HELP! Rescued chameleon needs help

[Georgetheghameleon]

Hello everyone! I just just rescued a chameleon from a horrible home, where he did not experience much nurture from the previous owner. They were smokers and they smoked inside with the chameleon. I have just setup a new enclosure, and it is not very optimal but it is much better than what he was using before.
When I first got him two weeks ago, one of his turrets sunk and and shut all the way, and since then it still hasn’t opened back up, and I’ve been giving him antimicrobial eye drops to try and prevent an infection, but it’s not doing anything to help. Below is a photo of both of his eyes, one of them being his messed up eye.
On top of this, today he developed this pink patch of the top of his casque, and I was thinking that it’s being caused by my heat lamp being inside of the terrarium, but since it is a glass tank I cannot put it on the top.
Just wanted some advice and see if anyone knew if I can do something to help him.
There are no exotic vets near my area, the closest one is 3 hours away and I cannot afford the rates they are asking. I understand that the responsible thing to do right now is to take him to a vet, but I genuinely cannot afford that and I need to try and treat him myself.

 

[Georgetheghameleon]

Another thing to note: he has very foamy saliva that builds up around his mouth every once in a while, A LOT of white crustys around his nostrils, but no other signs of a respiratory infection.

 

[elizaann2]

Hello and warmest welcomes to you! As a fellow human who has a soft spot in my heart for mistreated animals, I want to say thank you for taking this boy in and doing what you can to give him a good home.

One thing I would like to bring up to you is that the symptoms you are sharing of your boy sound very much like advanced stages of a respiratory infection. Where chameleons are prey animals they will do everything they can to look 'healthy' until they are literally too sick to do so anymore, which basically means by they time we see any symptoms the illness is very advanced. You will have to move quickly to save this boys life and unfortunately that will require taking him to an exotic vet with chameleon care experience. I understand not being able to take him to the vet and have been there myself. Something to think about is possibly taking him to a nearby reptile rescue so that they may get him the urgent medical care he needs. I know it sounds really sad to do so, but he does need immediate care.

Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to support you and your boy.

 

[Kodyf]

Hello everyone! I just just rescued a chameleon from a horrible home, where he did not experience much nurture from the previous owner. They were smokers and they smoked inside with the chameleon. I have just setup a new enclosure, and it is not very optimal but it is much better than what he was using before.
When I first got him two weeks ago, one of his turrets sunk and and shut all the way, and since then it still hasn’t opened back up, and I’ve been giving him antimicrobial eye drops to try and prevent an infection, but it’s not doing anything to help. Below is a photo of both of his eyes, one of them being his messed up eye.
On top of this, today he developed this pink patch of the top of his casque, and I was thinking that it’s being caused by my heat lamp being inside of the terrarium, but since it is a glass tank I cannot put it on the top.
Just wanted some advice and see if anyone knew if I can do something to help him.
There are no exotic vets near my area, the closest one is 3 hours away and I cannot afford the rates they are asking. I understand that the responsible thing to do right now is to take him to a vet, but I genuinely cannot afford that and I need to try and treat him myself.

What color bulb are you using it should be incandescent and the basking area should be around 80-85 max. I see @elizaann2 advised this could be a respiratory infection which is possible sometimes but to properly diagnose it the chameleon usually will gape and point their nose in the air as well as excess mucous/discharge from the nose/mouth/eyes so if you have seen these that is the case. It is seemingly more likely he has a vitamin A deficiency, you say he came from a home where he was mistreated make sure to give him the correct supplements, uvb, and basking area for his recovery. I recommend dusting feeders with calcium at every feeding and reptivite with D3 twice a month it also has calcium in it so no need for calcium on reptivite day it’s $10 at petsmart it’s worth a shot if it’s a vitamin A deficiency his eye won’t heal right away but it will take a few days to a couple weeks for the vitamins to take effect. I understand you say you can’t afford a vet right now, I ultimately recommend surrendering him to a rescue who has the materials to get his treated ASAP especially if you also have incorrect husbandry and can’t afford to fix that as well. If you aren’t going to do that and you truly havent noticed the signs I listed to indicate a respiratory infection for the sake of the chameleon I would go buy the $10 reptivite and give him a feeding of it dusted on the bugs lightly the next time you can (no snowman bugs especially with the reptivite they are sensitive to d3). After feeding the reptivite monitor the condition of the chameleon for a few days to see if it worsens and if so you have to surrender him to a personal rescue or rescue company immediately for immediate care if it’s a deficiency or respiratory infection it could already be too far along and he could go blind and not be able to keep up his diet. Watch very closely if his second eye closes and he can’t see you have to get him some outside help it won’t be possible on your own.

 

[Kodyf]

Also make sure he is eating and drinking if he has a vitamin deficiency or respiratory infection they are very stressed and lose appetite either way which is no bueno especially since they are already stressed from the closed eye.

 

[Beman]

@Georgetheghameleon Hi there welcome to the forum. How is he doing? I would love to see more pics. I am not convinced this has anything to do with supplements. The lip line is slightly swollen on the side of his face where he is having the eye issue. If he gapes at you are you seeing any discoloring inside the mouth along the teeth? If so this would be mouth rot... And that could be what is effecting his eye if he has an infection going.

With eyes we want to rule out everything since so many things can contribute to them having issues. If you would like to do a husbandry review we would be happy to help.