Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I assume most of you are fimiliar with superworms, so Imaybe you can help me with this. You know when you squeeze a superworm too hard or it gets scared or something the secrete a clear, very stinky fluid. Well sometimes my chameleon(veiled) bites a super and it wriggles around and hits its back side in his eye and I smell the stinky fluid. Can this irriate the chameleons eye? My chameleon seems to have problems with his eyes often so I wanted to see if it might be the super worms. Oh, does anyone know the symtons of MBD? My chameleon is not sick or anything and he is properly supplemented and everything, but I just wanted to know in case I encounter MBD in the future. THank you for your help, jrbl

Eye problems can be caused by many things, but I think the chance of eye irritation from a hornworm is pretty slight. In the wild they would eat many insects that have similar defenses. If you are spraying him regularly and thoroughly he should be able to clean irritants out of his eyes by himself. By eye problems what do you mean? Most of the time problems result from not enough humidity, nutritional imbalances, or infections. There are some good vet articles on MBD and nutrition on these sites: www.herpnutrition.com, www.adcham.com, www.chameleonjournals.com, www.chameleonnews.com

Sometimes their eyes get irritated if the humidity is too low.
I don't think it is the superworms. My chams eat them with no problems. Make sure he is not getting calcium dust in his eyes.
That could be a problem if it gets in there it could cause irritation. Try spritzing with warm water to rinse his eyes out. Maybe he is getting something like calcium dust stuck in his eyes.