Abscess Eye Explosion.

[GraemeShelton]

Hello,

My chameleon's eye has been looking messed up for a few days now and i've been going through some of the normal monitoring. his humidity seems fine to me and i think his lighting should be ok. the only possible problem with his lighting is a ReptiSun 10.0 rather than 5.0...that will be changed as soon as humanly possible.

today it looks like an abscess on his eye exploded.

what do you all think this could be?

i am calling my vet tomorrow,

but i want as much information as i can gather.

Thank you!

Graeme

 

[DarkRapture]

is it squishy? it almost looks like a bit of shed stuck there... maybe came into contact with oxalate crystals from plants, what kind of plants are you using?

 

[GraemeShelton]

he has two ferns and a pothos. i don't think it is shed as he came out of shed a week and a half ago and it was quick, easy and clean. the eye isn't round like it should be. its' a little flatter and he won't open it.

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

The eye is flatter because it is irritated...they draw their eye back when it is irritated and they will bulge them out when trying to clean them. I can't be for sure but if I were you I would make sure it isn't shed skin. Give him a good shower and see where it is stuck...if it is coming from the eye or skin near the eye, that would answer a lot of questions.

-chris

 

[RhettusMaximus]

eye

I would clean it out asap. You don't want the eye getting reinfected from the puss. That looks like puss to me.

 

[joefarah]

Boy its nice to get in-focus pics along with the description of the problem!
Despite the quality of the photos i can't tell what that stuff is. It sure looks like retained shed skin to me, but if you say it isn't...

Is that stuff coming from the eye? Like a secretion or the dreaded "Ooooze"?

If it were me I would try some tweezers or a moistened Q-tip and VERY carefully try to remove whatever that is from off his eye.

 

[joefarah]

I would clean it out asap. You don't want the eye getting reinfected from the puss. That looks like puss to me.

definately could be...

 

[Brad Ramsey]

It really looks like skin to me. Considering the animal just finished shedding ..... I vote for gently removing it as well.
I think it is skin that has not come off and is irritating the eye.

-Brad

 

[Dean Pulcini]

It looks like a shed or even several still stuck to his eye. The problem is from poor husbandry maybe before you got him not a 10.0 bulb.

 

[mika]

Yup.. I would have to say that looks like skin to me as well.. Like it got wet and rolled up

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

What about this makes someone think it's puss?
I'm curious.


Sharp defined edges are not indictive of a flowing thick substance
even when dried it's not going to be likely to be either "clear/ white or thin"
This is a poor shedding.
Not a problem.

Think of it about as irritating as an eyelash caught in the eye for the cham
personally I would take it and help "gently" help him remove it.

but just in case:
if it's hard to the touch or thick in structure
then it's something other than dead skin.

I would then try to irrigate the area with warm saline solution
and or a eye ointment proven safe for these guys.
In the attempt to soften it up.

I seriously doubt it's some type of infection.
I find it more likely that he was undergoing a shed or eye wiping and managed
to wipe his face with the mucus deposited from one of his bowel movements
off a branch or something of that nature.

(also: if you can, get him out of that glass tank).

 

[DarkRapture]

pothos are known to have oxalate crystals... think of it as a kind of sap that usually forma and drips off the underside of the leaves. if you do not regularly wash the plants, there is a higher chance of contact. eating the plants can be fatal, and touching the "sap" can actually burn you. it is possible that some has come into contact with his eye and like acid, has injured him and dried there... i don't know, but it really is possible. the only reason i have done research on this plant is because i also have a 2 year old daughter and i had to move all my toxic plants very high onto shelves when she started becoming mobile.

i got this from another page...
Common Name: Devil’s Ivy , Pothos, Golden Pothos
Scientific Name: Epipremnum aureum
Family Name: Araceae
Toxic Principle: Allergic reactions, Oxalic acid, Entire plant, Proteolytic enzymes, Calcium oxalate crystals
Clinical Signs: Vomiting, Diarrhea, Redness and swelling, Dermatitis, Itching and burning of lips, tongue, mouth, also throat

i agree with everyone else that you should try to wash the area. maybe a nice shower will do something for him, if not at least hydrate him...

 

[joefarah]

It just really looks like retained shed skin to me...

But it may be that the eye infection caused the retained shed, not that the retained shed irritated his eye.

 

[Brad Ramsey]

Have you cleaned that skin out of his eye yet?

-Brad

 

[GraemeShelton]

ok!

I decided to update! so i cleaned out his enclosure completely and made it into a "quarantine enclosure". very simple.

I took a Q-tip and soaked both ends with warm water. first i carefully removed the gunk. It turned out to be puss or something like that. It came off like a liquid and was yellow. I then took some kid-safe polysporin and applied it around the eye.

Within hours of the application he was up and about and eating crickets galore.

He's not completely better (still lazy and not eating as much as usual) but i'm still applying the polysporin. Everyday he looks a little better and hopefully he will be completely better soon.

Thanks alot for your suggestions!

Graeme

 

[RhettusMaximus]

nice job

It's good that you cleaned the puss out. I thought it looked like puss. Next step is getting him into a screen enclosure. It could have been an infection that occurred because of bacterial buildup in the glass enclosure. The screen cages aren't all that expensive either. Check out Reptiledepot.com complete setups and you can get a screen cage and everything you need with it for around $135- 140 shipped.

 

[GraemeShelton]

i have a screen enclosure for him. its his full sized...so it's still too big for him. he's moving in to it in a month or so. its 5'X3'X2'.