Eye Bumps- Lighting Issue?

jneedham329

New Member
Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - Female Veiled chameleon ~2 years old (~6 months old when we got her).
  • Handling - Handle on occasion, mostly to rearrange and clean the enclosure.
  • Feeding - Mostly crickets, occasionally hornworms or super worms. ~10 crickets, every other day. The crickets are gut loading with kale, collard greens and/or mustard greens. She is also fed greens as well.
  • Supplements - Crickets are dusted with Zoomed Repti Calcium with D3 at every feeding and the Herptivite with beta carotene multivitamin 1-2 times a week.
  • Watering - Exo-terra Monsoon Solo High Pressure Misting System. Mists every hour for 8 seconds (just reduced from 12 seconds). Mister drips down a set of plastic leaves where she drinks from. I’ve seen her drink frequently.
  • Fecal Description - Brown, solid with a watery coating and white with a small yellow/orange area. She has not been tested for parasites.
  • History - She has laid ~50 eggs, three times. We got her from Petco and shortly after we got her I noticed the bumps forming on her eyes.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Zoomed Reptibreeze 24”x24”x48” (screen) on a pallet stand about 6 inches off the ground. Just moved her from a Zoomed Reptibreeze 16”x16”x30”.
  • Lighting - ~12 hours on/12 hours off. Plan to get a timer for the new light set up. Zoomed mini combo deep dome with Reptisun 10.0 UVB (13 watt) and Zoomed red nightlight (60 watt). Basking branch is ~6” from the light (plan to move it 8”-10” away from the light).
  • Temperature/Humidity- Ambient room temperature of ~74 degrees and -60% humidity. Basking spot ~80 degrees measured by a digital thermometer. Humidity created by the automatic mister. The temperature/humidity sensors we had on her on enclosure did not seem accurate. She is located near a temperature/humidity sensor for our HVAC system so we monitor the relative temperature/humidity.
  • Plants - 3.5 foot Yuka tree, small dragon tree and a golden pythos.
  • Placement - Located corner of the living room against an interior wall to the dining room (never used). The top of the cage is level with the fireplace mantle (4.5-5 feet off the ground).
  • Location - Maryland, USA
Rouge recently moved into her new 24”x24”x48” enclosure. I need to upgrade her lighting but I was overwhelmed by all the different inputs. For UVB 5.0 or 10.0? I rarely see Rouge go under branches, but she will go in the opposite corner of the basking light in a darker corner when she wants a break. I currently have a red night light (which I thought was necessary for the heat) but have since read chameleons should be left in total darkness at night and the temperature should be lower. I also need to add UV lights for the plants.

Her basking branch in her current set up needs to be lowered. It is approximately 6” from the basking light and I plan to lower it to 8”-10” away from the light to prevent her from getting too hot or getting burned.

The bumps are on both eyes, in the front section of the turret and have not gone away for a long period of time. They move as she moves her eyes, they are not stiff. They are not a result of debris from shedding as I flush them when I first noticed the bumps. After that, I had thought it was from a lack of Vitamin A but after adding the supplement to her weekly routine I noticed no change.

I am worried the bumps on her eyes are because of the current light set up and the height of her basking branch. In her old terrarium I believe the basking branch was also too high. Since I am upgrading my lighting I wanted to see what I should purchase and if the bumps are related to the current lighting.

