Eye closed maybe?

terrahm

Member
Hey guys! Haven't been as active but need some advice. Caesar is about 4 and a half months old now and he's been doing super well. However, I came home after not being there all day and at least one of his eyes were closed. I couldn't see if the other one was open or closed, but he definitely wasn't sleeping. He opened it up as soon as I walked in. Here's my husbandry:


Chameleon Info:
  • Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
    Veiled cham. He's male, and about 4 and a half months old. I've had him since January 29th on his two month birthday.
  • Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
    I don't. I handled him maybe twice, once when I got him and once to take him outside in February. He's scared of me, warming up a little bit but gets defensive when I open his enclosure.
  • Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
    Right now only 1/4 size crickets and BSFL. I switched to only feeding him once a day a few weeks ago, and he eats about 8-10 bugs in the morning. I gut-load my feeders fresh everyday with mango, kale, green beans, alfalfa, and baby carrots.
  • Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
    I supplement my crickets only with repti-cal without D3 at every feeding. I dust with repti-cal with d3 and rep-cal herptivite multivitamin alternating every friday. I was told it's not necessary to dust the BSFL.
  • Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
    I hand mist. I'm 16 and unemployed and currently saving up to upgrade to a Mist King asap. I mist twice a day a few minutes before his lights turn on and a few minutes before they turn off for about 3 minutes. He drinks everytime! He also has a little dripper that I have going off during the day.
  • Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
    He has beautiful poops. A nice brown color, hydrated, and his urates are usually always white. He's never been tested for parasites.
  • History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
    Nothing really! He's pretty chill. I haven't had problems with him and we both have a mutual respect for eachother. He'll hand feed, tong feed, and cup feed without hesitation.

Cage Info:
  • Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
    Screen custom enclosure. Unfortunately when I first got him he had a chameleon kit sized enclosure (I didn't buy the chameleon kit, just the same size enclosure). His new enclosure is 2x2x4.
  • Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
    I have a flukers heat lamp hood with a 65w house lightbulb and a reptisun T5HO linear uvb bulb. His lights are on a timer that goes from 9am-9pm.
  • Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
    His basking spot is anywhere from 80-82 degrees. The floor is around 74. The lowest it gets overnight is 69-70. I measure these temps with a temperature sticker and two zoo med digital thermometers.
  • Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
    Humidity during the day is usually 35-41% I use a dehumidifier during the day since I live in a very tropical area and before I used the dehumidifier it would be as high as 50%. During the day his humidity is up to 85-90%. I use a zoo-med digital hygrometer.
  • Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
    Yes. Caesar loves to chomp on plants. He has an umbrella plant and two pothos plants. Lots of bite marks.
  • Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
    My cage is located in my bedroom, very low traffic area. I'm in there all day working and doing online school and he never seems to mind my presence. The cage is slightly taller than I am, I'd say the top is about 5'6 off the ground.
  • Location - Where are you geographically located?
    East coast of Florida. Very hot and humid here.

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
One eye closed. I don't know for how long. Before I used the multivitamin I used now, I used an exo-terra multivitamin, could it be a vitamin A deficiency?
 

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Hi. Nothing in your husbandry is jumping out at me as wrong. What is the strength of your uvb? Has he shed recently? Is that an exo Terra vine in the first pic? Those will often shed little particles.
It could be vitamin A related. I’m not positive, but I believe Rep Cal Herptivite does not have vitamin A in it. I’ll have to double check on that.
 
Well that was a quicker check than I expected. So Herptivite does not have preformed vitamin A. Reptivite does have it and you may want to try switching to that. If he’s closing both eyes or the problem with the one eye persists, a vet visit would be a good idea. I don’t know if you’re north, central or south on the east coast of Florida, but Dr Bogoslavsky in Orlando is great.
 
Well that was a quicker check than I expected. So Herptivite does not have preformed vitamin A. Reptivite does have it and you may want to try switching to that. If he’s closing both eyes or the problem with the one eye persists, a vet visit would be a good idea. I don’t know if you’re north, central or south on the east coast of Florida, but Dr Bogoslavsky in Orlando is great.
Oh geez. If I switch to the reptivite isn't that D3 and multivitamin in one? So only dust with that twice a month instead of each Friday. Also yes it is an exo-terra vine, I can remove that. He last shed April 2nd and it took him 4ish hours. Strength of UVB is 5.0
I live space coast, so i'll keep an eye on him and if the problem persists I will definitely make an appointment with Dr. Bogoslavsky.
 
Oh geez. If I switch to the reptivite isn't that D3 and multivitamin in one? So only dust with that twice a month instead of each Friday. Also yes it is an exo-terra vine, I can remove that. He last shed April 2nd and it took him 4ish hours. Strength of UVB is 5.0
I live space coast, so i'll keep an eye on him and if the problem persists I will definitely make an appointment with Dr. Bogoslavsky.
Reptivite comes both with and without D3. If you get it with D3, yes, you’d use that one feeding every other week and drop the calcium with D3.
In Cocoa, there is also Dr Brennan who has been pretty good with my reptiles. She seems to be pretty knowledgeable. https://cocoaveterinary.com/
If my chams get a more challenging problem though, I take them to Dr B. He’s quite experienced with chams and well worth the drive. https://myavho.com/
 
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