PLEASE HELP!! CHAMELEON EYE

dillchameleon

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Hi, I REALLY cannot afford a vet visit at the moment but I’m very concerned about my chameleons eye. He’s been rubbing it up on his branches and leaves and yesterday there was a weird mucus on it. Today it looks normal but still weird. Anyone know what the problem is and how to fix it???? PLEASE HELP!!!!
 

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Hi there welcome to the forum. Your boy is very thin. Per the eye has he shed recently? Does he get misted? What supplements are you using and in what rotation?

Can you post some pics of your entire cage from the lighting down so I can take a look?
 
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He has been shedding recently. I mist the cage once per day and use a fogger at night. I dust his bugs with calcium every feeding which is usually twice/three times per week. I will post pics of the whole cage
 
He has been shedding recently. I mist the cage once per day and use a fogger at night. I dust his bugs with calcium every feeding which is usually twice/three times per week. I will post pics of the whole cage
So this little man should be eating every day at least a dozen feeders (1/2 inch crickets are most common at this age).

Can you take a pic of your supplements so I can see the label? There are quite a few different types.
 
So this little man should be eating every day at least a dozen feeders (1/2 inch crickets are most common at this age).

Can you take a pic of your supplements so I can see the label? There are quite a few different types.
I use repticalcium without D3
 
I use repticalcium without D3
ok that is good and are you using a multivitamin? So the best way for us to get a better idea of what is going on with him are with pics of the entire enclosure including the lighting on top. And then if you want to do a husbandry review we can help further. If you want to fill out the husbandry form just copy it below and paste it into your reply then fill out.

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.
 
Species: Veiled

Sex: Male

In ownership of him since August 2022 (roughly 5 months)

Handling: once a month, max. Sometimes less than that

Feeding: 2/3x per week. I am learning this may be insufficient. I’m following a feeding guide I found online but this may all be incorrect so please let me know. 4 wax worms, 4 meal worms per feeding. Dusted with Repticalcium w/o d3

Supplements: repticalcium w/o d3. That is all. No vitamins

Watering: fogger at night. Mist thoroughly once per day. I do see him drink

Fecal description: looks normal to me? White with black on the ends?

History: I did buy him from petsmart because I personally know the woman who was caring for him at the time and she seemed well knowledged and trustworthy. I was also not very confident in buying one from an online breeder because I’ve never owned a chameleon before so I just went with petsmart.



Cage type: repti breeze XL full screen enclosure

Lighting: unsure of the brand but you can see in the pics. I use a regular house bulb (I think it’s like 75 watt?)

Temp& humidity: usually 75-80 degrees and I’m unsure of the humidity, my thermometer is sometimes inaccurate.

Plants: Pothos, draecana (might’ve misspelled), and spider plant

Placement: in my bedroom on top of a stand. I live in Kansas City MO





Current problem: eye issues, won’t ever let me handle him, seems very thin and I don’t know how to properly clean his cage when he won’t let me get him out of the cage. I also don’t know where to put him while im cleaning his cage
 
ok that is good and are you using a multivitamin? So the best way for us to get a better idea of what is going on with him are with pics of the entire enclosure including the lighting on top. And then if you want to do a husbandry review we can help further. If you want to fill out the husbandry form just copy it below and paste it into your reply then fill out.

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.
 

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Can you provide some pics of your chams back feet? I’m starting to suspect you have a little girl.
What makes you think it’s a girl? A few months ago I did a post asking what the gender is and people said male. I really hope it’s not a girl because I’m not sure if I know how to properly handle a girl!!!!
 

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What makes you think it’s a girl? A few months ago I did a post asking what the gender is and people said male. I really hope it’s not a girl because I’m not sure if I know how to properly handle a girl!!!!
I’m looking at casque size and that you’ve had him/her for 5 months. Even if you got him freshly hatched, he’s be showing some height to his casque by now. Here’s my boy at 4 months (arrow pointing at his tarsal spur), 5 months and then at 6 months his casque just shot way up. I’ll go back and look at your previous post.
C06BEE3E-97C5-44C4-BAA8-9800A289FEA7.jpeg CF877308-2D7B-45E2-A716-235F3291C0AC.jpeg 3D39822A-A389-4F69-9DFC-DF4FC4B68823.jpeg
 
Species: Veiled

Sex: Male

In ownership of him since August 2022 (roughly 5 months)
So when you posted asking about his gender in September, it was guesstimated that he was about 5 months old then, so he’s got to be somewhere around 7-8 months old now. He doesn’t look it though.
Handling: once a month, max. Sometimes less than that

Feeding: 2/3x per week. I am learning this may be insufficient. I’m following a feeding guide I found online but this may all be incorrect so please let me know. This may be why he doesn’t look his age. If this is how much you’ve been feeding him since you got him, it just isn’t enough. Plus, the feeders you’re giving aren’t nutritious enough. Attaching feeder and gutloading graphics. Your boy needs some good staple feeders like crickets, roaches, silkworms, bsfl, etc. In order for the bugs to be more nutritious for your chameleon, you need to feed them well and keep them as healthy as possible. Until your fella gets some decent growth, I’m going to say to feed him daily, about 5-6 good feeders. If his casque or cheeks start getting puffy, cut back to every other day. 4 wax worms, 4 meal worms per feeding. Dusted with Repticalcium w/o d3

Supplements: repticalcium w/o d3. That is all. No vitamins This is probably why he’s having an eye issue and another reason for lack of growth. He needs a good multivitamin and with vitamin D3, he isn’t able to absorb the calcium. I use Reptivite with D3 at one feeding every other week. Another one that is good to use is Repashy Calcium Plus LoD used with the same frequency. Both of these have preformed vitamin A, which is good for eye health.

