new baby veiled eye problem?

[gogochameleon]

I dont have time right now to fill out ask for help form, I have a 2 week old veiled, owned for two days, and he is scratching both hims eyes, and often. Now one is closed and the turrent is not moving. He/she is scratching them very hard on everthing. Sometime he/she will have both closed for a min or two. Is this normal baby eye rubbing? Gave him a light spray with water(very light)

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

this isn't normal, and the more you brighten it with a light and mist it, the more irritated it can become. is it possible he is starting a shed? he may have scratched his eye already on something and is trying to rub it or get something out (like we do), but even that isn't normal. chameleons will usually compress and decompress their eyes in and out of the sockets while moving the eye in a circular motion while closing it tight to push what ever out. scratching is not normal sounding to me unless it is due to shedding complications. as much as you don't want to, you will need to find the time to complete the help form for further help input and suggestions.

 

[gogochameleon]

chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
He/she is a Veiled chameleon, approx 2 week old, care for 2 days

* Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
Only twice, once to put in the cage and once to move plants.

* Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
Crickets, and small lobster roaches when I find small ones in my roach colony. He has only ate a few crix.
I gutload with kale greens and mustard greens and Flukers water gel.

* Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
Dusting with Flukers calcium w/o d3 every feeding to every other, and calcium with d3 every 2 weeks

* 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 homemade dripper(drop every 3-5 seconds) that drips 3/4 of the day, I mist 2-4 times a day with spray bottle, I seen him drink couple times

* Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
Havent seen any poop

* History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
Store couldnt say much, just that its a veiled. He was in a screen enclosure with 10+ other chams.

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
Glass 20 gallon, my screen cage is to big for him.

* Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
Repti Glo 5.0 uvb/uva and 60 watt white house bulb. 1030am-1030pm

* Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
Average cage temp is 70, range from 66 at night to 74 during the day, basking average is 84. I use a midgrade outdoor/indoor thermometer/hydrometer.

* Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
60-70 percent humidity, misting and dripper with help from plants. Midgrade thermometer/hydrometer

* Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
Pothos

* 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?
My bedroom, no vents, top of cage is 6 ft from floor

* Location - Where are you geographically located?
Washington state......BURR

I dont have time right now to fill out ask for help form, I have a 2 week old veiled, owned for two days, and he is scratching both hims eyes, and often. Now one is closed and the turrent is not moving. He/she is scratching them very hard on everthing. Sometime he/she will have both closed for a min or two. Is this normal baby eye rubbing? Gave him a light spray with water(very light)

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

everything seems fine to me, i hope i caught everything. only two things concern me though and one you will need to change asap. you need to cut the basking bulb, you bought your chameleon at an unacceptably young age. he is still a neonate and your chameleon will die with temperatures that high. room temperature (74-75, even a degree or two lower) will suffice for a neonate and they will thrive. the other thing i question is, how big are the crickets you are feeding your chameleon? if they aren't pin heads then he is not going to eat. if they are big enough, your chameleon has the chance of being bitten and eaten by crickets. is there any possibility a cricket could have irritated, scratched or harmed your chameleons eye? what sorts of decorations do you have as well? any sharp or pointy vines or branches? fake plants? forgive me if i missed that

 

[gogochameleon]

everything seems fine to me, i hope i caught everything. only two things concern me though and one you will need to change asap. you need to cut the basking bulb, you bought your chameleon at an unacceptably young age. he is still a neonate and your chameleon will die with temperatures that high. room temperature (74-75, even a degree or two lower) will suffice for a neonate and they will thrive. the other thing i question is, how big are the crickets you are feeding your chameleon? if they aren't pin heads then he is not going to eat. if they are big enough, your chameleon has the chance of being bitten and eaten by crickets. is there any possibility a cricket could have irritated, scratched or harmed your chameleons eye? what sorts of decorations do you have as well? any sharp or pointy vines or branches? fake plants? forgive me if i missed that

Ditching the basking bulb. When should I introduce the basking bulb back? I feed him pinheads crix, I just have a Pothos and sticks. He is doing it right now and he is really diggin at the right eye more but he does scratch both, 25% left and 75% right. Right eye closed more often but both are bothering him. Prob not a crix scratch because both eyes are irritated but is possible. Should I try "Refreshing Tears" drops, I read that once online?

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

Ditching the basking bulb. When should I introduce the basking bulb back? I feed him pinheads crix, I just have a Pothos and sticks. He is doing it right now and he is really diggin at the right eye more but he does scratch both, 25% left and 75% right. Right eye closed more often but both are bothering him. Prob not a crix scratch because both eyes are irritated but is possible. Should I try "Refreshing Tears" drops, I read that once online?

do not add the basking light till about 7 months of age, at that age. their basking temp should be about 78 degrees at that age, and if room temperature doesnt kick it to that, than a low wattage heat incandescent house bulb will do the trick. i do not know what to tell you honestly at this point. im not sure what time it is where you are, but if his lights are supposed to be off, then let him sleep. i would only use saline eye drops or turtle eye drops, but only if for sure nessesary. please try and post some good pics of the eye if possible

also, check out my 2 blogs about veiled care.

 

[Julirs]

Whoa-the basking bulb is just fine. Chameleonsinmyhouse-why would you suggest that it is not? I use a basking bulb on neos on one side of the cage at about 80 degrees-that is NOT too hot. I can imagine in Washington state right not temps are pretty cool and keeping a neo to cool would possibly cause it not to eat. The 20 gallon is good for this young baby, and you can easily keep the basking bulb to one side. Make sure it is around the 80 mark. As for his eyes-what kind of UVB are you using. I still have to be suspect of compact causing these kinds of issues. I would mist a very fine mist right at the babies head for 5 minutes at a time to help him clear the eyes of any debris if the lightng is not the case. Do you have pictures of the animal or setup?

