New veiled owner with eye concerns

[carensdo]

Hey all,
New to here, but have been reading/using this forum for months, as I got my first chameleon on the 1st of October, 2013.

Bit of info to start:
Female veiled chameleon, roughly 5-6 months old (Bought from Petco when no more than 2 inches long (Body, not tail length)
24x24x48 custom screen habitat.
2 ficus bushes and back wall full of artificial leaves, etc. Climbing branches throughout, mostly above ficus.
Feeding once daily, mostly am, consisting of meal worms, fruit flies, and occasional crickets with gut load. (havent used crickets in a few weeks as they seem to die on way home, very cold in Iowa)
Mist using Monsoon 2 times daily, once hour before am feeding, once when I get off work in afternoon. Custom dripper that dripps all day down the back artifical leaves to ensure she can drink whenever...

My current issue/questions is about eye irritation. Cami has a red bump that protrudes from her socket when she looks backwards. When looking forward/up/down the bump is not noticeable, as it is internal. But when she looks backwards it looks as though she has an additional eye ball that is pushing foward, stretching the skin. She recently went through a shed (9 days ago), her second with me, and seemed to go well. Shed everything in less than 1 day!

I've read that sometimes they can have excess skin in the folds of the eye, but I just don't know anymore. It has been protruding for about 4 days now, and I can only image how painful that must be. She has still been eating, let than her normal, but still daily.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. I have not found a vet in my area with exotic expertiese and with the temp coming in at -30, I fear taking her outside would be more stressful/damaging than beneficial. Please help!

 

[PoshPenny]

You can flush it with a saline solution or a nice long shower. My veiled too is having issues with her eye and sees a specialist Feb, 8th. She doesn't have a bump but blows it up a lot and will keep it closed for short periods, I just mist it often. She is currently shedding. I also read a post by dr.O on here about over the counter eye drops but he suspected it helped more because it lubricated the eyeball more than the antibiotics being the healing factor. Not sure about the name. It was tetra something.

 

[carensdo]

I ended up finding a few threads about using the saline eye solution, as well as some eye drops specifically designed for captive reptiles. There are 2 versions, one specific to turtles and one through Flukers for all types. They seem to be the same formula, so I purchased and with just 2 doses I have found that she is openning her eye and the bump seems to be smaller. I also gave her a good shower, which I thnk helped! I'm going to give it another few days and if she isnt better by early next week, I'm taking her in...

 

[NHenn]

Glad to hear she is doing better. Also, great job on noticing the problem, asking the correct questions and determining a possible solution. I would have done the exact same thing with saline solution and a nice long shower. Be sure to continue with your drops and even more future showers as they can't hurt.

Unfortunately if her eye doesn't improve back to perfect condition you should be taking her to the vet as you said so I would continue to look for vets in your area in the meantime.

 

[PoshPenny]

I'll let you know what mine says on the 8th. My chams eye is not getting better.:/

 

[rockaiwa]

Hello something that will help a lot and I recommend is to use chamomile tea, make some tea using 1 bag, and with the water still warm but not hot, put first some drops in the eye, after that use some cotton swabs, put some tea in it and very carefully roll the cotton swab with your fingers cleaning the eye from the middle part to outside like rolling the cotton swap up, then same process down, repeat left and right, 2 or 3 rolls should be enough , repeat at least 3 times using clean ones each time and at least 2 times a day for 3 days

 

[carol5208]

Hello something that will help a lot and I recommend is to use chamomile tea, make some tea using 1 bag, and with the water still warm but not hot, put first some drops in the eye, after that use some cotton swabs, put some tea in it and very carefully roll the cotton swab with your fingers cleaning the eye from the middle part to outside like rolling the cotton swap up, then same process down, repeat left and right, 2 or 3 rolls should be enough , repeat at least 3 times using clean ones each time and at least 2 times a day for 3 days

I am not so sure this is a good recommendation. Did a vet advise you of this? Not everything that works for humans is good for chameleons. I hope one of our vets sees this and will comment. I have never heard of this method advised for eye problems on chameleons and wondering where you got your information from.

 

[carensdo]

After thinking that my cham's eyes were doing better, I have simply hit a plateau. The eye drops lubricate her eye enough that she opens it and uses it for a while, but within hours, she is back to keeping it closed, or worst yet, I have found that there is a white/opack film that often covers the eye and blocks her vision. Additionally, the 'lump' that protrudes when she looks backwards is still present and still inflamed. I fear she has an infection. I have tried showers, drops, and even bought a humidifier to up the humidity in the room (Winter can cause the house to really dry out...). I have decided to seek professional help via a vet, but my problem is I am in Dubuque Iowa. I have called a handful of vet offices but none are comfortable looking at chameleons. Anyone know of a qualified vet in a few hours driving distance?

 

[carensdo]

Turns out we have an exotic specialist who is a member of the Association of Reptile and Amphibian Veterinarians (ARAV) and also cares for all the animals at the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque here! I also got an appointment scheduled for this afternoon! Sometimes it pays off to live in a small area (Smaller than Chicago that is!!!) I'll keep you posted on how things go.

Additionally: What do most people with veiled keep the humidity at. Does anyone have problems keeping it above 40% when the cage is completely screen?

 

[MelissaB]

That's great! I'm glad you found a vet. Hope your girl feels better soon!

 

[carensdo]

Quick update: the vet prescribed a topical steroid eye drop in hopes that it would take down any swelling and allow the fluid behind her eye to drain. She also gave me a 25 gauge needle and informed me that if she continues to pull her eye in and the fluid pocket pops out, that I could GENTLY 'pop' it and allow some of the fluid to drain that way. This morning, after 2 applications, she was using the eye normally and I saw no visible clouding like before. Fingers crossed that the drops will do the trick and I wont have to go near her eye with a needle...