Eating bark and other weird things??

[SycoSquirl]

So my boy who is almost 9 months old now has been eating the bark off of some of his branches in his cage, i try to stop him but he is very insistent. My dad was thinking that means he is missing something in his diet, similarly to dogs eating dirt. Is this a viable answer, and what can I do to correct the situation?
Also when he blinks his eye will do this weird sort of rolling buldge thing, ever since ive had him he has done this and not sure if that is a normal thing for them to do or not? Also I catch him scratching his eye on the branches every once in a while, as if he is trying to get a shed off but there is none present, which I find odd and worrying
Finally while I was on vacation for 3 weeks I had my roommates take care of him and came home to find him dehydrated because they hadnt followed my directions of care I left them. I knew he was dehydrated by the redish tint to his urates and immedetly upped his water so he could get re-hydrated, but ive noticed a small bump on the top of his nostril and am worried it could be a respiratory infection or something, id post a picture but since I got his new cage i cant get access to him when he is at the very top, which is where he is now, but my last chameleon Gilligan had two bumps similar to this guys but the vet didnt think it was a respiratory infection.
Any ideas?

If everyone thinks he is okay then I wont make a vet apointment but if anyone thinks it could be an infection or something wrong with his eye I would love if someone could link me to vets in the Albuquerque area that know their stuff about chameleons.

 

[GlennWiggy]

For the water, I would say have both a dish and then a dripper on leaves. Mine will only drink out of the dish which is weird. As for the bark, I would say that it is very possible that there is a deficiency of some kind. When mine had similar behavior the breeder I go to here in AZ recommended a vitamin supplement with D3 once a week and then calcium without D3 once a week and then just supplement free feedings with well gutloaded bugs for every other feeding. It's possible that the issue could also be fiber. Try putting a real plant in the enclosure if you don't already have one. One that is safe for the cam to eat the leaves of; like a fig or one of the many others. Best of luck.

 

[SycoSquirl]

i have a ficus, 2 pothos, and 2 umbrellas in my enclosure, multi vites and d3 suppliments have been on par up until a vacation but he has been doing it for a while now, as for water he drinks plenty now that his water bin is being filled properly, the only reason he was dehydrated is because my roommates are lazy *******s who could care less about my chams health, ive learned my lesson and will hire a cham sitter next time im out of town because now i def have to take my boy to the vet which is money i wouldnt have had to spend if they had cared for him properly like i left directions to do, taped to the wall, next to the cage.

 

[GlennWiggy]

Dang that's tough. I'm sorry. Yeah roommates can be inconsiderate, I know ha. I have no experience with the bumps on my girl or the eye thing although she did used to rub the crest of her head on things as a baby and she's fine now. I would say unless you get definite answers soon, a local breeder is best if you don't think it's an emergency and then the vet shortly there after if they can't help. This is the breeder I go to here in AZ: (480)307-6330 The name of the place is Reptile Mogul. The guy who owns it does all the breeding of the reptiles, amphibians, and spiders. He probably knows some good people in Albuquerque considering the proximity. Hope that helps.

 

[SycoSquirl]

Cool thanks for the number, im going to message my breeder I got him from and see if he has any answers and if not ill start looking for a vet here, I really should have had a vet lined up before I got my boy but the only one I knew of was a 2 hour drive away so i need to look for a closer one so i dont stress my boy with a car ride for 2 hours lol thanks for the responses =)