Eyelid Swelling

[leanna156]

Cage Info:

* Cage Type - 20x24x36" screen cage
* Lighting - Reptiglo 5.0, normal fluorescent lights, and 60 Watt incandescent for heat are on for 11 hours a day.
* Temperature - 90 degree basking area, 70 degree in the shade, 70 at night.
* Humidity - 40-45% created with spraying and an ultrasonic humidifier
* Plants - one umbrella plant, one ficus
* Location - In the corner of a bedroom in a low traffic area.


Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - Ambanja Panther chameleon, male, 8 months old
* Feeding - an assortment of crickets, silkworms, superworms, and occasionally waxworms are fed. 4-5 crickets, a silkworm, and a superworm would be a normal sized feeding every day. Crickets are gutloaded on lettuce and fluker's cricket gut feed, silkworms on mulberry silkworm food, and superworms on fruits and veggies.
* Supplements - light calcium dusting at every feeding, calcium with D3 twice a month, and herptivite once a month.
* Watering - He is misted at least twice a day with a pump spray. A humidifier is turned on when the humidity sensor reads low. He licks water off of leaves after I stop spraying.
* Fecal Description - brown solid part with gooey jelly coating, urates are white and runny.
* Current Problem - About a week and a half ago he cut back on his eating and was a little lethargic. I scheduled a vet appointment. The day before the appointment the bottom of his left eyelid started swelling. He started to hold that eye closed during the day while the other one is open and alert. There doesn't seem to be an infection because there is no discharge. The vet found a few tapeworms eggs and Eimeria species of Coccidia in his fecal sample. He was prescribed 2 doses of 0.04 mL Droncit 2 weeks apart at 23 mg/mL for the tapeworms and 0.12 mL for each of 4 days in a row Albon for the Coccidia. His blood was tested for total protein and calcium. Both were fine. (total protein 5.3 g/dL, calcium 9.9 mg/dL) The vet seemed to think that the Coccidia and tapeworms could be lowering his immune system and thus making him more susceptible to eye problems. We've been giving him medicine but the eyelid swelling seems to be getting worse. We started supplementing with Vitamin A 4 days ago thinking that that could be the issue. He held his eye open more often the next day but then regressed back to usually holding it closed. The amount of Vitamin A was about 8000 IU total over the 4 days.

Does anyone know what this eye problem is? Please share your opinions on this before we schedule another vet visit.

Thank you,
Leanna

 

[sageghost]

Sorry about your sick Cham.

I rescued a sub-adult Jacksons Cham and he had the same type of problem. His previous owner said his appetite had tapered off. As well as scratching his eye on his branches.

I took him to the vet. His fecal smear was clean. A culture was done of the eye and showed no infection or anything else.

The only thing that could be determined was a possible Vitamin A deficiency. He gave the Jackson's a shot with vitamin A and an anti-inflamatory injection as well. A week later the swelling was gone and during that time his appetite returned to normal.

We got him on a good and consistent feeding and supplemental schedule and the issue hasn't returned for us.

The only other thing I would say is check your humidity. It just seems to me kinda low.

Hope this helps

 

[leanna156]

Thanks sageghost. Should I bump up the amount of Vitamin A that I started giving 4 days ago, which was about 2000 IU a day?

 

[Dave Weldon]

Howdy Leanna,

Sorry that I don't have photos of my Veiled's eyes for comparison at the moment. A couple of years(?) ago, all of a sudden he developed a puffy, looseness around the base of both eyes. I took him to the vet. There was no infection and no treatment suggested to reduce the puffiness. Since then, the puffiness very slowly reduced to maybe about half of its peak. We've seen this same eye-thing before. I think I've seen it more often in older chameleons. If your chameleon has the same thing, it seems to be self-limiting. Mine showed no other symptoms that I recall. It sure scared the heck out of me though . I'll try to take some photos.

 

[leanna156]

Thanks for the reply. I hope it's nothing to worry about, but I'm still worried. The eye still looks about the same. At what point should I take him to the vet again?

 

[sageghost]

I would keep the Vitamin A the same throughout the weekend. Then put him on a regular supplement schedule. One thing to remember, Chams metabolism isnt really fast. This is why when "typical" people notice something is wrong, its sometimes too late. The opposite is true. It sometimes takes a little while, once things are fixed, for you to see physical changes.

Watch the Cham over the weekend. If there is no change or gets worse go to the vet.

 

[kinyonga]

I have seen eyes swell like that from sinus infections, cancer and parasites. There are many reasons why eyes swell in chameleons.

Your vet is likely the only one who can determine why the eye is swelling. Have you talked to him/her to tell him/her the eye is getting worse?
What is the medicine you have been giving your chameleon?

 

[VerteX]

The medicine is outlined below. Nothing specific to ocular infection.

