Yet another closed eye question

[Izzy]

I've looked through these forums for over an hour now and noticed quite a few eye closing issues and i have to add another one.

i have a fairly young veiled cham which my gfriend gave me for xmas. I've had it since then and everything has been going well until yesterday. I noticed he doesn't like to keep one of his eyes open ( i thought it might be because he shed last week and maybe that part hadn't shed and it was bothering him). he can open it, but doesnt seem to like to keep it open for long. I noticed a concensus that this may be a sign of dehydration and that people recommend to give him a shower (this should be warm i take it). i have to say i dont really directly spray him with the mister because he seems to hate it - runs away almost in a panic state so i always mist around him so that he can drink if he wants but doesnt get directly sprayed. (should i spray him directly? should i be using warm water? normally it's room temp)

One of the reasons we picked this guy is that the shop claimed they were very hardy and it's our first cham so we thought we'd give it a try. I feed him crickets on a daily basis (dont gutload them though - should i?) and dust them with reptocal - although i havent really seen him eat much lately (although it was finals week and with work i was very busy and didnt have time to watch much). but i also noticed that some of you are talking about water dishes which i dont have (is that recommended?)

he doesn't seem to ever come to the bottom for the crickets - if they're not crawling on the cage and come up near the top where he usually is, he doesnt seem to ever go seek them out on the bottom, so i dont know if a water dish, or feeding cup will do any good. (i will do whatever you all recommend though)

so for now, i guess first things first, i will try to give him a warm shower bath (although i think he's going to hate it) and he's still very small so i'll have to keep an eye on him. (how long should i do this for?)

i'm praying this is just a dehydration issue... any other ideas/recommendations would be GREATLY appreciated!!

EDIT: I just came across the instructions for the shower...i will try it first thign in the morning... only thing is... he is still very small - his body is probably only about 5 inches long (not including tail) so how do i assure he won't drown??

 

[Izzy]

update

gave him a shower this morning and at first he absolutely hated the water but then begain to drink the moisture from the leaves and did so for about 15 minutes. he's now back in his cage and seems to be doing much better - both eyes are wide open now - thanks you guys, but i'd still like to get advise on some of the above questions

 

[Drake]

Hey Izzy, welcome to the forums.

It could have been something in his eye and the moisture from the shower helped him get it out. You could have tried raising the humidity in his cage aswell. Just becarefull the cham don't drown since he is fairly young. I usually put a fake plant in the shower, and turn the shower head towards the wall, and let the mist hit the plant and him. I'm sure more people will reply with better info, since I'm kinda new to giving my chams showers.

I've read Chams like warm water over cold water, but not to warm. Chams also don't like being sprayed directly, so yea spraying around him would be your best bet. I've also heard the Veileds are the most hardy.

As for the Crickets. It is best that you gutload them before you give them to your Cham. Usually I put in carrots, oranges, collard greens, egg plant, letuce, celery. You can also find a good gutload recipe from this link http://www.coastalsilkworms.com/catalog/index.php.

I would also try putting a little dish near were he basks at for you to put the crickets in for him to eat. As for the water dish, its not reccomended as its a source for bateria growth which can be harmful for your cham.

Hope this helps alittle

 

[Izzy]

so everything looked so good yesterday after I gave him a shower (he was even making this little whistle sound that i haven't heard him do in awhile), then i went to work.... now this morning he has that same eye closed again. any other suggestions? i'm very concerned because i'm leaving out of town for a week tomorrow night and i hate to have to pawn this off on my girlfriend.

when he had it fully opened yesterday i couldnt see anythign in it, but his eye is tiny so i'm not sure if hte naked eye could see it.

any more ideas on what it might be? do you guys think i should give him another shower (since it seemed to help him yesterday)?

btw, thanks for the welcome drake... i appreciate your input - i have a question about that dish where near he basks... i mean the crickets jump all over how are you preventing them from jumping out of the dish?

 

[Brad]

Hello Izzy,

he was even making this little whistle sound

I don't think he should be making a whistling sound. The sound comes from him breathing? May be signs of a potential upper respiratory infection. You may want to post some more [THREAD=66]details on your setup and chameleon[/THREAD].

do you guys think i should give him another shower (since it seemed to help him yesterday)?

