I have a veiled chameleon who's 1.5 years old. I've had him since he was a few weeks old. About a year ago, he started rubbing his left eye and rolling it around alot. It has clear mucus in it. I wipe it everyday. I carried him to the vet. He put him on oral antibiotics and antibiotic eye drops. Also told me to use eye wash. Carried him back to the vet multiple times, switched mess and it still didn't get any better. His casque became swollen, switched vets and she put him on antibiotics both oral and antibiotic eye drops. He went to her for several months and didn't get any better. She said he had conjunctivitis. No blood work was done. I then switched him to another vet who did do blood work. He didn't have any infection but his liver levels were a little high from a year of taking antibiotics. His right is now starting to bother him. He rolls it around alot. He's in dragon strand hybrid enclosure. I have a reptisun t5 light on his cage. Basking temp between around 86 degrees. An automatic mister that goes off every 4 hours for 2 minutes each during the day. I'm swamped as to what is going on. The vets have no idea as to what's going on. He gets calcium without vitamin d everyday and calcium with vitamin d every two weeks. He also gets vitamix every two weeks.
Eye issue
- Thread starter Lokester
- Start date
If you are open to a husbandry review. Copy and paste the form below into your reply and then fill it out with as much detail as possible. Please include multiple pics of the enclosure and the chameleon.
Chameleon Info:
Cage Info:
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
--------------
Please Note:
Chameleon Info:
- Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
- Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
- Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
- Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
- Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
- Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
- History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Cage Info:
- Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
- Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
- Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
- Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
- Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
- 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?
- Location - Where are you geographically located?
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.
--------------
Please Note:
- The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
- Photos can be very helpful.
Yes. I'll take a picture of it when I get home.Hey there welcome to the forum. Would you be open to doing a full husbandry review? This will help me to go through every aspect of husbandry and see if there is a link since you have gone the medical route already.
Ok I posted the form above for you. Just follow the info there.
Okay. Thanks.
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? He's 1.5 years old. I've had him since he was 2 or so weeks old.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I handle him everyday. In the morning and in the afternoon. He gets eye drops twice a day.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He used to eat crickets but he stopped eating them several months ago. He gets superworms, dubai roaches, mealworms and wax worms. I give him horn worms every once in a while. He eats daily and in the afternoon. I rotate his bugs so he doesnt get the same ones everyday. His bugs are gut loaded with apples, kale, collards, turnip greens, and butternut squash.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Repti-calcium without d3 given daily. Repti- calcium with d3 given every 2 weeks. Bee pollen powder used on feeders every once in a while.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have an automatic mister that goes off every 4 hours during the day for 2 minutes each time. I do not see him drinking water. I always offer him water via a syringe and he usually drinks from it daily.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He used to poop every day when he was younger. Now he poops once or twice a month. When he does poop it's usually a good bit and a dark brown color and it's soft. Not runny at all. He hasn't been tested for parasites but his first vet has given him a wormer before.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. He's been to several vets regarding the same issue. As of yet, no one seems to know what's wrong with him. His blood work came back showing no signs of infection. His liver level was a little elevated. His current vet has me giving him an inflammatory medication and a liver medication orally once a day. He also gets an inflammatory eye drop in both eyes twice a day. I had to take a break on the oral meds because he quit eating. He was eating fine before we started the oral meds.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? It's a dragon strand hybrid enclosure. It's screen with a pvc back. It's 4'x4' if I'm not mistaken.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I use a reptisun t5 5.0 uvb bulb. He has a regular 75 watt fluorescent light bulb for basking. I recently bought an arcadia jungle dawn 51 watt for his plants. His lights are on a timer from 7am to 7pm.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Very bottom of cage is probably close to 70 or so. He never goes to the bottom of his cage. Middle of cage is in the mid 70's. Basking spot is around 86. Lowest overnight temp? 68 How do you measure these temps? Thermometer in the room and in the cage.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? In the 50-60's usually. Sometimes it might be in the 40's during the day. How are you creating and maintaining these levels? Automatic mister. What do you use to measure humidity? Thermometer with hygrometer in the room and in his cage.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes. I have an umbrella plant and a hisbiscus plant in his enclosure.
