One Eye Troubles

[Tofu & Safa]

Hello, my little guy- Tofu- is around two months old panther chameleon and regularly shuts his right eye when he's not using it. It's open for about 75% of the time he's awake. It's not getting worse or better and it's been the case since I got him three weeks ago. When he arrived he had a slight kink near the end of his tail, now that centimeter or so near the end has since turned black and fallen off . I'm thinking maybe rough handling during transport?

The eye itself is nearly identical counterpart. It's only slightly swollen under the opening of the lid (maybe 5-10%) and the lid itself sags ever so slightly and makes a "0" shape instead of the standard near-perfect circle "o" shape.

He's in a small screened vertical cage (repti-breeze, I think) with uvb and uva lights and an infrared ceramic heat emitter over the cage. I spray his enclosure twice daily. He eats crickets and superworms every day dusted with calcium and standard lizard multivitamin, alternating days. He's very fussy drinker and I have been resorting to a slow-drip syringe to get him to drink out of. Every so often he refuses to drink and I have to use a small pipette and. wiggle some water into his mouth. I do this when he gets super fussy and turns dark and tired. After a forced drink of water his colors go super light, he often uses the bathroom, and seems very happy again. His urine is typically a healthy white. He also shed last week in the quick and easy way only a juvenile can.

He's a slow to rise and early to bed kind of chameleon, awake but drowsy until about 8am and ready to go to sleep around 5:30pm.

There are some live plants growing in his enclosure as I am planning to move them (and later him) into a vivarium in the summer. I have done my research and all his plants are on the safe list.

I thought to maybe give him a chance to get a good rinse so I took him into a warm shower yesterday on a vine, shielding him from any big water droplets going for him. Lastly, he does one weird thing. When he eats a particularly large cricket or just about any superworm, he gasps for breath a few times afterward. It's just a few times after and I always figured it was b/c he was smol and found it hard to gulp down such big food! He does it rarely when he drinks water, too, but never outside of post-eating/drinking scenarios.

I would appreciate any help, thanks you cold-blooded (cricket) killers!

Tofu and Safa

(PS, I'm at work now, but I can maybe post photos this afternoon when I get home).

 

[Beman]

Hi there welcome to the forum. For us to be able to give you the best feedback please fill out the form below with detail by copy pasting it into your reply. We will need images of the cage lighting down and of the baby. The tail sounds like the end became necrotic. This is something you really have to be careful of because if there was infection it can continue to kill off the tissue in the tail. This would be a reason for a vet visit with a reptile vet not a regular vet. The eye issues could be many things but we need details to help narrow down the cause.


Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• 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?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

--------------

Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[Tofu & Safa]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Panther 2 Months old, 3 months in my care
• Handling - 30minutes a day
• Feeding - crickets, superworms, flukes orange gutload blocks and water gel thingies
• Supplements - calcium and vitamin mix alternating between the two daily zoomed
• Watering - Spray water on the leaves 1/2 times a day, offer him water from a syringe once a day, rarely have to pipette water for him
• Fecal Description - Big dookies and a small white urine pellet
• History - He's abnormally sweet and daresay affectionate (weird for chameleon, I know) never hissed or even flattened himself out or postured offensively.
• So about the tail thing. It turned from pretty green to black within a matter of 8 hours. The next morning he was trying to bite it off and it looked very very limp. That afternoon, after work, the tip looked completely desiccated like a dried out husk, flat, useless, and insensate when I pinched it. I dipped nail clippers in boiled water and sanitized them with isopropyl alcohol and clipped off the dead part. No bleeding, no oozing, no indication of pain or soreness. The little black bit that I left behind is drying away and you wouldn't ever know there was anything wrong with it and the blackness is not creeping down the tail like necrosis or anything.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen reptibreeze small size
• Lighting - Zoomed uvb halogen light and blue uva daytime light turn off and on with sunset/sunrise.
• Temperature - Room is 72F at all times at least and during the day the cage is a little warmer, there is a light basking spot 85, an infrared basking spot 89, and a cool spot 77, not to mention being able to hide in the underbrush where it can get much cooler bc of plants
• Humidity - My room is 40% humidity, spraying brings cage humidity up to like 65/70 but it hovers around 40-60 most of the day.
• Plants - Living plants are close to the ground and I've never seen him go on them. They are all on the chameleon safe plant list. I just got them a week ago.
• Placement - I have the attic bedroom, the room is well vented, but there isn't one over his cage, the window lets in light from the east and the south, he's 7 feet from the nearst window so it doesn't sap heat.
• Location - Northern VA, near DC

I think I covered most of this in my initial post, but if you need it itemized, I'm happy to oblige!

 

[Beman]

@ERKleRose can you jump in on this one?

 

[ERKleRose]

@ERKleRose can you jump in on this one?

