Inspect your animal's eye margins and casque base today under good light. If you see anything moving, photograph it on a white surface.
Recognizing mites — small, fast, usually around the eyes.
Pinprick-sized mites cluster around the eye margins, vent, and the soft skin of the casque base. Caught early, they are a one-week treatment.
Snake mites and similar arthropods occasionally find their way into chameleon enclosures via newly added plants, new feeders, or untreated branches. They are visible to the naked eye as fast-moving black or red specks, typically clustered around the eye margins, vent, and casque base. The animal will rub or close one eye obsessively.
Treatment depends on identification — some mite species respond to careful topical treatment, others require systemic intervention from a vet. Do not improvise with permethrin or off-label dosing. Photograph the suspected mites on a white background, isolate the animal in a sterile quarantine cage with paper towel substrate, and book the vet within 48 hours.
DSQUARED Reptiles — Living Art. Curated Genetics.
From the field notes archive.
The morning baseline photograph.
A single weekly photo, taken at the same hour and angle, will tell you more about your care than any forum thread ever could.
Tightening screen tension on a year-old cage.
After twelve months of misting cycles and live plant weight, screen panels sag in ways that quietly compromise climbing surfaces.
A 72-hour gutload window for dubia roaches.
Dubia gutloads peak somewhere between 48 and 72 hours after the colony moves onto a fresh diet. Here's the schedule we run.