Won't open eyes.

[Angelwolf]

Great job to share ur story ,Daniel's cham is starting one eye now its in both eyes n one looks a bit sunken on his right eye.
But why "dog food" to force feed on ur cham??

My vet said that it was very high in calories, and is something that is suitable for many animals in such critical condition. He went from about 115g to 98! We needed to get him stabilized, first. He hadn't been able to eat for weeks.

 

[Angelwolf]

He looks to be acting EXACTLY like my boy did. Please don't hesitate to get him to a vet, and try an eye ointment.

 

[alphakenc]

My vet said that it was very high in calories, and is something that is suitable for many animals in such critical condition. He went from about 115g to 98! We needed to get him stabilized, first. He hadn't been able to eat for weeks.

I still believe that ur vet can suggest better choice than the dog food part,since the dog food is not made for the chameleon needs ,maybe some bug juice(blend the gutloaded feeder) will be more suitable choice.
Instant weight gain only temporary fix,to find what causing the weight loss in the first place will be the priority to solve the problem.

 

[Angelwolf]

I suppose so. At any rate, though, he has made a remarkable recovery, which is rare, in and of itself. He needed nutrients, and it worked. I am just happy that I didn't loose him!

 

[alphakenc]

I suppose so. At any rate, though, he has made a remarkable recovery, which is rare, in and of itself. He needed nutrients, and it worked. I am just happy that I didn't loose him!

Great,Im glad he made it thru,did the vet find out why is he not eating n losing weight in the first place??

 

[Angelwolf]

Great,Im glad he made it thru,did the vet find out why is he not eating n losing weight in the first place??

He basically just had dirt in his eyes. 2 little pieces of grit from his fake vines, and 1 piece (rather large) of shed. The slipperiness of the ointment was all he needed to work out and he's been fine since. He started eating and drinking on his own, and has regained all of his weight. He wouldn't open his eyes, and therefore couldn't eat, and couldn't get the crud out on his own!

 

[alphakenc]

He basically just had dirt in his eyes. 2 little pieces of grit from his fake vines, and 1 piece (rather large) of shed. The slipperiness of the ointment was all he needed to work out and he's been fine since. He started eating and drinking on his own, and has regained all of his weight. He wouldn't open his eyes, and therefore couldn't eat, and couldn't get the crud out on his own!

I know that will do the damage....Daniel's cham still eats n drink,it start on the left eye n now its both closed ,I think its a bit different situation,but I agree with u that it will be a wise idea he is taking the cham in for a vet visit on Saturday.

 

[Andee]

In my opinion instead of dog food your vet should have recommended Carnivore Care. It's a vet prescribed diet for insectivores and Carnivore reptiles. It is much healthier than dog food.

 

[Angelwolf]

I know that will do the damage....Daniel's cham still eats n drink,it start on the left eye n now its both closed ,I think its a bit different situation,but I agree with u that it will be a wise idea he is taking the cham in for a vet visit on Saturday.

Nope. Mine started with 1, then both. That's why it went on for so long. He had been able to eat while 1 was closed, but not both. And he never had any signs of any kind of infection, or any other problems.

 

[medgecko]

For my edification, what ointment was prescribed?

 

[Angelwolf]

For my edification, what ointment was prescribed?

It was a triple antibiotic that also contained a steroid. We were at a point where we were willing to try just about anything. The majority of his bloodwork came back normal. And the couple results that were off were expected, given his condition. We knew there was no infection, but the steroid would help with any inflammation, and the antibiotic wouldn't hurt. We put it in his eyes, in the office, and he opened them up INSTANTLY! And kept them open. Over the course of the week I treated him, those bits of debris were stuck on the outside of hus eye, all wrapped in goo. So it was obvious that was his problem. I wouldn't have thought it possible, until now!

 

[alphakenc]

Nope. Mine started with 1, then both. That's why it went on for so long. He had been able to eat while 1 was closed, but not both. And he never had any signs of any kind of infection, or any other problems.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/chameleon-sleeping-most-of-the-day.154242/#post-1313859
This is Daniel's previous thread,when the left eye was close about 11/19 (he post the thread on 11/23 which is 4day after the left eye was close)and I suggested him to mist the left eye with lukewarm water ,he is been giving the cham lots mist ,now the right eye is closed ,I just cant imagine the debris got into the right eye when all these misting is going ,thats why I told him to take the cham in for the examination by a vet,at this point,I can not rule out anything,anything is possible for those closed eyes,especially the sunken right eyes.

