Chameleons eye is infected, help

[nickypav]

So it has a little discharge and i sprayed him with water (from a distance) and was able to get most of it out and wiped his eye gently. came back today, obviously i need eye drops which im going to order now.

My Questions

1. what do you reccomend
2. how much/often do i use it
3. is this going to be recurring
4. any other information i should know

 

[Devokid]

I would get him in to se a vet ASAP. Eye infections are not a good thing and need to be dealt with quickly.

 

[nickypav]

everywhere is closed and i have to leave for the weekend like now.....i washed it out with water and they look fine again. swelling is gone and gunk is out but im sure its going to come back. im going to order some eye drops and deal with it when im back. hope for the best, this is terrible timing

 

[MelissaB]

I don't believe that you can get antibiotic eye solution anywhere other than the vet. When my panther had an eye infection, it was just starting, I took him into the vet and she prescribed the drops. I think it's important for the vet to be able to see the animal, as well as weigh them so they get the proper dosage.

Edited to add:
Since his course of antibiotic, Otto, hasn't had a reoccurrence. I'm not sure what caused it, but it hasn't happened again. It was easier than I thought it would be to administer the drops, too. He would stare at the medicine dropper, so I just squeezed a drop in his eye while he was giving it the stink eye.

 

[JoeVet]

Normal water is not good for flushing eyes. You can get a saline flush from any drug store that would be much better.

 

[Blang]

Get a small bottle of murine for eyes at the pharmacy! Its people grade eye drops & sterile!

 

[Reddogzz]

Read through my post, there is a lot of good information, that you can learn from. My chameleon died from the eye infection yesterday after weeks of troubleshooting. All I can say is that I wish I knew all that information before it got so bad. Eye infections are going to be expensive to troubleshoot but it is necessary, and from what I can tell, if a vet wants to take a sample of the fluid (to check for an infection), it should be done with a syringe, not a scalpel (because as the eye swells the incision will get larger and becomes increasingly prone to infection). After the incision the eye continued to bleed on the inside and get larger (building up pressure/causing pain) even after it healed on the outside. The other reason, is that an incision does not allow for good collection to do a culture/sensitivity. My first vet was only willing to prescribe baytril or amoxicillin, so I was in a tight spot until I found another vet (but by that time it was too late).


---> My post
https://www.chameleonforums.com/nasolacrimal-duct-obstruction-143618/

 

[MelissaB]

My vet didn't do a culture. The medication she prescribed was Ciprofloxacin
0.3%, one drop a day for 5 days.

Reddogzz, I am so sorry he didn't make it.

 

[MamatoElvis]

Oh Reddogzz. I'm so sorry to hear about your Cham. I was following the other thread. That was really heartbreaking.

 

[Reddogzz]

My vet didn't do a culture. (

Your right, it is true that the culture/sensitivity might not be needed... but... what if the cipro hadn't worked... like the amoxicillin didn't work for mine, and more time progressed... the cipro might have just weakened your chameleon.

In my case, I think cipro would have been a better move than amoxicillin, but it was the vet's call. The point here is that some vets have more experience with herps than others and unless we really know that our vet has years of chameleon experience, we cannot rely on them to make a perfect judgment call without that culture.

It is taking a lot for me to come out here and admit to my being wrong. But I learned the hard way not to hedge around the cost of the culture and sensitivity. With the time/money spent on guessing antibiotics and irritating the wound, it ended up financially + emotionally costing my wife and I much more than a culture/sensitivity would have, plus would have taken less time.

I am not saying that anyone is wrong but I am saying that, personally I will take the identification of the infection much more seriously, with my other chams, now that i have been through the loss.

 

[nickypav]

So thanks for the info. I purchased terramycin which I've read good things, I hope he's fine. Sorry your chamy died from it red dog, I'm pissed this happened poor pancake he's only 5 or 6 months old. Not sure how this happened....

 

[Reddogzz]

Not sure how this happened....

