eye problems

[bucky]

Ok...so I took my panther cham, Louie to the vet lastnight. The vet said he looks better than he has been. But he still keeps his eyes closed through out the day,not the whole day,but an ok amount. When I take him out (out of the cage)though,he seems more lively. How do I get him to open up in the cage? He hasnt touched the crickets in his cup feeder,but I hand fed him and he ate from that,hes eaten from the cup before. What should I do to get him to eat?

Lighting: 2 basking bulbs,one a 65 watt,another a 65 watt but you can change the heat settings on it.
A 5.0 reptisun UV

 

[PardalisGirl]

Pictures please...........

Would it be possible to get some pictures of him doing his thing in the cage and outside the cage where he seems more active? I do better if I have a picture. It helps me get a general idea of the condition. I see you Avatar but don't know if that's the chameleon in question. I can't really enlarge it to get a good look either. Thanks

 

[bucky]

Yes thats him, I'll take some pics of him tommorow. Hes sleeping now. But I just find it weird that the vet,who my chameleon's breeder has taken all her chameleons there with great care,thinks that he could be fine. I mean both his eyes are closed,its very frusterating

 

[Chamero]

Hey Bucky... I am currently going through the exact same problem with my cham. At first, one eye was closed, so I took him in to a vet who suggested I let it go for a week, concluding that it was a hurt eye. Not happy with this diagnosis, I went to a second vet. At this time, both eyes were closed so I knew it wasnt a hurt eye. I explained all this to the second vet and he too turned me away saying that "it is normal for chams to sleep anytimre of the day". This, I found weird, cuz on the forum it says the exact opposite. I also explained that people on the cham forums said it may be a URI problem and he replied saying that you can get a lot of wrong infor on forums. True, but not sure in this case. I even asked him specifially if he thought that the eye closing was a secondary symptom..he said no. He gave me some eye drops and some parasite medicine. As of now, my cham is still alive but is as good as blind. He rarely opens his eyes and hardly eats now. He is still strong and has good light colors, but his appetite is diminishing. I personally feel I was had for my money and he is hoping I schedule another visit. I saw on another post about these vets not being in it for the money, but this type of stuff happens all the time in the "hospital world" its not the first case, and why would a herp vet be any different. Anyways, just my two sense. Still ahve the eye problem and still in much need of help. I dont know what to do or if I should go back to the vet. How is a URI formed and why? And what are some symptoms, early and late?

 

[Dave Weldon]

...Still ahve the eye problem and still in much need of help. I dont know what to do or if I should go back to the vet...

Howdy,

If you are up to another vet visit, I'd try Dr. Tom Greek who is currently working out of Village Animal Hospital in Diamond Bar, CA. Try for an appointment Saturday. 909-861-7463. It'll still be 4-5 months before his new office is built and he relocates back to Yorba Linda. If he's not available, it might not be worth seeing someone else....

If you want another keeper's face-to-face opinion, I'm up to driving over to Whittier just for the heck of it, no charge . I've got some open hours Saturday afternoon and Sunday too. Who knows; I might spot something that could be of help.

Toss me an email at [email protected]. if you want to organize a visit.

 

[ChromaChameleons]

I hate to sound like a broken record, but ...

Is your Reptisun 5.0 a compact flourescent or a tube flourescent?

 

[bucky]

Tube,sorry. Im just baffled...thats all I can say,maybe she knows hes in a healing process. I dont know.

 

[jesseesperto]

the never ending eye problem. I have been dealing with olivers eye problem for almost 6 months.

 

[SKITTLES]

solutions?

I am goin threw the same thing with the eye problem on my panther. I took him to the vet and he was diagnosed with nematoads and pinworms. Pancur and Terramyacin were recomended. His lack of appetite is due to the nematoads sucking his blood and the pinworms do not allow him to get the right amount of nutrients. This causes the eyes not to open. In my opinion this is probably whats happening to your cham.. He is still very strong and has great coloring but his eyes remained closed most of the day unless I mess with him or when I put him in the shower. Definatly get a fecal checked by the vet I am interested to see what they say. Also do you feed your cham crickets? The vet said he would come back but its good we caught this now before the nematoads and pinworms took over. I did not receive the pancur because of the fact that this vet tried to charge me for things I new I did not need. My solution is to find another vet and if I cant find one I am goin to have my friend who owns a repti store to order it for me. If you are interested maybe he can order another bottle.

 

[MayaG07]

My Chameleon's eyes...

Hello, I recently bought a chameleon from a friend and have never owned one before, so its all new to me. My chameleon Draven is really friendly and a great pet. He loves to be sprayed with warm water, but does this weird thing with his eyes while he's drinking. Its like he pops them around inside and they get all big and it looks kind of disgusting. Is this normal, is he just cleaning them? Someone please help! Thanks

 

[Chamero]

Yea, haha, this has me confused when I first got my cham too. From what it sounds like, your cham is just cleaning. Its the eye bulging right? As long as he does it only while he's being showered it seems pretty normal. Its when they start doing it regularly that there maybe a problem.

 

[CleanLineChameleons]

From what I have read, others experiences, and my own experiences, I have found that a lot of eye problems could have been avoided with vit. A supplementation. Yes once the eyes is infected terramycin is the best cure, but I would suggest a drop of cod liver oil once a week on your chams food.

-chris

 

[bucky]

My vet said that it isnt a vit A. problem. Its related with his kidneys.

 

[Dave Weldon]

My vet said that it isnt a vit A. problem. Its related with his kidneys.

Howdy Bucky,

When a chameleon closes its eyes for more than a couple of seconds at a time during daylight hours it is usually a sign of severe illness. It can actually be caused by an issue with the eyes but it is much more often a sign of what is usually a serious internal health problem. Your vet may be right that it is a kidney issue and I hope that she has clinical (blood test etc.) evidence to back-up that diagnosis. It's really tough to turn around chameleon illnesses even when we know what the underlying causes are. Photos and detailed info may help. Post this info: https://www.chameleonforums.com/how-ask-help-66/

What part of the world are you located?