Solomon's eyes are still not opening (even after vet/meds)

[greeneyes78]

Chameleon Info:
• Your Chameleon – Male Ambanja Panther, approx. 1 year 9 mon. I have had him since he was 11 months old, from LanceCham.
• Handling – Before illness, very rarely. During illness he was handled daily for feeding and medicating.
• Feeding – Gut-loaded crickets, waxworms when he’ll eat them. He is given about 15 a day, but often only eats 5-7 of them because his eyes are not opened. We were hand feeding him for a while, but now he won’t let us handle him without hissing and biting.
• Supplements - Pro Cal Calcium and Vitamin D
• Watering – I do see him drink eat time I mist. Mist 2-3 times daily. There is a plastic drop cloth surrounding his enclosure (about 2 feet around) to keep in moisture, so the misting stays for quite a long time.
• Fecal Description – Urates are pure white, fecal a bit runny and mid to dark brown. He is producing these on a regular basis.
• History – He has been healthy until the last 2 months or so.

Cage Info:
• Cage Type – Screen 2Lx2Wx1D There is also a plastic drop cloth suspended on PVC surrounding the enclosure to keep in moisture (vet suggestion). Will be building larger cage soon, with 2 sides plexi to keep in moisture.
• Lighting – Lights on at 6:00 a.m., off at 9:00 p.m. (also vet suggestion due to illness) Basking lamp is 100 watt bulb, UVB is ZooMed tube light.
• Temperature – Daytime temps – under basking lamp 90-100, other topside 80-85, lower 70-80. Nighttime temps – 70-75. Use digital thermometer to check temps twice daily (when misting).
• Humidity – Humidity is approx 80-90 during the day. Misted 2-3 times daily, with plastic drop cloth surrounding enclosure to keep in moisture. Humidity can drop to 55ish over night, depending whether or not the heat/AC is on.
• Plants – 2 live plants, 1 hibiscus, 1 shefflera
• Placement – Cage is located in living room, not high traffic (spend most of our time in office/den), and is approx 5 feet off floor (top of cage)
• Location – South TX (near San Antonio)

Current Problem – At first he was very lethargic and was not eating, along with his eyes not opening very often. Now he moves around, and seems to eat (crickets are mostly gone at end of day) but Solomon is does not open his eyes very often, if at all. He was seen by a vet and given Baytril and eye ointment. We were told to up the humidity and mist more often. We were hand feeding him daily with the meds, just so that he would not waste away. He was handling that well when he was ill, but now he puffs up, hisses and tries to bite when we try to handle him. I take this as a good sign, that his feistiness has returned, but he is still not opening his eyes.

 

[draetish]

Hello fellow Texan,
It appears that you are not giving him any vitamins just calcium. My theory is that your chameleon is lacking in vitamins and this could be causing the closed eyes. Some clinical signs of Vit A deficiency include eye problems, respiratory infections, difficulty shedding to name a few. I've posted my supplements that I use. I would recommend that you check out this information http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=17+1796&aid=3027.
I gave my adult male panther cham (1) 8000 I.U. softgel Vit A capsule. All you do is cut the tip off and squeeze the liquid in their mouth. Maybe this will help.

 

[draetish]

Just a pre-caution, Vit A if over-dosed can do more harm. Here is the recommended dosage you might want to take to your vet.

VITAMIN A 8000 I.U. PER LIQUID CAPSULE
My biggest fear forms around my (unfounded?) concern that preformed vitamin A is easy to overdose. It is one of those vitamins that is stored in the liver etc. and it can take months to use up what is stored. Too much can even contribute to a kind of nutritional MBD among other problems including death.

Mader's book recommends a treatment (hypovitaminosis A illness symptoms present) dosage of:
Vitamin A (liquid?) @ 2000 IU per 30 grams body weight once a week for 2 weeks.

Using powder: Dusts containing 86 IU retinyl ester /g DM (dry matter), followed by 60 IU /g DM.

 

[greeneyes78]

Thanks for your quick response. I just want to make sure I'm understanding what I read on the link you posted and your Vit A amount suggestions.

The link stated that the best way to give the Vit A is through properly gut-loading the feeders. Obviously, I wasn't doing this properly but will begin today using these guidelines.

You stated that I should use the capsule and give him @2000 IU per 30 grams of body weight, just once a week for 2 weeks. So my guy weighs about 75 grams, which would be approx 5000 IU. But I should only give him this 2 times (once a week for 2 weeks) and then if I properly gut-load the crix it should be ok?

Again, I want to thank you for your response and for helping me clarify everything. I just want my little guy to get back to good health.

 

[draetish]

Thanks for your quick response. I just want to make sure I'm understanding what I read on the link you posted and your Vit A amount suggestions.

The link stated that the best way to give the Vit A is through properly gut-loading the feeders. Obviously, I wasn't doing this properly but will begin today using these guidelines.

You stated that I should use the capsule and give him @2000 IU per 30 grams of body weight, just once a week for 2 weeks. So my guy weighs about 75 grams, which would be approx 5000 IU. But I should only give him this 2 times (once a week for 2 weeks) and then if I properly gut-load the crix it should be ok?

Again, I want to thank you for your response and for helping me clarify everything. I just want my little guy to get back to good health.

I didn't exactly say to give "him" that dosage, just giving you information I received and what I did. My cham weighs 196 grams and as a pre-caution I gave him under the recommended dosage. I think the best think to do, is take this info to your vet and let him administer the Vit A. Gutloading with dark leafy greens such as collards and turnips, carrots, yams and oranges which have a lot of calcium and they are a good source of hydration for your feeders.

 

[draetish]

I just thought of something else too. When was the last time you changed your UVB bulb? I would recommend getting a new one and the one most people use is ReptiSun 5.0 tube light. You do not want to use a compact coil UVB bulb. They are known to cause eye problems in chams. Your basking light can be a regular household bulb, but I use Zoo Med's basking bulbs.