recovery time

ge60705

New Member
hello all,
i need some help before, or if, i return to the vets please guys.

my veiled has both eyes shut during the day as if sleeping. occasionally opening one or the other. the eyes seem puffy or sunken at different times of the day. this has gone on for 4 days with a vet visit in between.


I have taken him to the vet and they were unsure what was wrong, gave me a packet of 'critical care formula' to give him 3 times a day. I am to return for blood test and xray if there is no improvement.

other info on here tends to mean it is vitamin A deficiency. would appreciate any info at this stage to help me with how long recovery time should be if this is correct, as I am noticing no improvement. if it is this, is this CCF powder the right thing ?

problems appeared to start after i renewed his uvb light on boxing day. until then he was fine. i got a zoo med repti sun 10.0 uvb compact fluorescent lamp off ebay. seller assures me it is new and unused.

i will take Clive back to the vets if there is no improvement, they have quoted 200 pounds for test, xray, treatment etc.

have started to bath him and spray more now, he stays at the highest point in the viv (not near the bulb) with eyes shut



* Cage Type - 36in tall, 22in w, 16in deep wooden viv with glass doors

* Lighting - zoo med repti sun 10.0 uvb compact fluorescent. on at 8am, off 5pm. british winter time. (vet counted on his fingers to work out 9hours..)

* Temperature - 95c on the vine closest to the 60w bulb, lowest is 70c

* Humidity - no method of humidity reading, sprayed just once daily but he drinks from a hamster bottle. walks away when he's had enough

* Plants - plastic plants, exo terra vines. dead wood branch soaked in bath of thin disinfectant and soaked overnight in clean water before use.

* Location - vertical viv on top of horizontal viv with beardie in near the window. sun doesnt reach the viv.


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - veiled, 13month old, male, bought in april 08.

* Handling - just weekly, bought from petshop as baby, was hissing and defensive from day one. likes me now, still hisses at others in the family.

* Feeding - occasionally eats 1 locust, or 1 cricket but will eat waxworms daily. occasional small / large mealworms. all gutloaded on romain lettuce, white grapes, dry hypoallergenic dog food (arden grange).

* Supplements - using nutrobal on the insects. 1 pinch daily on the food. got chameleon dust but rarely used. pet shop says nutrobal does it all.

* Watering - mist once daily, drinks from hamster bottle from my hand. walks away when he's had enough.

* Fecal Description - occasional yellow chalky ones, mostly brown with piece of white at the tip. not tested for parasites

* History - always been aggressive/hissing.


appreciate this is a long message but any help posted would be appreciated.

thanks,
GE
 
Your 10.0 CF bulb may be blinding your cham. Turn it off for 3 days and see if you get any improvement. Regardless, replace it with a linear tube Zoomed 5.0 reptisun . You'll need a linear flourescent fixture also , but the cost will be less than a repeated vet visit!!!

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/
 
I'm further curious??? Did your vet ask about your setup , lighting , husbandry??? Did your vet do a thorough history. If not, ask for your money back.
 
Your Vet sounds like he is less than informed. Chroma has the same thought I did-ditch the 10.0 compact and see if he improves. You also need some live plants to help with humidity, and a change in supplementation. Nutrobal is a multivite and you need a Calcium(Calypso) with and without D3. Lower your basking spot a tad, and the yellow poo indicates dehydration-I would also up the water a bit.
 
Your 10.0 CF bulb may be blinding your cham. Turn it off for 3 days and see if you get any improvement. Regardless, replace it with a linear tube Zoomed 5.0 reptisun . You'll need a linear flourescent fixture also , but the cost will be less than a repeated vet visit!!!

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/



thanks for these swift replies. the bulb i replaced was a 10%uvb compact lamp by ferplast so i would assume this is the same?
if i do switch it off for 3 days will it not cause any further damage to him?

new bulb
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180312373064
 
I agree with the advice thus far. Switch off the light and see if it helps. Make sure you have a calcium supplement.
Also I wouldnt use waxworms as a feeder at all and wouldnt use mealworms very often either. Neither are very good for them - treats only.
I would be cautious of using dog food as a gutload for the crickets.
Do you mean your basking spot is 95c as stated or 95F? You must mean 95F (35C).
I would suggest the hamster bottle may be insufficient for his drinking needs. Its not a hamster. Please consider a dripper or at least increasing the amount misted? And please consider buying an inexpensive digital humidity gauge. you can get ones that read both humidity and temperature for less than $50 (35£)
 
ok thanks everyone, really really helpful. i'l put the lamp in the bin and get the ferplast brand i got last time.

as for the food, it seems he would rather go without than eat crickets or locust so i put waxworms in as i know i can get the supplements into him.

is he like the rest of us, eat anything when he's hungry?
 
