Eye issue. Please help!

[KellyRose12]

Okay, I had purchased an 11 month old panther male from a local breeder... When I went to pick him up he had some dried crust over his left eye... The seller told me it was because of the UVB bulb that he had in the cage and with some misting everyday, it would be easy to clear up. When I brought him home I switched the UVB bulb to the one I have. It's kind of similar to the one he has, except a different brand. It is a ZILLA TROPICAL 13watt.. It's the one that twists.. I don't know if that it called a compact bulb. I have done some research about the bulb and found some bothering information that was dated in 2008. It stated that the compact bulbs can cause eye problems and can possibly lead to blindness. Is my bulb one of the kinds that cause this!? Please help. Any info will help. If it is, what bulb should I buy? I am giving him calcium on his crickets as well as his vitamins once a week.
Also, his eye doesn't seem to have any more crust on it, but he is sleeping right now and he has his eye half open while the other one is closed.

 

[werecat]

Hi. I'm sorry your new guy is having a problem. I am a little surprised that the breeder would tell you an eye problem would just go away with misting and I'm suspicious of his reasoning as to why there was an eye problem in the first place. If the proper UV lights are used they shouldn't cause eye problems, especially not a problem that would result in discharge that would crust over. I personally would not have purchased a chameleon with an eye problem in the first place since eye problems in chameleons can sometime indicate much more serious health issues (not trying to scare you, but it's true). If there is any kind of health guarantee I would try to take him back. It will save you a lot of worry, frustration, and possibly money (since it may be an infection that requires a vet and meds).

Regarding the compact (twisty) bulbs, they used to cause eye problems and blindness because of poor manufacturing standards. This has been resolved and to my knowledge compact bulbs are now considered safe. However, most keepers are still wary of these and the most common bulb of choice is the ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 in the long tube form. If you can, switch to this it might put your mind at ease. Also, you can research some of the other lighting options people use. Other choices people use are: Reptisun 10.0, and Arcadia T5 lighting. All these options have a higher UV output than the 5.0 bulb and may not be appropriate depending on your cage size and the amount of plants/cover your chameleon has to hide in. They need to be able to get away from the UV if they would like to.

It sounds like you haven't had him long enough to tell if the problem is getting any better, so keep a careful watch on this and see if you observe any changes.
If there continues to be discharge or crust on the eye it's an indication of infection and needs veterinary attention. As I stated earlier, eye problems can indicate much more serious problems in chameleons. Watch his behavior, activity level, eating, drinking, pooping, etc. Also if he starts closing the other eye it's a bad sign. Hopefully this really will pass. I wish you the best of luck!

Also, if you do need to start flushing the eye with saline solution or administering eye medicine and have any questions about this, PM me. I'm currently treating my cham for an eye issue and can give you some tips!

 

[KellyRose12]

Thank you for the feedback! I was able to get the crust off his eye yesturday, and this morning when he woke up his eye looked perfectly normal. No dried crust! I will continue to watch his eyes very carefully. He is acting normally and is now shedding. He has grown on me so much these past couple of days, the last thing I would want to do is take him back to someone who doesn't know much about health issues. If it starts to crust again, and gets worse, I will take him to the closest vet and see what she has to say. As far as right now he seems to be doing better. Thank you for the help.

 

[werecat]

Good to hear! Keep us posted!