my cham is keeping one eye closed!?

ryanlegend

ryanlegend

New Member
im not to sure if there is a problem. when he opens it it looks fine. i just got him the other day, he still hasnt eaten or drank yet. im assuming because hes just adjusting to a new environment. does anyone have any idea why one eye would be closed. oh hes a panther by the way.
 
If that continues, i would suggest taking him to a vet that specializes in reptiles, to get a profesional opinion on whether there is a problem or not. Fingers crossed everythings alright
 
often the first assumption would be that there is some sort of debris in the turret. This is often true. This is aided by long heavy misting sessions. Although it has been found that chams deprived of pre fomed vitamin a in their suppliment regiment develop eye issues among other problems. Do some research & check what your cham has previously been supplimented with. maybe a multivitamin like reptivite containing preformed vitamin a, as opposed to beta carotine may be more suitable for your cham. I would research how calcium, vit a & d3 all play a role in a chams body. Definately fill out the how to ask for help form. There is a world of knowledge on this forum & maybe minor tweaking of your husbandy will make your pet all the healthier. Goodluck
 
My baby started the same thing. Her eye was closed and I thought something was majorly wrong, but she opened it on occasion and sometimes kept it open for quite a while. I did some research and read about the same stuff here, something in her eye or a vet problem, also that it could be some slight dehydration.

Try giving him a shower, i found it to be more effective than heavy misting. I put my Pothos plant in the shower, put her right on a leaf and spray warm water at the wall so it bounced off and misted the entire plant. I left her there for like 15-20 minutes and she was drinking from the leaves and getting hit by water to move any potential objects in her eye. She has been go so far and it's two days later, and I'm praying she stays good.

Good luck! keep us updated if ya find something that works :)
 
Please fill out the ask for help form that Carol gave you. I am also concerned that he's not eating.
 
Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Panther, male.
Handling - i just got him 3 days ago so not very much at all.
Feeding - Crickets waxworms. dusting with calcium.
Supplements - rep cal
Watering - mist. several times a day as much as i can.
Fecal Description - brown. seems normal.
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? not that i know of.
History - not much i just got him a few days ago. hes about 4 months old. he was very healthy when i got him. i think he may just be adjusting.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - screen. 24x24x48
Lighting - UVB 24 inch. a normal light bulb and a heat emitter, 100 watt.
Temperature - day is about 72 to 80, nights are a little bit cooler.
Humidity - im not sure. i use mist to make humidity.
Plants - money tree
Placement - not near fans. for air ducts. and the top is about 2 feet from the ceiling.
Location - Sacramento CA.

Current Problem - keeps left eye closed. i found a thin piece of fiber in his eye. i just pulled it out.but its still closed. and he blinks his eyes very hard.
 
UVB 24 inch??? who is it made by and is it a 5.0, 10.0???? what wattage is your regular housebulb and what is your basking temp?. For the future, you need to be dusting your feeders at every feeding with Calcium without d3. You did not say if yours has d3 or not. Then you need to dust your feeders twice amonth with Calcium with d3 and a multivitamin also. Humidity is important also,not saying it is causing the eye problem but for the future you need to get some type of gauge to measure that. It should ideally stay around 50% and it should spike when you mist. Do you know about gutloading your crickets? I would only use the heat emitter if it gets below 60 or the very low 60's
 
oh sry its a reptisun 10.0 basking temp is now 80, and yes it is d3, and yes it is a multi vitamin. and i feed my crickets flukers with calcium. and its usually pretty cold in my aprtment.
 
Most all of us use the reptisun 5.0 in the same size cage that you are using. I don't know if the 10.0 could be causing the eye issue. It might be putting out too much UVB? Not 100% sure on this so hopefully someone with more knowledge on that bulb with elaborate. So definitely get some plain calcium without the d3 especially if it is the repcal. We just had a discussion yesterday or the day before about the potencty of Repcal with the d3. Also, you want to gutload your crickets with something better than Flukers. It is far more nutritional to gutload your feeders with fresh fruits and vegetables. Some you can use are kale, dandelion, mustard greens, romaine, collard greens, apples carrots, oranges, squash etc. If the 60 watt is just for more light, then are you saying your chameleon is basking under a 100 watt heat lamp?
 
sometimes i keep it on at night when its really cold. i was told to use a 10 for the larger cage. and i will absolutly get regular calcium. and i do always keep lettuce with the crickets. ya i was also told to use the 100 watt because its kinda cold in the room that i keep them in.
 
well, who told you to use the 10.0, I am curious? The size cage you are using....everyone uses the 5.0 with no issues. you can do what you want but I am just letting you know. Your basking temp is important. If your room is that cold and a 100 watt gives you a basking temp of about 85 or a little higher then it is ok. If not, then the 100 is too much. You can adjust your basking branch up or down to regulate the temp. You should not have any light on your cage at night at all. You can have heat if your are worried about the temps, but no light. Chams like it dark. My chameleon will not close his eyes until it is dark in the room. i have to cover his cage at night as his cage is right by my computer. He will stay awake all night if the lights are on.
 
ryanlegend said:
sometimes i keep it on at night when its really cold. i was told to use a 10 for the larger cage. and i will absolutly get regular calcium. and i do always keep lettuce with the crickets. ya i was also told to use the 100 watt because its kinda cold in the room that i keep them in.
Click to expand...

what kind of lettuce? regular head lettuce has very little nutritional value. You want to stick with dark green leaf vegetables but no spinach.
 
I use greens (dandelions, kale, endive, escarole, collards, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet red pepper, sweet potato, zucchini, etc.) to gutload/feed the crickets. Its okay to put a bit of romaine lettuce in to give them moisture...but it shouldn't be a main part of the diet for them.

Is your cage by a window? Vent?
 
when i got my 2nd cham he would keep 1 eye closed most of the time, often both. but he used both eyes to snag his food. i think it was stress that caused this issue. it lasted for about a week, he's now quit normal.
 
The reptisun 10.0 is used for desert animals like bearded dragons. It has a much higher UVB output and could be bothering his eyes. I think I would go get a 5.0 just to be on the safe side. A 10.0 is desert and a 5.0 is tropical.
 
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