 

[Angelwolf]

https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/chameleon-sleeping-most-of-the-day.154242/#post-1313859
This is Daniel's previous thread,when the left eye was close about 11/19 (he post the thread on 11/23 which is 4day after the left eye was close)and I suggested him to mist the left eye with lukewarm water ,he is been giving the cham lots mist ,now the right eye is closed ,I just cant imagine the debris got into the right eye when all these misting is going ,thats why I told him to take the cham in for the examination by a vet,at this point,I can not rule out anything,anything is possible for those closed eyes,especially the sunken right eyes.

This is true. But it's also exactly what happened to mine. Left eye was closed for about a week. Then both. And they were sunken in, also. It will definitely be interesting to see how this pans out! I am going to post a pic of my guy.

 

[Angelwolf]

The first image was taken on 10/31, just before leaving for the vet. It's tough to tell, but both eyes are closed and sunken in. You can see how skinny he was. This was when we started the force feeding, just to stabilize him. The vet said that he was in very critical condition at this point. The 2nd pic is after a feeding. As you can see, eyes closed. 1 week later, on 11/8, we returned to the vet. He was regaining weight, so we pulled some bloodwork. My vet and I were both at a bit of a loss. The vet was able to separate the eyelids, so they weren't stuck closed which was my first concern. They tried a drop of saline solution in them, but as soon as the staff brought him back to me, he no sooner climbed onto my hand, laid down, and closed them again! When the vet came back into the room a minute or 2 later, I could see he was shocked to see them closed again! So grasping for straws, he went to the back and got an antibiotic and steroid eye ointment. Even though we knew there was no infection, we were running out of options to try, and figured it wouldn't hurt to try. He never once had any discharge, swelling, or other signs of infection - eyes, respiratory, or otherwise. The vet showed me how to apply the ointment to both eyes, and he immediately opened them on his own, and started looking around the room! He no longer had them sunken in, either. He kept them open, and over the course of the next 3 days or so, I found a piece of debris wrapped in goop stuck to the outside of the left eye, then one on the right eye, and then a rather large piece of old shed from the left. The last 2 pictures show how he had them opened fully, extended out in the normal position, and was looking all around his cage. When his bloodwork came back from the vet, all of the values were within normal ranges, and the only 2 that were slightly elevated were as expected. Uric acid, because he hadn't been eating for weeks, and not making any waste, either. I forget what the other one was, but it made sense that it would be a little off, considering his condition. As soon as I got him home from the 2nd vet visit, he ate and drank on his own, and has been since. He has made a full recovery, and is thriving again, which is a miracle in itself, as we all know how fragile these creatures can be, and it's often too late before they show any signs of a problem. So, that's my experience, and I share because I don't want anyone else to go through it. I got REALLY lucky, and caught it in time, before it was too late. I never would have thought about the whole problem simply being dirt in his eyes, just like you said, but it was! So as I said in my last post, it will be interesting to see how it goes for this other cham.

 

[Craigwyatt]

A ton of eye problems are associated with vit A deficiency. A while back this happened to me several times and it was always an easy quick fix. But since then I changed my gut loads and haven't had an eye problem in my collection in the longest time.
If anyone is interested in how to fix or atleast try a Vit A fix send me a pm.

 

[Angelwolf]

That's what I kept thinking, but his vitamin A level was normal, per the bloodwork.

 

[alphakenc]

This is true. But it's also exactly what happened to mine. Left eye was closed for about a week. Then both. And they were sunken in, also. It will definitely be interesting to see how this pans out! I am going to post a pic of my guy.

At this moment anything is possible for Daniel's cham,we can wait for his update info on his cham status ,I think he mentioned he has a appointment on this coming Saturday,it will be worth mentioning to his vet,according to his post,the cham was very active n eating healthy prior all this happen,the misting n shower was a temporary relief,we can only wait to see what @Daniel Martin update on his cham,thanks for sharing ur veiled story,he is a beautiful big boy.

 

[Angelwolf]

I agree. And thank you! @Daniel Martin , please let us know how you make out! And best of luck, too!

 

[alphakenc]

Ur welcome! Hopefully everything goes well with his cham ,I always tell everyone a healthy cham will always base on the Gutloaded feeders,environment set up....prevention is always better than trying to fix the problem when things goes wrong.