Scratch on eye

[Smeagol]

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 14.5 X14.5 X 25 screen Repitarium
Lighting - reptisun 5.0, 75 w house bulb
Temperature - basking 84-89( somtimes turn on the ceramic heat bulb for the chilly days) ambient temp 79-82. have 2 therm. 1 digital.
Humidity - 50%-70% mister goes one every 2.5 hrs, dripper (tupperware w/hole) about 16oz/day. have a digital humitity gauge.
Plants - 1 large pothos, branches vines and a small fake plant
Placement - Cage is in the office, low traffic. Cage is ontop of a table 4' off the ground.
Location - NY

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - Panther, male about 5 months. Had him a little over a month.
Handling - Lately about 3-4X a week due to showering.
Feeding - about 15 crickets/day (when should I slow this down?) gutloaded with greens/potatoe and fruit.
Supplements - zoo med calcium w/out d3 5x a week, reptivite w/d3 2x month, and herptivite multivitamin 1x month.
Watering - have a mist system on every 2.5 hours for 3-4 minutes, see him drink ocationally.
Fecal Description - mostly healthy looking, sometimes his urate is a slight orange. Never tested for parasites.
History -Noticed his left eye closing 1st week I got him. At 1st I thought he was napping, because both eyes will sometimes shut while basking. But noticed it's mostly just his left eye closed. Also since having him heard him sneezing or puffing only a few times, maybe 5x this past month 1/2. Is this something to be concerned about?.
Current Problem - I was giving him showers for a week stright, trying to flush out the eye with no improvment. So I took him to the vet, and he saw a scratch on his eye (He showed me as well). The vet gave me Ciproflaxcin to give him 2x a day. I did a search on here for this med. and only found 2 posts that are not related. Does anyone have experience with this med? Is it good for an eye scratch?
Thanks

 

[PardalisGirl]

My thoughts....

Hi there.....not sure why nobody has responded to this.....Hopefully my post will bump this up into view again.

I've never heard of the medication you mentioned. Does it go directly in the eye or do you give it by shot or orally? I've been given either Terramycin ointment or Gentamicin (Gentocin) eye drops for all my eye issues. Gentamicin was very effective in treating an eye scratch issue I had. I like it better than Terramycin which can cake or crust up. I would stop with all the extra out of the cage showering as long as he is drinking from his cage misting. He may be getting stressed with all the extra handling. Showers are not really going to make a scratch heal. Medicine and a good immune system will. Have you heard the sneeze or cough thing happen this last week at all? Is there any sign of extra spit, foam or mucus in his mouth? How active is he? A male that size should be moving all over the place. How much time does he sit under the basking light? Could we get a picture of him and one of his cage? I've asked a lot of questions but I think answering them all will lead to better suggestions to help your boy out. That's cool that you can have him at work!

 

[chams1]

I agree with Catherine. I have used Gentamicin on a number of occasions and always keep it on hand.

 

[Smeagol]

Hi there.....not sure why nobody has responded to this.....Hopefully my post will bump this up into view again.

I've never heard of the medication you mentioned. Does it go directly in the eye or do you give it by shot or orally? I've been given either Terramycin ointment or Gentamicin (Gentocin) eye drops for all my eye issues. Gentamicin was very effective in treating an eye scratch issue I had. I like it better than Terramycin which can cake or crust up. I would stop with all the extra out of the cage showering as long as he is drinking from his cage misting. He may be getting stressed with all the extra handling. Showers are not really going to make a scratch heal. Medicine and a good immune system will. Have you heard the sneeze or cough thing happen this last week at all? Is there any sign of extra spit, foam or mucus in his mouth? How active is he? A male that size should be moving all over the place. How much time does he sit under the basking light? Could we get a picture of him and one of his cage? I've asked a lot of questions but I think answering them all will lead to better suggestions to help your boy out. That's cool that you can have him at work!

