Panther chameleon eye issue

Chameleon Info:
* Your Chameleon - Ambilobe Panther Chameleon, Male, and I've had him since Aug of 09. He is 1 year old.
* Handling - Maybe once a week on a normal schedule.
* Feeding - He normally will eat about 5-9 large crickets a day, even more if I give him more. If not crickets he will eat around 3-5 superworms a day. I don't free-run crickets because they can climb out of the top screen.
Now though with the problem he will eat 4-5 large crickets, and maybe one or two superworms. He still eats, but has a lowered appetite.
* Supplements - 2x a week I'll dust with Calcium powder with D3, and every other day or less I'll dust with vitamins without D3. I ran out of calcium powder without D3, and haven't been able to find any at my local pet stores..
* Watering - My chameleon will drink directly from the water bottle, so I usually 2x a day will give him a long drink of water from the water bottle. I mist 1-2x a day, and every other day I'll put a humidifier on for 2-3 hours.
* Fecal Description - My chameleon has not been tested for parasites, but his poops are normal and full, and the urine part will be white w/ a small piece that's orangeish attached to it.

Important:* History - I moved houses on April 22nd. During that week he was without his normal schedule, and I was not able to fully mist him like usual and feed him like usual. The house for 2-3 weeks went under construction and there was crowning and painting done in my room. I opened the window all the way when they painted, but with the construction there has been a lot of plaster dust...this is one of the man things that concern me towards the problem.


Cage Info:
* Cage Type - Screen cage with a wood backing. 3x2x3 (lxwxh)
* Lighting - I have a reptisun 5.0 (or 10.0) can't remember. and a regular light bulb that is 57. I recently had switched his bulb out to a 100w flood bulb..the ones with the reflective silver all around. I am thinking that this was too bright for him as the eye problem created after.
* Temperature - I use a temp gun, and during the day the top is 76-78F. Bottom is 69-70 F
Lowest overnight temp is probably 60-65F
* Humidity - The humidity level without misting or using a humidifier I would say is between 40-50%, when I mist overall i would say it jumps to about 60-70% and with the humidifier on it goes to 70-80%
* Plants - I have three pothos, a ficus, and a schflerra (sp)
* Placement - The bottom of the cage is about a foot from the ground, it is on the side of my room where the window is, so it beside the window.
* Location - I am located in the Bay Area of CA


Current Problem - Recently his eyes have not been the normal roundness they used to be. He has never had very sunken eyes or any other kind of eye problems. It started about 2 weeks ago. Usually his eyes are very round, and the eyelid circles perfectly around his pupil.

Lately however, the eyelid has began to droop. His eyeballs are also less round and infront and underneath his eye is a little saggy. This is pretty much what the right eye looks like. He still looks around a lot with this eye and it stays pretty "inflated"

His left eye is much more sunken in. He closes it a lot, and doesn't like to open it. When he does open it, it looks the same as the right eye with the odd shape and droopy eyelid.

I have seen him also rub his eyes on a branch also.
I have been rinsing his eyes with saline solution and luke warm water for the past two days.




Thank you for your time to help me & my chameleon Henry

Sorry about this sudden problem, it is always so stressful when our pets become ill. If the eyes don't "stick out" as much as they used to, and are therefore sunken in, it is usually a sign of dehydration. You seem to offer enough water, but when they have kidney dysfunction, they can still become dehydrated. About his left eye, it is apparently bothering him, or irritated by something. you really need to see a herp vet so he/she can rule out corneal abrasion and give you the appropriate eye meds, antibiotic opthalmic ointment. There are different kinds of ointments for different ailments. Hope all goes well and best of luck to you and your cham

A vet is definitely a good idea. You might try extra misting to see if he can get that eye cleared up. Maybe rinse it with some saline solution (the kind for contacts).

Thank you for the replies. I have been rinsing out with the saline solution and have been doing a better job with misting and giving him water.

I changed back his light too, as I thought maybe the new flood light was way too bright, and will see how he does.

Does anyone know what the bulge is on the side of his eyes that is towards the nose?

I will look into taking him to the vet.
Thank you for your posts, I always appreciate this site for the fast responses.
Chelsea

Maybe the camera angle isn't doing it for me because I don't see a problem there.

Eye bulging is a common behavior with reptiles, especially chameleons. What they do is increase the blood pressure behind their eyes, making the eye look like it is popping out, especially in the front of the eye. They do this for different reasons, but when they are shedding and are trying to loosen up the skin that is shedding around the eye. If the eye is bulging for a prolonged amount of time, even hours or days, without going back to its normal state, that could be high blood pressure, which is sometimes seen in chameleons and is life-threatening, so keep an eye on it. If your chameleon only bulges the eye occasionally, it is probably because the eyes are irritated, shedding skin, debris, etc. Also, they rub their eyes to get rid of the skin and, in your case, there is a possibility that your chameleon scratched his eyeball causing a corneal abrasion in the left eye, which can become infected very quickly resulting in loss of the eyeball,which is why eye issues are always considered emergencies if a scratch is suspected. Try to increase the % humidity and keep it maintained, such as using a humidifier, along with the mistings and keep the eyes GENTLY flushed out with saline.

The puffiness I see is not the normal bulging that they do to clean their eyes. I've seen this a lot in chameleons on the forums. It could be from increasing the light. Is your Repti-sun a long linear tube light (not a spiral or compact)?

How long should I leave the humidifier on? I have read from a post on here, that it is good to get it really wet and misty, but then let it dry out completely so you don't get any mold growing etc. I should also not mist at night when it is cold right?

He only bulges his eye to "clean" it when I rinse his eyes with water or saline solution, but I would say that it remains to have that bulge for 5-7 minutes after. I have saline solution for sensitive eyes...not the anti-redness kind, but it's just a basic CVS saline solution for sensitive eyes...is this ok?

He has not shed recently, so I don't think shed got in his eye. I have not seen him rub it recently, but im not watching him 24/7 of course.

kinyonga: yes, the puffiness is what Im referring too. It was not a spiral or compact, but it was a 67watt flood light which I think was far too bright compared to the normal bulb I was using. The repti-sun, the UV one is just a long linear tube light that goes ina 24" fixture.

I am definitely setting up an appointment for him. I do have a herp veternarian that I once took my water dragon to, but if he is not experienced with chameleons should I find another one or do you think he'd be in good hands?

I've read a lot of similar posts with the eye issues, and I know humidity could be a factor, but do you think this was all caused by the plaster dust from the house construction? My mom has bad allergies and it's been causing her to sneeze and get itchy eyes and Im wondering if that's what he's been feeling too

Any updates on the condition/outcome? My little guy has a very similar problem in his left eye as well.

Hey, I'm glad I found this post! My baby ambilobe panther chameleon, Starr, shed about Tuesday last week and since then has been bulging both his eyes, more so the left, intermittently. I'm taking him to the vets tomorrow, but feel slightly reassured having read this!