Closed Eyes Chameleon please help!

[MadSince95]

my friend sam has a chameleon who is the brother of mine he's been having problems and i'm submitting this forum for her so she can figure out what to do. she is bringing him to the vet when she can afford it. but currently she would just like to know the run-down.

Chameleon Info:
Chameleon - Kelly - BB Male Ambilobe Panther Chameleon - 11 months old -
- February 21st 2011 he has been in her care
Handling - once a week at least
Feeding - five crickets a day give or take, flukers gutloaded orange cubes
Supplements - vitamins and calcium flukers
Watering - spray and dish for humidity
Fecal Description - poop regulary brown and whie
History - one eye was gunky in the start of the summer on and off , showered and used Q-tip to help remove it but now they both won't open at all

Cage Info:
Cage Type - screen 24" x 18'' x 16''
Lighting - reptisun 5.0, basking lamp 80 watt
Temperature - 90 degree bask temp, 85 regular cage temp
Humidity - rainforest humidity
Plants - fake vine plants
Placement - on a table in the middle of a room
Location - Wausau WI
Current Problem - both eyes won't open 2-3 weeks beed opening his mouth to place food inside.

 

[SarahcoadunatioZac]

Well I can say the gut load is insufficient, but I don't know if that would cause the eye problem.

Hopefully the more experienced members can give you some better information, I would suggest pictures as it helps greatly.


Heres a link on better gutload options, flukers is garbage for the same price fresh veggie/fruit cubes will be much better.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/gutload-has-made-huge-difference-95230/

Also, Sandra is a genius, her blogs are worth the read.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/75-feeder-nutrition-gutloading.html

 

[Kate]

Thank you for helping your friend. As said before gutloading feeders is poor . Can you be more specific about supplements? The eye situation sounds serious. Could be eyes , could be sinus. Because there is discharge from eyes and it has been going on for some time, if not seen by a vet the infrection could overwhelm him so that said he needs a vet ASAP.

 

[ChameleonMom]

First of all, take out the standing water dish NOW. That right there is a breeding ground for bacteria and could very well be contributing to the eye problem.

Your friend needs to take her Panther to a vet for treatment. Today. It is the only RIGHT thing to do. Oftentimes a vet will allow you to pay for the bill in payments so based on that, and at the risk of watching her cham suffer, I would be on the phone trying to find a reputable reptile vet that can help her today. If she can pay in a few days or a week or so, then she can make arrangements to pay in payments if she can find a vet to take her today. The winner here is the chameleon as it won't have to suffer waiting for treatment. I can't stress how important this is!

In addition, from what you've posted I'd say there is a gutloading/supplement problem and your friend will need to do some research to correct this, once her panther is on the road to recovery. As mentioned above, for the price of the commercial gutloading, fresh fruits and veggies are the best way to go. It may take a bit more time to prepare but in the long run your cham will thank you. Also, her chameleon will need calcium without D3 at every feeding, calcium w/D3 (such as RepCal) twice a month and a multivitamin (such as Herptivite) also twice a month.

I also advise you to read SandraChameleon's blogs. She is a true genius and a real friend of the chameleon. She will help you more than you will ever know. It would really help if some pictures could be posted. Having a chameleon on a table in the middle of a (busy?) room isn't the best choice of placement and I also suspect the cham isn't getting enough water.

The funny thing with a cham's health - if one aspect of their environment, care or diet is 'off', it can have a domino effect and their health spirals out of control. Its best to get this handled now before it worsens. Best of luck.

 

[MadSince95]

Thank you for your input I will show her the posts and she will take him to the vet ASAP

 

[sandrachameleon]

Two weeks with not opening its eyes is too long to be waiting to deal with the problem. If Sam cannot afford a vet, she should consider giving the chameleon to someone who can afford to properly care for it, so that it doesnt continue to suffer.

What brand of vitamins is she using?
How often is she using the vitamins and the calcium?
What other than crickets is she offering as prey?

As has been mentioned already, Sam needs to learn about gutloading.

Further, the ambient temperature is too high and the cage too small.

 

[MadSince95]

Um :'( Kelly is gone..Sam didn't get him to the vet quick enough
RIP Kelly, brother of my chameleon Kaleo

 

[mcbdz]

Sorry to hear that. I hope you have taken some of the info also for your chameleons care. Did you not know of the problems with your friends husbandry? Have you reveiwed your care so yours will not suffer the same down fall? Not to offend you. Just hoping to catch anything that may need work/inprovement.

 

[MadSince95]

I understand completely I have been making changes to my husbandry and he's been healthy as ever since I'm gonna keep it up. My baby deserves the best.
Thank you..poor guy I never even got to meet Kelly..
RIP