Thanks for the bump. The drops go directly in his eye. I will stop the showers, I was actually concerned about stressing him to much now that I have to put the drops in. My vet said that this med is basically baytril for the eye. I actually havn't heard him sneeze in about 2 weeks. He's very active, always exploring, and looks very healthy otherwise. No mucus or spit. I actually work from home lol, but that would be cool. Here's a pic of my boy and his enclosure.

 

[FroggtheCham]

Ciprofloxacin is indeed in the same class of antibiotics as Baytril. This class of med is used to treat a broad spectrum of bugs. It is my guess that your vet has prescribed it to prevent an infection while the scratch heals.

 

[jannb]

I know nothing about the meds the vet gave you. Are you sure that the vet is a good chameleon vet? After about 7 months I would start feeding every other day and get him a bigger cage or free range.

 

[Smeagol]

I know nothing about the meds the vet gave you. Are you sure that the vet is a good chameleon vet? After about 7 months I would start feeding every other day and get him a bigger cage or free range.

The vet was recommended by somone here on the forum. I'm not sure if he is a good vet, but I thought he was one of the better ones around here. I sure hope he is, because my last vet was clueless and did more harm than good.
I have a 24 X 24 X 48 waiting for him.. I usually leave the cage open (if I'm around) for him to come out if he wants, but rarely comes out.

Should I ask for something else?

 

[PardalisGirl]

Give it a little more time....

Given how active you say he is and how well he is eating I think I would give the drops some more time to work. How long has he been getting them in the eye? I would try to keep him stress free by letting him drink in his cage after misting or with the dripper. That is, as long as he is drinking well. I have not heard of the drug but that does not mean it will not work. It's been over a year since I've had an eye issue to be treated. It could be a new treatment. I would just keep an "eye" on him and give it time to heal. As long as he has no new symptoms, that sneezing thing is gone and he is very active, etc. I see nothing to be alarmed at. But if something does change, be prepared to go back to the vet right away. He's a cutie!

 

[beeze]

He's a very good lookin guy. Hopefully, he will improve in a couple of days. If not as posted above take him back to the vet.

 

[Smeagol]

thanks all. We only started treatment yesterday so I guess I will give it some time to work. I have a follow up with the vet in 2 weeks. (should it take that long to start seeing improvement?)

Frogg have you had experience with this med? does it work?

I just feel I need to check with ppl here to make sure the vet is doing the right thing. I don't trust any around here.

1 more question, when I first got him about a month 1/2 ago, he was eating 1/2 crickets, they looked kind of big, but he seemed to have no problems, I just recieved his new cricket shipment (1/2" as well) and they are way smaller than the other ones. should I give him more than 15?

Thanks in advance

 

[kinyonga]

http://elephantcare.org/Drugs/enroflox.htm

 

[FroggtheCham]

Cipro is a very common medication used for a wide range of infections. As I mentioned earlier, it is the same class as Baytril so it can be used to treat the same problems that Baytril would be used for. Sometimes the differences in medications used is as simple as Dr. preference. It may be one your vet has used this med more than other medications out there, and is more comfortable with it. It doesn't make it wrong, just different. The antibiotics used for vet use are the same as used for people, just reformulated and/or renamed for vet use. The class of medication is flouroquinolone if you want to research on the net. You'll see that there are a number of meds available in this class and they are used commonly for people. I work health care and use and or see this med prescribed almost daily if your concern is that this med is new or seldom used. It has been around a long time. I can not say how long it has been used for reptile use, but if this class on meds has been used on reps this med should be safe to use. I would voice your concerns to your vet, he/she should be more than willing to give you an explanation.

 

[Smeagol]

Thanks frogg, that makes me feel a little better. I will keep an eye on him for now. Thanks for everyones input.

 

[FroggtheCham]

Glad I could be of assistance . Another point to help ease your mind, is to remember that using a med topically significantly reduces side effects. I hope he is feeling better soon!