Chameleon Eye issue

[HueytheTrueBluey]

Chameleon Info:

Your Chameleon - True Blue Nosy-Be Panther Chameleon, Male, 8 Months old. Been in my care for 3 weeks. (I had a veiled chameleon for 3 years.)
Handling - Every other day for a couple minutes
Feeding - Crickets, waxworms. Dusted with vitamin powder/ calcium powder twice a week. Fed everyday. Very healthy Eater.. eats 15-25 crickets/worms a day.
Supplements - Repti Cal with d3.
Watering - I mist Huey at least 3-4 times a day for 30-60seconds. I also have a dripper that slowly drips all through the day. Yes, i do see him drinking.
Fecal Description - Never tested for parasites... normal fecal.
History - I bought my chameleon from a guy who was obviously a smoker..his cage was thrown out as well as all the decoration he came with due to the cigarette smell.. and i made sure to rinse Huey off for a period of time. Also, the night i brought him home... he could barely walk or lift his head.. he wouldn't open either eye. I immediately started misting him and got him under a basking light. He lapped up the water like he had never seen water before in his whole life and was even letting me gently spray the water directly into his mouth. After about an hour.. he was able to stand and open his eyes but i noticed his left eye was swollen and he continually rubs it on his branches in his cage.


Cage Info:

Cage Type - I have a Exo-Terra 18x18x24 cage. The sides are glass and the top is screened. I live where its colder for half the year and i didn't want to risk any drafts coming in through a all screen cage.
Lighting - Lights are on in the morning. We have a UVB and a basking light made by exo terra 100w.
Humidity - Humidity is kept at 80-85F depending on if i just misted or not.
Plants -No, No live plants. I was thinking of getting a ficus.
Placement -Huey's cage is in my bedroom. There is no foot traffic except for me. I don't let my dog by the cage. He is on a desk.. so he is not by the floor and there are no vents/fans by him.
Location - Michigan


Current Problem - Every since i got him, he won't keep his left eye open. The only time he will open it is when he is searching for food. When he does open it, it looks swollen and bulges out a little. He constantly is rubbing his head on branches or he will even rub it on my hands when i hold him. Has anyone ever used the medication Terramycin for chameleon eye problems??

 

[Kate]

Thank goodness you rescued him. Your care looks pretty good. I would use plain Calciun without d3 daily and calcium with d3 twice a month and a multivit twice a month. He could do with a more varied diet and very few waxworms as they are very fatty. It could be that he has some shed stuck to his eye lid, got something in it. Without pics I can't say. Extra mistings could help sort it out. Is there any discharge ? If so he may need eye ointment from vet. Can't comment about the ointment you have as we can't buy it over the counter in uk.

 

[Dr O]

i see lots and lots of folks on the forums who have had success with Terramycin for eye issues. as the antibiotics in Terramycin (oxytetracycline and polymyxin B) are really not great antibiotics at all for most reptile bacterial infections, i have often wondered if just the petroleum gel base and lubrication properties have helped many a cham with an irritation or a foreign body in their eye as opposed to the antibiotics actually killing bacteria. it’s basically used so often b/c it can be bought OTC as it’s use for poultry is very common so it became easy to get. however, it’s not what i would prescribe for a true bacterial infection. they would get something in the aminoglycoside family (gentamicin, neomycin) or a flouroquinolone (ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin). with all this being said, as people seem to have luck with terramycin and it won’t do any harm (just may not help), it can be tried.