eye swollen shut, please help

[jpshwayze]

hello i have a 5 month old veiled cham and he is not doing well. A couple of weeks my fiance noticed that he was having some eye irritation. He is eating well, but we rarely actually see him drink though his water goes down so we figure he does. a few days ago we noticed that his eye was not getting better and that there was a small tan colored "eye booger" coming out of his eye. So we figured that was what was causing the eye irritation, so i pulled it out with tweezers.
It has been almost another week and now his eye is completely swollen all the way around and we are getting very worried because we cannot afford and exotic pet veterinarian. photo will follow.

 

[jpshwayze]

photos

photos of habitat and eye up close attached

 

[pinsetter1991]

we bought an iguana a few years ago with a swollen eye, it looked horrible and got worse and worse. The vet gave us drops to put in it that completely cured it. It wasn't that expensive either. Vets usually charge a fee for the exam, (maybe $30) and the meds shouldn't be more than $20-30. There might be a member on here that knows what type of eye drops you need, but the majority of them will say "take him to a vet!" don't rely on "doctor internet"

good luck

 

[pinsetter1991]

by the way, i see no uvb lighting in your cage, he needs uvb and heat, its very important. And chameleons don't drink standing water! you cant just fill a bowl with water, you have to spray water onto his leaves and he will lick the water off.

 

[pinsetter1991]

one other thing... substrate (dirt in the bottom) is problematic. Chameleons live/hunt food up in trees. There is a possibility that he ate a cricket off the ground and dirt flung into his eye. All you should have in the bottom of the cage is paper towels, or nothing. Substrate causes too many problems. So lose the substrate, and hopefully other members will chime in on other things. I know that the bamboo isn't a common plant to use in a chameleon cage. That could be causing an issue. Ficus and pothos are the most popular chameleon-safe plants.

 

[ZiggyStardust]

hello i have a 5 month old veiled cham and he is not doing well. A couple of weeks my fiance noticed that he was having some eye irritation. He is eating well, but we rarely actually see him drink though his water goes down so we figure he does. a few days ago we noticed that his eye was not getting better and that there was a small tan colored "eye booger" coming out of his eye. So we figured that was what was causing the eye irritation, so i pulled it out with tweezers.
It has been almost another week and now his eye is completely swollen all the way around and we are getting very worried because we cannot afford and exotic pet veterinarian. photo will follow.

You really do need to get your chameleon to a reptile vet without delay - that eye does not look good and I think needs urgent attention, if his sight is not to be at risk. Some vets will come to payment arrangements with you so you do not have to pay all in one go. He really does need to be seen urgently.

 

[carol5208]

What was coming out sounds like a discharge of some sort which would most likely indicate an infection. As the other member stated, do not delay going to a vet and finding out what is wrong as he could lose his eyesight altogether. Looking at the picture upclose he may very well have a sinus infection or blockage which is draining into his eye turret and causing it to swell. Either way it has to be treated.

 

[Carlton]

A couple of weeks my fiance noticed that he was having some eye irritation.

What is the humidity level in your cage? Sometimes their eyes get irritated if the air is too dry much of the time.

He is eating well, but we rarely actually see him drink though his water goes down so we figure he does.

How do you offer him water? If its in a bowl that is a problem. Chams normally lick water droplets off their cage plant leaves as they don't really recognize standing water in a container. The water level in a bowl will also change as it evaporates. He could have been very dehydrated for a while before you noticed problems.


a few days ago we noticed that his eye was not getting better and that there was a small tan colored "eye booger" coming out of his eye.

This was a symptom of an eye infection so will need an ocular antibiotic treatment. A vet should look at his eyes and try to culture the bacteria causing the problem.


So we figured that was what was causing the eye irritation, so i pulled it out with tweezers. It has been almost another week and now his eye is completely swollen all the way around and we are getting very worried because we cannot afford and exotic pet veterinarian. photo will follow.

You don't have a lot of choice here. If you don't treat the eye he'll be unable to hunt and eat. How is the other eye?

 

[jpshwayze]

First of all thanks so much for replying so fast.

We will call the vet and ask them an estimate because if its that cheap than we will definitely take him asap.

About the light; we went to a breeder in tampa and he told us that the bulb he sold us, which was like $60, has Uvb and heating elements and that is the bulb he uses for all of his terrariums. I may have just got took by a good sales man. Is there such a bulb or do you have to have two separate bulbs no matter what?

We also spray his tank twice a day with a water bottle and we have a fogger for humidity.

The substrate we have is not dirt, i am pretty sure it is coconut fibers and the breeder also recommended that to us. We are also worried about him falling on bare glass or just paper towels, what do you do about that?

We read that bamboo is an okay plant to have in the tank with a chameleon, should we take it out and/or just get some other plants as well?

We are open to changing anything or all of our tank. We dont know much about chameleons but have come to love this one and want to make everything great for him so please dont hold back any info is more that we have now.

 

[carol5208]

Yes there is such a thing as a combo uvb/uva bulb, so you probably did not get taken and that will work. Most of us have separate basking area and light and then run the uvb in a strip light or some use another dome fixture and use the coil bulbs. The tubes or strips are nice because they cover more area in the cage. It is imperative though, that that bulb does indeed provide uvb light, so I hope that is what it is.

