Constant Squinting

[Crusader]

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, female. Unsure of age. I got her five weeks ago. Maybe 3-4 months old now. Wife picked her up from Petsmart.
• Handling - Very little. Two days ago she has started allowing me to just pick her up. She crawl onto my hand and let me inspect her. Able to rub her down with a wet q-tip.
• Feeding - Mainly crickets. Gut-loading with carrots. Dusted with calcium every 2-3 days. Occasionally worms.
• Supplements - Zoo med calcium
• Watering - Misting with water bottle 2-3 times per day. Mist until leaves are dripping. Humidifier fog going while I'm at work.
• Fecal Description - White urates. Very little to no orange color.
• History - Picked up from Petsmart about five weeks ago. Was very active until about two days ago. Started with her right eye and now both. Squinting or completely closed at times. Not seeing anything inside her eye when they are open. She started rubbing her eyes a lot, and she hasn't shed for a couple weeks. But yesterday I noticed a bit of dead skin on both of her eyes. This morning she was still rubbing and there is a bit more dead skin. Starting to become more visible. Unfortunately I didn't think to take a picture this morning. But why would she keep her eyes closed? I'm worried that because of it she can't see her food and water. However she does still slowly move around her cage.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - 48" Tall, 24", 24".
• Lighting - Has a blue daylight that came with kit, plus a long 5.0 UVB tube light.
• Temperature - Temperatures range 70 at the bottom up 90 at the very top 4" of the cage. She typically stays about 7 inches from the top.
• Humidity - Stays around 60-70
• Plants - Lots of vines zip tied to the the screen to hide her from the exposed world outside of her cage. Also took some light and sturdy fake branches I picked up at Joanns Fabrics which have been placed at different levels. Some completely horizontal and some st different angles. Plus vines. Trying to keep enough in there to keep her stimulated and immersed into her own little world.
• Placement - Back corner of our dining room. No windows. Quiet and away from the noise of our living room. Don't think she wants to hear the constant sound of Netflix or Game of Thrones.
• Location - Grapevine, TX

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

There is some good info on eye health here.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/thr...nced-keepers-please-share-your-wisdom.152159/

 

[Panthro413]

Do you mist just the leaves or him too? so his eyes get some water for him to clean them?

 

[Crusader]

Do you mist just the leaves or him too? so his eyes get some water for him to clean them?

Indirect spray.

I'm sure some will spray her directly. But I try to spray her directly as little as possible as I know it can be shocking. However my Jackson I had years ago loved being sprayed all the time. Recognized the bottle and would even drink from it, rather than from his dripper or leaves.

 

[Crusader]

Came home to a shedding Chameleon. Her entire head was encased in loose skin. Also her eyes were also a little more open when I arrived.

 

[Katacara]

Keep us updated on how your girl is doing.

Just a question, are you 100% sure it's a girl? PetSmart usually doesn't know what they are talking about! If your sure you should put a lay bin in her cage asap, she may be around the age when she could start producing eggs. If she does and has nowhere to lay them she will become egg-bound and most likely die. It's better to be safe than sorry! You also have some things that need to me tweaked with your care.

 

[Crusader]

Keep us updated on how your girl is doing.

Just a question, are you 100% sure it's a girl? PetSmart usually doesn't know what they are talking about! If your sure you should put a lay bin in her cage asap, she may be around the age when she could start producing eggs. If she does and has nowhere to lay them she will become egg-bound and most likely die. It's better to be safe than sorry! You also have some things that need to me tweaked with your care.

You're right when you say they don't typically know. I worked for Petco when I was 18 and know from experience. I didn't handle the reptiles unless someone wanted to buy one. My knowledge was in dogs, cats and small furry animals. I knew nothing about reptiles at the time.

I will definitely lay a bin. Just put anywhere? I've got a little hammock like thing that they sell for other reptiles to bask on. It's where I put her small dish for worms and where I drop the crickets so that they start at a level closer to where my Chameleon likes to stay, rather than the very bottom of the cage.

 

[Katacara]

Could you post pictures of her cage please?

Then I can go over some things that need adjusting

How are her eyes now that she shed?

 

[Crusader]

I can once I get home.

One eye is a little more open now. The other is still closed and has a small white spek on. I couldn't get a good look at it because she kept moving her eyes around. She's still pretty active.

 

[Katacara]

Ok try to take some really good clear pictures of her to (if she will let you), especially her eyes so we can see what is going on.

 

[Crusader]

The eye in the photo has been like this the majority of the time. When I got home from work yesterday it was open for a while.

Her other eye is fine. Clear, open and looking around.

 

[hopps31]

Hi @Crusader!

In my opinion I think you have a little male, I can't tell exactly by the angle of your picture but it does look like it has a spur on the back foot.

I would add some more foliage in it's tank. They need to be able to hide to feel safe and secure. I would add some more in the middle and the top. Live plants are great for coverage like a pothos, schefflera plants and many others, they have a safe plant list on here, as it will help with the humidity and it can drink from the leaves. All plants need the leaves cleaned before being put in.

If it were me I would give him/her a shower to see if it will help its eye, it almost looks like stuck shed?? A shower will help keep him hydrated and may help loosen it if it is skin. When I shower mine a put a branch inside the shower turn the shower on to warm and aim the nozzle away just enough that they just get the over spray from it. I stay in there the whole time and keep a close eye on them. I do this for about 20 mins.

Also they need dusting with calcium without D3 every day, a multivitamin twice a month and calcium with d3 twice a month

He/she is so cute, I love veileds