EnchiTheCham
Member
Hello there! I haven’t been on here in a while, as my almost 3 year old chameleon has been in great health since i got him (at 3 months old) But i’ve noticed he is beginning to have issues i am a little nervous about 
Background information:
My cham (male) Kiwi is one of the sweetest chameleons i’ve ever seen or heard of. Since he was about 1 year old he has been incredibly social, and not having any issues with me. He has always wanted to hang around his window, go outside on the hot days, and explore my room (while under surveillance of course). Moral of the story, he is friendly to the point it is almost weird. When he was a baby he was classic chameleon, very shy and reserved and i had no issues with it. But he slowly came out of his shell to be the most fun and sweet chameleon.
Before getting Kiwi, i had a tiny 2 week old i named Enchi. He was severely underage and i got him for $700 on a website. After doing more research after his passing, i got Mr. Kiwi from Kammerflage. I did hours to weeks of research to ensure he had the best chance at living a happy life, and so far it has gone wonderfully!
I fell into a deep depression last year, and won’t hesitate to admit he was being underfed for a good couple of months. I feel terribly and regret my lack of care deeply, but coming out of the depression has made me realize what a cool buddy he is and how much i need to care for him. For the past year i’ve been on top of his care.
Husbandry:
I don’t gutload too commonly though, another thing i’ll admit. He gets a wide variety of chameleon-safe insects and treats every so often. I dust them with regular calcium on the weekdays, and the weekends with Vitamin D3 calcium and a multivitamin. i do as much as i can to keep up with this, as he loves new bugs and i’m trying to keep his health in good shape.
I have noticed that he has never gotten that beautiful panther color. Kiwi is an F3 Sambava with beautiful bloodlines. I have always assumed he doesn’t have the rich color because i don’t routinely gutload my bugs. ( it is a habit i’m trying to build, life commonly gets in the way)
Kiwi has a T18 (i believe) horizontal UVB light across the top of his cage. He has a 75 watt heating bulb as well. I went down from 100 watts to 75 because he got burned pretty often. The 75 seems to be fine, but i may be wrong.
His cage is 3 1/2 feet tall and is a 2 by 2 length and width. I mentioned previously that he free roams, and he has plenty of places to hide. I put a photo of his cage in here as well, it is a little dirty as these were taken before cleaning day.
On to the point:
Kiwi has been cleaning his eyes very frequently for the past couple of months. At first i thought it was nothing, then did some research and found it could be his mister. I moved his misting system around so it wouldn’t spray directly onto him, but nothing changed. It seems as though every time i look at him he is cleaning one of his eyes.
Today i noticed his one eye wouldn’t open back up. I sat and watched as he cleaned it for a good while and it eventually opened, but it was a scary amount of time before it did. I’m worried he could potentially have a Vitamin A deficiency, but i came here to clarify just what it could be?
He also grabs onto his legs without realizing sometimes and doesn’t let go. Symptoms of potential MBD, but he should have no issues given the right supplementation and UVB… right?
He is a very active cham, and seems to have no health issues besides the eyes and the grabbing issue. He has never had any drainage or discharge from his eyes, nose, or mouth, and doesn’t breathe funny or anything like that. No sunken eyes or eating problems either…
I would love some advice and help, i really appreciate anything you guys have to offer for me and
.
Thanks so much!
Background information:
My cham (male) Kiwi is one of the sweetest chameleons i’ve ever seen or heard of. Since he was about 1 year old he has been incredibly social, and not having any issues with me. He has always wanted to hang around his window, go outside on the hot days, and explore my room (while under surveillance of course). Moral of the story, he is friendly to the point it is almost weird. When he was a baby he was classic chameleon, very shy and reserved and i had no issues with it. But he slowly came out of his shell to be the most fun and sweet chameleon.
Before getting Kiwi, i had a tiny 2 week old i named Enchi. He was severely underage and i got him for $700 on a website. After doing more research after his passing, i got Mr. Kiwi from Kammerflage. I did hours to weeks of research to ensure he had the best chance at living a happy life, and so far it has gone wonderfully!
I fell into a deep depression last year, and won’t hesitate to admit he was being underfed for a good couple of months. I feel terribly and regret my lack of care deeply, but coming out of the depression has made me realize what a cool buddy he is and how much i need to care for him. For the past year i’ve been on top of his care.
Husbandry:
I don’t gutload too commonly though, another thing i’ll admit. He gets a wide variety of chameleon-safe insects and treats every so often. I dust them with regular calcium on the weekdays, and the weekends with Vitamin D3 calcium and a multivitamin. i do as much as i can to keep up with this, as he loves new bugs and i’m trying to keep his health in good shape.
I have noticed that he has never gotten that beautiful panther color. Kiwi is an F3 Sambava with beautiful bloodlines. I have always assumed he doesn’t have the rich color because i don’t routinely gutload my bugs. ( it is a habit i’m trying to build, life commonly gets in the way)
Kiwi has a T18 (i believe) horizontal UVB light across the top of his cage. He has a 75 watt heating bulb as well. I went down from 100 watts to 75 because he got burned pretty often. The 75 seems to be fine, but i may be wrong.
His cage is 3 1/2 feet tall and is a 2 by 2 length and width. I mentioned previously that he free roams, and he has plenty of places to hide. I put a photo of his cage in here as well, it is a little dirty as these were taken before cleaning day.
On to the point:
Kiwi has been cleaning his eyes very frequently for the past couple of months. At first i thought it was nothing, then did some research and found it could be his mister. I moved his misting system around so it wouldn’t spray directly onto him, but nothing changed. It seems as though every time i look at him he is cleaning one of his eyes.
Today i noticed his one eye wouldn’t open back up. I sat and watched as he cleaned it for a good while and it eventually opened, but it was a scary amount of time before it did. I’m worried he could potentially have a Vitamin A deficiency, but i came here to clarify just what it could be?
He also grabs onto his legs without realizing sometimes and doesn’t let go. Symptoms of potential MBD, but he should have no issues given the right supplementation and UVB… right?
He is a very active cham, and seems to have no health issues besides the eyes and the grabbing issue. He has never had any drainage or discharge from his eyes, nose, or mouth, and doesn’t breathe funny or anything like that. No sunken eyes or eating problems either…
I would love some advice and help, i really appreciate anything you guys have to offer for me and
. Thanks so much!
