Help!! Puffy Itchy Eye!!

[EKEKO]

His name is Gamma(Male Ambilobe), he is almost 6 months, have had him in my care for almost 3. He has been a great eater and drinker, always eager to walk into my hand when feeding. A month or so ago I set up a free range for him next to a window in the bathroom with a pothos and a palm(lots of sun). His cage is the usual screen cage, for now it's a small one, currently building a bigger one, dressed with a few fakes vines, some manzanita branches and a couple live plants. He has the usual required temperatures of 70-85 with a basking spot of 90, a Reptirain mister set at every 3 hours for 30 seconds, plus 5 manual mistings. Humidity levels are usually in the 60-70. He has a very varied diet consisting of: Crickets, Mealworms or the occasional super, Phoenix Worms or Soldier Flies, Silkies and very rarely Wax worms or wax moths. 10 - 14 insects a day varying on sizes


For the past week or so there has been an ongoing eye issue. At first I thought he has just cleaning out his eyes but now it has turned into either one eye or both being close at mid day, alot of eye rubbing, and constantly puffing out his eyes. Just seems like a general discomfort. I ran some saline solution on both eyes and he obviously hates it but doesnt seem to relieve the itch. I can only think of two things....an eye infection(im praying against this one) or a supplement issue, although I have him on Herptivite twice a month(which includes Beta Carotene)

Here's a few images of him rubbing and a closeup of the eye.

If you guys have any advice, please share.

 

[ataraxia]

My guess would be something irritating the eyes. i dont think its a infection or a supplement issue unless its the skin on the turrets.

Some suggestions on what i would personally start doing as a process of elimination.
1. Lights in particular the uvb bulb. What type of uvb bulb are you using and age?>
2. Im going to guess here as i dont know how you have the cage set up. I also dont know where your cham frequents in the cage. Maybe he is not getting misted directly. Maybe he knows where to be when the misters go off so he can evade them?
3. Debris: is you house dusty? Do you clean around him alot? vacuum, dusting..
4. Is he near any vents? Any fans?
5. Plants. Are you using any live plants that are not on the safe plant list?

I would start him off daily in a shower chamber if he is willing. See if this isnt just a case of dry eyes or maybe he has some debris he needs to get rid of. If this doesnt work i would start down the list to figure out any simple problems. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ataraxia/594-shower-chamber-treatment.html

 

[ibdragons]

Yes the shower chamberand or u can use a visine bottle with warm water spray into the eye to several times this should work it has worked for me in the past ,the key word is gently.. Do it is only if you feel comfortable I do with my panthers and it seems to work

 

[Psychobunny]

You can also just use a quart or so spray bottle of warm distilled water.
Warm it in the microwave and spray your cham with it directly.
He will enjoy it, and it will help clean his eye.

A vet once told me to give my flapneck cham warm shallow bathes every day with a little boric acid in the water. I did the warm water spray instead, but make sure you keep spraying him until your water is gone, or your hand feels numb, whichever comes first!

Also, if it does become infected (swollen, discharge, etc.), you can try this:

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...prays-and-cleaners/-/terramycin-eye-ointment/

 

[EKEKO]

My guess would be something irritating the eyes. i dont think its a infection or a supplement issue unless its the skin on the turrets.

Some suggestions on what i would personally start doing as a process of elimination.
1. Lights in particular the uvb bulb. What type of uvb bulb are you using and age?>
2. Im going to guess here as i dont know how you have the cage set up. I also dont know where your cham frequents in the cage. Maybe he is not getting misted directly. Maybe he knows where to be when the misters go off so he can evade them?
3. Debris: is you house dusty? Do you clean around him alot? vacuum, dusting..
4. Is he near any vents? Any fans?
5. Plants. Are you using any live plants that are not on the safe plant list?

I would start him off daily in a shower chamber if he is willing. See if this isnt just a case of dry eyes or maybe he has some debris he needs to get rid of. If this doesnt work i would start down the list to figure out any simple problems. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ataraxia/594-shower-chamber-treatment.html

Hey Ataraxia, thanks for the advice and I did eliminate a few possibilities but you never know you might pick up on something.

1. UVB is a ReptiGlo UVB 5.0 probably a few weeks old.

2. I work from home so I make sure he gets misted directly when I do it manually.

3. My apartment is not dusty and when I do clean, not much dust is generated. I would know....I'm allergic to dust. But it's interesting that you mention that, because I thought that there had been a few times while introducing the dusted insects in his cage that he seemed to be bother by the particles of dust.

4. He is near a window which never opens and there are no vents or fans near.

5. As for plants, the plants inside his cage are cham friendly but when it comes to the free range I have a Pothos and one plant that I have not identified yet. Any clue?

Thanks again and I have already started him off with showers.

 

[EKEKO]

Yes the shower chamberand or u can use a visine bottle with warm water spray into the eye to several times this should work it has worked for me in the past ,the key word is gently.. Do it is only if you feel comfortable I do with my panthers and it seems to work

When you say Visine bottle, do you mean pouring Visine into a spray bottle mixed with warm water??

 

[EKEKO]

You can also just use a quart or so spray bottle of warm distilled water.
Warm it in the microwave and spray your cham with it directly.
He will enjoy it, and it will help clean his eye.

A vet once told me to give my flapneck cham warm shallow bathes every day with a little boric acid in the water. I did the warm water spray instead, but make sure you keep spraying him until your water is gone, or your hand feels numb, whichever comes first!

Also, if it does become infected (swollen, discharge, etc.), you can try this:

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...prays-and-cleaners/-/terramycin-eye-ointment/

Thanks for the heads up on the Terramycin, also isnt Boric acid highly toxic?

 

[Psychobunny]

Oops, yes it is, I meant to say sodium bicarbonate, like in baking soda.
It is very mild acidic.

Sorry about that !