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? It's in a back bedroom. It's not in a high traffic area. It's not near any fans or air vents. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? It's sitting on a plastic table that has a drain rigged up through up. His cage is pretty high up.
Location - Where are you geographically located? I'm located in South Carolina.
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. Getting his eye issues resolved. He also seems to have issues with depth when catching his food.
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? He's 1.5 years old. I've had him since he was 2 or so weeks old.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I handle him everyday. In the morning and in the afternoon. He gets eye drops twice a day.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He used to eat crickets but he stopped eating them several months ago. He gets superworms, dubai roaches, mealworms and wax worms. I give him horn worms every once in a while. He eats daily and in the afternoon. I rotate his bugs so he doesnt get the same ones everyday. His bugs are gut loaded with apples, kale, collards, turnip greens, and butternut squash.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Repti-calcium without d3 given daily. Repti- calcium with d3 given every 2 weeks. Bee pollen powder used on feeders every once in a while.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have an automatic mister that goes off every 4 hours during the day for 2 minutes each time. I do not see him drinking water. I always offer him water via a syringe and he usually drinks from it daily.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He used to poop every day when he was younger. Now he poops once or twice a month. When he does poop it's usually a good bit and a dark brown color and it's soft. Not runny at all. He hasn't been tested for parasites but his first vet has given him a wormer before.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. He's been to several vets regarding the same issue. As of yet, no one seems to know what's wrong with him. His blood work came back showing no signs of infection. His liver level was a little elevated. His current vet has me giving him an inflammatory medication and a liver medication orally once a day. He also gets an inflammatory eye drop in both eyes twice a day. I had to take a break on the oral meds because he quit eating. He was eating fine before we started the oral meds.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? It's a dragon strand hybrid enclosure. It's screen with a pvc back. It's 4'x4' if I'm not mistaken.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I use a reptisun t5 5.0 uvb bulb. He has a regular 75 watt fluorescent light bulb for basking. I recently bought an arcadia jungle dawn 51 watt for his plants. His lights are on a timer from 7am to 7pm.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Very bottom of cage is probably close to 70 or so. He never goes to the bottom of his cage. Middle of cage is in the mid 70's. Basking spot is around 86. Lowest overnight temp? 68 How do you measure these temps? Thermometer in the room and in the cage.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? In the 50-60's usually. Sometimes it might be in the 40's during the day. How are you creating and maintaining these levels? Automatic mister. What do you use to measure humidity? Thermometer with hygrometer in the room and in his cage.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes. I have an umbrella plant and a hisbiscus plant in his enclosure.
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? It's in a back bedroom. It's not in a high traffic area. It's not near any fans or air vents. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? It's sitting on a plastic table that has a drain rigged up through up. His cage is pretty high up.
Location - Where are you geographically located? I'm located in South Carolina.
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. Getting his eye issues resolved. He also seems to have issues with depth when catching his food.
He is a veiled chameleon.
He's a veiled chameleon.
Ghostbirb
Chameleon Enthusiast
Could you post a full body photo of your chameleon?
See my feedback in Red bold. Once I have pics of the cham that will help me further so I can see what is going on with him. Let me know what questions you have.
