Sulley Won't get off of the bottom and a new eye symptom! [pic included]

[jpw0006]

Chameleon Info:
Your Chameleon - 18month old male Nosy Be Panther
Handling - Daily - due to vet meds and health issues (was once a month or less before he got sick)
Feeding - Crickets and waxworms. I don't know how often he's eating nor how much. Most of his food dies waiting for him to eat.
Supplements - Repcal without D3, daily; Reptivite 2-3 times a month.
Watering - Misting regularly. Mostly put his whole cage (him included) in warm shower 3-4 times a day since his eye problem started.
Fecal Description - His urate has been consistently dehydrated which is expected with his current eye problem. He has only pooped twice in the last month: one was clear and runny with very little content to it, the second was much improved with brown poop.
Has this chameleon ever been tested for parasites? No.
History -
I am currently working with a vet to fix his eye problem. He has been keeping his eyes closed for sometime now. The vet first gave me a Neomycin, Polymyxin & Dexamethasone ointment to cover several spectrums of bacteria as well as moisturize his eye. It seemed to do wonders for the first few week and then it was back to his old behavior. Wednesday he was also prescribed Silvadene cream for his eyes as well (apparently, it has an off-label use for fungal infections). For his dehydration, we've been trying to supplement with regular gatorade (at the orders of the Vet) and 3-4 full showers a day. He usually drinks heavily after each shower.

Cage Info:
Cage Type - 16x16x30 screen cage
Lighting - Reptisun 5.0 compact and Zoomed 50 watt for heat. Lighting schedule is 6:30am-7pm(the current sunrise and sunset schedule of my area)
Temperature - temperature usually around 78-82 degress, basking around 90 and night time temperatures usually 70-74.
Humidity - humidity is usuallly 60-70%. Maintaing humidity with misting and showering.
Plants - fake plants and vines
Placement - placement is in a low traffic room all to itself. It is not close to any air ducts
Location - Auburn, Al
Current Problem -

Since Monday Sulley has been hanging either on the lowest vines or on the bottom of his cage, mostly on the floor. I have found this way every morning this week. ALSO, he developed a new eye symptom. His left eye get some sort of gunk in it. Attached is with his eye closed and open it appears glossed over.

Please help. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I'm all out of ideas.

 

[kinyonga]

Have you tried removing the compact UVB and replacing it with a long linear Reptisun 5.0 tube light? Some of the compacts can cause eye issues.

When you say "hanging" do you mean he is literally hanging (by his tail or feet) or do you just mean sitting there?

 

[ataraxia]

Like kinyonga has said i would remove the compact asap.

im no vet and have have no idea if tobramycin or terramycin is different than any of those ointments your vet has prescribed. i personally have great luck with terramycin.

i would take waxworms off the menu. DONT substitute it with superworms. check out this blog for a recipe for gutload. im currently using fresh veggies and fruits but i believe this recipe may be a better solution to deliver proper balance in the diet.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/425-may-2011-gutload.html

clean the cage furnishings ( anything he will rub his eyes on).

other have linked vita issues to eye problems. in my experiences with a lack of proper vit a delivery. i would only have one eye shut with no infection. but again my problems have been solved usually within days of initial findings. if you think this is the source of the problem consult with your vet. i can give you advice on how to do it but you can cause more harm if done improperly.

 

[jpw0006]

Have you tried removing the compact UVB and replacing it with a long linear Reptisun 5.0 tube light? Some of the compacts can cause eye issues.

When you say "hanging" do you mean he is literally hanging (by his tail or feet) or do you just mean sitting there?

I never considered changing the bulb because I thought the issue with the compact bulb was blindness. It's something I will look into on my next payday.

As far as his positioning, he is mostly sitting on the bottom but he sometimes does hang there...which he's never done before.

 

[kinyonga]

You can find some information here and see pictures of what some of them do...
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/

 

[jpw0006]

Like kinyonga has said i would remove the compact asap.

im no vet and have have no idea if tobramycin or terramycin is different than any of those ointments your vet has prescribed. i personally have great luck with terramycin.

i would take waxworms off the menu. DONT substitute it with superworms. check out this blog for a recipe for gutload. im currently using fresh veggies and fruits but i believe this recipe may be a better solution to deliver proper balance in the diet.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/425-may-2011-gutload.html

clean the cage furnishings ( anything he will rub his eyes on).

other have linked vita issues to eye problems. in my experiences with a lack of proper vit a delivery. i would only have one eye shut with no infection. but again my problems have been solved usually within days of initial findings. if you think this is the source of the problem consult with your vet. i can give you advice on how to do it but you can cause more harm if done improperly.

