Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I saw The 2 hour claim and had every intention of getting another timer for the UVB fixture as soon as possible but also wasn't in a big rush figuring it was marketing hype. Well my veiled now appears to have hurt his eyes!!! I havn't taken him to a vet yet, I'm kinda waiting and seeing if they get better on their own, which they appear to be doing. I installed the bulb on 12/27 and on 1/2 when i misted him in the morning his eyes were closed and he rubbed his eye on the branch. I immediatly suspected the new mystic apple bulb and have had him under no UV light the last 4 days as well as upping the mister timing to 20 minutes three times daily and elevated the temps some. he is still not right and is closing his eyes some of the time but also open about 50/50 from what i can tell ( I work in the day and only can see him morn and eve) I have seen him both eat and drink however he appears to be looking a little dehydrated (not bad)

so...two things
Follow the directions!!! I am NOT blaming the mystic bulb, i am blaming me. and i plan on trying the mystic bulb again when he gets better.
second, any suggestions other than what i have done, ointments? antibiotics? etc...

scott

The eye problem was most likely dehydration, not the light. It is the most common reason chams start rubbing or shutting their eyes...drier air irritates them and makes it harder for the cham to clean them itself. I really doubt it was the light. If the light was bothering the cham it would probably spend more time further down in the cage foliage away from it. I haven't used the newer UV lights yet and none of my chams have developed MBD. Frankly, I prefer to be a bit conservative and use lower intensity lights for a longer period daily than try to expose them to intense radiation for shorter times. The risk of burns, cataracts, fussy bulbs, exploding if sprayed, too much heat, is just too high. Besides, chams live in trees and shrubs and get most of their light exposure with some filtering of vegetation.

you very well could be right...
whatever it is, between upping the misting and removing the light temporarily has him fixed I think. so thank you for the input and i will keep his mister at 3x15 minutes (was 3x10) and put the mystic on a timer

thanks again
scott