Eye Issues

[Yodas Mommy]

Ok, so my chameleon Yoda has been having eye problems for over a week and a half now, I took him to the vet with reptile/lizard experience at the practice and at home, a few days after I noticed 2 issues - a closed left eye and a prolapsed hemipene - unfortunately, work schedules and vet appointment schedules were not aligning.
Poor thing had to get a hemipene prolapse amputation and his eye was flushed twice. I was told he has an eye infection and I was given an antibiotic "Enrofloxacin Suspension" and pain meds to be given orally and "TAB eye drops" to be given twice daily. (Vet bill $331.00 - it may have been cheaper in the long run to get someone to take him to the emergency vet, so the amputation wasn't necessary ) The pain meds are finished but I am still giving the antibiotics and drops. I am having difficulty dropping the eye drops in his tiny closed eye so I am unsure if any is even getting in there
But now his 2nd eye seems to be closing too! Although I did notice a strand of fiber from a towel or something in the 2nd eye, so I took it out and it seemed to have helped but today his 2nd eye is bothering him again

I have noticed a connection between him being outside and his eye (2nd one) staying open. The 1st eye seems to be wanting to be open more outside too - is there really an issue inside the house causing the eye problems? As I think the info below points to good conditions, right?
I am going to remove the UVB light for a few days, since he is getting UV rays outside and see if his eye gets any better. If he does maybe its the UVB bulb....

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Male Veiled Chameleon, age 3yrs 6 months approx, in my care for 3 yrs 4 months.
Handling - Before before hemipene prolapse, rarely - now daily, due to meds.
Feeding - Feeding primarily crickets, 4 per day - occasionally meal worms 2-3 per day. Gut loaded with "Jurassi•Diet".
Supplements - "Calcium + D3, Exo Terra" 3 times a week, Herptivite with Beta Carotine NOW 2-3 times a week (hoping it will help with the eye infection) before, twice a month.
Watering - I have been using a spray bottle since we got him, misting him 2 - 3 times a day, I used to see him drink, but I havent seen it recently.
Fecal Description - He has only pooped twice in the last week (I am not going to feed him today in case he gets blocked up) Poop regular solid consistency, brown and yellow. Not tested for parasites.
History - Had MBD at about 1 year of age due to me being worried of toxicity due to too much D3 in his calcium supplement as I had him out in natural sunlight most of the day. I now know this rarely happens (D3 toxicity). He has recently had a prolapsed hemipene amputation.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - Screen cage, 36" high by 18" sq.
Lighting - UVB = Exo Terra Repti Glo 2.0 - same bulb since we got him and only now it causes issues? I also just read somewhere these need to be changed frequently? Basking light = household 60 watt bulb. Timer is set to 12 hrs a day for both.
Temperature - Basking spot 85-90 degrees, floor 76 degrees. Overnight temp, 72-73 degrees. Measured using digital Zilla thermometer.
Humidity - 60-80% humidity, natural indoor humidity and spray mister. Measured using an Exo Terra digital humidity measure.
Plants - No live plants, using plastic leaves attached to the cage.
Placement - At the back wall, away from heavy traffic. The a/c vent in in the ceiling not far from his cage, I am wondering if this might be the cause of the issue. I also leave the curtains closed during the summer, due to excessive heat outside, so his cage area might be cooler and darker than in the winter. Cage is 62" from the floor to the top of the cage.
Location - Virginia Beach, VA

Current Problem - His left eye has been closed for over a week now, and his right eye is starting to do the same thing.

 

[carol5208]

deleted double post

 

[carol5208]

sorry to hear that your cham is having problems. yes, the uvb light should be changed out around 6 months or so depending on how often it is left on during the day. For instance, most people change them out around the 6 month mark if they are on 10-12 hours a day. I do not, as I have my chameleons outside most of the day year round and do not have their indoor cage lights on rarely only when they are inside. Have you not been changing it out? Also most of us use the 5.0's and if some use the 10.0's but have never heard of using a 2.0 for a chameleon. If your chameleon has MBD, it is not due to any issue with d3 overdose. It comes from lack of uvb and calcium. You stated that your chameleon "had" MBD. MBD does not go away. If your chameleon had it a year ago, it still has it. It is possible that you halted the progression but it does not go away like an infection. Please post pics of your chameleon. By the way, just curious who told you that MBD was caused by d3 overdose... a chameleon cannot overdose from natural d3 from the sun but can from the supplements we give them. This can cause things like organ problems but not mbd.

 

[Yodas Mommy]

History - Had MBD at about 1 year of age due to me being worried of toxicity due to too much D3 in his calcium supplement as I had him out in natural sunlight most of the day. I now know this rarely happens (D3 toxicity).

I dont think he got the MBD from the D3, he got it because I reduced the amount of the supplement "Calcium + D3, Exo Terra" I was giving him, because it contained D3. I didnt want him to overdose on D3, due to me having him out in the natural sunlight for most of the day. The pet store didnt have plain calcium. And it happened when he was around 1 years of age, not 1 year ago. I know it doesnt go away, I can see that. I took him to the vet then - different issue, different thread.

I have already learned from this 2 years ago and he was doing perfectly fine until a week an a half ago.

My concern is his eyes. I realize it could be from his light which is why ....

I am going to remove the UVB light for a few days, since he is getting UV rays outside and see if his eye gets any better. If he does maybe its the UVB bulb....

I want to find a way to help him, as well as changing his UVB bulb to get both eyes open again, since the eye drops and antibiotics are slow to work.
Does it really take 2 years for the effects of the wrong bulb to give him eye problems? He has never had eye issues before.

 

[Yodas Mommy]

Ok so now both eyes are staying closed. He hasnt pooped, I imagine its because he cant see his preferred pooping area. I cant feed him live insects due to him not being able to see. He is however, drinking water - but only if I set up a dripping system where the drips land on his head.

I have read other threads where its a common issue with lack of vit A - 1 eye closes and the other closes a week later. So I am going to attempt to feed him baby food from a syringe with a drop of vit A oil mixed in with it and see if he improves in a few days.

Is this a bad idea? I dont know what else to do .... the vet is going to flush his eyes and that didnt help the last time.

 

[Yodas Mommy]

No help?

So apparently I cant fix his eyes since no1 can help?

I have been feeding him baby food from a syringe when I hose his cage down outside and using a dripping system, when he starts to drink. I was afraid to give him additional vit A since the baby food contained it and I was sprinkling the food with a tiny bit of reptivite every other day. I was also grating up a tums for calcium, removed his UVB light and having him outside in the sun for at least 3 or 4 hours a day. But this syringe feeding is taking at least an hour, and he does not seem to be getting better.
I thought it was working, as he would open his right eye at the start, now it just stays closed.
His 1st closed eye has stuff in it (he is still on the antibiotics) and he keeps trying to clean his 2nd closed eye - I dont know what else to do.......