Veiled Chameleon - Crusted Shut Eye

[Kntonoff]

Hi Everyone!

So today, as I took my chameleon out for the first time today, I was looking at her and realized one eye was closed, I looked at it a little more and realized it was crusted shut and no matter how hard she tries, she cannot open it. Is there anything I can do to help her, or will she get it on her own? Help!!!

*I can't post pictures, because I don't really know how*

 

[Sir Francis 222]

Hi Everyone!

So today, as I took my chameleon out for the first time today, I was looking at her and realized one eye was closed, I looked at it a little more and realized it was crusted shut and no matter how hard she tries, she cannot open it. Is there anything I can do to help her, or will she get it on her own? Help!!!

*I can't post pictures, because I don't really know how*

To upload photos when posting a thread go to manage attachments it's near the the bottom !
I am sorry for your chameleon , hopefully someone can help I would also fill out the care sheet too to give more info

 

[carol5208]

If it is crusted shut, then more than likely there is some type of infection going on which will mean a vet visit and medicine. Post a pic and we can take a look and try and give you some advice on what to do.

 

[Kntonoff]

Thank you, I am kind of scared if she has an infection. Do you think if I maybe put some water on it, it will help? And I will try figure out this picture thing, but it will have to be tomorrow because she is sleeping as of now, thank you for your help, I will post a new thread tomorrow (hopefully) attached with pictures. Thank you again, for your help!

 

[carol5208]

Well, if were just shut and not crusted, I would say maybe she has something stuck in her turret like a piece of shed or some other type of debris. It does happen and this can sometimes be resolved by flushing the eye out with PLAIN saline(not visine). You could still try that. It cannot hurt, but just like us when we have discharge coming out of our eyes it usually signals an infection is present. There are antibiotic drops that are used for eye infections, but I am pretty sure you have to see a vet to get them.

 

[Drew1405]

Hi Everyone!

So today, as I took my chameleon out for the first time today, I was looking at her and realized one eye was closed, I looked at it a little more and realized it was crusted shut and no matter how hard she tries, she cannot open it. Is there anything I can do to help her, or will she get it on her own? Help!!!

*I can't post pictures, because I don't really know how*

Can I ask you what type of UVB light you are using? Is it a compact (spiral) bulb or a long tube?

I had this problem with my Veiled. It went on for a couple of months and many trips to the vet for antibiotics and eventually he was kept in for 3 weeks and given a liquid diet with all the needed nutrients in it etc. He really perked up after that but then I got him home it all started to go bad again.

Eventually after a lot of head scratching I dug for hours on the internet and eventually found someone with the same problem as me. It was suggested to him that the compact UVB he was using could be the underlying cause. It can hurt their eyes and then cause infection as a secondary problem.

So to see if this was true I immediately changed my veiled's compact UVB to a tube (that was several weeks ago now) and he has been fine ever since! Eyes look perfect! I also asked the vet when he kept him in what kind of light he was under and the vet said it was a tube light. So no coincidence that he perked up during the time he was in the vets!

I'm not saying the light is definitely the problem here for you as sometimes Chams can just pick up an eye infection for other reasons but the light is something you should investigate if you are using a UVB light that isn't a tube light.

The vet also said my guy had low bone density which we can now see is attributed to the light being dangerous and not working correctly so he hasn't been getting the right amount of UVB out of it.

Further research since I encountered this problem has shown me that some other people have reported problems with coil bulbs with Chams and also the likes of Beardies and so on. I have now banned all use of coil bulbs with any of my animals. I honestly think these things need taken off the market! I had heard previously of some people saying coil bulbs were bad but I'd never come up against it first hand. I also found through my research that the problem with coil bulbs is that the UVB output is highly concentrated in a very small area around the bulb. When the bulb is new it puts out such a high amount of UVB that it can burn out it's UVB in a lot less than the usual 6-9 months of UVB tubes. Also that high concentration of UVB coming out at the start and the intense light is what can damage the eyes of the animal. I am just lucky I found out before any irreparable damage was caused. My guy appears to have made a total recovery and his bone density is now also going up again thankfully.

When his eyes were hurting and becoming crusted it got to a point where both eyes went bad and he couldn't see at all. He would just feel his way around the cage which also led to a couple of falls. He therefore couldn't eat or drink either. Eventually he got to a point where he would just sit in one place and never move. He would constantly bulge his eyes out as far as he could like he was trying to force them open. Constantly rubbing them on branches as well. That was when the vet decided to keep him in since the antibiotics were helping the infection but still being under the coil bulb at home was counteracting the good that the antibiotics were doing. He eye started to go bad within days of me getting him home that from the time he was kept in and so I switched to the tube bulb and there hasn't been a problem since.

Some have been lucky and not encountered any problems with coil bulbs but I think that really is just luck. I certainly won't be taking the chance anymore with any of my guys for the sake of a coil bulb being a few quid cheaper than a tube.