Eye problem

[AlexF]

This morning I woke up to find my cham with a piece of skin attached to his eye. This looked to me like an infection or something, and knowing eyes can be lost in no time if the infection gets into the eye I called the vet immediately.

Before I could even take a photo of the eye I was told by my vet (over the phone as he lives over 1,000 miles away) to get the eye soaked with water and that it was probably a piece of old skin that got stuck due to low humidity.

After misting his eye for some minutes I returned the cham to his enclosure and 5 minutes later the piece of skin was gone, no antibiotics fortunately.

Here are the pics, so if anyone goes through the same problem, here's the easy cure.

Alex

 

[lele]

that's just skin? In the pics it looks sort of pusy. Is he using his eye OK now?

 

[2by2]

I hope all is well. That looked pretty nasty. I cant say i've ever run into that one yet either.....and I hope I never do.

 

[Prism Chameleons]

I have one of my panthers that seems to need much higher humidity levels than my others and if his humidity levels get low, his eyes will cloud up such like your chameleon (similar). A nice shower fixes it everytime. I have added a humidifier to his cage and this has helped the problem, but not altogether eliminated it should humidity levels drop again. Check your humidity levels, make sure he gets a lot of misting, and give frequent showers. See if this doesn't help the problem. I give my panther with these issues several showers a week. Sometimes every other day to help keep his eyes clear with a good hydration.

 

[AlexF]

To me it looked terrible as well, got really scared and feared for the worse (lost eye) but I guess the vet was right and it was just the remains of dead skin that fell right off whith the water.

I have the cham in the green house right now, so he will have tons of humidity inside.

He is using his eye perfectly now, like if nothing had eveer happened.

Thanks for everyones concern.

Alex

 

[Prism Chameleons]

Yeah, same with one of my Sambava's which comes from the leeside of the mountain range and gets considerable more rainfall in Madagascar (east side of island). He seems to need a ton of more humidity than my other panthers. He'll be fine, just give him frequent showers and try to mist him more often as well.

It does look frightful thought doesn't it?

 

[chrissy87]

My chameleon is having the same problem right now. But everytime I mist her she goes crazy! I'm making sure to use warm water also. The white gooey skin came off, but her eye is still closed and looks sucked in. I'm not sure what to do. And to make matters worse it is Sunday and there's no vets open!

 

[AlexF]

Chrissy, mine didn't like the misting in the eye, but he didn't have no choice. Mist him for at least 5 minutes continuously and if it's the same problem mine had, it will come right off and his eye will be perfect.

 

[Jerm]

I think that the first thing to try when there is an eye problem is flushing it out with a shower. Some people put them into the shower on a plant an just let it "rain" on them. Alot of times that is all that they need to flush their eye out.

Jerm

 

[chrissy87]

I've been misting her eye all morning until I had to go to a wedding. I closed all the windows, turned on her lights and covered part of her cage so the humidity would rise. Now that I'm home it's still closed. I misted it for about two mintues, then she climbed down her branch and sat there as I misted it again until she had enough. Now she's rubbing it along the branches. It looks like she's shedding around her eyes because her skin is a bit grey. Now she's basking but her eye is still closed. I'm not sure what to do at this point. I'll keep misting her and see how it goes.

 

[chrissy87]

Help please?

She's not doing too well. I put crickets in with her and she hasn't been eating either. I'm extremely worried to the point that I don't want to go to work tomorrow and take her to the vet. I've been misting her like crazy and it doesn't seem to be helping.

 

[Will Hayward]

Help please?

She's not doing too well. I put crickets in with her and she hasn't been eating either. I'm extremely worried to the point that I don't want to go to work tomorrow and take her to the vet. I've been misting her like crazy and it doesn't seem to be helping.

Tips for asking questions

If your chameleon is having problems and you want input from other chameleon owners, be sure to include as much information as possible:

1. Cage type: What size and type of cage (screen, glass, etc.)?

2. Temperatures: What is the basking temperature? How do you measure the temperature in your setup? What is the temperature in the warmest spot? The coolest spot? At night? During the day? You should measure the temperature of the chameleons' skin or the surface of its current branch to get a more accurate reading. Do you leave any heat on at night? What is the temperature in the room at night?

3. Lighting: What brand is your UVB light? How long have you been using it? How long are your lights on each day? Do you leave any lights on at night? Where are the lights? on top?

