Conjunctivitis?

[HHIME]

Hi all, my vet thinks he has conjunctivitis or some sort of bacterial infection but she is inexperienced with chameleons and can't be sure. It started out as a layer of skin (I could see it flapping when giving him his saline rinse), which turned into a milky flapping area before developing into this gunky looking layer. I try wiping the layer almost daily with a tissue but nothing comes out. When she first saw him his eye was swelling so she put him on Cefta 0.01ml Q72hrs x5 days and Meloxicam 0.01ml Q72hrs x3 days. My chameleon is 136 grams. The last meloxicam dosage was yesterday. The swelling has gone down but his eye is still not open and there is still this gunky layer over the whole eyeball. He is otherwise eating and drinking like normal. I have been giving him manuka honey every day as well. Today I went to get the Chloramphenicol 10mg 1% ointment and Hyaluronic Acid drops to try and aid his healing. This has been going on for about 2 weeks. I have been giving him daily saline rinsing until he shut his eyes permenantly (to which I will force it open to rinse). Can anyone give advice on whether this is indeed conjunctivitis and how to heal it? My vet welcomes all opinions.

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon- The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
  • Panther Chameleon, Male, 3 years old. In my care for almost the whole time.
• Handling- How often do you handle your chameleon?
  • Recently often due to the saline rinses and injections, otherwise none.
• Feeding- What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
  • Every other day crickets, BSFL and BSF. I gutload with leafy greens and bee pollen
• Supplements- What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
  • Repashy Calcium everyday and Repashy PLUS once every 2 weeks.
• Watering- What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
  • Mistking. 7.05am 2m45s, 730am 1m, 8.15am 2m. Yes I see him drinking often.
• Fecal Description- Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
  • He did a parasite test 3 months ago, all clear. Normal poop and urate.
• History- Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.
  • He always had a 'layer' of skin over his eyes, which I have been asking at chameleon facebook group for help. This has been ongoing for a year + until now. Photo attached before it got bad.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type- Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
  • Full screen, I keep him outdoors under a tinted skylight. exoterra 90 x 45 x 90 cm
• Lighting- What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
  • 730am to 630pm. Habiture T5.0
• Temperature- What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
  • With a temprature gun, day gradient varies from 25 to 35. night time gradient 21 - 26 degrees. (tropical country)
• Humidity- What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
  • humidity is about 70 in the day and 90 at night.
• Plants- Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
  • photo attached
• Placement- Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
  • photo attached
• Location- Where are you geographically located?
  • malaysia

 

[MissSkittles]

Oh my goodness! Your poor chameleon. I’m not a vet, nor do I have any personal experience with anything like this. However, have you tried antibiotic eye drops or ointment? From what I know of the way the eyes are in relation to the body’s immune system, I’m not sure that systemic antibiotics would be able to have much effect. Also, in humans steroid eye drops are used to reduce inflammation, but I don’t know if they’re used for chameleons. @JacksJill @jannb Do you have any experience with anything like this?

 

[SteveH]

I hope someone with experience with eye issues like this chimes in. My advice to you after noticing you also posted on Reddit is be cautious following advice there. The advice there is old school and outdated. They believe in NO fogging, NO misting, cup drinking and T8's are the way to go.

 

[JacksJill]

You have to be careful if you do use steroid eye drops because they can slow or stop healing of the eye. They can make ulcers on the eye worse. So your vet has to be sure the eye itself isn't scratched or damaged. I don't even know if it is safe to use steroids at all in chameleons. Get more information before trying steroids.

Manuka honey is used for wound care. I wouldn't feed it to a chameleon due to the high sugar content. I wouldn't use it in an eye.

I wouldn't wipe at the layer as you could cause damage. Rinsing with saline is the best way to clean it.

He may have permanent scarring on the surface of his eye or on the edge of the lids that is a source of irritation and reinfection and this may be something you always have to treat. The eye may always be cloudy where it is scarred.

Check your Repashy CA Plus to be sure it isn't expired. The retinol (Vit A) and the D3 can degrade and you may need a fresh one. Vitamin A is important for eye health.

I'm sorry I don't know exactly what is going on with his eye. Keep working with your vet.

 

[ChamelaChameleon]

Have/suggest/ask - your Vet to reach out to Colleagues for advice about Chameleon Care. Maybe your Vet could contact a Vet at the nearest Zoo. If there are reptile stores in Malaysia, contact stores and ask for Vet recommendations. Im just thinking out of the box.

 

[lurker9090]

Have/suggest/ask - your Vet to reach out to Colleagues for advice about Chameleon Care. Maybe your Vet could contact a Vet at the nearest Zoo. If there are reptile stores in Malaysia, contact stores and ask for Vet recommendations. Im just thinking out of the box.

second this!

 

[Lt.WorfReportingForDuty]

You have to be careful if you do use steroid eye drops because they can slow or stop healing of the eye. They can make ulcers on the eye worse. So your vet has to be sure the eye itself isn't scratched or damaged. I don't even know if it is safe to use steroids at all in chameleons. Get more information before trying steroids.

Manuka honey is used for wound care. I wouldn't feed it to a chameleon due to the high sugar content. I wouldn't use it in an eye.

I wouldn't wipe at the layer as you could cause damage. Rinsing with saline is the best way to clean it.

He may have permanent scarring on the surface of his eye or on the edge of the lids that is a source of irritation and reinfection and this may be something you always have to treat. The eye may always be cloudy where it is scarred.

Check your Repashy CA Plus to be sure it isn't expired. The retinol (Vit A) and the D3 can degrade and you may need a fresh one. Vitamin A is important for eye health.

I'm sorry I don't know exactly what is going on with his eye. Keep working with your vet.

Wow thanks for this comment - I completely forgot about expiration dates. Going to check those now…

 

[jannb]

Your poor baby. I’ve never heard of a chameleon with conjunctivitis but I’m not saying it can’t happen. If he were mine I would treat with a good antibiotic eye drop such as Tobramycin along with an oral antibiotic such as Baytril. My vet has used Prednisolone 1% eye drops after all other eye drops failed. I hope your boy will recover. The very best of luck.

 

[HHIME]

Hi guys, atfer Chloramphenicol ointment for 7 days the big layer of gunk at the front came out but there is still a layer still covering his eye, he is still eating and drinking as normal, i changed to Hyluronic eye drops, keeping positive! I just pulled out this shed from both sides of his mouth (looks similar and the vet says it doesnt look and smell like an infection). Does it look normal?