Yup, give me a minute

 

[ERKleRose]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Panther 2 Months old, 3 months in my care
• Handling - 30minutes a day
• Feeding - crickets, superworms, flukes orange gutload blocks and water gel thingies
• Supplements - calcium and vitamin mix alternating between the two daily zoomed
• Watering - Spray water on the leaves 1/2 times a day, offer him water from a syringe once a day, rarely have to pipette water for him
• Fecal Description - Big dookies and a small white urine pellet
• History - He's abnormally sweet and daresay affectionate (weird for chameleon, I know) never hissed or even flattened himself out or postured offensively.
• So about the tail thing. It turned from pretty green to black within a matter of 8 hours. The next morning he was trying to bite it off and it looked very very limp. That afternoon, after work, the tip looked completely desiccated like a dried out husk, flat, useless, and insensate when I pinched it. I dipped nail clippers in boiled water and sanitized them with isopropyl alcohol and clipped off the dead part. No bleeding, no oozing, no indication of pain or soreness. The little black bit that I left behind is drying away and you wouldn't ever know there was anything wrong with it and the blackness is not creeping down the tail like necrosis or anything.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen reptibreeze small size
• Lighting - Zoomed uvb halogen light and blue uva daytime light turn off and on with sunset/sunrise.
• Temperature - Room is 72F at all times at least and during the day the cage is a little warmer, there is a light basking spot 85, an infrared basking spot 89, and a cool spot 77, not to mention being able to hide in the underbrush where it can get much cooler bc of plants
• Humidity - My room is 40% humidity, spraying brings cage humidity up to like 65/70 but it hovers around 40-60 most of the day.
• Plants - Living plants are close to the ground and I've never seen him go on them. They are all on the chameleon safe plant list. I just got them a week ago.
• Placement - I have the attic bedroom, the room is well vented, but there isn't one over his cage, the window lets in light from the east and the south, he's 7 feet from the nearst window so it doesn't sap heat.
• Location - Northern VA, near DC

I think I covered most of this in my initial post, but if you need it itemized, I'm happy to oblige!

Could you please combine your two posts on here together in this format, as well as add any more details you may have left out, please? It’ll just help us be able to help you more! Adding pics of him, his lights, and his full cage will help tons, as well!

 

[Tofu & Safa]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Panther 2 Months old, 3 weeks in my care
• Handling - 30minutes a day
• Feeding - crickets, superworms, flukes orange gutload blocks and water gel thingies
• Supplements - calcium and vitamin mix alternating between the two daily zoomed
• Watering - He's very fussy drinker and I have been resorting to a slow-drip syringe to get him to drink out of. Every so often he refuses to drink and I have to use a small pipette and. wiggle some water into his mouth.
• Fecal Description - Big dookies and a small white urine pellet
• History - He's abnormally sweet and daresay affectionate (weird for chameleon, I know) never hissed or even flattened himself out or postured offensively.
• So about the tail thing. It turned from pretty green to black within a matter of 8 hours. The next morning he was trying to bite it off and it looked very very limp. That afternoon, after work, the tip looked completely desiccated like a dried out husk, flat, useless, and insensate when I pinched it. I dipped nail clippers in boiled water and sanitized them with isopropyl alcohol and clipped off the dead part. No bleeding, no oozing, no indication of pain or soreness. The little black bit that I left behind is drying away and you wouldn't ever know there was anything wrong with it and the blackness is not creeping down the tail like necrosis or anything.
• What's Wrong: Regularly shuts his right eye when he's not using it. It's open for about 75% of the time he's awake. It's not getting worse or better and it's been the case since I got him three weeks ago. It looks like there's ever so slightly a little "gunk" in in but its not oozing or anything. The eye itself is nearly identical counterpart. It's only slightly swollen under the opening of the lid (maybe 5-10%) and the lid itself sags ever so slightly and makes a "0" shape instead of the standard near-perfect circle "o" shape. Also, if you brush up against the eye very lightly, he leans into your wiggling finger almost like a dog to get his eye scratched, but only really on the right side.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen reptibreeze small size
• Lighting - Zoomed uvb halogen light and blue uva daytime light turn off and on with sunset/sunrise.
• Temperature - Room is 72F at all times at least and during the day the cage is a little warmer, there is a light basking spot 85, an infrared basking spot 89, and a cool spot 77, not to mention being able to hide in the underbrush where it can get much cooler bc of plants
• Humidity - My room is 40% humidity, spraying brings cage humidity up to like 65/70 but it hovers around 40-60 most of the day.
• Plants - Living plants are close to the ground and I've never seen him go on them. They are all on the chameleon safe plant list. I just got them a week ago.
• Placement - I have the attic bedroom, the room is well vented, but there isn't one over his cage, the window lets in light from the east and the south, he's 7 feet from the nearst window so it doesn't sap heat.
• Location - Northern VA, near DC