4. Humidity: Do you have a humidity gauge? What is the range of relative humidity (RH) from lowest to highest? How long does it take to go from high to low? Do you use a humidifier? Do you live in the north or south (or other)?

5. Water: Have you observed your chameleon drinking? How often do you mist? Do you have a dripper?

6. Food: Have you observed your chameleon eating? What is the chameleon's diet? Where do you get your live feeder prey? What are you feeding the feeders? Fresh veggies? Gut load? If you use a commercial gut load what is the brand? If you make your own what are the ingredients?

7. Supplements: What type of supplement(s) do you use? Brand name(s)? How often do you use supplements?

8. Plants & branches: What plants do you have? Are your plants alive or fake? Do the plants provide lots of coverage where the chameleon will feel safe? Can you see your chameleon most of the time or can it hide from your view?

9. Chameleon facts: How old is the chameleon? Do you know if it is wild caught or captive born? Did you get the chameleon at a show? Breeder?

10. Handling: Do you handle your chameleon? How often and how long? What is its reaction to you? Is the cage in a quiet part of the house or is it in a busy or noisy area? Any big stereo speakers near the cage? Is your chameleon alone in the cage? Can your chameleon see any other herps or pets from the cage?

11. Veterinarians: Do you have a veterinarian who KNOWS chameleons?

-Kingsnake Cham help page

 

[lele]

go to the vet

and answer the questions that Will posted. How old is she? The pictures are blurry, but her right eye looks sunken and she looks quite thin. Please give us more background info. This page has vet links - hope you already have one that knows chams.

Looks like you have bark or something for substrate? Take it out. It is breeding ground for fungus and bacteria. Chams should have no substrate. What is the thing in the lower right corner of 2nd pic?

Chameleon Help & Resource Info

Help please?

She's not doing too well. I put crickets in with her and she hasn't been eating either. I'm extremely worried to the point that I don't want to go to work tomorrow and take her to the vet. I've been misting her like crazy and it doesn't seem to be helping.

 

[chrissy87]

Okay, the the thing in the bottom right hand corner is her waterfall. She loves that thing. Last night I dangled crickets in front of her good eye and she doesn't want to eat. But she's still moving around. The bottom of her tank is paper toweling. She seems to be going to the bathroom just fine, yet she's so thin. Her eye is HUGE today. I'm going to turn up the shower and raise the humidity in the bathroom and sit her in there. She hates showers, so maybe this would be the next best thing. And for the questions:

1. Cage type: What size and type of cage (screen, glass, etc.)? Screen. I seen someone else on this forum with the same exact cage.

2. Temperatures: What is the basking temperature? How do you measure the temperature in your setup? What is the temperature in the warmest spot? The coolest spot? At night? During the day? You should measure the temperature of the chameleons' skin or the surface of its current branch to get a more accurate reading. Do you leave any heat on at night? What is the temperature in the room at night? Upper 80's. I have this tricky looking thing I got from a petstore to measure the temp. It seems accurate. The warmest spot is around 95. The coolest spot would be 72. I don't have any heat on at night because we all like it warm in here, lol. Just a towel to keep up humidity.

3. Lighting: What brand is your UVB light? How long have you been using it? How long are your lights on each day? Do you leave any lights on at night? Where are the lights? on top? Brand new Repti sun 10.0. 12 hours on, 12 off. Nothing at night, only a towel covering half the cage to reduse the loss of so much humidity.

4. Humidity: Do you have a humidity gauge? What is the range of relative humidity (RH) from lowest to highest? How long does it take to go from high to low? Do you use a humidifier? Do you live in the north or south (or other)? I live in NY, and I do have a humidity gauge. I usually keep good track of it because I don't want her to have a bad shed.

5. Water: Have you observed your chameleon drinking? How often do you mist? Do you have a dripper? I have a waterfall which I have seen her drink from. She also drinks from the misting bottle when I mist her if she's in the mood.

6. Food: Have you observed your chameleon eating? What is the chameleon's diet? Where do you get your live feeder prey? What are you feeding the feeders? Fresh veggies? Gut load? If you use a commercial gut load what is the brand? If you make your own what are the ingredients?

7. Supplements: What type of supplement(s) do you use? Brand name(s)? How often do you use supplements?

8. Plants & branches: What plants do you have? Are your plants alive or fake? Do the plants provide lots of coverage where the chameleon will feel safe? Can you see your chameleon most of the time or can it hide from your view? I have a sticks and reptile branches in with her. There's also fake ivy looking leaves like in the picture.