Watering: fogger at night. Mist thoroughly once per day. I do see him drink You really should be misting at least twice a day, for two minutes each time...right before lights go on and right before they go off. I also add a third misting for just 1 minute mid day for my chams.

Fecal description: looks normal to me? White with black on the ends?

History: I did buy him from petsmart because I personally know the woman who was caring for him at the time and she seemed well knowledged and trustworthy. I was also not very confident in buying one from an online breeder because I’ve never owned a chameleon before so I just went with petsmart. No judgement from me.



Cage type: repti breeze XL full screen enclosure

Lighting: unsure of the brand but you can see in the pics. I use a regular house bulb (I think it’s like 75 watt?) What about your uvb? I see that it’s a linear fixture, but is it a T5 or T8? What is the strength of the bulb? It should be written on the end of the bulb if your don’t know.

Temp& humidity: usually 75-80 degrees and I’m unsure of the humidity, my thermometer is sometimes inaccurate. 75 is a bit cool. For an older boy you can have your basking temps between 80-85. It is important to know humidity. Digital gauges with probe ends are usually more accurate.

Plants: Pothos, draecana (might’ve misspelled), and spider plant

Placement: in my bedroom on top of a stand. I live in Kansas City MO





Current problem: eye issues, won’t ever let me handle him, seems very thin and I don’t know how to properly clean his cage when he won’t let me get him out of the cage. I also don’t know where to put him while im cleaning his cage
Re: his eye problem. It could be any number of causes…infection, particle stuck in the eye, keratin plug, etc. However, after looking at the lack of multivitamin and specifically vitamin A, I’ll guess that is the cause. One of mine had a bad eye (closed, goopy/crusty) when I got him from lack of vitamins. It did take some time (months), but with correct care it did resolve. Even after just the first dose of a multivitamin he showed improvement though.
For handling, you need to work on building trust. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ However, even then it’s possible he still won’t like being handled. It’s a veiled thing…they just don’t like us much. :)
Do you need to remove him completely to clean his enclosure? If you aren’t using chemicals, I would just clean around him. If you do need to remove him, maybe set up a free range area in that window. Doesn’t have to be anything fancy. A nice pothos with it’s vines secured to something would work well.
Yes, he is thin as he’s essentially malnourished. He hasn’t been getting enough food and is lacking needed vitamins and minerals. This all is easily corrected though and he should then do just fine. I’m not sure if he will be able to reach the size of other males, but as long as he’s healthy that doesn’t matter.

B3C0D861-4ED5-411D-99AB-5DAF4D74AF97.jpeg
00E89856-A25A-41D1-8F2D-4B053E018FC1.jpeg
 
Species: Veiled

Sex: Male

In ownership of him since August 2022 (roughly 5 months)
So when you posted asking about his gender in September, it was guesstimated that he was about 5 months old then, so he’s got to be somewhere around 7-8 months old now. He doesn’t look it though.
Handling: once a month, max. Sometimes less than that

Feeding: 2/3x per week. I am learning this may be insufficient. I’m following a feeding guide I found online but this may all be incorrect so please let me know. This may be why he doesn’t look his age. If this is how much you’ve been feeding him since you got him, it just isn’t enough. Plus, the feeders you’re giving aren’t nutritious enough. Attaching feeder and gutloading graphics. Your boy needs some good staple feeders like crickets, roaches, silkworms, bsfl, etc. In order for the bugs to be more nutritious for your chameleon, you need to feed them well and keep them as healthy as possible. Until your fella gets some decent growth, I’m going to say to feed him daily, about 5-6 good feeders. If his casque or cheeks start getting puffy, cut back to every other day. 4 wax worms, 4 meal worms per feeding. Dusted with Repticalcium w/o d3

Supplements: repticalcium w/o d3. That is all. No vitamins This is probably why he’s having an eye issue and another reason for lack of growth. He needs a good multivitamin and without vitamin D3, he isn’t able to absorb the calcium. I use Reptivite with D3 at one feeding every other week. Another one that is good to use is Repashy Calcium Plus LoD used with the same frequency. Both of these have preformed vitamin A, which is good for eye health.

Watering: fogger at night. Mist thoroughly once per day. I do see him drink You really should be misting at least twice a day, for two minutes each time...right before lights go on and right before they go off. I also add a third misting for just 1 minute mid day for my chams.

Fecal description: looks normal to me? White with black on the ends?

