Help Please!

[Daguerreotype13]

I just bought a female bb ambilobe panther. She's around 5months old and is a tiny thing. Her color is beautiful, she's a light orange, and she's looking great.

Her tale is a little pale, but i figure it's just a sign she will be shedding it soon.

My biggest concern is that lately i've been noticing that she'll randomly close her left eye. I checked closely at both of her eyes but there is no sign of infection or anything. She appears healthy.

I've noticed that when i take her outside to bask in the sun, she'll puff up and get dark, no doubt to absorb more light like other chameleons i've had. However, she closes her eyes when she does this and curls up her tail, almost as though she's going to fall asleep!

I've never seen this behavior before. She closes her left eye very often, and on accasion, she'll close both and appear to be sleeping even though its day. What's wrong with her!?

 

[Lovereps]

A cham sleeping during the day is very ill.
Chams hide all signs of illness (in order to not get eaten in the wild) until they can't hide their sickness anymore.
People can take guesses as to what her exact problem is, but nothing short of medical treatment will help her.
Please take her to a vet with cham experience ASAP.

 

[jannb]

Please fill out this form completely so that we can have all the needed info to try to help you with the eye problem.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

 

[Elizadolots]

I'm so glad you've gotten another chameleon. I'm sorry she's not perky at the moment though.

In addition to filling out the form pictures are always helpful.

As a general rule, I think it's good to increase hydration whenever you're getting "eyes closed". Mist more and maybe try to induce her to drink from a plastic eye dropper (keep a bottle of water and a dropper near the cage, when you see her climbing on a side, try squeezing water through the cage slightly above and to the side of her head). Even if it doesn't seem she's dehydrated, making sure she's well hydrated can help her deal with whatever is at the heart of the problem.

 

[Daguerreotype13]

I'm so glad you've gotten another chameleon. I'm sorry she's not perky at the moment though.

In addition to filling out the form pictures are always helpful.

As a general rule, I think it's good to increase hydration whenever you're getting "eyes closed". Mist more and maybe try to induce her to drink from a plastic eye dropper (keep a bottle of water and a dropper near the cage, when you see her climbing on a side, try squeezing water through the cage slightly above and to the side of her head). Even if it doesn't seem she's dehydrated, making sure she's well hydrated can help her deal with whatever is at the heart of the problem.

Thank you and thank you. I've been reading up and learned that closed eyes are usually a sign of either dehydration or insufficient Vitamin A levels. However, i dont know how i could add Vitamin A to her diet.

Also, i'll fill out the form in just a sec (big form, takes time)

By the way, She's my second =) i've been trying to add pictures of my new beauties, but for some reason i've been having alotta trouble with adding pictures =( And still no sign of Berry ='( keep looking though . . .

However, now i'm more concentrated on my new girl

 

[Daguerreotype13]

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - BB Ambilobe, Female, 5months. I've had it for 4 days now.

Handling - I've been letting her stay in her cage, hoping it'll be better for her recovery. However, i handle her once a day to examine her eye.

Feeding - I feed her 5 crickets in the morning and 5 mid-day. I gutload crickets with Carrots, romaine lettuce, apples, cucumbers, and oatmeal

Supplements -
I powder crickets with Rep-Cal, no phosphorus, no D3.

Watering - I have a dripper set up with filtered tap water. I also spray down the cage three times a day and check humidity every 2 hours to make sure it's between 50-60%. I change out the dripper with new water between sprayings so that she is constantly supplied with water throughout the day to drink.

Fecal Description - It is usual brown with white. Yesterday i noticed it was a little more watery than usual though, however today her dropping was normal.

History - She was fine the first day when i got her, however i did notice on the car-ride home (hour drive) in one instance she closed her left eye which struck me as odd, and kept it closed for about 30 seconds to a minute. Then everything was fine.


Cage Info:

Cage Type - She is in a 30x18x30 inch Fresh Air Screen Habitat made by Zilla. It is a black wire mess screen cage with aluminum frame.