Cage Info:
...He was prescribed 2 doses of 0.04 mL Droncit 2 weeks apart at 23 mg/mL for the tapeworms and 0.12 mL for each of 4 days in a row Albon for the Coccidia. His blood was tested for total protein and calcium. Both were fine. (total protein 5.3 g/dL, calcium 9.9 mg/dL)...

 

[leanna156]

What is the medicine you have been giving your chameleon?

The medicine was Droncit for the tapeworms and Albon for the Coccidia. That wasn't exactly eye-related but I thought I would mention it because the problems occurred at the same time.

There is no change in the eye problems at this time. It's still swollen and he's still holding that eye closed most of the time. I am keeping up with the Vitamin A.

 

[leanna156]

We had another vet visit. The vet is stumped. He got out that thick Reptile Medicine and Surgery book by Mader that I've been wanting and was going through the eye section ruling everything out.

His eye is no longer swollen, which is awesome, but is often held sunken in and closed. (The other eye is normal, open, and not sunken in any way.) When he needs to hunt for bugs or has an adrenaline rush for whatever reason the eye opens and is held in a normal position. The vet said that holding the eye in like that could be a sign of pain. If it was an infection it would be swollen. He ended up giving us 4 days of pain medicine. If this makes him better we need to look for a problem that causes pain and if it doesn't we need to look for something else. I'm supposed to call the vet on Monday to tell him what's happening.

On a side note, this vet visit only cost about $2 for the medicine and nothing else. I can afford to go there constantly at this rate.

The photo is from a couple of days ago. The left eye isn't swollen anymore, but he's still been holding it in that position often.

 

[leanna156]

I found something weird in his poop. I don't know what it is. I can't find anything that looks like this in the reptile parasites book that I have. There were at least 3 of these. One day ago he had that 2nd, two-week later dose of Droncit for the tapeworms. I dropped the poo sample off at the vet earlier today.

Is this some indigestible cricket part or a parasite?

Thanks,
Leanna

 

[leanna156]

The "bug" was nothing, but the stool sample still had coccidia in it. The pain medicine caused no change. He is now on antibiotics called Sulfa/Trimethoprim. The vet said that it would help get rid of the coccidia and may help out the eye. We still don't know what's wrong with the eye.

 

[KevinA]

The most recent cham I bough has this same puffiness below the eye. At first I was concerned, then I just attributed it to individualness of the animals. Now you guys have me concerned again

 

[FL Chams]

Leanna it's a crickets head not a parasite.

 

[leanna156]

The most recent cham I bough has this same puffiness below the eye. At first I was concerned, then I just attributed it to individualness of the animals. Now you guys have me concerned again

It wasn't just puffy. He was holding the left eye closed most of the time, only to open it when stressed or flicking his tongue. He was also rubbing it on vines excessively. He's gotten a lot better since last Wednesday when he started taking antibiotics. He's not completely normal yet, but the eye is open more often and the puffiness is gone. The vet didn't exactly figure out what was wrong. Antibiotics were just a guess at what to do, and the vet told me so.

Leanna it's a crickets head not a parasite.

Thanks. I thought it might be but I wasn't sure. I had never really looked at the poop that closely before his eye problem started.

Thanks,
Leanna

 

[leanna156]

He's getting better. Both eyes have been open every time I've had a chance to look for 2 days in a row now. He seems brighter and happier, too.

 

[leanna156]

His left eye is closed again. It's not swollen, but he's rubbing it on vines again. Other than calling the vet tomorrow when they open, are there any suggestions?

I thought he was better.

 

[Billyjack187]

I used turtle eye drops, the swelling is apparently a vitamin A deficiency Im sure you have heard of. If the drops dont work in a week then the vet has gotta earn their check. They even sell a spray vitamin supplement made by zilla it beats dusting...just spritz the worm,cricket,etc snd let him get grubbed. My jackson came down with a swollen eye just over the course of the day...left for work he was fine, came home...swollen up. he opens it, when he is outside, I think he got something in it as it was windy that day...but I hit the vet he suggested commercial eye drops, he is a great vet as he takes care of snakes,turtles,etc...Im concerned, but after 2 days the swelling hasnt changed much.keep us posted, I will do the same.

 

[leanna156]

On Tuesday the swelling came back. The vet said to give him the same antibiotics (Sulfa/Trimethoprim) for 2 weeks every day. At the moment he seems to be in the same condition that he was before any treatment started. :-(

 

[Billyjack187]

My vet was too short with me, I am going to the "herp" vet who only deals with reps tomorrow. He was somewhat knowledgable even over the phone, he asked good questions..what plants,temps, discharge if any, things that...well made sense to diagnose a problem. He will cost me more, but well worth it. He did advise the same thing the vet I saw yesterday..use the commercial eye drops but only until he got to see him unless it got worse. And he stated a shot may be needed.