Eye troubles!

[Milk Man]

Hello guys, I am asking this question on behalf of my nephew. so I will try to specify as best I can what the problem is and what info was given to me. If you need more info I will try to get it.

So my nephews veiled chameleon has had her left eye closed for 2-3 days.
It happened right after she shed. He took her to the vet today and she flushed the eye, and gave her a vitamin A shot. The vet said usually when they have their eye flushed the water drains to their mouth and they spit it out, but this didn't happen. No sign of infection. After the flush she opened both eyes, but now has closed them. she was clawing at the glass trying to climb. I told him to turn out the lights so she calms down.

Misting- every other hour with distilled water
Substrate- paper towels (no ink)
Lighting- UVB and heat light (not sure what brand or wattage)
Cage- small Exo Terra (temporary)
Feeding- wax worms, meal worms, stopped feeding crickets before the shed
Supplements- calcium (not sure the brand)

 

[nightanole]

Certain plants in the cage (Schefflera/umbrella tree) have sap that can cause eye irritants when they get sap on them. Other than that, what age is the cham, and how long has the nephew had it?

 

[Milk Man]

He has all fake plants right now. He doesn't know the age, but she is about 3" from her nose to the base of her tail. He has had her for about 4 weeks.

 

[carol5208]

what kind of uvb light? Look at the bulb and read what is says. It is important to use the right kind. Also, what are cage temps, humidity levels. If humidity is too low it can cause eye problems. There could be shed still stuck in the eye that did not get flushed out. These are a few possibilities along with vitamin a deficiency.

 

[Milk Man]

Thanks for the quick replies guys!

UVB- Exo Terra 5.0 26 watt
Heat bulb- Exo Terra 60 watt Sun GLO
Basking area temp- 85-90*F
Humidity- 85-90% never drops below 60%

 

[sfmolina]

i'm having major eye issues right now with my ambilobe, spent $$ at the vet yesterday.
Anyway, one thing the vet mentioned was that a poor shed could leave a flake of skin under the eye lid. A possible cause of the irritation. Hopefully the flush got it. Another cause he mentioned was water containers & misters. They can grow bacteria easily. Then we introduce it into the cages every time we mist.

 

[bradley]

This could be caused by the often misting and the glass cage not having time to dry out. This could cause bacteria to grow which could have got into the chameleons eye. A good spray twice a day is adequate. they do not need constant high humidity, instead they need a couple of peaks of high humidity a day.

Supplements could also be improved. the calcium dust you have can be used everyday. A calcium with D3 and a multivitamin also need to be used twice monthly.

I would also avoid the waxworms and mealworms and use them only as treats. Well gutloaded crickets will be the best thing for the chameleon.

 

[gavriel]

i'm having major eye issues right now with my ambilobe, spent $$ at the vet yesterday.
Anyway, one thing the vet mentioned was that a poor shed could leave a flake of skin under the eye lid. A possible cause of the irritation. Hopefully the flush got it. Another cause he mentioned was water containers & misters. They can grow bacteria easily. Then we introduce it into the cages every time we mist.

Mojo had issues with his right eye once and his herp vet found that he had some shed stuck in the right nostril about a week after his shed. Created a buildup of fluid that dried and caused a slight infection in just a couple days. Doc stated that ears, nose and throat are all tied together. Blocking nose creates buildup of fluid that backs up into the eyes. Doc prescribed some type of gel applied once daily, removed the shed from his nostril and he was good to go in a couple days. Might be something else to watch for.