Panther Cham one eye closed?

[MitchA]

Hey guys,

Just need a little help on my lil buddy!


Your Chameleon - Nosey be male panther Cham, 8 months old
Handling - He's handled every 3 weeks or so. Very mean attitude lol
Feeding - He gets gut loaded crickets, dubias, mealworms and hornworms as treats.
Supplements - I use calcium without d3 and I use dinofuel.
Watering - at least 3 times a day. Hates the mist but always drinks good.
Fecal Description - Hard to describe. Normal I shall say no different than any of my chams
History - Came from Kammers around march time. From their Sinatra line

My iPad is having problems so ill just add the second half to this!

He lives in a reptibreeze full of foliage. He has repti glo 5.0 ( I know there are lots of bad reviews but I have used these on all my chams and never had any issues) up top temps are 84 bottom is 72 and at night time it's about 70 degrees.

His current problem is he won't open his left eye. When I mist he will open it briefly but will soon close it after. His eye isn't diluted it looks completely fine. I think he may have something in it? I'm not too sure that's why I came to you guys!

His care is identical to my other 3 panthers so I don't know what it could be other than that.

If its not enough info just let me know and I'll update!

Thanks

Mitch!

 

[Carlton]

What's the cage humidity? Is it at the same level as your other cages? Has he shed recently? Possibly a bit of stuck shed? He might have scratched it on something while climbing around. If he does have something in his eye you can help him flush it by giving him warm showers. Or, if that doesn't help you can also squirt some sterile contact lens saline at the eye itself to try to flush it more directly. Saline (no preservatives) will sting less than plain water. If you see any discharge buildup on the lid, he's working on an infection and will need an optical antibiotic.

 

[ataraxia]

Hi there, here's my opinion for what it is worth. Your panther is in the age area when i have experienced vitA issues with some. This deficiency closed one eye and if acted upon quickly the issue will be resolved quickly. Your supplement schedule will need to change with him and will be fine for the others also. Ill explain this below.

From experience some panthers need different vitA sources than what others are able to survive on. An example: We raised three panthers from the same clutch. Only one of them i had to use a preformed version of vitA to satisfy his needs. The other two showed no symptoms of a deficiency. Whatever my gut load choices were at the time and herptivite did not help him out but were fine with the other two. To solve his issue. I would take a drop of fish oil, put it on one feeder as soon as i notice it and tadda within the next day his eye would be open.

To give him what he needs from here on out. Id recommend using a product called reptivite twice a month or so. I personally give it to all my panthers and veileds from a light dusting on all feeders a couple times a month.

 

[ColombiaCham]

This has helped me in the past

Thanks to Jim at The Chameleon Company:

.... a problem which has been confirmed by such as Dr. Gary Ferguson, Dr. Scott Stahl, Dr. Ivan Alfonso, and moi. Could be something else, but from what you describe, this is suspect number one. I think the substrate pursuit is an unlikely candidate. My notes on it:

Possible Vitamin A Deficiency in Chameleons, Symptoms and Solutions

By The Chameleon Company, LLC


Vitamin A deficiency is a common malady in LTC chameleons, either with WC or CB origins. This stems from the chameleons inability to synthesize real Vitamin A from common precursors, such as beta-carotene. This can be confusing when evaluating supplementations, as many dry supplements list Vitamin A benefits, but only as the precursor, beta-carotene, and not as “pre-formed”, “pro-formed”, or in essence, real Vitamin A.

While lack of Vitamin A effects many aspects of chameleon health, the usual first observed symptom is the appearance of an unexplained eye irritation, manifested in difficulties in keeping first one eye open, and after a few days, both eyes are affected. The eyes will not appear sunken, or in any other way mis-shaped initially, although secondary problems, such as an infection, can follow. The initial observation is that it is causing irritation to the chameleon, and that it can't keep the eye open as normal. It occurs more often in larger animals, but sometimes occurs in larger juveniles. Successfully hatched chameleons seem to be born with a supply of Vitamin A, an essential ingredient for successful embryonic development, and fresh WC’s seem to be imported with a supply. Mother Nature seems able to provide this vitamin without problem. Without some real vitamin A in their diet, these stores will deplete. It is a difficult vitamin for the hobbyist to gut-load via crickets and insects though, and such attempts are usually ineffective.

Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin, as is Vitamin E. It is most commonly sold in gel caps, with each gel cap containing approximately three drops of an oil solvent. It is available on-line from many suppliers, and is sold in most vitamin and health stores. The most common, and consensus most effective, form of vitamin A is a compound known as retinal palmitate. It is a common human food supplement as well. Depending on manufacturer, gel caps may contain 2000-15,000 iu’s (intravenous units) per gel cap. Read the label to insure you are buying a product with retinal palmitate as the Vitamin A. The solvent may be fish oil, which outside of its odor, is OK. While this product can be acquired on-line from several manufacturers, shipping may take a few days. If symptoms of possible vitamin A deficiency have been observed, it is best to purchase locally, at such as a GNC or other nutrition and vitamin store, as you can have it NOW, and then buy on-line to have a supply on hand for future use. Here’s an online source:

http://www.amazon.com/Carlson-Labora.../dp/B00014DUVG

Vitamin A is toxic in large quantities. As you are dealing with an oil, a strong word of caution as well. Chameleons have an extreme dislike for almost any measurable quantity of oil introduced into their mouth. While inexact, usually a negative reaction starts to become likely to occur if a quantity of oil ½ drop or greater is introduced into an adult chameleon’s mouth, and is virtually guaranteed with 2 or more drops. This can induce vomiting and inhalation of the oil, possibly death. Fortunately, the amount of oil (and vitamin A) needed to effectively dose a chameleon is usually less than 1/20th of a drop. Again, an inexact science, but depending upon the concentration of the Vitamin A in the oil, your goal is to deliver a dose that contains approximately 100 iu’s per 50g of chameleon. An exceedingly rough estimate would be 1/20th of a drop of the oil in an average adult female panther chameleon. There is a reasonable margin for error. This can be administered by puncturing one or more gel caps, and wetting a Q-tip with the oil, so that it is wet, but not dripping. You can then grab the chameleon behind the head, and when it says “Ahhhh”, touch the Q-tip to its inner gum, etc. It will likely chomp down, then let go of the Q-tip once released itself. Or, if you are able to hand-feed, swab the back of a cricket or such with a smear of the oil, and then coax your chameleon into eating it.

As a rule, we recommend this treatment to all adult chameleons once every two weeks. If an animal is showing symptoms of Vitamin A deficiency, such as eye closing with no other apparent malady, we recommend the dose daily for five days, then once every two weeks. In such cases where Vitamin A deficiency is the problem, the eyes usually improve on the third or fourth day. Good luck.

Jim Flaherty
The Chameleon Company, LLC
__________________
Jim Flaherty
The Chameleon Company, LLC

 

[MitchA]

Thank you so much for the advice. I'm going to go gnc tomorrow! So he can have some quick supply.

I've heard of reptivite but where is a good place to buy it?

Thanks guys!

 

[ataraxia]

Hi, hows the kid doing?

To answer your question. Check out our site sponser for good places to purchase . Reptivite comes in two different versions ( with or without D3). Either will work.

 

[MitchA]

He's gotten a little better but he's no where near 100% yet. I'm still watching him like a hawk! I'm thinking if it doesn't improve by next weekend he's going to the vet!

Thanks again!