Moisturizing Eye Drops

[TheLivingLegend]

Help! Moisturizing Eye Drops

Is it ok to put moisturizing eye drops on a chameleon's eye? Reason I ask is I took in an injured cham. Been putting neosporin on the eye lid and a drop of saline in his eye 1 hour before bed. The poor guy's eye cannot rotate because of the scabbing. I didnt get him until around a month after the injury and the breeder wasnt treating the eye.

 

[Carlton]

Is it ok to put moisturizing eye drops on a chameleon's eye? Reason I ask is I took in an injured cham. Been putting neosporin on the eye lid and a drop of saline in his eye 1 hour before bed.

Saline won't necessarily moisturize the eye beyond the immediate effect of the drop itself. Saline is less irritating than plain water because it is chemically similar to tears. It isn't a moisturizer. If the cham has an infection of the eye itself, this will need treatment with an OCULAR antibiotic not Neosporin. If you are trying to treat a skin infection on the eyelid, then Neosporin would be OK unless it has a chance to get into the eye itself. The best way to moisturize the eyes is to raise your cage humidity and mist more often.

 

[TheLivingLegend]

Saline won't necessarily moisturize the eye beyond the immediate effect of the drop itself. Saline is less irritating than plain water because it is chemically similar to tears. It isn't a moisturizer. If the cham has an infection of the eye itself, this will need treatment with an OCULAR antibiotic not Neosporin. If you are trying to treat a skin infection on the eyelid, then Neosporin would be OK unless it has a chance to get into the eye itself. The best way to moisturize the eyes is to raise your cage humidity and mist more often.

Im using the saline just to cleanse it, the vet checked for an infection and there wasnt any. I used some saline today and noticed it really dried my eye out. Anyone know if good quality moisturizing drops would be ok after rinsing the eye and eye lid with saline? Thank you carlton.

 

[ataraxia]

What did the vet prescribe?
What did the vet say as far as "course of treatment"?

Best way to keep the eye properly lubricated is to provide a humidity range between 50-80% and provide mistings throughout the day. Warm shower chambers are great for this also. https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/ataraxia/594-shower-chamber-treatment.html

Id also make sure there are no fans blowing into the cage like ceiling fans, furnace air ducts, floor fans, etc.

 

[ChameleonMom]

I have a 4 year old male veiled cham who has had eye problems for the past 2.5 years. I have had him on Baytril but it didn't cure the problem as he still has swollen eye sockets and his eyes can be (randomly) very gunky. I didn't want to keep him on the Baytril as it dries out the kidneys and isn't really very good for his overall health. The first thing I check when I get up in the morning is Camo's eyes because if he can't see, he'll fall and hurt himself. I try to keep his eyes clean and to do this I gently run warm water over his eye sockets and then wipe them gently with a soft tissue. This has become our morning ritual and a bit of a bonding time for us both! If I don't do this, and if his eyes are particularly gunky, the gunk dries when he's under his basking light and it forms a shield from which he can't see through. I would never forgive myself if he ended up falling and hurting himself.

With the absence of prescribed medication, my vet suggested I try "Polysporin for Red Eye", on our bad 'eye' days. This is an over the counter antibiotic drop that seems to help keep his eyes clear for awhile, until the gunk and puffiness takes over again, which it does eventually. I am not certain if you can buy this product in the US, but perhaps you can find something comparable? While this is a solution for my Camo right now, it may not be a solution for your cham and I do suggest you seek out your vet for advice, but in the absence of a prescribed antibiotic, perhaps this may help you as well? Something to check into. Also, please be aware that the drops are not a cure, but more of a bandaid.

Good luck with your rescued chameleon...he's in good hands now, I'm sure!

 

[TheLivingLegend]

Thank you chammom!

 

[TheLivingLegend]

I called my vet and he said that using good quality natural tears will be ok to moisturize the eye. Only plan on doing this until his eye lid heals. Thanks for all your help.