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

Julirs, i'm sorry but i totally disagree with you, and no disrespect but someone is nuts if they are keeping a neonate 2 weeks old at 80 degrees and thinks it is right. low to mid 70's for hatchlings.

 

[Julirs]

Julirs, i'm sorry but i totally disagree with you, and no disrespect but someone is nuts if they are keeping a neonate 2 weeks old at 80 degrees and thinks it is right. low to mid 70's for hatchlings.

I am seriously trying to help the OP, and not cause any issues-but how many baby Veileds have you raised?

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

i've raised 2 babies, and have been looking after and keeping veileds for the last two years. i'll also be raising a full clutch of veiled hatchlings as they come. veileds are the most i research, the longest i've been in contact with. i agree that we are trying to help the OP, but that information kind of upsets me, seeing as i've never ever ever heard of that. i think we can all agree we dont want any more issues happening with the OP's chameleon, so maybe we should both back off and wait for back ups, and see what more have to say instead of debating the temps.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/chameleonsinmyhouse/395-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet.html
https://www.chameleonforums.com/blo...e/396-veiled-chameleon-care-sheet-part-2.html

 

[kinyonga]

I keep my hatchling veileds' cage temperature in the low 80's in the warmest area and not much lower throughout the rest of the cage. I don't ever keep them as low as the mid to low 70's in the warmest part. I've been raising/hatching/keeping chameleons and other reptiles for over 20 years. At the end of 3 months I have always had close to a 95% survival rate.

 

[Julirs]

OK-I have raised a few clutches here. Again, I am not here to prove anything, but to help the OP. Here is a picture of how I set up a clutch of Veileds. I use plastic "totes". with a 48" UVB bulb stretched accross the top. You can see each tote has a basking lamp, with each one measured at 80 degree directly under the bulb. I live in Florida, so ambient room temps are 75-77 degrees in July. So please tell me what a 3-5 degree ambient temperature will hurt in your opinion?

As you can see, I have raised a few babies-here is 1/3 of a single clutch.

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

74-77 degrees is what i have as ambient to hot point recorded in my care sheet.

 

[jannb]

I've raised baby veileds and panthers. The important thing is not to let the babies get too hot. Their little bodies heat up really fast. I never use a basking light. I use a double fluorescent hood that houses a tube/linear Repti-sun 5.0 and a regular white fluorescent tube light. In my house this keeps the temperature right at 80. I live in FL but if in a cold climite you might would have to use a very low watt basking bulb to keep the babies top temp at 80. I'd try a 15 or 25 watt to start with.

 

[DeviousMike]

I might be a little off base here, but isn't selling a 2 week old cham a little irresponsible by the breeder because they're still fragile and might have problems? I'm in no way trying to be a downer but I know that my breeder only sells at about 3 months old so they are past the fragile stage. This makes sense to me because natural selection will take away the weaker babies so that what you have left have a great chance of surviving when they get to their new keepers. So what I guess I am saying is that perhaps you might have just got a weaker baby.

 

[Julirs]

I might be a little off base here, but isn't selling a 2 week old cham a little irresponsible by the breeder because they're still fragile and might have problems? I'm in no way trying to be a downer but I know that my breeder only sells at about 3 months old so they are past the fragile stage. This makes sense to me because natural selection will take away the weaker babies so that what you have left have a great chance of surviving when they get to their new keepers. So what I guess I am saying is that perhaps you might have just got a weaker baby.

You are not off base at all. People should not be selling babies this young.

 

[DeviousMike]

You are not off base at all. People should not be selling babies this young.

Thanks. I just don't want to be the potential bearer of bad news.

 

[ChameleonsInMyHouse]

glad to have gotten our dispute cleared up over PM Juli. you guys have some great setups, that i will be mimicking when my clutch hatches down the road. yes deviousmike, 2 weeks is very irresponsible, but if presearched ahead of time, can grow nice and healthy and live longer. ChameleonRave's chameleon was 2 weeks when he got it, just an example

 

[DeviousMike]

glad to have gotten our dispute cleared up over PM Juli. you guys have some great setups, that i will be mimicking when my clutch hatches down the road. yes deviousmike, 2 weeks is very irresponsible, but if presearched ahead of time, can grow nice and healthy and live longer. ChameleonRave's chameleon was 2 weeks when he got it, just an example

This I know too, since I have a veil that I now approximate was about a month old when I got him. I just want to let the OP know that there is a chance at taking a neo and one of them is that they may not be the healthiest at that stage.

 

[gogochameleon]

This I know too, since I have a veil that I now approximate was about a month old when I got him. I just want to let the OP know that there is a chance at taking a neo and one of them is that they may not be the healthiest at that stage.

Ya I knew the risk of taking such a young cham, with good care and forums like this makes things go smoother(I know this is not a vet). I own two chams already that are doing great. Im still in the middle about the basking bulb. Its 40 outside and has been raining for weeks now so its gets colder in the house in winter, gas gets spendy here in wa. My house is usually pretty cool all the time. I will use a basking bulb still but try to not go over 80 to be safe. Thank you for photos and ideas. He still is having the eye problem. I think they shouldnt be sold that young either but those chams in the store there go fast and most people couldnt or wouldnt give the care I would or can so I have to get him/her. All I got is time, money and lots of love for these retiles so I had to. And just top my day off, but my montium just found out how to jump over his free range cages wall from the top of his tree!! He is doing a superman leap from up top, this is scary. I will be going to homedepot after i write this!!!