Washing eyes with saline?

[Tyaeda]

My cham is having some eye issues. See here : https://www.chameleonforums.com/veiled-sudden-eye-problem-115984/

His vet app is for tomorrow morning, which is the earliest I can possibly get him medical attention. It was suggested that I wash his eyes with saline in the meantime.

How do I go about washing his eyes with it?

 

[laurie]

My cham is having some eye issues. See here : https://www.chameleonforums.com/veiled-sudden-eye-problem-115984/

His vet app is for tomorrow morning, which is the earliest I can possibly get him medical attention. It was suggested that I wash his eyes with saline in the meantime.

How do I go about washing his eyes with it?

I hold an unhappy Cham in one hand and gently drip saline on the problem eye. Make sure it is plain saline, with out chemicals.

 

[Tyaeda]

I hold an unhappy Cham in one hand and gently drip saline on the problem eye. Make sure it is plain saline, with out chemicals.

Thanks Hopefully it helps my little guy until the vet can see him. My husband will be home, so one of us can hold him while the other can wash his eye.

 

[laurie]

Thanks Hopefully it helps my little guy until the vet can see him. My husband will be home, so one of us can hold him while the other can wash his eye.

That will make it easier got you and your Cham.

 

[Tyaeda]

That will make it easier got you and your Cham.

Right now, I'm totally freaking out. His status is all over the place, and I'll probably be up all night worried about it. I really hope this vet knows about chameleons, because he's the only reptile vet here. Toronto is our very last resort, which is a 3 hour drive, in good traffic... so probably 4 hours.

 

[werecat]

Just posted this on another member's thread... We currently have a seemingly minor eye problem and our reptile vet (and other forum members) have told us to flush with saline every day for one week. Use a saline solution that is specifically safe for eyes or contact lens cleaning. Make sure it does not contain "conditioners". We are using a Kirkland (Costco) brand, but there are others at any drugstore. One hint we were told is that if it has a red cap on the bottle it is not safe for in eye use but if you are unsure ask the pharmacist. Our chameleon vet instucted us to flush this way: when you flush you must get a pretty strong stream going and squirt it directly into the eye so that it fills up the turret (makes it expand a little bit). Obviously take care not to have too forceful a stream, but it must be strong enough to fill the eye turret. The chameleon will then do the eye wiggle thing to clean it. Be careful to avoid the stream getting in the nostrils as they can aspirate on the solution. Hopefully this provides some relief until you see your vet. Chameleon eye problems can be serious on their own or indicate an even more serious problem.

 

[Tyaeda]

Just posted this on another member's thread... We currently have a seemingly minor eye problem and our reptile vet (and other forum members) have told us to flush with saline every day for one week. Use a saline solution that is specifically safe for eyes or contact lens cleaning. Make sure it does not contain "conditioners". We are using a Kirkland (Costco) brand, but there are others at any drugstore. One hint we were told is that if it has a red cap on the bottle it is not safe for in eye use but if you are unsure ask the pharmacist. Our chameleon vet instucted us to flush this way: when you flush you must get a pretty strong stream going and squirt it directly into the eye so that it fills up the turret (makes it expand a little bit). Obviously take care not to have too forceful a stream, but it must be strong enough to fill the eye turret. The chameleon will then do the eye wiggle thing to clean it. Be careful to avoid the stream getting in the nostrils as they can aspirate on the solution. Hopefully this provides some relief until you see your vet. Chameleon eye problems can be serious on their own or indicate an even more serious problem.

It's very nice to know that there is something I can do to help him before the vet visit. It might even solve the problem. The vet appointment is tomorrow, but I'll be getting the saline today as soon as my husband gets off work. From what I read, it seems like he has debris in there. His other eye was bothering him, but since all of the skin shed off from that eye, it seems ok. The other eye hasn't shed, and he's keeping it closed for the most part. Until I get the saline, I've been frequently misting him with warm distilled water. After I do that he seems to try and clean it by rubbing it on branches... but it's still bothering him.

 

[Tyaeda]

UPDATE:

He started to shed on his problem eye finally, and he seems to have gotten some relief from it. It's still blinking quite a bit.

 

[werecat]

Oh good! Glad your guy is getting some relief. Hopefully the saline wash helps some! Let us know how the vet visit goes.

 

[katgraver]

Did you find anything that is just saline? They all seem to have some other stuff in it.pharmacist thinks it should be okay....just not sure...my guy has one eye bothering him....