Lighting - I have a combination of ZooMed Heat repti basking spot lamp, 100 watts (i'm thinking of dropping that down to 75watts) and a ReptiSun UVB compact florescent bulb, 100 watts (again, thinking of dropping that down to 75). I have dimmers on both to regulate lighting and heat and reinact what would happen in nature, with a steady drop of light and temperature "as the sun goes down"

Temperature - The floor is around 70 with his basking spot around 85. At night the temperature is between 65-70. Both the temperature and humidity are recorded by All Living Things analog gauges, however i also have Fluker's all new digital display Thermo-Hydrometer that i'm trying out, so there are two separate displays recording temp and humidity

Humidity - The Humidity levels are between 50-60%. I spray the cage regularly and water the plants which help maintain the humidity. For methods of recording, see "Temperature" above ^^^^

Plants - She has a Schefflera plant as well as a small Hybiscus plant in her cage with an assortment of collected branches from the yard.

Placement - Her cage is against a wall at the far end of the room, nowhere near traffic. Her cage sits on a platform my grandfather and i built, standing roughly 4ft tall, leaving the top of the cage standing 78 inches off the floor

Location - I am located in New Jersey, on the East Coast of the United States


Current Problem - I noticed that the first day (friday) as i was driving home with her, i saw her close her left eye for 30 seconds to a minute and held it closed, but then opened it and everything was fine. Recently i've noticed she'll close her left eye and random times and only look out her right, but then other times i'll look at her and she'll be fine.

Then on monday, i took her out of her cage and held her outside in the sun because it was a beautiful day out and i noticed she puffed up and darkened, no doubt to bask in the natural rays of the sun, but then she closed both of her eyes and curled up her tail, ramaining in that state!

This struck me as bazar because i've never had a chameleon close even one of their eyes during the day, let alone both! also when she curled her tail, it was as though she was sleeping! So then i took her back inside and she stayed perched on my finger with both of her eyes shut and this worried me, but then when i was walking inside to her cage, she opened her eyes and became active again, turning her normal orange color and walking around.

Then today, i noticed her sitting in her cage and her left eye was closed again! so i took her out to observe it and see no film or sign of infection, but then she blinked hard a few times and her eye began to bulge! after about a minute, it returned to its normal size again until she blinked a few hard times again and the same repeated, it bulged, then returned.

I placed her back in her cage, and placed crickets in for her to eat. She ate 4 crickets and i did not see her drink, then just sat there. Then she closed both her eyes, at 6:30 which seems too early! However, her tail was not curled so i was unsure if she was asleep.

Then around 8:00pm, i noticed she had moved to another spot in her cage, this time both eyes closed and tail curled up and i concluded she appeared to be sleeping.

Why is she closing her eyes!? what can be wrong with her?

 

[JaxyGirl]

It could be the compact UVB bulb that you are using. Many people on the forum don't use them because they may cause eye problems. You would be better off getting a linear tube style florescent bulb which is what most forum members use.

 

[Daguerreotype13]

It could be the compact UVB bulb that you are using. Many people on the forum don't use them because they may cause eye problems. You would be better off getting a linear tube style florescent bulb which is what most forum members use.

Yea but that's not the issue because the eye problems started before I began using the light, but thanks for the info I'll make sure not to start. I just started using the bulbs today, before today the cage was outside because we've been having such great weather.

Also note, this settup is the same as my male who I've had for around 3 weeks now and he's been growing handsomely without any problems. But I'll take your advice on the tubes.

 

[JaxyGirl]

If her health is really declining then a vet visit might be a good idea.

 

[Daguerreotype13]

Yea but idunno how much my vet knows about chameleons ya know? Theyr kinda an exotic pet. I read alot and learned that eye problems are usually related to either dehydration or insufficient Vitamen A levels, and come to think of it I haven't witnessed her drink recently so I'm thinking that might be it.

Do you know of any method of ensuring she drinks? Also any ideas on vitamin A supplements?

 

[JaxyGirl]

Can you post any pics? That might be helpful to determine if she looks dehydrated or not.

 

[Daguerreotype13]

Can you post any pics? That might be helpful to determine if she looks dehydrated or not.

