baby chameleon

Question
QUESTION: Hi. I have a baby veiled chameleon who is only 3-4 inches long. I've only had her about a month & a half. She has developed a problem w/ her right eye. She doesn't open it. At one point she also had a problem w/ her left eye too, but we discovered that was because she getting dehydrated. She rubs her eye on the vines in her tank like she's trying to force it open, but no luck. She's in a 10gal. tank right now because she's still so little. The temp at night is about 75 & day is about 85. I have a compact florescent uvb light & a 40 watt blue night light. I also have a fresh air exchanger/ humidifier in her tank. The humidity is usually about 70-80%. I spray the leaves of the plants  & her about 3-4 times a day. Plus there is also a dripper in there. Her appetite wasn't that great when we got her but seems to have picked up in the last few weeks. She eats more wax & meal worms than she does crickets. I think that's because they are easier to catch. I dust the insects every couple of day with calcium & minerals. I'm thinking that she might have injured her eye, but I'm not sure. Her eye isn't oozy or swollen, but it isn't bug eyed and round like it should be. Other wise she is very alert. Her eye has been like this for a couple weeks & I can't seem to find a vet that will look at a chameleon. Other reptiles yes, but not chameleons. A guy at the pet store said that I might be able to use the eye wash that they use on turtles but to check with someone first. Any suggestions? Thanks.

ANSWER: Hello Shanon,
Although I am not very good with medical questions I did some research and think I might have found something.

Quote taken from: http://www.veiled-chameleon.com/weblog/archives/000153.html

"Eye problems can be early signs of sinus/respiratory infections or nutritional problems. Look for enopthalmia, which is usually an indication of dehydration/emaciation. Eyes problems can also be caused by the sap of a plant or cricket powder"


RI (or respiratory infections) are serious and definitely need veterinarian attention. But other symptoms include open mouth gaping (breathing through the mouth a lot or sitting with mouth open often)

Maybe you can switch to a different supplement besides the powder, that might be causing the issue and the crickets agitating her would keep her away from them to lean more towards mealworms.

Be careful feeding mealworms as they are very low in nutrients and high in chitin (chitin is their hard shell making it hard for smaller reptiles to digest and cause impaction)

-The turtle eye drops from pet stores can be used on other many lizards, and I have heard it recommended by vets for Bearded Dragons, Leopard Geckos, and Water Dragons. Those I know they are OK for sure. But I have never heard about them for Chameleons so it is a possibility but I am not 100% positive about using it.

I also recommend that you get a tank like an "Apogee" as soon as you can because Chameleons need at least two sides of their tank screen. Apogee tanks are screen easy to setup and great for chameleons not to mention there awesome prices.

Good luck and let me know if this helps or not.




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I thought having her in a tank was fine as long as I have the the fresh air exchanger. Am I thinking wrong?

Answer
Hello Shanon,
The fresh air exchanger will help and make her more comfortable and will work, but it is much nicer having a large naturally open flowing cage for her. The tank is fine temporarly but can still be stressful for her even with continuous fresh air. It is much easier and natural for a screen cage. Although your air exchanger will work. Just a thought to start looking into. Also a ten gallon is small and even though she may be small now they grow mighty fast.
But you are correct, the air echanger is fine for a tank. Just letting you know that she will probably be more comfortable in a tank like the Apogee ones.

Thank you for asking.