Sick Chameleon?

[FiKastro]

I am new to keeping chameleons. I have been worried about my guy for the past few days. I find him laying on the branches/not standing up during the day, and a lot of time one or both of his eyes are closed. I have some pictures of his eyes but I don’t know whats wrong or how I can fix it

 

[nightanole]

Looks good weight but might have some edema.

Could you fill out the form?
https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/how-to-ask-for-help.66/

 

[FiKastro]

• Your Chameleon - Male Veiled Chameleon, not sure about his age. I have have him for two weeks
• Handling - Rarely/Never
• Feeding - Main diet is crickets and dubia roaches gut loaded with fruit and veggie ice cubes that I made. I feed him around 10 total per day. I have been feeding him once per day.
• Supplements - I dust bugs with zoomed repticalcium every feeding, I have only had him two weeks so I haven’t given him any calcium with d3 or any multivitamins yet. I feed once a day.
• Watering - Dripper once per day, misting twice a day before and after lights go off for a minute or two (manual misting). I saw him lick a drop one time.
• Fecal Description - I haven’t seen many of his poops, only one and it looked white?
• History - None really, I have had him for two weeks and got him from petco

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen cage that I put plastic wrap around the sides to help with humidity because its winter. I have a 16x16x30, it was what I had and I plan on upgrading him eventually.
• Lighting - I have a dual dome uvb and heat lamp which I know is not ideal, I am getting the linear uvb to replace it soon. Lights turn on at 8:30am and off at 8:30pm. I also have an led light for the plants.
• Temperature - basking spot is upper 80s to low 90s, lower down is from 68-72. Lowest overnight is 62. I have a dual digital thermometer/hygrometer
• Humidity - Humidity is 18-22% at basking spot, general cage is from 50-65% during the day. I have a cool mist humidifier for the room during the day because the room has low humidity. I mist twice a day, in the morning before the lights turn on and at night after lights turn off for a minute or two. At night I run a fogger into his cage from the top of the cage. Night humidity is 70-85%. I measure with a dual digital thermometer/hygrometer
• Plants - I have 2 pothos, a rubber tree, a rainbow crotus?, and a split leaf philodendron
• Placement - In a bedroom with low traffic, I have a heater in the room because the room has a lot of windows and it’s winter. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Western Pennsylvania

Current Problem - He seems a bit lethargic and his eyes are usually closed when I come to check in him. I was worried that his eyes seem a little sunken.

I have been worried about him since I got him because I just want to make sure he’s ok and I have been worried about making sure lights/humidity/temp/ect is ok. This is my first time having a chameleon so I am worried about getting things wrong

Thanks for the help!!

 

[MissSkittles]

Hi. Give me a few minutes and I’ll go thru your info.

 

[MissSkittles]

I talk a lot, so am breaking this into two sections.

• Your Chameleon - Male Veiled Chameleon, not sure about his age. I have have him for two weeks I’m going to take a guess that he’s maybe around 5 months or so, based on the size of his casque.
• Handling - Rarely/Never It’s always good to build and maintain trust with your guy. Being a veiled, he may develop an attitude as he matures, but he’ll still trust you…just won’t like you. This is a good blog. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/building-trust-with-your-chameleon.2396/
• Feeding - Main diet is crickets and dubia roaches gut loaded with fruit and veggie ice cubes that I made. I feed him around 10 total per day. I have been feeding him once per day. Sounds very good. You can add a bit more variety. I’ll attach the graphic. Btw, grasshoppers are available at https://dragonhoppers.com/ or Kai Phan on Facebook.
• Supplements - I dust bugs with zoomed repticalcium every feeding, I have only had him two weeks so I haven’t given him any calcium with d3 or any multivitamins yet. I feed once a day. I suggest Repashy Calcium Plus LoD for a great combo D3 and multivitamin (has a Jackson’s chameleon on the label). It’s given one feeding every other week. He is needing that now.
• Watering - Dripper once per day, misting twice a day before and after lights go off for a minute or two (manual misting). I saw him lick a drop one time. Usually mist for two full minutes, right before lights go on and off. Using a dripper for about 15-20 minutes per day is fine.
• Fecal Description - I haven’t seen many of his poops, only one and it looked white? The white is the urate (urine) and is what we look at to determine hydration status. White is great. A little yellow or even light orange on one tip is ok. All dark orange is not good. Coming from Petco, I do advise getting him checked for parasites, which does require a veterinary wellness visit.
• History - None really, I have had him for two weeks and got him from petco
• 