You said.."other info on here tends to mean it is vitamin A deficiency"...doesn't the nutrobal you are using have preformed vitamin A in it??
 
ok thanks everyone, really really helpful. i'l put the lamp in the bin and get the ferplast brand i got last time.

Ingeneral the linear lights are recommended. I ordered this fixture that UPS says is out for deliverey today. the bad part is I ordered it about a month ago.

http://www.americanag.com/products.php?cat=50

tryed to get it from a few different sites at varying prices but all were backorded so I waited it out with these guys who were the cheapest to begin with.

Anyways, you could order the 5.0 reptisun bulb from LLLreptile.com and I picked up a "plant" tube from Home Depot for $8 (i think) and that should help the plants a bit and brightening the cage a bit more during the day shouldn't be too bad either

Not sure where you are at but you might want to give that a shot even though it will cost you a bit upfront compared to just buying a new bulb.

Hope everything works out for you!
 
I live in England, what area do you live in? I can recommend an excellent vet but his practice is in Essex.
Personally I think you should spray your chameleon twice a day for humidity. It is better to buy a Little Dripper and fill that up daily with water too (as opposed to using a hamster bottle).
I think you don't have the lights on in his viv long enough. I have always used the 12 hours on and 12 hours off method myself. Especially as it is so cold in England right now (snow on the ground). No heat/light after 5pm isn't ideal IMO.
I use the reptisafe brand of UVB, can't say I've heard of the make you originally bought. I use 24" tubes and not the compact ones. Do you have a separate heat lamp? I believe 60 to 100 watts is best.
 
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i started using the hamster bottle to give water to clive after seeing it in a book. i think it was in this Vosjoli book.


the previous lamp was 10%, 26w similar to this.

i fully appreciate peoples comments and opinions but on another day on another forum if i had a 24" uv tube instead of a compact , i'd be getting the same advice to use the other :)

I'm in Cardiff, we are the last to get the cold weather here. if we get it, then we know the rest of uk is pretty bad.

p.s 95f is what i meant, not 95c..
 
Turn it off

i started using the hamster bottle to give water to clive after seeing it in a book. i think it was in this Vosjoli book.


the previous lamp was 10%, 26w similar to this.

i fully appreciate peoples comments and opinions but on another day on another forum if i had a 24" uv tube instead of a compact , i'd be getting the same advice to use the other :)

I'm in Cardiff, we are the last to get the cold weather here. if we get it, then we know the rest of uk is pretty bad.

p.s 95f is what i meant, not 95c..

I will bet money the issue is the 10.0 reptisun. I lost a panther to that light. He was having the same issues you had. I took him to the vet and they just gave me some cream and baytril. Turn off the 10.0 for a few days. you'll see him open his eyes more. Mist him well too. The UV guide is GREAT. The reason my guy died from that lamp is because he was young and after losing sight couldn't eat... and i didn't realize the issue until it was too late.:mad:
 
ge60705.... did you read the article on cf UVb bulbs on the UK site that was linked earlier in this thread.

To disregard opinion is fine , but the issue with these bulbs is documented fact.

And, you wont find any forum , thread or post advocating a CF over a linear tube, ANYWHERE on the web!

Please don't post your anguish and confusion later, if your cham passes away. because you choose to disregard good solid advice.

At least turn off the light for a few days to see if it remedies the situation.
 
yes i did thanks. ive chucked the newer bulb i got over xmas, ive left clive with just a heat bulb for yesterday and today. i am in work now, i'l see what he's like when i get in.


if things return to normal after chucking the old bulb i'l be asking ebay seller for refund. ive already sent her the uv guide youve shown me on here, which she has yet to comment on.
 
Just to further the issue with the compact bulb, I have a male vieled that has poor eyesight. He can see, but not enough to shoot at free roaming food. I have to cup feed him. He knows when I come to his cage with food and zooms up to his roost above his dish. Like many folks here, I was given the vieled and hadn't a clue how to care for it and did my best. Thankfully I didn't kill him! I am much more knowledgeable now and have learned many new husbandry skills while on this forum.

Good luck with your little friend.
 
Good luck with your little friend.

aye thanks.
day 2 of removing the uv light and clives eyes are both open and almost protruding properly. 3rd day tomorrow, i'l introduce the new uv light.

he hasnt eaten yet mind, but he is still on the critical care formula and additional water. he sees the food but doesnt appear interested.

many thanks therefore to all concerned with the help and advice posted here. :)
 
Please let the new tube be a Zoomed Reptisun 5.0 linear tube or something similar.

/agree

wait... he is probably using a different brand compact based on what he said about different forum opinions ... ouch!

Please get a reptisun florescent tube. Funny how the same brand makes the best and worst UVb lights in different forms.
 
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