Sunken eyes, not dehydration

[Kodak]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Veiled Chameleon, Male, 10 months old.
• Handling - rarely, maybe once a month.
• Feeding - 2 big dubias a day. I feed the feeders a dry mix (bee pollen, spirulina, alfalfa,kelp,dried carrots hamp seeds etc). wet food consist of carrots, sweet potato, oranges.
• Supplements - I dust the feeders with calcium without D3 (Zoomed Repti Calcium), komodo Calcium with D3 and Exo-terra Multivitamin . I dust with calcium every feeding, Calcium with D3 2 times a week and multivitamin every other week.
• Watering - I mist the enclosure 2 times a day for about 30 sec. I always see him drinking water droplets at every misting.
• Fecal Description - Firm black poo, with white urine (or whatever its called).
• History -

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Glass enclosure, Exo-terra 24” x 18” x 36”
• Lighting - I have a Reptiglo 5.0, and a exo terra solar glo 80W. They are on fro 8AM to 8PM
• Temperature - The temperature at the basking spot is 90F (32C) Cage floor is cooler but I dont know the temps. Night Temp is room temperature: around 70-73F.
• Humidity - 60-70% day time, 80 % night time
• Plants -one Ficus plant and one pothos plant.
• Placement - placed ontop a drawer.
• Location - Scandinavia.

Problem:

Hi!, i have for a week now, noticed that my chameleon has sunken eyes, I have read that this is a symptom of some kind of illness or dehydration. Problem is, I see him drink every day and also spray a small beam into his mouth if he get aggressive while i spray his cage. his urated are snow white, he is not lethargic and active throughout the day. what can this mean ?

 

[BabyChamCham]

Could you post a picture?

 

[HerbertHancock]

I think you are using the Calcium with D3 too often, should alternate every other week with the multivitamin. Also, if your UVB is what I'm thinking, you may need to look into a linear UVB Bulb. T5 6% I think would be good for your cage size and cham age but I would so some more research on the linear UVB Bulbs here on the forum!

 

[Carlton]

At first glance, I would question the cage humidity level. A cham that is fully hydrated doesn't drink a lot every single time its offered water. Even if you spray the cage often, if the air in the room is dry the cage can end up spending most of the time drier than you realize. I would test your humidity gauge. Chams can lose body moisture through respiration if the air in the room is dry. They are not very efficient at conserving water (didn't need to be in rainforest habitats). Another test you could make to check for dehydration is to look for skin "tenting". Gently pick up a fold of skin in your fingers and release it. If the skin stays folded for a few seconds after you release it, the animal is dehydrated. If the skin flattens out immediately the animal is hydrated. Does your cham take a long time to shed? That's another sign to look for.

That said, chams can constrict their eyes for many reasons. Stress, pain, eye irritation from lighting, systemic illness too.