Help with Panthers' eye, Sunken and closed?!

[Chigimonky]

Hello, My year old male panther started having an issue with his eye and I'm really concerned. I came home yesterday and Bagheera was crawling around his cage as normal when he turned around and showed me his left side. I was very alarmed when I saw his normally bulging eye was sunken and closed.

I think he may have scratched his eye rubbing it on something. Recently I've noticed him rubbing his left eye alot, I've been surprised by how hard he is rubbing it and once I even saw him grabbing his eye turret with his left foot. So obviously something has been causing him alot of discomfort lately.

I just want to make sure its not some bigger issue like organ failure or infection. I really dont think its an infection because the eye is not sealed shut and when he does open it, his eye looks healthy. He will keep his eye open sometimes while moving around his cage but then close it 10 seconds later. When he does open it, it seems very uncomfortable for him and he will move his eye around alot and bulge it like hes trying to get something out.

He is eating just find and is active and stays awake all day so I doubt dehydration has anything to do with it.

Does anybody have any experience with this??????

Chameleon Info:

* Your Chameleon - Panther Chameleon Male. He's about 14 months old, been in my care for about 9 months
* Handling - once or twice a week only when HE wants to come out.
* Feeding -mainly crickets, they're fed celery, apples, oats.
* Supplements - calcium w/out D3 twice a week, calcium w/D3 once a month. Herptivite twice a month, Minerall twice a month
* Watering - I have a dripper that drips all day in a sanitary way, i missed twice a day for 30 seconds at a time.
* Fecal Description - His feces are brown and solid, sometimes with a bubble attached. The urate is half white and half yellow/orange lately. He just doesnt seem be as big of a drinker as my other panther.
* History - Always been an extremely healthy boy.


Cage Info:

* Cage Type - Screen mesh. 24x24x48
* Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 18''. 60 watt incandescent
* Temperature -95 in basking, 75 in coolest spot
* Humidity -usually 30%, before my humidifier croked it was around 55%
* Plants - Umbrella
* Placement - Next to the bedroom window, I just moved it there because it has become very nice outside and there is no draft. The cage is below a vent but I havent been turning the AC on lately.
* Location - Provo, Utah

 

[Chigimonky]

More Pics...

 

[Elizadolots]

First, let me congratulate you on a really wonderfully complete request for help. I don't know that I've seen anyone be so attentive. That bodes well because it means you are careful and concerned.

His other eye looks really good.

Have you tried giving him a shower? Get a plant he can hold onto, put it in the shower, aim the spray on a wall so it "bounces" onto him (note: if you have a low flow shower head, that mist might well be soft enough for direct misting). Sometimes, they get stuff in their eyes that needs to be flushed and they can only do that when they are really saturated.

I'd try that.

 

[CNorton]

Give us an update! Did you try a shower?

I would really work on getting more humidity for the cham. I know it's difficult but try more plants at all heights in the cages. I use flower stands, zip ties, twist ties, and green gardener's twine to secure plants all over the cage. Also, you don't really need 5 sides of the cage to be open (4sides and top). I wrap everything but front door and top with carpet safety wrap. I leave the top 7 inches open so the upper branches have free airflow while the rest stays fairly humid.

Your cham has a unique method for drinking water, storing it, then moving it into his tear ducts, and finally into his eye ball. He'll swish the water around in his eye to clear the debris. If you've ever seen your cham's eye squinting and bulging, that is what's going in there. And if the cham hasn't been getting enough water, there will be no water for the cham to rinse his eyes out with.

So I suggest you up the humidity, set up a huge dripper to drip several hours, and if the eye still needs help...buy saline eye solution at the drug store and squirt it directly into the cham's eye. The stream of solution squeezed from the bottle will force into the closed eye and balloon up. Then the fluid will drain. Repeat a few times, then do it again. Do it 3 X daily for 2 days. Then report back!!

I hope this was helpful!

 

[Chigimonky]

Hi, so I gave him a shower and Im pretty sure he hated it and Ive been giving him eye drops. His eye is usually open when hes walking around but when he stops then he'll close it again.

When his eye is open, it looks more like an oval than a circle. It looks like the bottom part of his eye turret is sagging or drooping and when he closes his eye there is a lump on the bottom of his eye turret. Im worried that something big got stuck in there and he cant get it out.

Has anyone else seen this with their chameleons?!

Thankyou for the advice everyone, I am taking all of it into consideration

 

[draetish]

When his eye is open, it looks more like an oval than a circle. It looks like the bottom part of his eye turret is sagging or drooping and when he closes his eye there is a lump on the bottom of his eye turret. Im worried that something big got stuck in there and he cant get it out.
Has anyone else seen this with their chameleons?!

Thankyou for the advice everyone, I am taking all of it into consideration[/QUOTE]

I think it's time for a vet visit to have the vet check his eye for anything foreign or if he maybe scratched it when rubbing. That's what I would do.

 

[CNorton]

When you put your cham in the shower, make sure that the direct stream doesn't beat down on it. Ricochet droplets on the chameleon are what we're aiming for. LEAVE THE CHAM AND WALK AWAY! A lot of chams are shy drinkers and I always find that they'll get to drinking quicker and longer if I'm not around watching it or anywhere in eye sight. Walk away, close the door, and come back in 30 or so minutes.

I agree with draetish about the vet visit. If you've tried all the above or you can be certain there is some lump...go directly to the vet. I hope there isn't a lump in there and the vet can help flush the eye. Best of the best luck for you and your cham! We'll be pulling for you!

 

[Chigimonky]

Update

Ok so I took him to the vet, she flushed his eye and felt around for any abscesses but didnt find anything. She looked for scratches on the surface, nothing.

She gave me some purified water eye flush and and antibiotic eye drop that i have been diligently administering. He will open his eye when he moves around but still, when he stops moving he will close the eye.

The main thing that has changed is that the bottom of his eye turret has become a little more puffy and a little larger. I dont know what this means. I still dont suspect eye infection because there is no discharge or crustiness.

I bought some waxworms and used a wormblower to inject water into them then fed them to my boy to make sure he is getting plenty of water. For anyone who is having problems hydrating a cham who doesnt like to drink, try this. The waxwormss fill up like little water balloons and you can just see the chams mouth full of water when he bites into it.

So its been 5 days, theres no sign of infection, his other eye is still fine, the skin of the bottom turret is somewhat puffy, and hes still got the left eye closed much of the time.


ugh........ I just wish I knew what the problem was

 

[Elizadolots]

I had to google that....thank you. It presents all sorts of exciting possibilities. Which worm blower do you use? I assume even the small ones (Lindy's) can be refilled with water (they are meant to inject air).

You might check into Reptaid. He might not have a full on infection yet, but could perhaps benefit from a little support for his immune system.