Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Woke up this morning to find my baby female veiled with her right eye shut, the other one is alert, open, and such. And she is eating and climbing around to her basking spot. It seemed to have happened yesterday, but it opened by the afternoon, anything i can do? or is anything even wrong -_-?

Faust

Her eye is still shut after a day, im starting to worry. she's still alert, eating, and drinking. The Shut eye seems to have shedding skin at the bottom... could this be her ailment? and im so should i remove it?

If she just shed and it is stuck around her eye try misting with a VERY fine mister (not a bottle mister, drops are big - you can usually buy empty travel misters at local drugstore for about a dollar or so. these tend to have a finer mist). Use hot water, will cool enough once it hits the air. I suggest misting from above so it falls on her - spraying directly "AT her will likely frighten her. Removing it is not always a good idea b/c the skin underneath may not be quite ready (still "raw".

If all else is OK and there is not oozing, crust, swelling, etc. she will probably rub it off along a branch.
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan for now
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

I'll drive over to wall greens in an hour or so, but it's been shut for almost 2 whole days now. Looks kinda odd. Dunno if it could be called crusty... but it's beginning to worry me. Worst case scenario, what could this be?

can you post a good close up pic? Sometimes respiratory infection begin with eye trouble.

What is your setup like?
1-Cage type: Size and type of cage (screen/glass)
2-Temps: - Basking area and lower in cage. How do you measure the temps in your setup? What is the temp in the warmest spot? The coolest spot? At night? During the day? You should be measuring the temp of the cham's skin or the surface of its current branch to get the most accurate reading. Do you leave any heat on at night? What is the temp in the room at night?
3-Lighting: - What brand is your UVB light? How long have you been using it? Do you leave any lights on at night? How long are your lights on each day? Where are the lights? on top?
4-Humidity: Do you have a humidity gauge? What is the range of relative humidity (RH) from lowest to highest? How long does it take to go from high to low? Do you use a humidifier? Do you live in the north or south (or other)?
5-Water: How often do you mist? Do you have a dripper? have you seen him/her drink?
6-Food : What is s/he eating? Where are you getting them? What are you feeding the feeders? Fresh veggies? Gutload? If you use a commercial gutload what is the brand? If you make your own what are the ingredients?
7-Supplements What and how often do you dust and with what (brand)?
8 –Plants/branches: What plants do you have? Are your plants alive or fake? lots of coverage where he will feel safe? Can you see your cham most of the time or can it hide from your view?
9-Cham facts: How old is s/he? Do you know if s/he is wild caught or captive born? Did you get him at a show? Breeder?
10-Handling: Do you handle your cham? How often and how long? What's its reaction to you? Is the cage in a quiet part of the house or is it in a busy or noisy area? Any big stereo speakers near the cage? Is your cham alone in the cage? Can it see any other herps or pets from the cage?
11-Vet Do you have one who KNOWS chameleons?

One last thing. As great as everyone is here (and they are), if it is a medical problem there is no substitute for a vet visit.
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan for now
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

Ok, still not opening, im getting a vet appointment.
For the stats...

65 Gallon Screen Reptarium. 16 x 25 x 30?
I don't use a dripper, but i heavily mist several times a day, for around 2 minutes.
There is a small ficus and a small umbrella plant in the cage. She sleeps here at night right after i water.

Using a semi-decent thermometer, during the day the highest temp (highest possible point she could POSSIBLY get to) is around 100 degrees. She's never here, judging by the thermometer, she basks in the low 90's, further down a basking branch i made for her. The lowest during the day would be about low to mid 80's, and at night around Room temperature. I bought a small "lunar" heat bulb for use at night, this puts the maximum temperature (again highest possible place) around 90. She doesnt spend ANY time up here at night. It's down in the plants where she seems to sleep and let the dripping leaves soak her (around 75 degrees)

I mist with warm water, feed her 15-20 crickets a day. Gut loaded with apples mixed with the Flukers Gut Loading Mix or something? Crickets are decently sized for her, dusted with RepCal Calcium (no phosphorous) and RepCal Multivitamin supplement (This is what I used for a senegal chameleon i had a few years ago.) I assume this is ok.

I have a small fountain in the cage that provides some humidity and water (though she doesnt seem interested in this)

She hasnt been eating as much as usual lately, what I think is partly because she can't SEE all the crickets. Her right eye is shut and because i Cup feed her the crickets she only eats the ones on her left. She seems active, interested, and as purty as ever. Just this one eye is worrying the hell out of me

Cheers, and thanks for the help Lele,

Faust

I'm glad you are going to the vets.

You said..."I bought a small "lunar" heat bulb for use at night, this puts the maximum temperature (again highest possible place) around 90. She doesnt spend ANY time up here at night. It's down in the plants where she seems to sleep and let the dripping leaves soak her (around 75 degrees)".....if the room doesn't go below the high 60's F. then you don't need any heat source at night.

You said..."I have a small fountain in the cage that provides some humidity and water (though she doesnt seem interested in this)"...IMHO fountains shouldn't be used for chameleons unless they are kept scupulously clean. They are reservoirs for bacteria.

What kind of light do you use for her?

Also...I think your gutload needs improvement....and maybe your supplementation. I don't have time to go over it right now. Ask me later if I forget to tell you please?

How long did the senegal live?

Senegal lived for a couple of years, gave him away to my neighbor when I moved. I really regret doing this, he died soon after .
Tomorrow (sunday) is the vet trip, i'll cut the night heat. And replace the fountain with another ficus I think.

A point of notice...
She finally shed today...
and her eye doesnt seem half as bad. ALthough it is still closed.
It just looks like she is slightly squinting now.

what other supplementation should i use?

And i can pretty easily up the gutloadage, any recommended fruits / veges/ mixes?

She's now a reaaaaaaally gorgeous green color. Eating, drinking, and active. Just looks like she's staring into the sun -_-.

Cheers,
Faust