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? He's 1.5 years old. I've had him since he was 2 or so weeks old.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I handle him everyday. In the morning and in the afternoon. He gets eye drops twice a day.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He used to eat crickets but he stopped eating them several months ago. He gets superworms, dubai roaches, mealworms and wax worms. I give him horn worms every once in a while. He eats daily and in the afternoon. I rotate his bugs so he doesnt get the same ones everyday. His bugs are gut loaded with apples, kale, collards, turnip greens, and butternut squash. So at his age he should not be eating daily. With Veileds they will become very obese very quickly after they reach maturity at a year old. You want to feed him 3-5 feeders every other day to every two days depending on his current weight.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Repti-calcium without d3 given daily. Repti- calcium with d3 given every 2 weeks. Bee pollen powder used on feeders every once in a while. You will want to pull him off the calcium with D3 and put him on a multivitamin with D3 and A such as repashy calcium plus LOD. They need the vitamin A in it for eye health. You will use this supplement in place of the calcium with D3 at 2 feedings a month say the 1st and the 15th.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have an automatic mister that goes off every 4 hours during the day for 2 minutes each time. I do not see him drinking water. I always offer him water via a syringe and he usually drinks from it daily. So I am guessing you do not have a mistking that you can program for specific misting sessions. This will make it a bit harder because it is better to mist in the morning right after lights come on and then in the evening. You would do longer misting sessions of anywhere from 2-5 minutes depending on your ambient humidity. Most Veileds take a bit to start drinking but not only that a longer misting session allows them to fully clean their eye turrets. The fact that he is drinking from a syringe actually shows that he is overly eager and needs a dripper added to his cage for daytime. You can use something as simple as a plastic solo cup with tiny pin holes in the bottom and set this on the cage screen over plants then add ice cubes for a slower drip. This will provide a consistent dripping which will get his attention.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He used to poop every day when he was younger. Now he poops once or twice a month. When he does poop it's usually a good bit and a dark brown color and it's soft. Not runny at all. He hasn't been tested for parasites but his first vet has given him a wormer before. So once or twice a month when you are feeding him every day is a big red flag. An adult on average on reduced feeding will pass fecal every 4-7 days. IF they are not this commonly can be linked to dehydration.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. He's been to several vets regarding the same issue. As of yet, no one seems to know what's wrong with him. His blood work came back showing no signs of infection. His liver level was a little elevated. His current vet has me giving him an inflammatory medication and a liver medication orally once a day. He also gets an inflammatory eye drop in both eyes twice a day. I had to take a break on the oral meds because he quit eating. He was eating fine before we started the oral meds. Once I see pics of his current condition I will be able to access more... The short misting sessions, lack of water during the day, and lack of multivitamin with vitamin A can all impact eye issues.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? It's a dragon strand hybrid enclosure. It's screen with a pvc back. It's 4'x4' if I'm not mistaken.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I use a reptisun t5 5.0 uvb bulb. He has a regular 75 watt fluorescent light bulb for basking. I recently bought an arcadia jungle dawn 51 watt for his plants. His lights are on a timer from 7am to 7pm. When was the reptisun bulb replaced? What is the total distance from where it sits on the screen top of the cage to the branches below it?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Very bottom of cage is probably close to 70 or so. He never goes to the bottom of his cage. Middle of cage is in the mid 70's. Basking spot is around 86. Lowest overnight temp? 68 How do you measure these temps? Thermometer in the room and in the cage. If you can get your night time temps lower 60's he will do much better they really need a cool down at night.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? In the 50-60's usually. Sometimes it might be in the 40's during the day. How are you creating and maintaining these levels? Automatic mister. What do you use to measure humidity? Thermometer with hygrometer in the room and in his cage. So Veileds are good with anything between 30-50% daytime, the higher it gets during the day when it is hotter they can start to struggle a bit more. You may see signs of gaping as well which is commonly linked to the humidity sitting too high.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes. I have an umbrella plant and a hisbiscus plant in his enclosure. All of the fake plants/vines should be removed. These are high risk for him trying to eat them. They can suffer an impaction that without surgery can kill them. Pulling all the nets out would be best. Replacing with real branches. You can get these from outside as long as they are not from Cedar or Pine trees. They really need a hard surface to grip and the nets just do not provide this. Chams have had nails get stuck in these as well and lost their nails. See my cage set ups... one is a Dragon strand atrium. https://www.chameleonforums.com/media/albums/my-enclosures.6672/
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? It's in a back bedroom. It's not in a high traffic area. It's not near any fans or air vents. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? It's sitting on a plastic table that has a drain rigged up through up. His cage is pretty high up.
