Veiled Chameleon With a weird eye problem.

[bmpmvp]

M Veiled Chameleon about 7 months.


Over the past week and a half my chameleon's eyes have been closed whenever I saw him, but he was still passing good stool which lead me to thinking he was just tired because in the change of seasons (because he was still eating). However further down the road to about 4 days ago I noticed he stopped passing stool and I haven't seen him open his eyes in a week. This lead me to unfortunately having to force feed him "Critical Care Fine Grain" to give him some sort of food with added nutrients. I then began research and purchased eye wash for sensitive eyes at CVS and washed both his eyes out twice a day in hopes of removing debris from his eye if he had any. What I knowticed after the washes was that I could see him moving his eye inside of his eye lids (or whatever they're called in Veiled Chameleons). I talked to a vet over the phone because my herp vet won't be in till Monday and asked if it was an infection. He asked if there was discharge from the eye which I replied no. He told me he'd have to see him on Monday to see whats causing it. This is where I got scared. If there's no debris in there, and it's not an infection what could it be? I was thinking maybe he's blind. I was filled with the depressing thought of such a thing were I contemplated that if he is G-D forbid blind, should I put him down?

What do you think is the problem and have any of you guys have had any problems like this?

 

[bmpmvp]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - Male Veiled Chameleon about 6 months old, been in my care for 5 months
• Handling - Every Other day when he was well
• Feeding - Feed him Pheonix worms, and mealworms every day. Mealworms get fed apples.
• Supplements - Repti Calcium every day
• Watering - I have a water bowl in his enclosure that I've seen him drink fro, but I mist twice a day
• Fecal Description - Healthy brown with white at the end
• History - Got him from Petco.... I know now that wasn't a good idea.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Large Repti Breeze
• Lighting - Reptisun 10.0 UVB, 100 Watt Heat lamp, and a 60w Incandescent bulb for lighting. These are all on for 11 hours a day.
• Temperature - Lowest temp at night is 71, and his basking spot is 90's
• Humidity - I don't measure humidity but I mist twice a day, with a water bowl in there.
• Plants - No live plants only fake plants.
• Placement - It's located in my room next to my bed but usually I'm at school so he has his privacy.
• Location - Northern New Jersey.

Current Problem - Read above for whole story.

 

[Theveiled]

Could you post a picture? Also phoenix worms and meal worms are not a good staple for Food. You also need a multivitamin that you would use 2 times a month. I believe eye problems can be caused by a lack of vitamin A but a member with more knowledge would know for sure. Does your calcium have d3 in it?

 

[bmpmvp]

Could you post a picture? Also phoenix worms and meal worms are not a good staple for Food. You also need a multivitamin that you would use 2 times a month. I believe eye problems can be caused by a lack of vitamin A but a member with more knowledge would know for sure. Does your calcium have d3 in it?

It does have D3 and I'll take a pic when I get home.

 

[Theveiled]

You need calcium WITHOUT d3 every feeding, calcium with d3 2 times a month and a multivitamin 2 times a month. Too much d3 is really bad for a cham

 

[bmpmvp]

You need calcium WITHOUT d3 every feeding, calcium with d3 2 times a month and a multivitamin 2 times a month. Too much d3 is really bad for a cham

oh shit I'll double check the D3 thing when i get home

 

[bmpmvp]

oh shit I'll double check the D3 thing when i get home

Could you post a picture? Also phoenix worms and meal worms are not a good staple for Food. You also need a multivitamin that you would use 2 times a month. I believe eye problems can be caused by a lack of vitamin A but a member with more knowledge would know for sure. Does your calcium have d3 in it?

I went back home and checked my Calcium which It does not have D3 in it which takes away the possibility of that cause. Also here's a pic of his eye, both of which look identical, and excuse the dark colors he's a bit stressed out because he can't see.

 

[Extensionofgreen]

If you are misting by hand, it's not enough. He needs at least a weekly shower of warm mist for a minimum of 10 mins, for eye cleaning, or multiple, shorter durations, lasting a few minutes, daily/weekly. He needs Vitamin A supplementation and better feeder variety. The Phoenix works are fine, but mealworms are not very good. Crickets, silkworms, hornworms, superworms, blue bottle flies, and roaches are all excellent feeders, used in rotation, so that at least 5 feeders are making up his usual diet. Apples are a poor gutload choice. It's high in phosphorus and binds calcium. Apples aren't bad as part of balanced gutload, but alone are not great or even advise able.
I suspect you are seeing the eye issues as a result from lack of sufficient misting for eye cleaning and perhaps, most importantly, lack of vitamin A. An infection may be present, but vitamin A implementation will likely prevent further infections, once this current issue is resolved. These eye problems, even once the cause is known, can take months and lots of back and forth, before they resolve.

 

[Nursemaia]

His basking temp is too high and there's no need for a heat bulb and a incandescent bulb at the same time. Use one or the other. Also a 10.0 uvb may or may not be too much for him. 10.0 is designed for desert reptiles and should only be used on chams in heavily planted or large enclosures. He could have his eyes closed because it's just too much light.