eye problem!

[arnau666]

well this problem apeared again... before he goes to sleep -usualy 30 min before lights out- his left eye looks swollen but not very swollen ,its like it is 30-40% bigger than his right eye. he doesnt close it .
i misted his eye when i saw that is swollen , he cleans it and after that it becames normal .
the rest of the day and even when he sleeps his eye is normal looking and no problem at all.
i caught him a couple of times rubbing his eye on a branch .
he is not shedding.
btw he seems a little lethargic , not moving so much as he usual did. he spends most of the day at the middle section of the cage. i am not curently using a basking bulb becose its very hot right now.
other than that he is ok, eats , poops, etc.
temps are 87-88 in the room,i mist him 6 times per day to cool him.
the last summer when i stoped using the basking bulb he seemed disorientated so i am asuming that his lethargic behaviour is becose its hot,and there is no basking bulb but i may be wrong.
what is your oppinion and what do you advice me to do ?
thank you

 

[Oliviabryant]

Post pictures please

 

[arnau666]

i can;t get a pic....everytime i tried to snap the photo he gets scared and the eye returns to normal

 

[arnau666]

now even during the day his right eye is bulged for a few mins.....

 

[Oliviabryant]

without pictures no one on here can give you proper advice
if you can take a video and upload on youtube then post the link here that would be helpful.

 

[arnau666]

finaly i got 2 pics of his eye, not very clear but still.
here they are.what do you think??

 

[arnau666]

and now he keeps it closed..... and when it is opend its not normal looking , looks like a sleepy or drunken eye.
what sould i use to fulsh his eye? saline solution? any other adivce ....pls let me know i am very worried...

 

[jena rose]

if it has come back then the vet would be the best option

 

[werecat]

Most advice I've seen for eye problems is to flush with saline solution and if it does not get better take the chameleon to the vet. We currently have a seemingly minor eye problem and our reptile vet (and other forum members) have told us to flush with saline every day for one week. Use a saline solution that is specifically safe for eyes or contact lens cleaning. Make sure it does not contain "conditioners". We are using a Kirkland (Costco) brand, but there are others at any drugstore. One hint we were told is that if it has a red cap on the bottle it is not safe for in eye use but if you are unsure ask the pharmacist. When you flush you must get a pretty strong stream going and squirt it directly into the eye so that it fills up the turret (makes it expand a little bit). Obviously take care not to have too forceful a stream, but it must be strong enough to fill the eye turret. The chameleon will then do the eye wiggle thing to clean it. Be careful to avoid the stream getting in the nostrils as they can aspirate on the solution. If this does not seem to be helping after a few days I would call a vet. Eye problems can be serious on their own or can indicate a greater problem exists.

 

[Oliviabryant]

Since it has already been a few days from just this post I suggest seeing a vet before whatever it is gets out of control.

Google "chameleon eye problems" the forums will come up first and you will see many people's chams had a slight swelling at first but then they become very inflamed. I can not say this is what your Cham has but surely from those pictures you will grasp the significance of acting aggressively on any issues your Cham has.

 

[VigilantSpearIII]

A vet could better assess the situation in person. It could be debris that is in his eye causing irritation and/or infection. A saline wash couldn't hurt if done carefully. When I have eye infections with any of my animals, I use Terramicina. I am unsure if it is an OTC now though, it used to be...back in the day. Anyways, go to a vet if the swelling doesn't lower in a day or two after the saline rinse. Good luck OP.

 

[arnau666]

some of you dont know that i am from a country where vets don't know anything about reptiles.
i heard there are a two reptile vets but not so good...and if i want to go to them i ll have to travel lots of hours and temps are way way to high right now.

this been said....my hope is in the forum as usual .

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

The saline flushing previously recommended would be my recommendation as well. Sometimes an infection will cause swelling and closing of the eye and in that case antibiotics will be needed. But sometimes it is just some debris (peice of shed skin, piece of plant, etc) stuck in the turret causing inflammation and discomfort. In that case flushing and shower sessions will help flush it out. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ferretinmyshoes/732-shower-sessions-hydration.html
If a week of flushing and showering does not make a difference then more aggressive measures or medications may be needed.

 

[arnau666]

things are going worse for kiwi.... i need to put him on antibiotics ..... his eye is 6-7 times bigger than regular , he barely can keep his eye open ....he is more lethargic... but he still eats....
pls advice me what antibiotics should i use.
thank you

 

[Kate]

I would try pm Ferret or Dr o.

 

[arnau666]

can i go with baytril 5% liquid form? i dont know if i can find other type
here is some pics with his eye during sleep right now ( my heart is breaking...

 

[arnau666]

in the morning his eye is ok...
what the hell is going on? i mean during sleep his eye was 6-7x bigger than regular and was so swollen that he coudnt close the eye and now its ok.
WTF...anyway i know the problem will come back again in the night but what could this be?
i am very very concerned....

 

[Iluvheidi]

in the morning his eye is ok...
what the hell is going on? i mean during sleep his eye was 6-7x bigger than regular and was so swollen that he coudnt close the eye and now its ok.
WTF...anyway i know the problem will come back again in the night but what could this be?
i am very very concerned....

My panther had a similar issue. I am not a vet so I wont say that it is the same but I think one would suggest shower sessions that will help flush his eyes out.

 

[arnau666]

sleep time is coming....it has been 10 hours since he has woke up and not one sign of eye buldge or swollen eye.
i hope tonight he will get some decent sleep...but i have a feeling that the symptom will come again

 

[Dr O]

hi alex, and sorry for the delay in writing you back; i’ve been crazy busy lately—

this has been the month of cham ocular issues for me; 4 cases including one of my own. every other case had been seen and treated topically by a prior vet with no positive results. fortunately for them (but perhaps not for you and kiwi), they did respond to me intensely flushing the eye under sedation, followed by antibiotics based on cultures that i sent to the lab. realistically i don’t think it’s possible for you to reproduce that procedure, and obviously i don’t even know if it’s the issue.

you are in a very tough situation which i can appreciate…you mentioned that you may have 5% Baytril? that’s not a concentration i’m familiar with, dunno if you are talking about injectable/oral liquid/eye drops?

there are so many scenarios that can cause what you are seeing and the odds of me “guessing” the right one are pretty small. you can hardly ever go wrong with the flushing/showering techniques that have been suggested; how often have you tried doing those procedures?

o-