History: I did buy him from petsmart because I personally know the woman who was caring for him at the time and she seemed well knowledged and trustworthy. I was also not very confident in buying one from an online breeder because I’ve never owned a chameleon before so I just went with petsmart. No judgement from me.



Cage type: repti breeze XL full screen enclosure

Lighting: unsure of the brand but you can see in the pics. I use a regular house bulb (I think it’s like 75 watt?) What about your uvb? I see that it’s a linear fixture, but is it a T5 or T8? What is the strength of the bulb? It should be written on the end of the bulb if your don’t know.

Temp& humidity: usually 75-80 degrees and I’m unsure of the humidity, my thermometer is sometimes inaccurate. 75 is a bit cool. For an older boy you can have your basking temps between 80-85. It is important to know humidity. Digital gauges with probe ends are usually more accurate.

Plants: Pothos, draecana (might’ve misspelled), and spider plant

Placement: in my bedroom on top of a stand. I live in Kansas City MO





Current problem: eye issues, won’t ever let me handle him, seems very thin and I don’t know how to properly clean his cage when he won’t let me get him out of the cage. I also don’t know where to put him while im cleaning his cage
Re: his eye problem. It could be any number of causes…infection, particle stuck in the eye, keratin plug, etc. However, after looking at the lack of multivitamin and specifically vitamin A, I’ll guess that is the cause. One of mine had a bad eye (closed, goopy/crusty) when I got him from lack of vitamins. It did take some time (months), but with correct care it did resolve. Even after just the first dose of a multivitamin he showed improvement though.
For handling, you need to work on building trust. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/ However, even then it’s possible he still won’t like being handled. It’s a veiled thing…they just don’t like us much. :)
Do you need to remove him completely to clean his enclosure? If you aren’t using chemicals, I would just clean around him. If you do need to remove him, maybe set up a free range area in that window. Doesn’t have to be anything fancy. A nice pothos with it’s vines secured to something would work well.
Yes, he is thin as he’s essentially malnourished. He hasn’t been getting enough food and is lacking needed vitamins and minerals. This all is easily corrected though and he should then do just fine. I’m not sure if he will be able to reach the size of other males, but as long as he’s healthy that doesn’t matter.

View attachment 332639View attachment 332640
Oh my gosh… I had no idea he is malnourished. I feel awful wow. Thank you. Where do you purchase those bugs from? The closest pet store to me only sells wax worms, crickets and meal worms. Is there a way to get around having to feed crickets? I just hate them and they die super quick. Also, where do you buy the vitamins from? Thanks
 
You can purchase either multivitamin online. I buy mine through amazon.

This is the reptivite with D3. You want the 2 oz bottle and make sure you choose with D3. This one is only given two times a month say the 1st and the 15th. Then all other feedings you will use the calcium without D3.
. https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Rept...1&sr=1-1-f0029781-b79b-4b60-9cb0-eeda4dea34d6

increase his food intake to at least 12-15 every day. You want to add in something like crickets as your base feeder. Waxworms are ok as a small amount while he is young. No mealworms. You can order crickets directly from a supplier or go into petsmart to get them. They are cheaper if you order large amounts from the supplier. When mine was this young I was ordering 500 every 3 weeks. You will get some die offs so I always ordered more than less. I got mine from Rainbow mealworms I would get 3 or 4 week old crickets. Here is their site https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/crickets/
They sell other feeders as well.
 
Oh my gosh… I had no idea he is malnourished. I feel awful wow. Thank you. Where do you purchase those bugs from? The closest pet store to me only sells wax worms, crickets and meal worms. Is there a way to get around having to feed crickets? I just hate them and they die super quick. Also, where do you buy the vitamins from? Thanks
I’m sorry that my words made you feel awful as you aren’t awful. You were doing your best to give your chameleon his best life…you just lacked the correct info. There’s so very much bad and old info out there on chams and when pet stores act like they know what chams need it makes it all worse. The important thing is that you’re here now and listening and going to make the changes your guy needs. 💗 So, let’s move forward.
Many of us buy our bugs on line since local pet stores are usually very limited in options. Check out the forum sponsors. https://www.chameleonforums.com/sponsors/?tag=food Places like Dubia.com, Rainbow mealworms and Critter Depot are great for getting a variety all in one order. Also Josh’s Frogs and Linda’s Gone Buggy are great sources too (but not sponsors). Try banded crickets (available on line). They are so much better than the domestic crickets - less stinky and don’t die so easily.
 
I'll hop in and say I've gotten my bugs from dubia.com and they've been great. I mostly feed dubias (not much smell, they're HARDY and live forever, I swear, and they can't fly, climb well, or bite). I also do BSFL (or the flies themselves for some hunting enrichment when I forget I have a bunch of them and they all gestate overnight and suddenly I have a container full of flies >_>) and my cham really loves both. I'm waiting for Dubia.com to get their silkworms for sale because when they do, they'll definitely be added to my list.

Little Guy, my panther, will eat right out of my hand now.

I haven't touched a cricket since he was a tiny baby and I have never looked back. HATE those things!
 
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