Reptile & Amphibian Forums

okay, so i took Carlton's advice and put my cham in the shower for about 30 minutes with the door closed. he seemed to like it and was looking better but then when i moved his plant and him back into his cage, he keeps closing his eyes again. he's not sleeping so he's obviously not sick and ive been making sure i'm keeping him hydrated. ive called the vet and she said just to keep watching him but he is not eating during this. is there anything else i can do to help him out?

currently he is about 2 months old, kept under an 18 inch UVB light with another basking spotlight. he has a pothos plant and several branches surrounding it. i feed him dusted crickets as much as i can until he stopped eating when the eye problem started.

This can be as bad as under. What are you dusting with and how often.
Also read an ad in chameleon journals under vet topics.
I think it was called calcium and D3
One of the symptoms of over supplementing is loss of appetite, constipation, weakness, chronic dehydration and lethargy.
It can mimic MBD causing owners to give more calcium which makes matters worse.

I would doubt this would be the case, as he said the chameleons is only 2 months old. A defeciency might be apparant at that age, but an oversupplementation usually takes longer. I actually have experience with this, to a degree. My first clutches of veilds ate crickets dusted heavily with rep-cal EVERY feeding until they were 2 months old. I cut it back eventually, but I never had any show any signs of trouble.

I wouldn't say I was over-supplementing. I'm using the HerpCare dust with the Veiled on the box about once a day. Also, I've only had the cham in my actual possession for about 10 days now and about 3-4 of those, he ate very little.

It is probably not over supplementation although I don't like to supplement more than twice a week with calcium and once a week with herptivite.
Have you tried herptivite vitamins they need those besides calcium. Both eyes closed at such a young age could be a vitamin A deficiency.
Did you say it is 2 months old?
Did the person that sold it warn you that babies under three months are very fragile. Some don't make it because they were never strong enough to make it and it is nature just weeding them out. I never buy or sell babies under two months old because it can cause a lot of heartache (especially to a new owner)
What I would try at this point if he is not eating much is to try and get some vitamin A in him and see if that helps. There is a product called Herpcare Vitamin and electrolyte solution.
It's a yellow powder you mix with water and it can be given in drops if your cham is not eating. LLL reptile or reptile depot should have it. I would give him a few drops a day and mix some lightly in his water (drinking or spritzing water or dripper)
I hope this helps.

I appreciate all the help. Despite his young age, he has been very strong and hearty. Even though he hasn't eaten a thing in three days, he's still very strong and climbs around at will. I saw some of this supplement you were talking about at the place where I bought my cham and looks like I'll be going by there tomorrow. They should give it to me for free!! Thanks again.

This is a picture of him I took earlier today. Sorry for it being so blurry. The color is really bad too but he is actually staying pretty light green. His eyes are closed here but you can't really tell. He is about the length of my thumb from his nose to where his tail starts.

I would ask it's worth a try. Is he behind glass? Make sure he has a screen cage it makes a big difference.

np