Eye problem, swelling please help!

[lojack13]

I have a 8.5 month old Nosy Be Male Panther, and he has developed a swollen area around the front part of his left eye. It's been like this for about 3 days now. Strangely it does not seem to be bothering him at all. He is active, eating, drinking, his poo looks great, and he is not scratching at the swollen area either. Hopefully someone can give me a little input on it. Has anyone ever had anything similar happen to their Cham?

Got a pic for everyone to see as well. Just took it this morning.

 

[camimom]

what do you supplement with?
sometimes this can be caused by a vitamin A deficency.

 

[lojack13]

what do you supplement with?
sometimes this can be caused by a vitamin A deficency.

Hmmm, I am giving him RepCal Herptivite with Beta Carotene once every 2 weeks on his dustings. I rotate that with RepCal Phos-Free Clacium with D3 every 2 weeks. And then RepCal Calcium No Phos No D3 everyday except for Multivite and D3 days mentioned above.

The herptative apparently just has beta carotene which it says converts to Vitamin A in chams.

 

[camimom]

some chams, esp panthers, seem to have an issue with converting beta carotene to vitamin A for some reason.

i would suggest getting some vitamin A powder and putting a tiny pinch of it on some bugs once a month, and see how it goes.

 

[mcbdz]

Hello, sorry your guy is having problems. I would fill out the How to ask for help forum with as much detail as you can. Your supplementing sounds like what is recommended. I would take him in to the vet with a printout of your care. Also have it posted on here with some pics of your encloser and more of him. We to have some vets on here so maybe one will see this thread and give you an opinion. Hope you can resolve this soon. Good Luck.

 

[lojack13]

some chams, esp panthers, seem to have an issue with converting beta carotene to vitamin A for some reason.

i would suggest getting some vitamin A powder and putting a tiny pinch of it on some bugs once a month, and see how it goes.

Camimom,
Okay, I will try that. What kind or brand of Vitamin A powder do you recommend?

 

[lojack13]

Hello, sorry your guy is having problems. I would fill out the How to ask for help forum with as much detail as you can. Your supplementing sounds like what is recommended. I would take him in to the vet with a printout of your care. Also have it posted on here with some pics of your encloser and more of him. We to have some vets on here so maybe one will see this thread and give you an opinion. Hope you can resolve this soon. Good Luck.

Unfortunately our area is devoid of any good or reputable Herp vets or I would have taken him in a day or so ago. Even my breeder who lives 2 hours from me can not seem to locate a Herp vet that is even worth seeing. He tries to do most of his Cham care at home as best he can. I don't know though. I am still going to keep looking for one regardless. I have been to 3 vets and all 3 seem to no less about Chams than I do. I will try and fill out the health sheet later on today, I am about to leave the house for a few hours.

 

[mcbdz]

When you finally get to fill everything out then maybe PM one of the vets on here and see if they can take a look for you. Someone on here may be able to give you a vet name too. The 2 members I know are vets are. Dr. O and ferretinmyshoes. Good luck. Hope you find your answers.
any of these close?
http://www.arav.org/find-a-vet/#Ohio

 

[camimom]

Im telling you, there are lots of panthers that have an issue with this, try the vitamin a and see how it goes.

 

[Trace]

Im telling you, there are lots of panthers that have an issue with this, try the vitamin a and see how it goes.

That may be true but it not always the diagnosis. Let me tell you a little story; I had a female cristatus who had symptoms similar to this panther. I took her to my vet and he checked her out and was able to remove the blockage through the opening of the eyelid by pushing from the outside it with a swab. Under the microscope the debris was proteins with a very small amount of bacteria. Everything else (bloodwork, fecal) checked out normal. Essentially she had a build-up of sleep in the corner of eye and nothing to do with Vitamin A. I was sent home with over the counter eye drops that I was supposed to use for a week and the problem never returned.

Another thing I learned in school for veterinary technology was to never diagnose an animal, even if I have seen the same symptoms repeatedly in other animals, for I am not a doctor. I’m not sure how anyone can definitely say what the problem is from a few pictures on the internet. Even our few true certified vets on this board don’t do that. Please be careful with what you say as false reassurances and diagnosis may lead the OP down the wrong path.

To the OP: I hope you can find a decent vet in your area so you can get a proper analysis and follow up home care.

 

[lojack13]

I thank everyone so far for their help on my Cham's eye issue. I took a look at the link above and there seems to be a Herp doctor in Columbus I may give a try. I just do not want to have to drive my little dude a really far distance if I can keep from it. He is really tweaked out by people. LOL! I think this is my fault from keeping him in a room all by himself since I got him. I kept my female in our living room from day one and she loves being around us. My male on the other hand is just terrified of us. He is not aggressive at all, he just tries his hardest to get away from us when we are near him. Anyway, I know the extreme difficulties and impossibilities of diagnosing an animal or any living thing through pictures and descriptions. But I appreciate everyone's input just the same. It really could be anything. Vitamin deficiency, build up, I also suspicioned a possible bug bite, but I make sure all his uneaten crickets are out of his enclosure before lights out...though I am having a gnat issue in my house, and I know they bite because I was getting bit by them the other day in my office. I guess the only thing I can do is keep a close eye on the swelling over the weekend and try to make an appointment on Monday. He is shedding as we speak LOL! Poor little dude!

 

[lojack13]

Hey everyone, thought I would update this with some good news. I just walked in the room and witnessed my little dude rubbing his eye along a branch. Right after which some gunk came out his eye opening and now the swelling bulge is completely gone! So Trace was 100% correct. It was a fluid build up in his turret which he took care of on his own. I was debating on trying another herp vet for the past few days but kept one foot out of it because he was acting perfectly healthy and the swelling seemed to be slightly receding. Dude straight helped himself LOL! I will continue to monitor him though and make sure none of the gunk gets his eye encrusted, but it seems great so far. I am one happy Cham Dad

 

[mcbdz]

Glad to hear your guy is doing better. Yes, keep and eye on his. and if it happens again you may need to get eye drops or something.