Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

I have a male Veiled Cham with both eyes swollen towards the front and bottom of the eye. I've just recently noticed this and it is effecting his ability to eat (his aim is off, shooting high).

The only thing that has changed in the last month is I have a real x-mas tree in the same area (about 20ft away)..but I also have a female right next to him and she's fine.

He has UV lighting above and he's enclosed with a Ficus and Pothos...he's been in this enclosure for over a year. I feed him crickets mainly, I alternate dusting with Ca and multivitamins. I do feed him white grapes time to time and other greens.

He's about a year and a half old...I don't think this has anything to do with his age.

He gets a mist of water everyday (automatically) and in all other regards he seems healthy.

Any clue what could be the cause?

Thanks,
RG

I had this issue with my chams and I also had a ficus tree in their enclosures. Once I removed the ficus, the swelling eventually went away, but it took about 5-6 months for that to happen. The sap irritates the eyes if a leaf or branch gets broken and they rub up against it. Pothos don't have any irritation to them if they get broken and the same for hisbiscus trees.

How long have the eyes been swollen like that? What brand and type (compact/linear) of UVB light do you use?

It's hard to say as it could be the u-v lighting or something enviromental, I would definitely check with a vet on this one as eye problems can indicate other problems and are quite serious. One thing that stands out to me though is your feeding it grapes. Veileds are only a marginal herbivore at best and there is a difference between an herbivore and a frugivore. You are in effect giving a chameleon one of nature's highest sources of sugar and probably overdosing it on sugar. Perhaps you may have noticed that people with blood sugar problems tend to gravitate towards grapes(perhaps you haven't but I have.) Furthermore grapes are very high in tannins which can cause problems with calcium absorption and I am sure I don't have to tell you the problems that can cause. I don't even give grapes to my tortoises Iguanas or the other various herbivores I keep and those are animals that actually require fruits and vegetables. btw one the end results of unchecked diabetes is blindness and while overdosing your veiled with sugar may not be the cause of the swollen eyes (and like I said see a vet.) I would be careful with the grapes.