Vinny's Eyes closed

Right I've asked around and people say it could be one of two things. Either what I said and there's too much UV, or your cham may have a vit A deficiency (check here for info and symptoms: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=17+1796&aid=3027). If you see an improvement tomorrow in his eyes (they open at least a little more) then it may be the UV, so keep a close eye on him, but if you don't see much of an improvement, I'd urge you to go to a vet ASAP as you won't be able to administer any extra vit A orally (as he won't be able to catch loaded food) and thus he may need injections. Either way, if you can go to a vets, then get there ASAP!
 
Thanks Slik, really appreciate all the assistance. I'm hoping his eyes will be better in the morning, it's been on and off- some days just one eye, or today both. I'll give an update in the morning, if it is the UV- what should I do going forward? If it's vitamin A, I'll have to see about getting him to a vet, but it's horrible timing on that because I'm in the middle of exams. Thanks again for all the help.
 
If its the Uv, then ditch the bulb. Give it a few days/week without a uv then install a UV tube. Even two weeks wont hurt, give his eyes time to adjust.
Compact uv bulbs tend to cause smething like snowblindness (no sunnys for lizards).

I have three rescued beardys who were almost blind from compact uv exposure in a white melamine cage. Two have fully recovered but one isnt quite there yet.
It damages/kills cells on the eye surface. Over time these will regenerate.
 
As Jo said, you should see an improvement in the next few days if it's the UV, and if you do, just leave things like that for a while until he's back to normal. If you see no improvement by tomorrow morning, then I think a vet is your only option.

Best of luck to you and your fella!
 
Guys- really no improvement this morning, I've found 1 vet in town who claims to be versed in reptiles, I'm going to take him over there this morning. I'll let everyone know what the deal is.
 
Just got back from the vet and Vinny's doing fine now. She couldn't see anything wrong with him and said he was in great health other than the eye situation. So, she did a saline flush on his eyes (I've never seen him more pissed in his life) and now his eyes are back to normal. She said because he's shedding he may have gotten something in his eyes, or it could also be pollen which is really high right now (we have had the doors open a bit).

It's pretty funny though, he feels so violated by the vet experience that he's gone back to doing the shakey walk from branch to branch like he did when he was a baby:)

Again- thanks for all the help. Going forward, I'll be getting some new 5.0 reptisun bulbs and looking into some other supplements besides the Miner All. I've moved the basking spot from the back corner to the middle of the cage, which also seems to be working better.
 
That looks like a great improvement already. Lets hope he gets back to full health soon. I don't know what the equivalents are over there, but for supplements I use calypso (a calcium supplement) and nutrobal (a multi vit supplement).

You may want to try him on this Nutri Bac DF as it is said to be really good at helping all lizards recover from any sort of problem (It's been used extensively in Asia but has only really just arrived in the UK so I've only just got my hands on it!

Reptileuv also sell a calium and multi vit supplement that are highly recommended but you can't get them in the UK yet sadly. Maybe have a look at those too. Should be somewhere on the site I gave you the link to!

All the best mate.
 
Dammit- I don't believe it, again this morning eyes closed- this is so weird and annoying, the vet gave me a syringe, I may just do some saline again.
 
Just a thought from the peanut gallery here, but I noticed you have a reptarium. I am wondering if

A. The reptarium is dusty or collecting dust and it's getting in his eyes every time the cage gets shook.

OR

B. He is rubbing against it to get his shedding off and its inadvertenly causing eye irretation

Did the vet rule out a blocked tear gland (if chams have those) .

Just thoughts.
 
Really? That's not good. Yeah, try giving them a wash yourself, but be careful. If it's just stuff in the eye they should be able to remove themselves if you give them a good misting. How often and for how long do you mist? You may want to try the 'shower' method of misting as this will give him a really good rinse.

Oh yeah, and now he's eating, try loading his feeders with extra vit A. Should give him a bit of a boast hopefully.
 
Last edited:
Yep, syringed both eyes this morning and they were perfectly fine in a few minutes. It's like his eyes get glued shut while he's sleeping, it's always a morning thing. He just ate a few worms that I dusted pretty heavily, maybe that'll help. I'm hoping it's just a temprorary thing.
 
I was just going to post up the current condition, I've been waylaid with exams.

Basically, exactly the same since we went to the vet last week. Wake up- eyes shut, I squirt some saline into each eye in the morning, they immediately open, and he's fine for the rest of the day. He drank, he ate a superworm yesterday, super strange.

I have no idea what the deal is, but I've got to figure it out because I'll be out of town a lot of the summer and my wife won't be able to do this every morning.
 
Try to find a different vet with more chameleon experience. Eye problems can sometimes lead to other health problems.
 
I am nowhere near as experienced as most people on here but I think I do remember reading an article somewhere about having ficus plants in chameleon cages, I think you mentioned one on your list. Though they are non-toxic I think that they have an oil or sap that can get in the chameleons eye and irritate it. Just a thought since the vet said he was healthy and you already adjusted all your lights.
 
Have you tried terramycin?

You can find it at LLL Reptile. Its only a couple of bucks and worked great on my panter after a couple of days worth of treatment.
 
HeelsFan said:
I am nowhere near as experienced as most people on here but I think I do remember reading an article somewhere about having ficus plants in chameleon cages, I think you mentioned one on your list. Though they are non-toxic I think that they have an oil or sap that can get in the chameleons eye and irritate it. Just a thought since the vet said he was healthy and you already adjusted all your lights.
Click to expand...

That's a very good suggestion actually! Is it still in both eyes? Or just the one?
 
HeelsFan said:
I am nowhere near as experienced as most people on here but I think I do remember reading an article somewhere about having ficus plants in chameleon cages, I think you mentioned one on your list. Though they are non-toxic I think that they have an oil or sap that can get in the chameleons eye and irritate it. Just a thought since the vet said he was healthy and you already adjusted all your lights.
Click to expand...

Good idea. I would check the tree to see if there are any freshly cut sticks or leaves.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

RobertSopko
My chameleon keep one eye closed
2
Replies
20
Views
802
Beman
Beman
C
Little guy having an unusual shed?
Replies
2
Views
181
Motherlode Chameleon
Motherlode Chameleon
C
Possible eye problem with male veiled?
Replies
3
Views
254
Beman
Beman
R
Eye gunk, retained shed or discharge?
Replies
4
Views
361
Beman
Beman
Jeevesieb
Tis a puzzlement
2
Replies
20
Views
925
Beman
Beman
Back
Top Bottom