9. Chameleon facts: How old is the chameleon? Do you know if it is wild caught or captive born? Did you get the chameleon at a show? Breeder? Petstore. I know nothing of her background.

10. Handling: Do you handle your chameleon? How often and how long? What is its reaction to you? Is the cage in a quiet part of the house or is it in a busy or noisy area? Any big stereo speakers near the cage? Is your chameleon alone in the cage? Can your chameleon see any other herps or pets from the cage? My beardie is in the other room because I didn't want to upset either one of them. She's currently in my bedroom, which my fiance and I usually stay half the time. I don't take her out because I'm pretty sure she hates it. She only comes out when I clean her tank. She's also housed alone.

11. Veterinarians: Do you have a veterinarian who KNOWS chameleons? My vet for my dogs gave me a number to a reptile vet the other day, so she'll be going there if you guys think she should.


If I'm doing something wrong please help. I'm going to turn on the shower now and keep you all up to date on her stats. I'm also going to call the vet and see what she says. And I remember someone on this forum saying Senegal Chameleons are always in the worst shape. I guess they were right.

 

[LunaC]

Your temps sound good, your screen cage is good, your lights are good.
Your waterfall is not good. Although she may drink from it, unless it is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected on a very regular basis, she may well be ingesting bacteria when she drinks. Feeder insects drown in them, fecal matter ends up falling in them. Waterfalls are not recommended for chams, so lose the waterfall and increase the misting.

I notice you did not answer #6 and 7 above, regarding her current diet, and gutloading your feeder insects. That's very important, as is #7, supplements/vitamins for your cham.

I personally have never seen a CB Senegal advertised for sale. If you got her from a petstore (sorry, but probably the worst place to purchase a cham), then I'm almost certain that she's wild caught.

Your decision to see a vet ASAP is right...she really doesn't look very good. All the best of luck to you and your little cham.

 

[chrissy87]

Sorry, in all the confusion of me job hunting and taking care of her I missed the two questions. Yes, they're gut loaded crickets. I feed them veggies that my beardie doesn't eat. Meaning before they go bad and I have a ton left, I throw it in there tank along with a potatoe. I dust them with Calcium w/d3 once a serving. She actually likes them better with the dusting then without! I called the vet my vet told me too, and their reptile vet left them.. So they gave me another number and no answer. Maybe they're at lunch, lol. So I'll give it another try. I had her in my bathroom sink before with the shower on full blast for humidity if she is shedding. She loved it. Her eye is still swollen though, so a trip to the vet maybe in order. If I lose the waterfall, should I get a dripping system or just mist her? She likes drinking from the bottle but I'm not to keen on her just depending on me to give her water. Thanks so much for replying.

 

[Brad]

Hi chrissy,

I could not get a good enough look at her eye from the pictures you posted. As others have mentioned above, a veterinarian is probably needed at this point. For help on finding a vet, try Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians.

[THREAD=67]Veterinarian Resources[/THREAD]
[THREAD=66]How to ask for help[/THREAD]

 

[lele]

Chrissy - a few things to add

yes, get rid of that waterfall! They are notorious for creating, disbursing and holding fungal spores and bacteria. Even if you think you are cleaning it (which should be daily) there are often parts that cannot be completely cleaned. Ditch it.

You say you try to keep humidity up so she doesn't have a bad shed, that's all well and good, but humidity is MORE important to keep the animal hydrated. They take in a lot of moisture via their nostrils and mouth. Having the humidity TOO HIGH can cause an Upper Respiratory Infection (URI) which may very well be this cham's problem - it often first shows sign with eye problems.

Do not keep showering and raising humidity until you know what is wrong. If this is bacterial or fungal you are likely exacerbating the problem. Get her to a vet ASAP. Where in NY do you live? It is best if you can find one that is ARAV certified (as Brad noted in last post) but call around until you find one. this is NOT something that you can take care of on your own. Not to sound dramatic, but I believe it is either a vet trip or a slow demise for your little girl.

Here, I'll make it easy for you:

The Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians (ARAV) – you can read articles and see listings of vets in your area
http://www.arav.org/

Vet listing by state
http://www.anapsid.org/vets/index.html#vetlist

Vet Connection (real people experiences – has state listing) http://www.herpvetconnection.com/

Please let us know how she makes out.

lele