Eye Problem...

[leafling424]

I have a 7 or 8 month old female Veiled Chameleon named Ernie whom I have had for 6 months now. She has been healthy and cantankerous the whole time and I'm very happy with her

However for the last week, she has had this clear obtrusion in her left eye which makes it difficult for her to see. I rinse it clean every day with saline solution and that makes it clear and bright and and she can see again, but it comes back after 12 hours or so. Its been this long and I'm getting more and more worried every day. I do not have a reptile vet in the area as I'm waaaay out on long island. I have been doing research on a couple who are near the city and a trip may be in order in the next few days depending on what you guys tell me.

I've been feeling very guilty about her eye. I use bottled water for her drip and for misting her tank, but since the weather has been cold I have turned the heat on in my house which has lowered the humidity. I took her into the shower a few times last week to help her shed and boost her "humidity gauge" and I think it may be from the tap water (chlorine?). It doesn't look like its a piece of unshed skin. Possibly Vitamin A deficiency, from what I've read on here, so last night I feed the crickets carrots to try and help that.

I'll fill out the "how to ask for help" form now, but I'm hoping someone can give me some advice pretty quickly!

 

[SouthCaliChameleon]

I'm having a similar problem with my little veiled.. it all happened after his shed.. he was rubbing his eyes on the perch.. i was spraying him and i was wondering about the chlorine also... but he's never had a problem with it before.. also i have a filter on my kitchen sink, that us suppose to take out the chlorine

 

[leafling424]

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care? Female Veiled Chameleon, about 8 months old, had her for 6 months.
Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon? It depends. Lately its been once or twice a day to rinse out her eye, but usually its once a week for cage cleaning.
Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders? I feed her crickets predominantly, with varied fresh veggies as a gutload as well as some organic granola and water gel. I usually sprinkle rep-cal over their food. I also feed her rice beetle, phoenix worms, and fruit flies every few days so she always has something else as a treat.
Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule? I use rep-cal over crickets food, and dust them every other day for good measure. Twice a month a dust them with rep-cal with d3. I put about 15 or 20 crickets in a feeder in the morning and return the uneaten ones at night. She usually eats about 10 a day. (These are pinheads. When I get the slightly larger ones she finishes at 5 or so.)
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 a dripper that I've made. I pour water in it in the morning before I head to work, and by the time I get home it is empty. I mist everytime I see it is dry, 3 or 4 times a day for about a minute, until everything is saturated. she does not like getting sprayed so I avoid her as much as I can, but she usually runs and hides anyway. I have never seen her drink!
Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? Her poops are normal and healthy. The urates are white. She has never been tested. She has never been to the vet before.
History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you. Nothing I can think of.


Cage Info:

Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions? Screen cage, 16Lx16Wx24H
Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule? I have two zoomed lights, one 5.0 uvb and one 10.0 that run along the back. They are in a dual hood about 6 inches away from the top of the cage. Before you say that's too strong, I have 2 live plants down below, hidden under fake vines and ivy. They seem to be doing well. If you still think thats too strong, I will definitely change it. I also use a basking light to get her temps up.
Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? In the basking spot the temp is 80, and below that is about 70. I turn the basking light off at night, and the temp drops to about 73. I measure the temp and humidity with a Zoomed dual temp and hydro -meters
Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity? Humidity is low in basking area, about 40% but goes to 50 after I mist. Below it usually sits around 60 until misting pushes it to 70. I mist a few times throughout the day.
Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind? I have fake vines and ivy for her to crawl around in, and two plants below. One is Aphelandra squarrosa, the other is a grouping of a small type of tree with its trunk braided. The leaves are bunched together at the top of each stem, and make a horizontal pinwheel shape, if that's helpful at all.
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? The cage is located in a little alcove near the main entrance to my apartment. It depends on the time and day if it's high traffic but it usually is not. The top of the cage is about 7 feet off the floor. The cage is sitting upon a plastic file cabinet for water collection.
Location - Where are you geographically located? Long Island, New York


Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about. Stated in the above post.

 

[leafling424]

Does it look like a clear but solid gel? I've wondered about getting lubricated eye drops (all I have beside the saline solution are drops that BURN, she would hate me forever if i used them on her!). I am short on funds though (winter in "The Hamptons" is difficult as a local).

 

[leafling424]

Since the crickets have been eating carrots for the past few days, her eye has cleared up. I'm keeping my eyes on her though just in case.

 

[Lovereps]

Sure sounds like she was lacking vitamin A.
Vitamin A deficiency is linked to eye troubles and can lead to eye infections.
FWIW, sweet potatoes also contain a decent amount of A.

What I don't see in your supplement schedule is a multivitamin.
There should be a multivitamin dusting once or at most twice a month.

You can have a look here for some additional feeder ideas and there are often interesting feeders in the classifieds section of this forum, also.
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/

Here's a nice writeup about feeding the feeders
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/446-basics-gutloading.html

Nice to see another LI cham keeper.

 

[leafling424]

Thank You for the links!
It IS great to see another LI keeper...I got my Ernie from Jungle Bob's in Centereach, they're fantastic! I wish there was a reptile store out east though..hmm, good career plan.

 

[leafling424]

Ive been hearing conflicting advice about the multi-vitamin and have so far held off. seeing her eye get like that is kind of a wakeup call, so I will be getting her some, pronto. the mulberry link is cool; how awesome would it be to see her eat a few butterflies sometime?!

 

[Lovereps]

The montane cham species (which includes Jackson's) need less frequent supplementing with D3 and multivitamins than the lowland specied but they still need some of each.
Safest might be 1x a month of each for a montane but there is no definite rule.
Some montane keepers may do 2x a month, others once every 6 weeks.

What will work best likely depends on how lightly you dust and the exact proportion of D3 and vitamins in whichever brands are being used.

While cham keeping has come a long way over the years, there is still much more to be learned.