My Jackson Chameleon is having an eye problem. he is about 9 or 10 months old, he keeps his right eye closed, however it doesn't look like a normal closed eye, it is like he has an internal eyelid that he keeps shut, you can not see his pupil. I researched and found that it may be debri, so I have been giving him regular showers and squirting saline solution into his eye. He started having the same problem with the other eye, but it cleared up. Please Help!!!!
Jackson Chameleon Eye problems
- Thread starter crodrig3
- Start date
Alexl
Avid Member
Can you fill out this form, please? Keeping conditions can be the source of your chameleon's problem.
About the eye: If there's already material inside the eye (you said you can't see the pupil), the eye should be flushed profesionally by a reptile vet inside. It's necessary to find out the reason for the eyes' issue (bacterial or fungal infection, lack of vitamins, foreign body from cage equipment, too short UVB-length from lamps...) before treating with medication or anything else at home. Where do you come from? Maybe members can help you finding a vet nearby.
Did you notice the bump on his right forearm? What about the shedding residues on his head?
About the eye: If there's already material inside the eye (you said you can't see the pupil), the eye should be flushed profesionally by a reptile vet inside. It's necessary to find out the reason for the eyes' issue (bacterial or fungal infection, lack of vitamins, foreign body from cage equipment, too short UVB-length from lamps...) before treating with medication or anything else at home. Where do you come from? Maybe members can help you finding a vet nearby.
Did you notice the bump on his right forearm? What about the shedding residues on his head?
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Jackson Chameleon, Male, about 9 to 10 months old. I have had him and his brother since February 2012. Store told me they were born in December 2011.
Handling - Recently: a lot, for showers and eye rinsing, however before only every other month or so.
Feeding - Gut loaded crickets from Petsmart. He eats about 6 to 10 a day. I feed in the mornings, sometime if he still looks hungry I will feed him again in the afternoon too.
Supplements - I get about half of my crickets dusted with a calcium supplement from petsmart. Don't know what exactly the product is because they dust for me.
Watering - Spray bottle, twice or more a day, and recently 20 - 30 minute showers. Yes he drinks a good bit.
Fecal Description - Brown and white droppings with a bit of yellow. I have been checking his poop, but it still seems the same. He has not been tested for parasites since the pet store.
History - I recently separated the two chameleons because they were starting to get territorial with each other. I did notice that they were grabbing at each other when the eye problem started.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass 10 gallon cage from petsmart.
Lighting - Repti-Glo 5.0 UVB bulb 13 W. in combination with a heating bulb. I turn it on about 7:00 AM and when I get home that evening about 7 I turn it off, but leave the heating bulb on until bedtime which is about 10:00. The heating bulb is a regular bulb, soft 70W from walmart. I do have both lights about a foot or more above the cage.
Temperature - I have a stick on temperature gage on the wall right under the lights. it stays around 80 degrees during the day, when I turn off the lights, it drops to around 70 to 75.
Humidity - I spray the cage down several times a day, minimally twice or more. I don't have a gage for the humidity level.
Plants - I have plastic vines in the cage.
Placement - I have the chameleons in a corner of my 1 room apartment. They are on a corner table. There is a vent near them to circulate the airflow since I do have them in a glass cage.
Location - North GA, about an hour north of Atlanta. I have searched for vets in my area but have not found any that specialize in Chameleons, mostly just dog and cat vets around here.....
Current Problem - My Jackson Chameleon has a swollen but flat shaped right eye. Looks like he keeps it shut but it is more like he has a internal eyelid that is shut not his external eye lid, I cannot see his pupil, only see like a reddish-brown eyelid type thing. His other eye started to have the same problem however I have been giving him showers and squirting saline solution into his eye, in case it is just debri and the other eye cleared up. However it has been 2 weeks and still not much improvement on his right eye. He still eats fine, but he cannot aim very well. Originally he was in the same cage with his brother, but I separated them cause of fighting. His eye at first did look kind of scratched like he had got hurt. After his showers, he tries to rub his eye on the plastic vines, and he squints both eyes and makes a bulging bubble type thing, after 10 minutes or so, his left eye returns normal but his right still stays swollen and flat, with the closed internal eyelid.
I don't notice any bumps on his forearm, but he just started shedding this week. However he has had this problem almost 3 weeks now.
Your Chameleon - Jackson Chameleon, Male, about 9 to 10 months old. I have had him and his brother since February 2012. Store told me they were born in December 2011.
Handling - Recently: a lot, for showers and eye rinsing, however before only every other month or so.
Feeding - Gut loaded crickets from Petsmart. He eats about 6 to 10 a day. I feed in the mornings, sometime if he still looks hungry I will feed him again in the afternoon too.
Supplements - I get about half of my crickets dusted with a calcium supplement from petsmart. Don't know what exactly the product is because they dust for me.
Watering - Spray bottle, twice or more a day, and recently 20 - 30 minute showers. Yes he drinks a good bit.
