cut the lights on around 11:00 AM and he is already up and hunting. I went to cut his lights on this morning, and he was still asleep @ 11. He has never done this before. What could be the reason for this?
Also, around shedding time he always displays weird symptoms in his right eye. It will puss up, it will stay half open when he sleeps, and he will miss a lot when shooting at his food. I drip saline on it around twice a day when it is like this, but this time it has persisted for longer than a week. What are some takes on this?

Chameleon Info:
• Your Chameleon – Ambilobe, M, 4 ½ months. I’ve had him since May 1, 2011
• Handling – I never handle him.
• Feeding – I feed him 20 – 30 crickets a day. I use the flukers orange cubes to gut load.
• Supplements – I use Flukers Calcium with D3 once a month. I use Rep Cal MultiVit once a week. calcium without D3 every day.
• Watering – I water him every few hours via misting. He usually drinks right away.
• Fecal Description – He has normal, dark stools. He usually “poops” about once a day. Sometimes the feces is still connected to where you can see the shape of his bowels. He appears to have a very healthy digestive system. The feces also has a white tip usually.
• History – Before his last shed, he had some eye problems. His eyes were shutting and not opening on and off for about a week. I started using saline solution and he got better after his shed last week.

Cage Info:
• Cage Type – Screen cage 18x18x36
• Lighting – I use a Repti Glo 5.0 for UVB, and a regular 60w household bulb for heat. In the past I used PowerSun 100w for UVA/UVB/Heat.
• Temperature – I have a digital thermometer/hydrometer. His basking spot is right at 83F. It gets down to around 70F at night.
• Humidity - The humidity is always really low. I have struggled with this. Today the humidity was down to 6%, but I think it may be a hydrometer error considering the fact that I have a humidifier blowing right into the cage.
• Plants – umbrella tree, fake ivy
• Placement – The cage is right by a window. I usually keep the blinds closed. There is a vent on the opposite side of the room. I keep it closed.
• Location – I live in Winston Salem, NC.

 

[bigcappa]

Your humidity is probably causing his eye issue. Try different things and see if you can get it up more. You can always give him a warm steam in the shower, I would def do that to try and help his eye problems. Also if you temps are ok, take him outside some during the day if you can, that could help him perk up. Good luck!

 

[brooklynelizabeth]

Perhaps he is just cycling with the lights and brightness in the cage, being as you are in NC i dont think temp could be a huge factor, being as it usually stay rather warm. The eye issue: are you saying it occurs every time, that must be a pain for both you and your cham, i have read sometimes scar tissue can build up on lizards behind the legs and stuff that causes the shed skin to stick a little, and after time can build up and make dead skin lumps, perhaps he had a issue on his eye lid that is causing the build up during shed. Its just a theory, but im sure a guru on here knows exactly what it is.

 

[KingNow]

Your humidity is probably causing his eye issue. Try different things and see if you can get it up more. You can always give him a warm steam in the shower, I would def do that to try and help his eye problems. Also if you temps are ok, take him outside some during the day if you can, that could help him perk up. Good luck!

I also suspected that the humidity had something to do with it. I have a small humidifier blowing right in the cage, but the humidity is still super-low. What should I do to raise it? Would covering up 2 sides of the cage with plastic help? Or is there a better method?

 

[jessica]

Try wrapping the cage in saran wrap or shower curtain to up the humidity.

Flukers cubes alone is not a balanced gutload, you should offer dark greens and fruit and veggies high calcium to your crickets.

The eye problem could be a number of things, a deficiency, an infection are a couple that come to mind if it doesn't improve after you get the humidity up you may need a vet.

 

[ataraxia]

pics please.

puss up as in infection?

does he have both eyes closed or just one>?

is he closing his eyes for most of the day?

i also dont see any proper VitA delivery. my experiences with herptivite alone is not enough for most panthers.

as stated above i would get the humidity up.

 

[KingNow]

pics please.

puss up as in infection?

does he have both eyes closed or just one>?

is he closing his eyes for most of the day?

i also dont see any proper VitA delivery. my experiences with herptivite alone is not enough for most panthers.

as stated above i would get the humidity up.

It is hard to get a pic of it because my camera will not focus in on it.

puss up as in infection?
When the eye is closed, it closes only half way, and you can see a small amount of clear liquid forming over the eye.



is he closing his eyes for most of the day?
It is weird. I will go check on him and they will both be open and normal size...then I will go back later and it is half closed. It is better during the day, and tends to flare up at night?

i also dont see any proper VitA delivery. my experiences with herptivite alone is not enough for most panthers.
Sooo my only option is a better gut-load delivery then, correct?

as stated above i would get the humidity up.
I am going to cover 2 walls of the cage and see if that helps.



Thank you for your reply.

 

[pbveiled]

If it's a vitamin A deficiency, you could try giving some vitamin A directly. Just get some vitamin A capsules, poke a hold in 1 with a pin, place a small drop on a feeder and hand feed it. I think the recommended amount is 1 drop a week until the problem clears up.

You definitely need a better gut load.

Hopefully some of the experts will provide additional advise on the vitamin A.

 

[ataraxia]

im just a tad bit confused on when his eyes are actually closed. if his eyes are open during the day, nothing to worry about. if he is going to sleep a bit early it is ok. if your room is pitch black before the lights are on. he could be still asleep if your creep-ed up on him before the lights normally come on. clear fluid i wouldnt worry about. if it is in excess then you might want to figure out the cause.

if he does have one eye closed during the day you can try giving as stated above a smear of cod fish oil on the back of a feeder.

i would also look into reading sandrachameleons blogs on gut loading.

when he sleeps is his eyes half shut? is this new?