 

[ZiggyStardust]

First of all thanks so much for replying so fast.

We will call the vet and ask them an estimate because if its that cheap than we will definitely take him asap.

I cannot stress enough how important it is for your chameleon to see a vet. Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you honestly cannot afford to take him to be treated then you really do need to seriously consider as to whether or not you should be keeping an exotic animal. As living beings, things can and do go wrong and factoring in vet's fees when deciding whether to keep a chameleon is absolutely essential. I am honestly not attacking your or wanting to upset you, but I am concerned when you say that you will take him asap if it is cheap enough. He may well be in a lot of pain and discomfort and if he cannot see to hunt for his food, he could suffer all sorts of other health problems as a result. As mentioned in my earlier posts, some vets will do payment plans so that you can settle any bill in instalments, which can be a great help.

As regards the substrate - coco fibre can be harmful if ingested and cause impaction, all that you should have on the bottom of your viv is paper towels - or I use large sponges which soak up any water throughout the day that can be squeezed out and washed each evening.

Hope this helps.

 

[Carlton]

About the light; we went to a breeder in tampa and he told us that the bulb he sold us, which was like $60, has Uvb and heating elements and that is the bulb he uses for all of his terrariums. I may have just got took by a good sales man. Is there such a bulb or do you have to have two separate bulbs no matter what?

What was the brand of bulb and type (cfl, incandescent, or tube fluorescent)? It matters, as many brands don't produce the correct part of the UV spectrum. A couple of the so-called combination heat/UVB bulbs are PowerSun and UVHeat. I have never used either.


We also spray his tank twice a day with a water bottle and we have a fogger for humidity.

Still, the cage could be drying out a lot faster than you realize depending on temps and air flow. There is very little live foliage in your current cage so this could well be part of the problem. You do need to measure humidity with a good quality digital hygrometer.

The substrate we have is not dirt, i am pretty sure it is coconut fibers and the breeder also recommended that to us.

Was this breeder a cham breeder? Most keepers do not use substrates in cham cages because they can pick up pieces of substrate on their tongues and ingest it. Constantly wet substrates also cause mold and bacteria problems.


We are also worried about him falling on bare glass or just paper towels, what do you do about that?

The chance that he hurts himself by falling the height in a typical cage (less than 5') is very very low unless he has severe MBD. Chams fall off of trees a lot in the wild. They can inflate themselves to protect from injuries. If there is a good network of branches and plants in the cage he can break his fall anyway.


We read that bamboo is an okay plant to have in the tank with a chameleon, should we take it out and/or just get some other plants as well?

I have read that so-called "lucky bamboo" can be toxic to ingest, and veileds often decide to chew on their cage plants. I think I would remove it as there are better options. You want plants that hold lots of water droplets long enough for him to reach and lick. The longer the foliage holds water droplets the longer the cage will stay comfortably humid. Bushy plants such as Hawaiian schefflera, Ficus, Pothos, and Hibiscus, or even a dwarf citrus tree are all good choices.


We are open to changing anything or all of our tank. We dont know much about chameleons but have come to love this one and want to make everything great for him...

Yeah, its pretty easy to fall in love with a cham! We know exactly how you feel! We can help steer you onto the right track. In case you hadn't seen it yet, there are forum pages describing basic care and setups that you should read. They may help make his life better too.

 

[jpshwayze]

Thank you so much for the response to all of the above.
The bulb is incandescent.

We are thinking about creating a mister system with a timer attached. How often would you suggest that his terrarium be misted each day?

After reading your response, I think the bamboo is a no go. We will definitely look into the plant options that you have listed for us.

About to look into forum pages on habitat setups and so forth as well.

We are going to call a reptilian and amphibian veterinarian tomorrow who is located in Orlando to see when we can get an appointment for him to be looked at and treated. We want Bender (chameleon's name) to feel and look better. As of right now he is eating which is great! We plan on making whatever changes necessary to see him grow and prosper.

Thank you all.

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Before investing in a misting system it is much more important to get your enclosure up to speed. Get rid of the moss and water dish. I know the all in one light bulb was expensive but if it was me I would get a new UVB reptisun 5.0 tube bulb and a separate house bulb for heat. That way they are exposed to UVB all day and can choose to bask under the heat light if needed. I do not like those all in ones because it is very nice to have a area of the cage specifically for heat/bask.

Most important is DRAINAGE and lots of plants. good luck!

Post pics when you make the changes.

 

[jpshwayze]

Okay. Thank you so much!
Will be getting his eye taken care of first thing.
Once his habitat is up to speed we will post pictures to get more input along the way.

 

[jpshwayze]

Picked up a few things today including hibiscus plant, vines, and a temperature gauge to measure heat and humidity.

Removed ALL substrate from the bottom.

He seems to be acclimating very quickly and is moving around a lot more!
We are taking him to a reptilian/amphibian vet tomorrow at 4pm in regards to his eye

Still need to update his terrarium to something much taller, also need get separate heat and uvb lighting which will happen very soon.

Thank you all again.