Location - Where are you geographically located? I'm located in South Carolina.
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. Getting his eye issues resolved. He also seems to have issues with depth when catching his food.
Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? He's 1.5 years old. I've had him since he was 2 or so weeks old.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? I handle him everyday. In the morning and in the afternoon. He gets eye drops twice a day.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? He used to eat crickets but he stopped eating them several months ago. He gets superworms, dubai roaches, mealworms and wax worms. I give him horn worms every once in a while. He eats daily and in the afternoon. I rotate his bugs so he doesnt get the same ones everyday. His bugs are gut loaded with apples, kale, collards, turnip greens, and butternut squash. So at his age he should not be eating daily. With Veileds they will become very obese very quickly after they reach maturity at a year old. You want to feed him 3-5 feeders every other day to every two days depending on his current weight.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? Repti-calcium without d3 given daily. Repti- calcium with d3 given every 2 weeks. Bee pollen powder used on feeders every once in a while. You will want to pull him off the calcium with D3 and put him on a multivitamin with D3 and A such as repashy calcium plus LOD. They need the vitamin A in it for eye health. You will use this supplement in place of the calcium with D3 at 2 feedings a month say the 1st and the 15th.
Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking? I have an automatic mister that goes off every 4 hours during the day for 2 minutes each time. I do not see him drinking water. I always offer him water via a syringe and he usually drinks from it daily. So I am guessing you do not have a mistking that you can program for specific misting sessions. This will make it a bit harder because it is better to mist in the morning right after lights come on and then in the evening. You would do longer misting sessions of anywhere from 2-5 minutes depending on your ambient humidity. Most Veileds take a bit to start drinking but not only that a longer misting session allows them to fully clean their eye turrets. The fact that he is drinking from a syringe actually shows that he is overly eager and needs a dripper added to his cage for daytime. You can use something as simple as a plastic solo cup with tiny pin holes in the bottom and set this on the cage screen over plants then add ice cubes for a slower drip. This will provide a consistent dripping which will get his attention.
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? He used to poop every day when he was younger. Now he poops once or twice a month. When he does poop it's usually a good bit and a dark brown color and it's soft. Not runny at all. He hasn't been tested for parasites but his first vet has given him a wormer before. So once or twice a month when you are feeding him every day is a big red flag. An adult on average on reduced feeding will pass fecal every 4-7 days. IF they are not this commonly can be linked to dehydration.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. He's been to several vets regarding the same issue. As of yet, no one seems to know what's wrong with him. His blood work came back showing no signs of infection. His liver level was a little elevated. His current vet has me giving him an inflammatory medication and a liver medication orally once a day. He also gets an inflammatory eye drop in both eyes twice a day. I had to take a break on the oral meds because he quit eating. He was eating fine before we started the oral meds. Once I see pics of his current condition I will be able to access more... The short misting sessions, lack of water during the day, and lack of multivitamin with vitamin A can all impact eye issues.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? It's a dragon strand hybrid enclosure. It's screen with a pvc back. It's 4'x4' if I'm not mistaken.
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I use a reptisun t5 5.0 uvb bulb. He has a regular 75 watt fluorescent light bulb for basking. I recently bought an arcadia jungle dawn 51 watt for his plants. His lights are on a timer from 7am to 7pm. When was the reptisun bulb replaced? What is the total distance from where it sits on the screen top of the cage to the branches below it?
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Very bottom of cage is probably close to 70 or so. He never goes to the bottom of his cage. Middle of cage is in the mid 70's. Basking spot is around 86. Lowest overnight temp? 68 How do you measure these temps? Thermometer in the room and in the cage. If you can get your night time temps lower 60's he will do much better they really need a cool down at night.
