Eye will not close

[koabich]

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 3'H x 3'L x 2'D - not a screened cage but has a screen top and 8 large vents throughout the cage
Lighting - 36" Reptisun 5.0 and 2 basking bulbs - 100 watt and 150 watt
Temperature - Basking 92F down to room temp. Coldest it will get in the winter is 62F.
Humidity - 60% average. Promist 60
Plants - Umbrella/pothos
Location - Bedroom

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Ambilobe Panther male - 5 months
Feeding - Crickets, silkworms, butter worms, wax worms, fruit flies 7 days a week. Let him eat as much as he can in a 30 minute period.
Supplements - Rep-cal (Calicum nd herptive) and Miner-All without calicum - each twice a week with the 7th day off - This is the Kammerflage recommendation
Watering - Promist 60 - 3 times a day of 15-20 minute waterings with misc. 1-3 minute sessions to keep up the humidity
Fecal Description - solid brown and white sections. not stringy or too watery.
Current Problem - See my profile for pictures of my set-up. Current poblem is that he cannot close his eye fully when sleeping. Vet says eye infection is causing imflamation not allowing him to close it all the way. He gave me anti-inflammatory for the swelling and an antibiotic for the infection. I also give him 10 minutes showers twice a day. I do notice that it looks like a small discharge of puss over the eye after the showers. Similar to humans when we have pink eye. It's not oozing or draining. It just seems like a light coating sometime. Eary on, it looked like he had something in his eye when he blinked as you could see it cover the eye and then pull away under the eye lid. 4 days ago I did end up pulling what looked like a piece of shed skin out of the eye. I am hoping that his eye is just scratched and is in the process of healing. Vet seems to not be too sure exactly what it is and the same with the breeder as this tyoe of eye problem doesn't seem too common.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks
Joe

 

[Kent67]

Not sure what the problem could be but thought I could offer one other good, safe product to try. I don't have any at the moment, but Bausch and Lomb makes a product called something like Sterile Eye Wash or rinse or something like that. It'll help soothe the irritation and could flush out any leftovers under the lid.

 

[Jerambis]

My chameleon has the same exact problem, but I seem to believe it is a birth defect. He does not see to well out of the eye that he can not close at night. He also has some discharge from it very occasionally, I think because he can not close it. Other than his lazy eye he is perfectly healthy. If your vet can't find a solution to the problem, it may not be a problem at all, just a little birth defect like mine has.

 

[koabich]

I do not think it is a birth defect as he was fine for the first 2 months I had him.

The vet thought that there was a chance that the problem was neurological. I am going to wait for the the meds to run their couse and see how he is when they are done. He has been very difficult from the beginning and the breeder is stumped on his behavior.

If the eye doesn't heal, I may cull him and get another. Both the vet and the breeder think that maybe he took a hard knock during shipping causing his erractic behavior and possibly now the eye that will not close.

 

[Tygerr]

Before you decide to cull him, maybe ask around to find out if there is anyone near you live who is prepared to take on a problem case.
I have heard of a few experienced keepers on this forum who have taken in problem cases (amputated tongues/limbs, etc.) and done really well with them.

I don't know what other problems you have been having with the cham, and I'm sure that you and your vet are in the best position to decide a course of action.
Just know that sometimes even though these eye problems can take quite a while to resolve, and can cause the cham a great deal of difficulty, the cham can still come through it to lead a normal life.

Just speak to Lele - I believe she went through some epic eye problems with her cham.

 

[TreelionsUK]

Lets have a Look at the problem!! put a picture up thats what everyone is here for if we can see the problem we may be able to help you better

 

[ScubaSteve318]

did your cham ever get better? my cham seems to have the same problem as what you had.