I am a pharmacist and I know his antibiotics cover a great deal of bacteria, so I am comfortable with what the vet has chosen. I recently cleaned and remodeled his cage to make it harder for his food to elude him.

Why should I remove waxworms off of the menu? I know that they are a high fat and have a moderate amount of protein but since he barely eats(since his eyes are closed so often) I figured that would be a benefit.

I will give the Vitamin A a try but I may have a dilemma. In trying to keep him nourished my girlfriend and I have been trying just about anything to get him to open his mouth that way we can get a squirt of gatorade or a worm in his mouth. He has become so used to handling now that we can't get himf to open up anymore. Any ideas?

 

[carol5208]

Like kinyonga has said i would remove the compact asap.

im no vet and have have no idea if tobramycin or terramycin is different than any of those ointments your vet has prescribed. i personally have great luck with terramycin.

i would take waxworms off the menu. DONT substitute it with superworms. check out this blog for a recipe for gutload. im currently using fresh veggies and fruits but i believe this recipe may be a better solution to deliver proper balance in the diet.

https://www.chameleonforums.com/blogs/sandrachameleon/425-may-2011-gutload.html

clean the cage furnishings ( anything he will rub his eyes on).

other have linked vita issues to eye problems. in my experiences with a lack of proper vit a delivery. i would only have one eye shut with no infection. but again my problems have been solved usually within days of initial findings. if you think this is the source of the problem consult with your vet. i can give you advice on how to do it but you can cause more harm if done improperly.

lol you really got it in for those superworms! My cham lives on them. What can I say...I guess I am a bad cham mom hehe

 

[ataraxia]

ok. im no vet and understand how i do things may or may not be correct. forcing liquids can go wrong and your animal can aspirate if not done correctly.

i personally take the "slow" approach. i administer small amounts of liquid at a time (.1-.2ml). you will see your animal drink by watching his gular crest move. watch till you see no more movement. this can sometimes take a minute or so as sometimes they will not drink it right off the bat. sometimes if i have a very shy guy or gal. i will put them back on a branch or vine and come back in 5 minutes.

heres some pics of basically how i hold the chameleon and syringe. be gentle forcing the mouth open. make sure you have a well rounded syringe. force it open on the side but towards the front of the mouth. once open sit the syringe in the corner of mouth and dose small amounts at a time. i just took some quick snap shots for you as i will probably blog this for future cases.

if you dont feel comfortable in doing this DONT do it. have a vet show you how to syringe feed.

 

[ataraxia]

carol5208: haha i do! listen to this. i called the breeder where i bought my panthers from yesterday and he told me he lost his male...ok so he goes on to tell me about the whole ordeal and he gets to how he was eatting then stopped and he was forcing feeders down him and so on. the whole time im thinking "hes feeding them supers watch". then he tells me thats all he was eatting!! I WAS LIKE I EFFIN KNEW IT!!!!!! GOD DA#@$ THINGS ARE THE DEVIL!!!

 

[jpw0006]

I am a pharmacist and I know his antibiotics cover a great deal of bacteria, so I am comfortable with what the vet has chosen. I recently cleaned and remodeled his cage to make it harder for his food to elude him.

Why should I remove waxworms off of the menu? I know that they are a high fat and have a moderate amount of protein but since he barely eats(since his eyes are closed so often) I figured that would be a benefit.

I will give the Vitamin A a try but I may have a dilemma. In trying to keep him nourished my girlfriend and I have been trying just about anything to get him to open his mouth that way we can get a squirt of gatorade or a worm in his mouth. He has become so used to handling now that we can't get himf to open up anymore. Any ideas?

THANKS! I will give this a shot tomorrow. I love this website!

 

[jpw0006]

OK, I don't know how I did that but I didn't mean to quote myself. That was stupid. Thanks Ataraxia!