werecat
Established Member
We have been trying to get to the bottom of Egon's eye problem since August and have had little improvement. The vet is beginning to think this is just something he will have to live with, but I just wanted to post and see if anyone has any ideas or experience with an eye problem that just won't go away. Below is my husbandry and details of the treatment.
Chameleon Info:
•Your Chameleon – Nosy Be panther, male, 2 years old; In our care for about 7 months.
•Handling – Normally little handling unless taking him out for cage cleaning or for sun. However, during treatment for the eye problem he is handled 3 times a day.
•Feeding – Crickets as staple; superworms; silkworms; occasional stick bugs, BB flies, phoenix worms/files, and hormworms. (3-4 feeders every 2-3 days – 12 items per week on avg)
Gutload with cricket crack (and super chow for supers) supplemented with various fresh foods including: arugula, carrot, romaine, apple, mango, basil, etc.
•Supplements – Repashy Calcium Plus 1x per week. Zoomed ReptiCalcium (no D3) every feeding except Repashy day.
•Watering – Raindome, which goes for 1min 30 sec – 1min 45 sec every two – three hours (5 times/day). I see him drink almost every morning after the first rain. He’s a good drinker and not shy about it at all.
•Fecal Description – Brown poop with white urates. Poops every 1-2 weeks since winter began. He used to poop with more frequency in the summer. Was tested in August for parasites and is clean.
•History – He was well cared for by his previous owner and very healthy. He has been healthy and active in our care except for the eye issue which has been an on and off problem since August. He last weighed in at 143 grams in early December.
Cage Info:
•Cage Type – Screen, 24”x16”x30” (KK Forever Cage)
•Lighting - 1 18" Zoomed Reptisun 5.0 (Replaced November 2013); 1 100W reptile basking bulb on a dimmer which is dimmed to maintain basking area at about 85-95 degrees F. Lights are 12 hours on/12 off.
•Temperature – Basking spot hovers around 89 F and gets up to 95 F sometimes. Rest of cage has a gradient ranging from about 72-80 F. Measure ambient temp with digital room thermometer and basking spot with digital probe thermometer. Also use a temp gun. Lowest temp at night is probably 65-70 in summer and has been 60-65 in winter.
•Humidity – Between 55-80% created/maintained by regular raindome mistings and live plants. Use a digital room hygrometer for ambient humidity and an in cage analogue hygrometer.
•Plants – Live plant is one large, full Schefflera which takes up most of the cage space. There is little room for any other plants.
•Placement – Located in the lowest traffic room (art room) and is near the window but does not receive direct sunlight. Top of cage and highest branches are above our heads (over 5 feet)
•Location – We are in Los Angeles.
Current Problem
In mid August my husband and I noticed Egon keeping his left eye closed and the turret pulled in slightly. We did not see any discharge and the only other "symptom" is that the left eye looks different from the right eye. The left eye pupil is more constricted and the iris is darker than the right eye. After consulting with some forum members we tried flushing the eye with saline solution once a day for a week. When there was no change we took him to the vet who prescribed Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfates and Dexamethasone Ointment. Per the vet we applied this 2-3 times per day for 13 days (6 days longer than the vet had initially recommended). There did not seem to be much improvement and the treatments really stressed Egon so the vet said we could try stopping. Within a week Egon was opening the eye more and eventually kept it open most of the time. The times I would see him close it were when he was basking or subjected to bright light (like the flash of my camera). This led me to believe the eye is light-sensitive, but that's just a hunch. This became his "normal" and it was maintained for about a month and a half, but in mid-October he began keeping the eye shut all of the time. Per the vet we treated once again with the Neo-Poly-Dex ointment 3 times a day for almost 3 weeks. There was no improvement so we took him to the vet again. The vet prescribed Gentamicin Sulfate drops which we administered 2-3 times a day for 16 days. Still no improvement and it seemed Egon's eye actually was more irritated since he was frequently blinking and doing the googly eye roll thing. Took him to the vet once more and they vet checked his eye and flushed it. He said there was a little mucus but not much. He said that on rare occasions some chameleons with eye problems just don't respond to meds very well. He thinks that it might be best to just leave Egon alone with no treatment for awhile to see how he responds. When I asked if he thought it could be a deeper underlying health problem or a vitamin A deficiency he said he does not since such problems would normally affect both eyes. Egon has been off treatment for 3 weeks now and he does keep his eye open more, but still closes it for about 1/3 - 1/2 of the day. Also, I believe this problem does affect his aim. *When shooting, his accuracy diminishes significantly for anything more distant than 6 inches.
My question is, has anyone ever experienced something like this? Is this really something my little guy has to live with? I do feel that my poor little guy has been through a lot! The treatments and handling are very stressful for him. I hesitate to keep trying things if they are just a shot in the dark, but obviously if I could help him get better, I'd like to.