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? In the 50-60's usually. Sometimes it might be in the 40's during the day. How are you creating and maintaining these levels? Automatic mister. What do you use to measure humidity? Thermometer with hygrometer in the room and in his cage. So Veileds are good with anything between 30-50% daytime, the higher it gets during the day when it is hotter they can start to struggle a bit more. You may see signs of gaping as well which is commonly linked to the humidity sitting too high.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? Yes. I have an umbrella plant and a hisbiscus plant in his enclosure. All of the fake plants/vines should be removed. These are high risk for him trying to eat them. They can suffer an impaction that without surgery can kill them. Pulling all the nets out would be best. Replacing with real branches. You can get these from outside as long as they are not from Cedar or Pine trees. They really need a hard surface to grip and the nets just do not provide this. Chams have had nails get stuck in these as well and lost their nails. See my cage set ups... one is a Dragon strand atrium. https://www.chameleonforums.com/media/albums/my-enclosures.6672/
Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? It's in a back bedroom. It's not in a high traffic area. It's not near any fans or air vents. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor? It's sitting on a plastic table that has a drain rigged up through up. His cage is pretty high up.
Location - Where are you geographically located? I'm located in South Carolina.
Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. Getting his eye issues resolved. He also seems to have issues with depth when catching his food.
Attachments
I do have a fleukers dripper and I've also had a little dripper but I've never seen him drink from it. I've attached pics of him and of the mister I currently have. He has lost weight due to not eating since he's been on the medications (2 weeks). I will everything you said I need to do. My only question Is I don't how how to get the temp in his room any lower. The uva bulb was replaced around 2 months ago. I change them out every 6 months. From the uvb bulb to the top of the vine is around 5.5 inches.
Attachments
Ok so you had said his casque started swelling so this indicates infection over obesity if it happened really quickly. Now the eyes specifically the one eye is concerning. You can see this with over supplementation of D3 and A but he is not getting that with you. So next cause for this is infection. Could be something going on within the eye. But you can also see this when they have something going on within the sinuses and that has in turn infected the surrounding areas. Meds to clear the infection would be a good route. But if there is something stuck in the eye he has to have long enough misting sessions to try to clear that. And this is the thing... those fake vines you are using flake off. The longer they are used the more they will start breaking down. So when he rubs his face and eyes on it risk of getting small pieces in the eye turret is higher.
Now UVB with a 5% T5HO bulb you want this distance to be 8-9 inches from the bottom of the fixture to the branch below it.
@elizaann2 can you post the vet list. Not sure if there is one on there that is near this OP but maybe.
He does not have any type of infection. He just had blood work done. His casque has been like that for several months and he was on antibiotics for a year. All of fake vines and nets will be removed on Saturday. My husband is working on getting him branches today. I will correct the light issue when I get home today. I'm also working on getting him a mistking.
So my concern is something is going on and it did not show up on blood work. With you saying you are seeing mucus coming from the eyes this just is not a healthy sign with a chameleon.
Now here is the thing if he is dealing with obesity which could be a major contributing factor to what is going on then you will see not only the extreme girth to the casque and puffy cheeks but they can also have that weird puffing around the eye turret. Obesity can also compromise renal function because the fat pads that are in the abdominal cavity get larger and take up the room for the organs. You can put him on a diet. 3 feeder every 2-3 days. And see if the weight slowly reduces. You do not want an extremely fast weight loss but slowly week by week losing a few grams. You will see the reduction in the face first. This can be a long process and can be frustrating for the person caring for them. Because you feel like you are starving them and they will act like they are hungry all the time. Just know you are not starving them and this is what is best for them even though it can feel hard to do. With this being said you will avoid fatty feeders like waxworms and superworms. You want to stick with things like crickets, dubia, and silkworms.
When you get your mistking let me know and I can help with your misting schedule based on your ambient conditions. As far as the room temp at night the only way to control this is to lower your house air conditioner or get a portable or window air conditioner to run in the room he is in.
I also just started using a tiny portable desk fan on the top of his cage to pull air through. The sides of his cage has window cellophane on them.
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