Please let me know if you need more pictures or info!
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I’ll be putting my feedback in red.
  • Your Chameleon - Female Veiled chameleon ~2 years old (~6 months old when we got her).
  • Handling - Handle on occasion, mostly to rearrange and clean the enclosure.
  • Feeding - Mostly crickets, occasionally hornworms or super worms. ~10 crickets, every other day. This is too much and not varied enough. She should be getting only 3-4 feeders 3 days a week for her age. The crickets are gut loading with kale, collard greens and/or mustard greens. This is good, but you really need to add more. She is also fed greens as well. She has absolutely zero need for anything but insects and some greens could actually bind to the calcium, preventing her from having adequate levels. Attaching both feeder and ‘gutloading’ graphics. I don’t really think of it as gutloading, but more of keeping your bugs healthy so that they are more nutritious.
  • Supplements - Crickets are dusted with Zoomed Repti Calcium with D3 at every feeding and the Herptivite with beta carotene multivitamin 1-2 times a week. This is overdosing her on vitamin D, which can be very bad. You want to use a phosphorus free calcium without D3 at every feeding. Then, one feeding every other week you’ll use a phosphorus free calcium with D3. You’ll do the same with your multivitamin, alternating them every week. Vitamin D3 is fat soluble and isn’t easily excreted by the body and can quickly build up to toxic levels. I would say not to use anything other than plain calcium without D3 for at least a month to help get the excess out of her system. If I’m wrong on this, someone will correct me.
  • Watering - Exo-terra Monsoon Solo High Pressure Misting System. Mists every hour for 8 seconds (just reduced from 12 seconds). Mister drips down a set of plastic leaves where she drinks from. I’ve seen her drink frequently. You need to give her long enough to drink and also give her enclosure time to dry out. You should be misting for at least 2 minutes 2-3 times a day. Early morning and later evening. For mid day you could use a dripper for about 30 minutes or add a 3rd misting.
  • Fecal Description - Brown, solid with a watery coating and white with a small yellow/orange area. She has not been tested for parasites.
  • History - She has laid ~50 eggs, three times. We got her from Petco and shortly after we got her I noticed the bumps forming on her eyes.Wow! That’s a lot of eggs! Too many! Laying really takes a great deal out of our ladies and shortens their lives significantly. We try to reduce not just the number of eggs produced, but the frequency that they lay with reduced feeding and temps.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Zoomed Reptibreeze 24”x24”x48” (screen) on a pallet stand about 6 inches off the ground. Just moved her from a Zoomed Reptibreeze 16”x16”x30”. Perfect size! Keep in mind chams feel safest when they are higher than us. I’d raise her enclosure at least a couple of feet higher.
  • Lighting - ~12 hours on/12 hours off. Plan to get a timer for the new light set up. Zoomed mini combo deep dome with Reptisun 10.0 UVB (13 watt) and Zoomed red nightlight (60 watt). Basking branch is ~6” from the light (plan to move it 8”-10” away from the light). Your on/off schedule is perfect. Your lights however are not. You need a linear T5HO fixture with a 5.0 or 6% uvb bulb. The screw in uvb bulbs aren’t able to provide adequate uvb levels except for within a very narrow range and only 2-3” below. I think the only thing that ‘saved’ your girl from metabolic bone disease and laying problems is the overdosing of the D3. Colored lights can be harmful to sensitive chameleon eyes. Absolutely no lights or heat at night are needed.
  • Temperature/Humidity- Ambient room temperature of ~74 degrees and -60% humidity. Basking spot ~80 degrees measured by a digital thermometer. Humidity created by the automatic mister. The temperature/humidity sensors we had on her on enclosure did not seem accurate. She is located near a temperature/humidity sensor for our HVAC system so we monitor the relative temperature/humidity. Your temps are perfect. Your humidity is too high. Ideal range during the day is between 30-50%. If you reduce the mistings as I already suggested, it should drop your humidity to a better level. At night, humidity can spike to 80-100% when the temps are much cooler.This helps hydrate them naturally. I suggest getting new temp and humidity gauges...digital with probe ends.
  • Plants - 3.5 foot Yuka tree, small dragon tree and a golden pythos. While that looks like a nice yucca tree, it really offers little for your cham. You need to provide her with many more little roads to travel on...branches & vines. Get a tall umbrella tree of weeping fig and put the yucca next to her enclosure. You can use branches from outside. Just avoid those with sap, like pine. I wash with Dawn dish soap, blast with the hose and sun dry before using. Definitely get the fake plants out. I hang my fakes on the outside of my enclosures for added privacy. Add another pothos or other safe plant. Attaching graphic for that too.
  • Placement - Located corner of the living room against an interior wall to the dining room (never used). The top of the cage is level with the fireplace mantle (4.5-5 feet off the ground).
  • Location - Maryland, USA
Rouge recently moved into her new 24”x24”x48” enclosure. I need to upgrade her lighting but I was overwhelmed by all the different inputs. For UVB 5.0 or 10.0? I rarely see Rouge go under branches, but she will go in the opposite corner of the basking light in a darker corner when she wants a break. I currently have a red night light (which I thought was necessary for the heat) but have since read chameleons should be left in total darkness at night and the temperature should be lower. I also need to add UV lights for the plants. Ah...you already know.