If he handled it well yesterday and you saw him drinking, it may be a good idea.

the crickets jump all over how are you preventing them from jumping out of the dish?

You might want to try a cup instead. You attach it to a vine or plant near their favorite area(s).

 

[Eric Adrignola]

sometimes, the little ones, whistle/squeak when they try to hiss.

 

[Izzy]

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen type of cage that is roughly 2 feet tall, and a foot by a foot square base
Lighting - 100w solar-bright exotic pet bulb with R30 clear mercury vapor with UVb Keep the light on for 12 hours a day
Temperature - roughly 65 to 70 at night and 75ish during the day
Humidity - don't know humidity levels... we spray down his entire cage with a mister two to three times a day (as per the reptile stores recommendation)
Plants - One large ficus plant that is tall enough and wide enough to spread out the full height and width of the cage
Location - a room that doesn't get much traffic in the corner

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - male veiled chameleon that is roughly 3 months old (3.5" - 4" body length)
Feeding - Five to Eight crickets a day and I'm not gut-loading them Supplements - reptocal on every feeding
Watering - Misting down the entire cage 2 - 3 times a day (just showered for hte first time and he seemed to drink for quite a bit)
Fecal Description - Brown and white/yellow
History - Been looking perfect until the past couple days when he started to not like to keep one of his eyes open

hope this helps you guys

 

[Izzy]

Brad, btw, he made the whistling noise when we first got him so i dont think it's any sort of URI (I hope)

 

[Brad]

Izzy,

I am not sure why your cham has begun to close one eye. It is a behavior that is often a symptom of many different problems. It is possible that something simply is stuck in his eye and he is having trouble getting it out. It could also be signs your chameleons health is slipping. Your pet store did not provide all the info needed to properly care for your cham. I would continue to improve your watering methods, as well as some things I listed below. Has he improved at all after the shower or two you offered?

Lighting: I'm not sure if your lighting is up to par. I recommend using a reptisun 5.0 and a normal incandescent bulb for heat. I could be wrong, but I think a mercury bulb is overkill for your small cage.

Temperature: What is the basking temperature(s)? His day time temps may be too low.

Feeding: You should start gutoloading your feeders and try to offer more of a variety. Gutloading helps provide your feeders with the proper nutrition your chameleon needs to survive. Without gutoloading your feeders and using vitamin and mineral supplements your cham is not getting what it needs. 5-8 crix a day may be a little low for a veiled at that age. You could probably start dusting with calcium every other day.

Watering: At a minimum you should have a water dripper as well. Do you ever see your chameleon drinking after spraying the cage?

Fecal Description: Any yellow may be be a sign of dehydration. As dehydration progresses, the urates can harden and gain a yellowish color.

 

[Izzy]

Yes, the shower definately does seem to enable him to open both eyes, the first time i did it he had both eyes working fine all day, and i did it again today becuase one was closed again this morning and again it seems to have temporarily fixed the problem. I am heading out of town tonight for a week so i just hope my gfriend can keep a close eye on him.

as far as the basking temps, i just know that's the ambient temp. i'm sure it's significantly higher depending on where he sits under hte light.

 

[Eric Adrignola]

MV bulbs can cause eye problems. They put out UVB in a range that is damaguing to their eye if they cannot escape it. In sucha small cage, he can't escape it. I would not use a MV bulbin a cage that size. Get a cheap 60-75 Watt bulb fopr heat, keep it off the top of the screen, so he doesnt' burn himself, and get a simple Reptisun 5.0 or 10.0 tube for UVB. Also, I'd ditch the reptocal. Rep-cal is what you want. I've seen people use reptocal and havembd problems. Repcal or minerall are the only "proven" calcium/D3 supplements I'd use, personally.

 

[Izzy]

He seems to be doing good!! i just got back to town and when I was gone, my gfriend brought him into the shop that we bought him from and they looked him over, weighed him, etc., and said he was healthy. They said it looked as if he had a slight eye infection that should clear up on it's own with daily cleanings. so it looks like so-far, so-good. i'll keep you all informed, and thanks again for all your help

 

[Shell]

try beaphar eye & skin ointment anyone interested should visit www.beaphar.com