That is the tricky part, could be vitamin A, could be dirt got in the eye, could have been a bacteria infection, could have been ... oh the list goes on.

Keep him hydrated while you use any antibiotic and if the swelling does not decrease after a few day OR if it increases from here out...while using the antibiotic then you need a vet appointment.

Best thing is to keep everyone posted and keep updated pictures each day same angle same distance away. It is good to keep a log of these things so everyone can see how they progress, and offer advice along the way. I hope the drops work.

 

[MelissaB]

Reddogzz, I wasn't saying your vet shouldn't have done the culture, not at all. It's better and safer to do a culture so you know what antibiotic will work. I was just relating what my vet did, and what she used, just in case that info could help someone else.

You did everything you could to save your guy, and fought so hard for him. I don't think you did anything wrong. You put your trust in trained professionals, and followed their advice.

 

[nickypav]

Normal water is not good for flushing eyes. You can get a saline flush from any drug store that would be much better.

By normal water i mean its purified. theres no way its bad for their eye. saline from what ive read is not good for them as well (not 100% sure) but the water got the gunk out and the built up came back. i ordered some terramycin anti bacterial stuff so this should do the trick. problem is that its both eyes now which sucks. Hes being an *** hole rite now and wont come out of his cage cuse its late and i just got back from my trip so well see how it goes tomorrow

 

[nickypav]

That is the tricky part, could be vitamin A, could be dirt got in the eye, could have been a bacteria infection, could have been ... oh the list goes on.
Keep him hydrated while you use any antibiotic and if the swelling does not decrease after a few day OR if it increases from here out...while using the antibiotic then you need a vet appointment. .

So its both eyes and i do use repashy calcium plus every day for his crickets, which does have vitamin A but ive used it with my other cham and its never been a problem. But i guess its not too important how. ill have an udate in a few days when i start the terramycin

 

[Reddogzz]

Preformed vitamin A or beta-carotene? I think that is the debate that is going on right now, some vitamins have only beta-carotene and there are people saying that chameleons can only absorb preformed I am not sure either way, but I don't know if that will save you at the moment, don't forget to get a culture if the drops don't work and you need to act fast.

 

[nenitavega]

I got some human ophthalmology background

Im not a vet. Im a doctor and did a fellow in ophthalmology. It could be almost anything, I can barely see the cornea ... Most of conjunctivitis and keratitis and a lot of eye diseases heal with oflox drops... it depends in humans how bad , it could be 4 to 8 times per day and ointment synthomycin 5%, 1 to 3 times per day... I suggest you take him to the VET and try to figure cham dosage and ask if this drugs doesnt affect chams.... If I were you Id take him to the vet and if he doesnt know... Ill try oflox 2 drops a day (morning and afternoon) and oint synthomycin once a day at night... 3-4 days but thats me, VETs got the last Word ... best luck

 

[nickypav]

Im not a vet. Im a doctor and did a fellow in ophthalmology. It could be almost anything, I can barely see the cornea ... Most of conjunctivitis and keratitis and a lot of eye diseases heal with oflox drops... it depends in humans how bad , it could be 4 to 8 times per day and ointment synthomycin 5%, 1 to 3 times per day... I suggest you take him to the VET and try to figure cham dosage and ask if this drugs doesnt affect chams.... If I were you Id take him to the vet and if he doesnt know... Ill try oflox 2 drops a day (morning and afternoon) and oint synthomycin once a day at night... 3-4 days but thats me, VETs got the last Word ... best luck

This is the only legit answer I got, thank you. Swelling is gone. It his eye is bothering him. He has trouble blinking only in his right eye now. It'll be perfectly fine then swell up when he tries to blink. I've been using terramycin which causes irritation at first and I think it's helping but not sure if its causing swelling or not gonna try one or two more days then switch to your drops. Don't have the money for a vet but eyes for the most seem to be cleaning up besides this random swelling when he blinks. I'll keep an updated post soon thanks