Hi Everyone!
I'm new to this forum website/and am having some issues with my veiled chameleon, Kismet.
Kismet is on week 3 of not eating on his own with eyes closed (started approx. end of July). Kismet is about 6 months old and up until July was eating only crickets free range in his cage (he does not like being handled and is very scared of hands and any others bugs). I was dusting with calcium only once a week, as when he would taste the calcium on crickets, he would stop eating. Every since I got him, he had one eye that he would occasionally scratch on his cage or plants. After his last shed (end of July) he stopped eating abruptly and his eyes closed permanently. After 4 days of trying to put crickets near his mouth to get him to eat and having no luck (and no poops) I made an appointment with a vet in my area who is experienced with reptiles and exotic pets. She suggested Kismet may have stuck shed and wasn't pooping because he wasn't eating, and that could also be causing him to be lethargic. She also suggested a vitamin A deficiency could be the cause of some of his problems. She prescribed him Emeraid Carnivore Intensive Care (just a bit a day) as well as one drop of Optixcare eye lube (one drop in both eyes per day and gently massage) and 0.5 ml of Metacam for 5 days. After about a week with the changes being now pooping and opening eyes occasionally for about 5 seconds, I called my vet again to ask if there was anything else I can do. She suggested to start up the pain meds again until they were gone, up the Optixcare to 2 drops per day in both eyes, and increase the Emeraid Carnivore Intensive care to 1 cc twice a day.
I've been doing the suggestions by my vet for about 3 days, and now Kismet has stopped pooping and stopped opening his eyes, however I can open them with my fingers; they aren't "stuck shut" anymore. He still will not open them on his own or eat on his own, and the force feeding with forcing his mouth open is causing him a lot of stress (I think) as he doesn't like to be handled. I've also noticed in the past 4 days he wants to hang upside down near the lights, which is strange for him.
I apologize for the long post, just don't want to let anything out! I'm wondering if I just need to be more patient as per my vet, or if this something that isn't going to get better. If Kismet never opened his eyes, I would hand feed him the rest of his life if that's what he needed! Hoping some experienced people can help me. I've attached what pictures I could get of him (his eyes look wet because I had just put the eye lube on) and also the food he's getting and the eye lube.
Thanks!
I'm new to this forum website/and am having some issues with my veiled chameleon, Kismet.
Kismet is on week 3 of not eating on his own with eyes closed (started approx. end of July). Kismet is about 6 months old and up until July was eating only crickets free range in his cage (he does not like being handled and is very scared of hands and any others bugs). I was dusting with calcium only once a week, as when he would taste the calcium on crickets, he would stop eating. Every since I got him, he had one eye that he would occasionally scratch on his cage or plants. After his last shed (end of July) he stopped eating abruptly and his eyes closed permanently. After 4 days of trying to put crickets near his mouth to get him to eat and having no luck (and no poops) I made an appointment with a vet in my area who is experienced with reptiles and exotic pets. She suggested Kismet may have stuck shed and wasn't pooping because he wasn't eating, and that could also be causing him to be lethargic. She also suggested a vitamin A deficiency could be the cause of some of his problems. She prescribed him Emeraid Carnivore Intensive Care (just a bit a day) as well as one drop of Optixcare eye lube (one drop in both eyes per day and gently massage) and 0.5 ml of Metacam for 5 days. After about a week with the changes being now pooping and opening eyes occasionally for about 5 seconds, I called my vet again to ask if there was anything else I can do. She suggested to start up the pain meds again until they were gone, up the Optixcare to 2 drops per day in both eyes, and increase the Emeraid Carnivore Intensive care to 1 cc twice a day.
I've been doing the suggestions by my vet for about 3 days, and now Kismet has stopped pooping and stopped opening his eyes, however I can open them with my fingers; they aren't "stuck shut" anymore. He still will not open them on his own or eat on his own, and the force feeding with forcing his mouth open is causing him a lot of stress (I think) as he doesn't like to be handled. I've also noticed in the past 4 days he wants to hang upside down near the lights, which is strange for him.
I apologize for the long post, just don't want to let anything out! I'm wondering if I just need to be more patient as per my vet, or if this something that isn't going to get better. If Kismet never opened his eyes, I would hand feed him the rest of his life if that's what he needed! Hoping some experienced people can help me. I've attached what pictures I could get of him (his eyes look wet because I had just put the eye lube on) and also the food he's getting and the eye lube.
Thanks!
