Reoccuring Clogged Tear Duct

[asdfghjkl5567]

Hey everyone! I've had my chameleon Pedro for almost a year now. I got him for free from a friend who works at petco. I've had two chameleons in the past that were got in the same way, one of which had a genetic eye issues that caused frequently stuck she in his eye. I am not new to taking in disabled lizards by somewhat sketchily obtaining them from petco when my friend knew they would die if they were not given to me. Pedro frequently gets clogged tear ducts because of his poor nutrition when he was younger at petco causing his tear ducts to be malformed. My vet has manually had to remove the clog once not by flushing but by "picking" out the clog with a small metal tool. I am usually able to free up and prevent the clogs myself with proper nutrition, warm showers, and gentle massages. Recently he has formed clogs on both eyes that are far worse than they've ever been before. They're not nearly as bad as some examples I've seen online though! I'm not too worried about urgency but I like to make his life as easy as possible with his disabilities. I am unable to go to the vet for at least 4-5 days because of the massive snow storm coming our way. Does anyone have any recommendations for how to make him as comfortable as possible before I can take him to the vet? I was also wondering what type of saline or eye wash is best for reptiles. I am unable to drive to a petstore at the moment because of the terrible ice but I can walk to a cvs if there are any human eye rinses that could work. Also, his eyes appear sunken in when he is scared or does not want to be bothered. when I look at him from across the room and he doesn't see me they are not sunken in like seen in the pictures. I promise he's a very hydrated boy! I have seen him sink his eyes in real time it's super freaky. Thanks for reading and I hope you stay warm if you're being affected by this nation wide storm.

 

[MissSkittles]

The best thing to do is make sure your humidity is correct (30-50%) and mist for at least 2 full minutes, twice daily. Warm showers are not recommended as what is warm to us can be scalding to them. The misting is much better, but don’t spray him directly. Eye drops probably will be of little value. I don’t know about massage, but I personally wouldn’t suggest or do it. When you do get to the vet, make sure they check for infection or other issue in his sinuses. For comfort, I would just leave him alone to do his thing rather than try anything which would stress him.

 

[asdfghjkl5567]

The best thing to do is make sure your humidity is correct (30-50%) and mist for at least 2 full minutes, twice daily. Warm showers are not recommended as what is warm to us can be scalding to them. The misting is much better, but don’t spray him directly. Eye drops probably will be of little value. I don’t know about massage, but I personally wouldn’t suggest or do it. When you do get to the vet, make sure they check for infection or other issue in his sinuses. For comfort, I would just leave him alone to do his thing rather than try anything which would stress him.

My vet suggested the showers to me years ago when I got my first chameleon with eye issues and it really does wonders. They tend to enjoy it a lot! I use a digital thermometer and set the water temp to 85 degrees. He doesn't sit directly under the shower stream but right next to it so he gets some mist. Also I know his humidity is all good and I have an automatic misting system. The massages are more of a gentle wiping with a wet qtip to get any debris or loose shed near his eye.