I would love to! i've been trying to make an album and tried to put a picture of her on here, but it always fails!

How does everybody get pictures up? i dont know how to make files smaller, i can you help? if i could find out how to upload the picture, i'd love to offer them to get your opinion.

 

[JaxyGirl]

I would love to! i've been trying to make an album and tried to put a picture of her on here, but it always fails!

How does everybody get pictures up? i dont know how to make files smaller, i can you help? if i could find out how to upload the picture, i'd love to offer them to get your opinion.

Click on the "Post Reply" button. Click on the little paper clip at the top of page by the smiley face. Then click Browse to upload from your computer or fill in the picture URL if uploading from a host site. Hope this helps

 

[Daguerreotype13]

Click on the "Post Reply" button. Click on the little paper clip at the top of page by the smiley face. Then click Browse to upload from your computer or fill in the picture URL if uploading from a host site. Hope this helps

No I know that I got that far just when I try to upload the picture it won't let me it says "upload file failed" idunno if the file is too big or what

 

[JaxyGirl]

It might be that the file is to big or maybe the site is having some probs tonight. I just read a thread where someone else was having trouble uploading also and was really frustrated with it.

 

[Elizadolots]

You're files are very big, at east the ones you sent me. That's very likely the problem. Do you have a program like PAINT or PhotoShop Elements that will let you reduce the file size? If not, try Irfanview. It's free and easy.

Did I mention using a dropper to get water to her? You can drip it right on her nose, or if she's on the side of the cage, push drops through a little above her head, to the side. That might get her interested. If you are going to take the dropper into the cage, make sure it's plastic (I've read stories of them actually grabbing the dropper).

I just tried attaching a picture of my dog Tango...I think it worked.

 

[Daguerreotype13]

You're files are very big, at east the ones you sent me. That's very likely the problem. Do you have a program like PAINT or PhotoShop Elements that will let you reduce the file size? If not, try Irfanview. It's free and easy.

Did I mention using a dropper to get water to her? You can drip it right on her nose, or if she's on the side of the cage, push drops through a little above her head, to the side. That might get her interested. If you are going to take the dropper into the cage, make sure it's plastic (I've read stories of them actually grabbing the dropper).

I just tried attaching a picture of my dog Tango...I think it worked.

Yea it worked and I have paint, it took forever just to get the picture of my veiled up for my profile picture. I'll fight with it and try to vet a picture up

as for the dropper I have one set up I'll tru dripping it on the side of her head to see how she reacts tomorrow morning

 

[jessica]

Is the UVB a coil bulb? Some models have been known to cause eye problems.

Also I noticed you said you use an analog thermometer, those usually are not that accurate. 100 watt bulb seems pretty intense to have the basking spot be 85 degrees. You may want to get a cheap digital from a walmart or Lowe's.

 

[Daguerreotype13]

Is the UVB a coil bulb? Some models have been known to cause eye problems.

Also I noticed you said you use an analog thermometer, those usually are not that accurate. 100 watt bulb seems pretty intense to have the basking spot be 85 degrees. You may want to get a cheap digital from a walmart or Lowe's.

Yea i know, but as i've stated i'm switching out for a 75watt for my cage, and at first the 100watt made it too hot so now i actually have a stand so the lamps are situated off the top of the cage, practically on the ceiling! this is how i got the basking spot down to 85.

It sounds primitive, i know, very unprofessional, but i ran out to the store to get 75watt today but they didnt have any, so i ordered some. right now this is what i have to deal with =(

 

[jessica]

Yea i know, but as i've stated i'm switching out for a 75watt for my cage, and at first the 100watt made it too hot so now i actually have a stand so the lamps are situated off the top of the cage, practically on the ceiling! this is how i got the basking spot down to 85.

It sounds primitive, i know, very unprofessional, but i ran out to the store to get 75watt today but they didnt have any, so i ordered some. right now this is what i have to deal with =(

LOL whatever works. Are you measuring the temps with a analog thermometer? I've seen those things be WAY off on the readings your girl could be too hot