Zach Valois
New Member
So, I have come to notice that a few animals in my collection (a trio of Ambanja sisters) from a reputable breeder have developed some eye abnormalities.
I will not yet go through their care conditions, as I mean to present this more of a general topic of discussion, rather than a half-hearted attempt at a diagnosis.
The particular animals I am referencing of my own are quite small for their age, but have recently increased in appetite and are acting pretty normal overall. Two of the females have developed darkened sections of their right pupils. They will close them intermittently throughout the day, locomotory function and prey capture appears to be slightly affected in terms of observations in only one of the individuals. Very rarely (like once every 3-4 weeks) they may develop a SMALL amount of dry crust that is easily removed with a saline dipped swab. The eyes are very rarely observed to be actively secreting anything.
Now, through a forum search, the following threads came up.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/panther-eye-problem-going-bling-87754/#post866813
https://www.chameleonforums.com/eye-problems-blind-cham-72089/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/dark-left-eye-issue-19491/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/eye-general-health-questions-16010/
The majority of responses implied possible physical abrasions to the eyes, damage from CFL reptile UVB, humidity/temp issues, and or vit/mineral intake.
My initial thoughts evoke the idea that a flush would do little for this situation, as the damage (whatever may be causing it) is some type of internal process that has taken place (or not taken place..), thus external treatment would not yield results other than making the specimen at hand more comfortable. I feel this may also apply for any type of eye drop or ointment.
I want to conclude by saying that I am not posting to try and figure just how to treat these specimens of mine, but to try and define exactly what is happening, in a physiological sense, when a chameleon's eye shows this problem. And yes, I know that reported cases could be numerous causes on a case by case basis, but I do feel there is some congruence with what we are seeing.
There must be something else going on, but what?
In order of seemingly intuitive relevance, I bring forth the following causes:
Insufficient gut loading
-Vit A?
Immunosuppresion
Genetically predisposed to whatever may cause or allow this to happen
Something related to ontogenic growth?
General Symptoms across the board:
Affected locomotory/foraging skills
Decreased appetite
Decreased activity
ONE eye affected at a time
Symptoms start around 5-6 months of age
I bet this is happening more often than is reported, but feel there is a deeper reason to what exactly is happening physiologically to cause this. Could it be some type of process that is being disrupted during growth? Are trace nutrients and minerals (be it too much or too little) causing an issue in eye development? Are internal bacterial loads or parasites at play? There is something here we are missing.
I will be taking fecal samples of these animals to the vet lab I intern at next week. I will post results.
I did find it interesting that in one of these posts, a vet suggested to treat with a daily dose of Red Palm Oil in such a situation. This product being natural vitamin precursors was also suggested by my advising vet.
hmmm...... how do these dots connect?
I will not yet go through their care conditions, as I mean to present this more of a general topic of discussion, rather than a half-hearted attempt at a diagnosis.
The particular animals I am referencing of my own are quite small for their age, but have recently increased in appetite and are acting pretty normal overall. Two of the females have developed darkened sections of their right pupils. They will close them intermittently throughout the day, locomotory function and prey capture appears to be slightly affected in terms of observations in only one of the individuals. Very rarely (like once every 3-4 weeks) they may develop a SMALL amount of dry crust that is easily removed with a saline dipped swab. The eyes are very rarely observed to be actively secreting anything.
Now, through a forum search, the following threads came up.
https://www.chameleonforums.com/panther-eye-problem-going-bling-87754/#post866813
https://www.chameleonforums.com/eye-problems-blind-cham-72089/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/dark-left-eye-issue-19491/
https://www.chameleonforums.com/eye-general-health-questions-16010/
The majority of responses implied possible physical abrasions to the eyes, damage from CFL reptile UVB, humidity/temp issues, and or vit/mineral intake.
My initial thoughts evoke the idea that a flush would do little for this situation, as the damage (whatever may be causing it) is some type of internal process that has taken place (or not taken place..), thus external treatment would not yield results other than making the specimen at hand more comfortable. I feel this may also apply for any type of eye drop or ointment.
I want to conclude by saying that I am not posting to try and figure just how to treat these specimens of mine, but to try and define exactly what is happening, in a physiological sense, when a chameleon's eye shows this problem. And yes, I know that reported cases could be numerous causes on a case by case basis, but I do feel there is some congruence with what we are seeing.
There must be something else going on, but what?
In order of seemingly intuitive relevance, I bring forth the following causes:
Insufficient gut loading
-Vit A?
Immunosuppresion
Genetically predisposed to whatever may cause or allow this to happen
Something related to ontogenic growth?
General Symptoms across the board:
Affected locomotory/foraging skills
Decreased appetite
Decreased activity
ONE eye affected at a time
Symptoms start around 5-6 months of age
I bet this is happening more often than is reported, but feel there is a deeper reason to what exactly is happening physiologically to cause this. Could it be some type of process that is being disrupted during growth? Are trace nutrients and minerals (be it too much or too little) causing an issue in eye development? Are internal bacterial loads or parasites at play? There is something here we are missing.
I will be taking fecal samples of these animals to the vet lab I intern at next week. I will post results.
I did find it interesting that in one of these posts, a vet suggested to treat with a daily dose of Red Palm Oil in such a situation. This product being natural vitamin precursors was also suggested by my advising vet.
hmmm...... how do these dots connect?
