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Cham rubbing his eyes?

superjustin Feb 19, 2008 05:26 PM

I have a Werner's Three-Horned Chameleon that keeps rubbing his eyes on the climbing stick. His eyes are perfectly clear, his bdy is plump and strong. He eats, he drinks, everything looks 100% except for the fact that he rubs one eye at a time on the stick that he climbs on as if he is trying to get something out... but his eyes look super clear and perfect 100%

so what could it be?

Replies (9)

Carlton Feb 19, 2008 07:58 PM

Chams may rub their eyes either because something may be irritating them such as a bit of skin, or because they are too dry. What's the humidity level in your cage? I know you found research on Werneri stating that they needed 80% humidity. You wouldn't want to hold the cage to that level constantly (this can lead to mold and bacteria blooms), but you should find a way to get it up that high for morning and late afternoon with a drier warmer period around noon (to mimic the natural cycle in the wild). Check your cage RH level. If there isn't enough foliage to hold the misting spray, it could be a lot drier in there than you realize. When the room is dry, the cage dries out fast and the dry air can actually dehydrate the cham more even if you mist several times a day. How are you measuring humidity? The little plastic stick-on gauges sold at most pet shops are not very reliable. Get a good quality electronic hygrometer. You may need to use a humidifier on top of the cage to keep him comfortable depending on the humidity level in the room. You can create cycles of higher and medium humidity by cycling the humidifier on a multiple setting lamp timer pretty easily.

superjustin Feb 19, 2008 11:24 PM

thanks again Carlton for your insight. Right now I have one of those cheapo sticky gauges from the pet store which reads between 60 - 75 humidity throughout the day. I mist 3 times a day. I'm going to shop online for a better humidity gauge since my local pet store does not carry inventory like an exotic pet store should. Right now he has two small trees in the tank but I will place more plants in there.

I'm happy to hear that it could just be a humidity issue. Thank you very much.

kinyonga Feb 19, 2008 11:45 PM

What UVB light are you using...brand and type (compact or tube/linear)?

superjustin Feb 21, 2008 09:04 AM

ESU Reptiles 7% Desert. The top of the enclosure is a bit away from his perching stick so the Cham dealer told me to use a "desert" bulb instead of the "5.0 tropical" bulb so the rays will reach lower into the enclosure.

superjustin Feb 21, 2008 09:07 AM

15 watts.

kinyonga Feb 21, 2008 08:20 PM

Compact or tube? (I don't use them so I don't know if they come in both forms or not).

superjustin Feb 22, 2008 12:12 AM

tube light. Some people at the reptile show told me to stay away from compacts for Chams.

Carlton Feb 22, 2008 12:23 PM

That's good to hear. There is increasing evidence that chams exposed to high intensity compact incandescent UV lights suffer eye damage over time. Especially montane species. It makes sense to me. After all, most cham species would only be exposed to full intense sunlight while basking, not all day. Once they are warmed up and active they probably spend most of the time in filtered sun or shade. In our attempts to provide more and more UVB in artificial habitats indoors we have also exposed them to a lot of damaging UVA. I don't think the ESU 7.0 fluorescent produces significantly more UVB than the tried and true Reptisun 5.0 so you may not notice much difference.

Carlton Feb 20, 2008 12:09 PM

Well, its a good place to start anyway. Chams can rub eyes for other reasons, but probably the most common is low level dehydration, considering that you haven't had him very long (nutritional problems or improper lighting probably not showing yet). Montane chams won't like the high intensity incandescent UV lamps and as kinyonga will tell you, there are some emerging concerns about eye damage from them. A safer source of UV would be the ReptiSun 5.0.

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