Her basking branch in her current set up needs to be lowered. It is approximately 6” from the basking light and I plan to lower it to 8”-10” away from the light to prevent her from getting too hot or getting burned. 8-9” down from basking and uvb lights is ideal with using a T5 with a 5.0 or 6% bulb.

The bumps are on both eyes, in the front section of the turret and have not gone away for a long period of time. They move as she moves her eyes, they are not stiff. They are not a result of debris from shedding as I flush them when I first noticed the bumps. After that, I had thought it was from a lack of Vitamin A but after adding the supplement to her weekly routine I noticed no change. So, while I’m not even anything near to being a vet, I suspect one of two things with her eyes, or possibly both. Chameleons can get keratin deposits at the very inner aspect under their eye lid. The only way to treat it is with a chameleon experienced vet doing a flush. This is not something that you can do. As she’s had this ever since you got her, this is what I’m thinking is going on.
The other possibility is related to the supplements. Get her supplements sorted out and corrected and perhaps in time, the eye bulges will resolve as well. Be very careful with vitamin A. This too is a fat soluble vitamin which can build up and lead to toxicity. A great supplement and the one that I use is Reptivite. I use the one with D3 and use it one feeding every other week...it is my multivitamin and D3 combined.


I am worried the bumps on her eyes are because of the current light set up and the height of her basking branch. In her old terrarium I believe the basking branch was also too high. Since I am upgrading my lighting I wanted to see what I should purchase and if the bumps are related to the current lighting.

Please let me know if you need more pictures or info!
I would most definitely be taking her to a good vet. Do keep in mind that just because a vet says they’ll see and treat your chameleon, doesn’t mean that they are very experienced or knowledgeable of them. If you need help finding a good vet, just let us know what general area of Maryland you’re in.
I really hope I’ve been of some help and haven’t overwhelmed you. Do ask as many questions as you need. :) Many of us love helping others get everything set up just right. Many of us have been there!
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Thought I’d give you a few links that may help.
Correct uvb https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/arcadia-prot5-uvb-kit.html. I like Arcadia as the bulbs are good for a year, vs only 6 months for ReptiSun. Prices are almost the same.
Reptivite with D3. https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptivite.html
Dragon Ledges are super helpful in hanging branches, vines and even plants from a screen enclosure. https://dragonstrand.com/dragon-ledges/
Great site for learning all of the correct and most up to date info for all things chameleon. The podcasts are awesome! https://chameleonacademy.com/chameleon-basics/
Neptune the Chameleon on YouTube is another great learning resource which is correct and current.
Check put the forum sponsors for adding more feeder variety. Both Serenity Silkworms and Mori feeders are terrific for silkworms. https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/silkworms-special-discount-for-cf-forum-members.182555/
 
Thank you so much for all your help! I really, really appreciate all your links! Once I get all of this sorted out I will provide you with an update.
 
Which basking bulbs and set ups do you recommend? Could I use the zoomed dual dome I have and put two basking bulbs in it? Or should I get a new fixture and bulb? I have a mini halogen one from a precious set up as well.
 
A plain white light regular household incandescent bulb from the hardware store works perfectly for a basking bulb! One basking bulb is all that’s needed. You can keep the double dome and leave one side empty or buy a new single light clamp lamp. Make sure to get a T5 HO linear light fixture and either an Arcadia 6% or Zoo Med ReptiSun 5.0 T5 HO linear UVB bulb of the matching size, too
 
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