 

[MissSkittles]

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Screen cage that I put plastic wrap around the sides to help with humidity because its winter. I am hoping that you have left the door, or at least the lower section of at least one screen panel without plastic for proper ventilation. I have a 16x16x30, it was what I had and I plan on upgrading him eventually. Please! I advocate for giving as much space as you can…combining 2 XL ReptiBreezes for a double wide is awesome if you can do it. If not, the minimum is at least a 2x2x4’ (XL ReptiBreeze)
• Lighting - I have a dual dome uvb and heat lamp which I know is not ideal, I am getting the linear uvb to replace it soon. This can not wait! Unless he has parasites or other serious issue, he is probably not doing well because he is lacking correct UVB and has not gotten any D3 or multivitamins lately. Young chameleons can go downhill very quickly as they have no bodily resources to fall back on, like the adults do. The dome uvb lamp puts out uvb only about 2” directly below it, and at that close with a dual dome (basking light in the other side) he is going to get burned. I recommend an 24” Arcadia Pro T5 with a 6% UVB bulb or ReptiSun T5 with a 5.0 UVB bulb. You will not find either of these at Petco or other chain pet stores. This is a fantastic place to get your lights from. https://www.lightyourreptiles.com/products/arcadia-pro-t5-24-watt-fixture-22-5.html Lights turn on at 8:30am and off at 8:30pm. I also have a led light for the plants. Great schedule and good for the plants.
• Temperature - basking spot is upper 80s to low 90s, The latest standard is a basking temp for males around 85. I keep my boys at that and they all do great. lower down is from 68-72. Lowest overnight is 62. I have a dual digital thermometer/hygrometer Nice night time temp drop.
• Humidity - Humidity is 18-22% at basking spot, I’d expect basking spot to be dry from the heat. general cage is from 50-65% during the day. This is just a bit too high. The ideal range is between 30-50%. I have a cool mist humidifier for the room during the day because the room has low humidity. Even though it’s cool mist, only run humidifiers at night when the temp is below around 68. Heat (from basking) plus higher humidity increases risks for respiratory infection. I mist twice a day, in the morning before the lights turn on and at night after lights turn off for a minute or two. At night I run a fogger into his cage from the top of the cage. Night humidity is 70-85%. Perfect at night time I measure with a dual digital thermometer/hygrometer
• Plants - I have 2 pothos, a rubber tree, a rainbow crotus?, *croton? and a split leaf philodendron I would suggest replacing the rubber tree with something else, like a ficus benjamina (weeping fig), money tree, schefflera (umbrella plant). I also advise to keep some extra plants…maybe start some pothos clippings into new plants as veileds do like to nibble their plants. This is a great guide for plants. https://chameleonacademy.com/plants/
• Placement - In a bedroom with low traffic, I have a heater in the room because the room has a lot of windows and it’s winter. At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Western Pennsylvania

Current Problem - He seems a bit lethargic and his eyes are usually closed when I come to check in him. I was worried that his eyes seem a little sunken.

I have been worried about him since I got him because I just want to make sure he’s ok and I have been worried about making sure lights/humidity/temp/ect is ok. This is my first time having a chameleon so I am worried about getting things wrong You’re on the right path, but just need to speed things up a bit and get that linear UVB light and proper supplements asap. While not a vet, I do think that once your guy has some proper D3 in him so that he can utilize the calcium you’ve been giving him, he should perk up and be okay. Without D3, whether from supplements or the sun/UVB, his body can’t convert the calcium into a usable form. FYI: putting him in front of a sunny window won’t work as UVB can’t pass thru glass and most substances. Getting that UVB light and the D3/multivitamin is your priority. A veterinary wellness check and fecal parasite check is next, and then give him more space. Attaching the list of vets who are known to be good with chameleons. Any exotics vet can do a welllness visit and feel though…just ignore when they tell you to soak him.

Thanks for the help!!
You’re very welcome! Do keep us posted on how he’s doing. Feel free to hang around too.