Fecal Description - Brown and white droppings with a bit of yellow. I have been checking his poop, but it still seems the same. He has not been tested for parasites since the pet store.
History - I recently separated the two chameleons because they were starting to get territorial with each other. I did notice that they were grabbing at each other when the eye problem started.
Cage Info:
Cage Type - Glass 10 gallon cage from petsmart.
Lighting - Repti-Glo 5.0 UVB bulb 13 W. in combination with a heating bulb. I turn it on about 7:00 AM and when I get home that evening about 7 I turn it off, but leave the heating bulb on until bedtime which is about 10:00. The heating bulb is a regular bulb, soft 70W from walmart. I do have both lights about a foot or more above the cage.
Temperature - I have a stick on temperature gage on the wall right under the lights. it stays around 80 degrees during the day, when I turn off the lights, it drops to around 70 to 75.
Humidity - I spray the cage down several times a day, minimally twice or more. I don't have a gage for the humidity level.
Plants - I have plastic vines in the cage.
Placement - I have the chameleons in a corner of my 1 room apartment. They are on a corner table. There is a vent near them to circulate the airflow since I do have them in a glass cage.
Location - North GA, about an hour north of Atlanta. I have searched for vets in my area but have not found any that specialize in Chameleons, mostly just dog and cat vets around here.....
Current Problem - My Jackson Chameleon has a swollen but flat shaped right eye. Looks like he keeps it shut but it is more like he has a internal eyelid that is shut not his external eye lid, I cannot see his pupil, only see like a reddish-brown eyelid type thing. His other eye started to have the same problem however I have been giving him showers and squirting saline solution into his eye, in case it is just debri and the other eye cleared up. However it has been 2 weeks and still not much improvement on his right eye. He still eats fine, but he cannot aim very well. Originally he was in the same cage with his brother, but I separated them cause of fighting. His eye at first did look kind of scratched like he had got hurt. After his showers, he tries to rub his eye on the plastic vines, and he squints both eyes and makes a bulging bubble type thing, after 10 minutes or so, his left eye returns normal but his right still stays swollen and flat, with the closed internal eyelid.
I don't notice any bumps on his forearm, but he just started shedding this week. However he has had this problem almost 3 weeks now.
mcleodschams
Established Member
He does look to be haven trouble with his shed and I see the bump on his fore arm as well
What exactly does that mean?? The bump?? He is on his 2nd day shedding, started yesterday on the top of his head down to his tail, but only the top part.
Last edited:
carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
petsmart is wrong and you need to get your chameleons out of the fish aquariums now. There is no ventilation in those at the bottom. Putting them by a vent in your room is not going to air out the cage and may only cause problems blowing air towards them. Maybe it is possible he injured his leg and eye fighting with the other. Unfortunately, you have been given bad advice from petsmart. Listen to what we say and we will try and get you on the right track.
carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
just looking back at your help form. That is an extrememly SMALL cage for a 9 month old chameleon of any species other than a pygmy. You need to provide a better environment for them for sure. I keep my crickets in a 10 gallon tank. I am looking at it right now. I cannot imagine keeping a chameleon in there.
My husband can make a complete screened cage this weekend, so that takes care of the cage, but any advice on the eye problem?? I read somewhere that they might not be getting enough vitamin A, so I have put carrots and apples in a feeding dish, but it doesn't look like they ate any.
carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
I am glad you are going to change the tank. I just hate to see them in an environment like that. You said you have tried flushing and showers to no avail. I would take him to a vet. It might be an infection and you could get a topical antibiotic for that. Honestly, I am surprised your Jacksons have survived this long in a fish tank. They are kinda tricky to raise to begin with. To my knowledge Jacksons, don' t eat veggies or fruit. You should feed those items to your crickets instead along with a variety of dark leafy greens and other nutritious items. Check out Sandrachameleon page on gutloading your feeders.Petsmart gutloads with potatoes and water. You are giving your chameleon no nutrition through their feeders . If you are where it is still warm I would also get your chameleon out for some sunshine. It surely cannot hurt.
carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
Honestly, I won't get on about petsmart right now. You are not the first and won't be the last to have been give bad info. Where do you live? You did not list your location.
Hello and welcome to the forums. So glad you got on. Now maybe you can save your babies. You are getting great advice from a very knowledgeable Keeper. I would call around to several different vets and ask them to refer you to a reptile/exotic vet. I believe both your chameleons will need to be seen but until you can get in do your research. If your UVB bulb is older then 6 months you need to replace it NOW. I'll post some links for you to reveiw. Their are some great members on her that are going to help you such as Carol.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKTbUaOQ0aA&feature=related
http://www.jacksonschameleoncaresheet.com/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/useful-info/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/nutritional-information/
carol5208
Chameleon Enthusiast
https://www.chameleonforums.com/area-area-country-vet-list-32880/ you may or not find a vet close to you on this list. You can start another thread and tell your location and see if you can find another member who can recommend you a vet.
Similar threads
