Wilson update, not improving

Rocky said:
If it was an eye infection you should probably go back to the vet. Do you still have medicine? One of our female panthers had an eye infection and was showing signs similar to yours. We have her on an antibiotic (vibromyacin) and an antibiotic/steroid eye drop.

From what I got out of my vet visit was that the eye is right next to the sinus cavity and the infection can spread to that easily (happened to hera). Is his face a little swolen? That's how we could tell she had something going on. We still have her on meds (2 weeks later) but she is looking 100% better. The vet told us the main problem with chameleons is that they usually take a bit to get healthy.

Good luck with him.
Click to expand...
No, I'm out of the medicine that I got from the vet. I still have some terramycin which I haven't used yet. The vet said they weren't farmiliar with it, but that since it was from the same family of drugs and what she gave me, to use it if I felt the need. How do you apply it though? The last med was an eye drop and was easy enough to apply, but the terramycin is more of a gel. Do I just smear some on the eye?
 
I'm not sure about terramycin, what does it say on the bottle? I would assume you suck it up through the syrenge (needleless) and make him open his mouth and put it in his mouth. Thats what I did with the vibromyacin.

I would consult a vet first though. You may need it diluted for the correct dosage for the size of you animal. We only give like .05 cc
 
This is probably the OTC terramycin eye ointment. Is that what you have? You wouldn't give it orally, but dab it on the eye. If you do plan to use it I would first rinse the eye with sterile saline to loosen any discharge and help open the eye. Then dab it on the pupil.

The problem is, we don't know what specific bacteria is causing the infection so we don't know which antibiotic it will be sensitive to. If the infection has been there a longer time it's more likely to have become systemic. The eye ointment alone won't get rid of it.
 
What is the humidity level in the cage now? What is the night time temp and humidity now? I've rescued a couple of jackson's that went downhill like this and the main cycle seemed to be dehydration leading to chronic eye irritations, the cham ends up sitting with eyes shut more and more and obviously not eating. It can take a lot of misting and higher humidity for days before they recover enough to open their eyes and start eating. He may have gone down to the bottom of the cage because it was cooler and very moist. A little easy test for his hydration level. Take a fold of skin (try on his side) between your fingers and gently pull it slightly. Release the skin. If the skin stays folded after you release it, he's dehydrated. If the skin flattens out right away after you release it, he's hydrated. Check his casque. If he's hydrated enough it should be full looking. If it looks more concave, he's not.
 
Carlton said:
What is the humidity level in the cage now? What is the night time temp and humidity now? I've rescued a couple of jackson's that went downhill like this and the main cycle seemed to be dehydration leading to chronic eye irritations, the cham ends up sitting with eyes shut more and more and obviously not eating. It can take a lot of misting and higher humidity for days before they recover enough to open their eyes and start eating. He may have gone down to the bottom of the cage because it was cooler and very moist. A little easy test for his hydration level. Take a fold of skin (try on his side) between your fingers and gently pull it slightly. Release the skin. If the skin stays folded after you release it, he's dehydrated. If the skin flattens out right away after you release it, he's hydrated. Check his casque. If he's hydrated enough it should be full looking. If it looks more concave, he's not.
Click to expand...

I'll go try that test right now. The night temp gets to around 70 I think, and while I try to keep the humidity above 50% all the time, we just moved and I'm having trouble getting it stable. Earlier today it was 40. Yes, the terramycin I have is a topical gel, not an oral medicine.
 
Just finished, and it worked!! I didn't have saline, but I used slightly warm water, and after a few mins, Wilson went from not being able to open his eyes at all, to opening them fully!!!
He was/is dehydrated, so I tried to get him to drink some, and will continue working on that tomorrow. I also noticed that his nostrols were swollen, so I'm guessing that means a sinus infection. What can I do about that? Vet?

Thanks so much for the help!!
 
UPDATE!
It's been a while since I've been on here, so I wanted to share the good news! I took Wilson back to the dr. He said he believed that the humidity was still too low, and that the inflamation I had noticed around his nostrils wasn't an infection, but a little bit of old shed that was stuck in there. He was right! He got a little thing and picked it out. I would have never guessed that!
Anyway, he put Wilson on an antibiotic cream for 10 days, and now Wilson is doing great! I have been keeping the humidity at around 70%, since 50-60% wasn't cutting it. I also am misting him more often now, and to Wilson's delight, went out and bought a little tank heater to put in the water bucket for his mister, so that it mists warm water now. He's not yet eating like a little pig, but he is eating on his own, which is a big step forward!!

I'll try to post some pictures when I get the chance.
Thank you so much to everyone who offered any kind of help or advice, I really appreciate more than you know!!!!! (and so does Wilson!)
 
Hey Brighteyez!

We've followed this thread since July and this is the best news ever! Your good animal husbandry has truly paid off! You're a good Cham owner! Nice work!
Cheers to you and Wilson!
P&D:D
 
brighteyez said:
UPDATE!
It's been a while since I've been on here, so I wanted to share the good news! I took Wilson back to the dr. He said he believed that the humidity was still too low, and that the inflamation I had noticed around his nostrils wasn't an infection, but a little bit of old shed that was stuck in there. He was right! He got a little thing and picked it out. I would have never guessed that!
Anyway, he put Wilson on an antibiotic cream for 10 days, and now Wilson is doing great! I have been keeping the humidity at around 70%, since 50-60% wasn't cutting it. I also am misting him more often now, and to Wilson's delight, went out and bought a little tank heater to put in the water bucket for his mister, so that it mists warm water now. He's not yet eating like a little pig, but he is eating on his own, which is a big step forward!!

I'll try to post some pictures when I get the chance.
Thank you so much to everyone who offered any kind of help or advice, I really appreciate more than you know!!!!! (and so does Wilson!)
Click to expand...


Glad to hear that Wislon's doing better!

Heater tip: It's not good to heat the water in the bucket. Warm standing water grows bacteria. My chams love warm misting too and this is a heater that I rigged up to warm their water right before it goes in the cage.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/misting-system-heater-29698/
 
beeze said:
Glad to hear that Wislon's doing better!

Heater tip: It's not good to heat the water in the bucket. Warm standing water grows bacteria. My chams love warm misting too and this is a heater that I rigged up to warm their water right before it goes in the cage.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/misting-system-heater-29698/
Click to expand...

HHMMM, that is a good point. I finally got rid of the bacteria in his eyes, I don't want to shower him in more. I just bought this though, and so far I really like it. Do you think there is any way to still use it? Like if I clean the water bucket regularlly or something. Also, the heater I got doesn't stay on all the time. It waits until the water hits a certain temp, that I set, and then it turns on to heat the water back up before turning off again. I don't know if that makes a big difference in bacteria build up or not.
Oh, while I'm asking questions, do you know about vinager for cleaning? I would like to spray some one the bottom of the cage to kill the bacteria at the bottom of the screen. Does anyone know if that would work? Would it hurt Wilson?
Thanks
 
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