Chameleon Info:
•Your Chameleon – Nosy Be panther, male, 2 years old; In our care for about 7 months.
•Handling – Normally little handling unless taking him out for cage cleaning or for sun. However, during treatment for the eye problem he is handled 3 times a day.
•Feeding – Crickets as staple; superworms; silkworms; occasional stick bugs, BB flies, phoenix worms/files, and hormworms. (3-4 feeders every 2-3 days – 12 items per week on avg)
Gutload with cricket crack (and super chow for supers) supplemented with various fresh foods including: arugula, carrot, romaine, apple, mango, basil, etc.
•Supplements – Repashy Calcium Plus 1x per week. Zoomed ReptiCalcium (no D3) every feeding except Repashy day.
•Watering – Raindome, which goes for 1min 30 sec – 1min 45 sec every two – three hours (5 times/day). I see him drink almost every morning after the first rain. He’s a good drinker and not shy about it at all.
•Fecal Description – Brown poop with white urates. Poops every 1-2 weeks since winter began. He used to poop with more frequency in the summer. Was tested in August for parasites and is clean.
•History – He was well cared for by his previous owner and very healthy. He has been healthy and active in our care except for the eye issue which has been an on and off problem since August. He last weighed in at 143 grams in early December.
Cage Info:
•Cage Type – Screen, 24”x16”x30” (KK Forever Cage)
•Lighting - 1 18" Zoomed Reptisun 5.0 (Replaced November 2013); 1 100W reptile basking bulb on a dimmer which is dimmed to maintain basking area at about 85-95 degrees F. Lights are 12 hours on/12 off.
•Temperature – Basking spot hovers around 89 F and gets up to 95 F sometimes. Rest of cage has a gradient ranging from about 72-80 F. Measure ambient temp with digital room thermometer and basking spot with digital probe thermometer. Also use a temp gun. Lowest temp at night is probably 65-70 in summer and has been 60-65 in winter.
•Humidity – Between 55-80% created/maintained by regular raindome mistings and live plants. Use a digital room hygrometer for ambient humidity and an in cage analogue hygrometer.
•Plants – Live plant is one large, full Schefflera which takes up most of the cage space. There is little room for any other plants.
•Placement – Located in the lowest traffic room (art room) and is near the window but does not receive direct sunlight. Top of cage and highest branches are above our heads (over 5 feet)
•Location – We are in Los Angeles.
Current Problem
In mid August my husband and I noticed Egon keeping his left eye closed and the turret pulled in slightly. We did not see any discharge and the only other "symptom" is that the left eye looks different from the right eye. The left eye pupil is more constricted and the iris is darker than the right eye. After consulting with some forum members we tried flushing the eye with saline solution once a day for a week. When there was no change we took him to the vet who prescribed Neomycin and Polymyxin B Sulfates and Dexamethasone Ointment. Per the vet we applied this 2-3 times per day for 13 days (6 days longer than the vet had initially recommended). There did not seem to be much improvement and the treatments really stressed Egon so the vet said we could try stopping. Within a week Egon was opening the eye more and eventually kept it open most of the time. The times I would see him close it were when he was basking or subjected to bright light (like the flash of my camera). This led me to believe the eye is light-sensitive, but that's just a hunch. This became his "normal" and it was maintained for about a month and a half, but in mid-October he began keeping the eye shut all of the time. Per the vet we treated once again with the Neo-Poly-Dex ointment 3 times a day for almost 3 weeks. There was no improvement so we took him to the vet again. The vet prescribed Gentamicin Sulfate drops which we administered 2-3 times a day for 16 days. Still no improvement and it seemed Egon's eye actually was more irritated since he was frequently blinking and doing the googly eye roll thing. Took him to the vet once more and they vet checked his eye and flushed it. He said there was a little mucus but not much. He said that on rare occasions some chameleons with eye problems just don't respond to meds very well. He thinks that it might be best to just leave Egon alone with no treatment for awhile to see how he responds. When I asked if he thought it could be a deeper underlying health problem or a vitamin A deficiency he said he does not since such problems would normally affect both eyes. Egon has been off treatment for 3 weeks now and he does keep his eye open more, but still closes it for about 1/3 - 1/2 of the day. Also, I believe this problem does affect his aim. *When shooting, his accuracy diminishes significantly for anything more distant than 6 inches.
My question is, has anyone ever experienced something like this? Is this really something my little guy has to live with? I do feel that my poor little guy has been through a lot! The treatments and handling are very stressful for him. I hesitate to keep trying things if they are just a shot in the dark, but obviously if I could help him get better, I'd like to.
