swollen eye dunno whats the problem

[AndrewBrian]

Hi guys my sub adult nosy be panther female seems to have an eye problem noticed this 4 days ago... im not sure if she hit one of the leaves as i pulled her out of her cage... 2 days ago i thought the eye was already on in the morning i just noticed again today it was a bit swolen and she seems teary eyed here are 2 pics of her eye

 

[LLGabriel]

Hello. I'm sorry to hear your little girl has something wrong with her eye. Fill this form out so everyone can have a better idea of what might be going on.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/
I'm not a veterinarian nor an expert but it does look to have something wrong. Have you tried a long warm misting or a gentle flushing with saline solution?

 

[Alexl]

Looks like if there could be some pus or other material inside the eye. But noone on the forum is able to tell you whether she has a little shed residue or a small injury or an infection or dirt from a branch under the eye lid without seeing the chameleon personally and doing some diagnostics. Please don't hesitate to contact your reptile vet for a visit.

Aditionally, you can fill out the "how to ask for help"-form, so forum members can help you optimize your chameleon's cage setup. Wrong lightning, bad ventilation and similar can lead to eye problems, too.

 

[houseofchameleons]

I had a swollen eye on mine and took him in and it turned out to be a bacterial infection

 

[CLP]

I'm not a veterinarian nor an expert but it does look to have something wrong. Have you tried a long warm misting or a gentle flushing with saline solution?

I agree. If you've tried a saline flush and/or long mist or shower, and it hasn't helped, you need a vet. It looks to me like it may very well be infected.

 

[houseofchameleons]

Easily treated with antibiotics and nothing evasive a swab and culture

 

[AndrewBrian]

thanks for the help guys unfortunately we dont have reptile vets in the philippines... majority of the hobbyist have to treat their own pets we dont even have a bird vet... only for cats and dogs. I live in a smaller city and animals like chameleons cannot be transported without papers. where do you get saline wash in a drug store? how is it applied? directly on the eye?

 

[CLP]

Saline can be found at the drugstore where the sell supplies for contact lenses. You have to be careful to get only plain saline. Not with anything else added in. You aim the nozzle at the eye and squirt it in. You are aiming to see the eye turret swell up with the fluid. But make sure you are gentle. You don't want to damage the eye.

If that doesn't work, you will likely need to get some antibiotic eye drops. Vets should have those regardless of the animal type they care for. Even a cat/dog vet should be able to do a swab of the eye and culture it for specific bacteria type and prescribe the correct medication to treat it.

 

[AndrewBrian]

as for help form i dont have solid facts this is the best i can do
Chameleon : nosy be female
Age: approximately 8-9 months old
cage utdoor home made screen cage with artificial plants
problem: Eye injury or infection
duration : been 4-5 days since first seen
feeding : mix of dubian roaches, crickets( she doesnt really like it) and grasshoppers caught in a pesticide free area
handling: every 2 days
supplements : calcium with d3 but will change this to a no d3 one as soon as stock is available

 

[CLP]

I would be careful with the calcium with D3. It is very easy to oversupplement on D3 and it is toxic if too much is given. I understand you are trying to ensure she gets enough calcium, but too much D3 is very dangerous. Can you use something else for the calcium? Ground up cuttlefish bone (used for birds) can be used.

You also need a multivitamin to use twice a month. I understand you have difficulty getting supplies where you are. Can you perhaps order online? A lot is available on eBay for instance...

 

[AndrewBrian]

copy that this lil fellah had too much d3 since birth my other sub adult chameleons started calcium with d3 3 weeks ago i doubt they are over supplemented but will try to get new calcium... will try the squid bone for the meantime thanks so much... is reptivite an essential? or an option?

 

[peacenlove]

I have been dealing with eye issues on off with my chams over the years mainly its due to shed getting in there eye and them not able to get it out and continue to rub and rub and make it worse. what i have been doing and it has managed to help all my chams. i bought that tutle eye drops, it has saline and vitamin a in it and i would put the drop once a week in my chams eye and let the eye absorb it then everyday i will give them a 45 min shower and let them drink and shower. it takes time but has helped one of my chams was really bad in both his eyes after his shed and this fixed the issue took a couple weeks but it cleared up and now both his eyes are back to normal. i would worry if she stops eating and drinking and starts to sleep during the day because it could mean a infection but since you have no vet there i would try those turtle eye drops they work great!

 

[AndrewBrian]

I appreciate the help the eye isnt completely shut and yes im suspecting now it is the shedding... she's starting to shed again now... i gave her a warm shower this morning but with spraying only.... i think the eye is doing a little better if not then in a day or 2 i will try saline