Swollen eye

[TinyDiamond]

Hello everyone and thank you in advance for helping me out. I woke up yesterday and my Jackson (Tiny Diamond) had one swollen eye. I did a ton of reading and it could be anything from debris in his eye to an infection or vitaminA deficiency. He is still eating and doesn't seem to have any vision problems. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

 

[Beman]

Have you done a husbandry form to be reviewed?
@Kaizen and @JacksJill are very experienced with Jackson's

 

[TinyDiamond]

I have not. I was just added to this forum yesterday.

 

[Beman]

I have not. I was just added to this forum yesterday.

Well welcome to the forum. If you would like to fill this out it will help the members I tagged give more thorough feedback about what could be causing the issue with the eye.

Here is some recommended information to include when asking for help in the health clinic forum. By providing this information you will receive more accurate and beneficial responses. It might not be necessary to answer all these questions, but the more you provide the better. Please remember that even the most knowledgeable person can only guess at what your problem may be. Only an experienced reptile veterinarian who can directly examine your animal can give a true diagnosis of your chameleon's health.


Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - The species, sex, and age of your chameleon. How long has it been in your care?
• Handling - How often do you handle your chameleon?
• Feeding - What are you feeding your cham? What amount? What is the schedule? How are you gut-loading your feeders?
• Supplements - What brand and type of calcium and vitamin products are you dusting your feeders with and what is the schedule?
• Watering - What kind of watering technique do you use? How often and how long to you mist? Do you see your chameleon drinking?
• Fecal Description - Briefly note colors and consistency from recent droppings. Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites?
• History - Any previous information about your cham that might be useful to others when trying to help you.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Describe your cage (Glass, Screen, Combo?) What are the dimensions?
• Lighting - What brand, model, and types of lighting are you using? What is your daily lighting schedule?
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps?
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - Are you using live plants? If so, what kind?
• Placement - Where is your cage located? Is it near any fans, air vents, or high traffic areas? At what height is the top of the cage relative to your room floor?
• Location - Where are you geographically located?

Current Problem - The current problem you are concerned about.

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Please Note:

1. The more details you provide the better and more accurate help you will receive.
2. Photos can be very helpful.

 

[TinyDiamond]

Chameleon Info:

• Your Chameleon - I think he is a MT Kenyan Three Horn and I have had him for about 3 weeks.
• Handling - Maybe a handle full of times a week.
• Feeding - Only crickets right now. I want to feed him other things but its hard to get other type of food In Hawaii. He normally eats about 3-5 small to medium in the morning and I have cricket food but I like to use fruit and veggies for gut loading
• Supplements - Zilla vitamin supplements twice a week.
• Watering - I have a mister I use and I spary 3-4 times 30 seconds a day. And I mist him directly every morning to make sure he gets water. I have seen him drink a few times.
• Fecal Description - Never tested for parasites. And it looks healthy. A good white and dark color.
• History - We are still developing a history together.

Cage Info:

• Cage Type - Glass cage with a screened top. Not sure the dimensions.
• Lighting - Zoo med basking lighting. On for about 3-4 hours when we wake up then I try to get him natural sun light.
• Temperature - What temp range have you created (cage floor to basking spot)? Lowest overnight temp? How do you measure these temps? Temps are between 70-80 degrees and humidity from 70-90% depending on when the mister is running.
• Humidity - What are your humidity levels? How are you creating and maintaining these levels? What do you use to measure humidity?
• Plants - using fake
• Placement -Top of the cage is eye level so about 6ft off the ground. I have a fan on top of the cage to keep air flow, regulate temp and humidity.
• Location - Hawaii

Current Problem -I post the pictures of Tinys eye above.

Thank you for taking the time to review this. I'm open to any recommendations on how to keep this little guy happy. If you need any.ore info please let me know.

 

[kinyonga]

Are you keeping the cage and chameleon indoors or out?

 

[TinyDiamond]

Indoors only.

 

[JacksJill]

I will review husbandry later but for now I would consider getting that eye treated by a veterinarian that knows chameleons. There could be an underlying infection that would need antibiotics.

 

[TinyDiamond]

Awesome! Thank you. I will make phone calls tomorrow to some local vets.

 

[Kaizen]

Awesome! Thank you. I will make phone calls tomorrow to some local vets.

Yup, it’s either some debris causing swelling, or fluid buildup because of infection. Either way, you’ll need a vet.

 

[kinyonga]

This is why I hate seeing swollen eyes...there are so many possible causes...cancer, hypovitaminosis A, infection, parasitic issues, debris in the turret, traumatic injury, too much D3...the list goes on. A good chameleon vet is your best option.

"Other nutritional imbalances can have effects on the eyes. A 9-week-old male Veiled Chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) presented with an enlarging periocular swelling. The chameleon’s condition deteriorated quickly and it died within a week. On gross examination the retrobulbar venous sinus was expanded. The periocular swelling was speculated to be due to venous congestion from the heart. The histology identified poor mineralization of the skull bone and calcified, dystrophic foci in the heart. It was suspected that the lesions were due to an overdose of vitamin D leading to calcification of the myocardium and possibly heart failure."...
https://cdn.ymaws.com/members.arav.org/resource/resmgr/Files/Proceedings_2012/2012_045.pdf

 

[TinyDiamond]

Thank you! I will be making calls to some vets today. I feel like my opinions are limited out here in Hawaii but I'm gonna do my best to get him seen asap!

 

[TinyDiamond]

So this morning I took a look at little Tinys eye and it's all better!!!!! He much have worked out what ever was in there. Should I still take him to the vet to get checked out?

 

[TinyDiamond]

Took Tiny to the vet Sunday. He is very healthy but he does have an eye infection which i got eye drops for. And he also has a infection in his mouth. The vet said that bigger crickets can kick the side of thier mouth and cut them causing infection. I got oral antibiotics for him which are a pain in the butt giving to him. I have to force his mouth open and put the drops in his mouth twice a day. He definitely doesn't like. He actually stop eating which is a concern. I know he loves the meal worms so I keep them in his feeder just incase but I haven't seen him since Sunday morning. I make sure he is watered several times a day. How long do you think he will last with out eating? Is there a way to force feed him? And ultimately should I be concerned or is this normal?

 

[CBee7726]

which antibiotic did they give you?

 

[TinyDiamond]

For his eyes.

 

[TinyDiamond]

His mouth drops

 

[kinyonga]

Regarding force feeding and forcing him to take the meds orally..
What I usually try to do is get the chameleon drinking from a dripper and while the mouth is opening and shutting slide the needleless syringe into his mouth and EASE the meds into his mouth slowly. The same can be done with crickets (head first...and make sure they end up between the teeth) so he bites them.

Regarding the mouth...where in the mouth is the infection?

 

[TinyDiamond]

The vet showed how to open his mouth and put the syringe in his mouth for the meds. It only about two drops or .02ml. Its a very small amount. He normally drinks from leaves in his encloser so I rarely see him drink. I will try to feed him a cricket or two tonight when I give him his meds. I will let you know how that goes tonight.

 

[TinyDiamond]

And the infection is in the corner of his mouth.