Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all,

It's been a while since posting with a problem, but that is b/c all has been well! However, Cyrus has been doing a lot of eye bulging and I attributed it to dry air. he is happy sitting under his humidifier and even lets me spray his face if I start out gently. One eye seemed to be worse than the other. I have examined with lens and see nothing, there is no discharge, crust, etc. He shoots his silkies fine, poops, drinks, etc. He is in the middle of a shed today.

I used some erythromycin ophthalmic ointment - he actually lets me put it on and rub it all around, moving his eyeball within.

I have not been too worried but he just came out of the cage, is sitting on his branch (usually he wandering far and wide) with both eyes closed. This is a first. I called my cham vet and he is out until next week. My local herp vet (knows more common herps) can see him on Thursday, but in the meantime wondering what else to do. I am really baffled, because his eyes are bright, alert and fully functioning.

Any thoughts?

lele
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

How is the relative humidity of the room? The house? Is a forced air vent blowing near the cage and possibly drying it out faster? If there is more air exchange because of a furnace for example it could be a drop in RH. If the rest of the house is drier because of heating it will tend to suck the humidity out of the room the cage is in.

We have baseboard heat and his cage is on the opposite side of room (not that it is such a big room!). Unfortunately, the house gets and stays dry in our winters and even humidifiers in the rooms do not make that much of a difference. Because of the water puddles they make I do not have an area outside of his cage to use one. Maybe I will put his on longer and not let him out as much (he will NOT be happy). But you are right, the humidity level goes down quickly once I turn the humidifier off. I often cover the front with a towel to keep it in longer.

Not sure if you remember setup, but the cage is in a free standing "closet" and has shower curtain on three sides to help maintain humidity. I linked below to the gallery page. it's a little different now b/c I have the "vent" panel at top so he can access his gym when I open it.

Anyway...I guess I will use the humidifier longer and try to get him used to showers. He never minded them outside so I guess it is time for the bath.

Here are pics of his eyes. I think I'll skip the vet for now.

Setup

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

Golly gee, he sure is a beauty lele. Hope his eyes will feel better soon. My house gets a bit on the dry side too in fall and winter when the heat comes on.

I keep a large fish in the room near the chameleons , it really helps keep the humidity up, LOL besides spraying the cages down a couple times a day.

He's sure go the BLUES
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PHEve / Eve

Contact PHEve

Thanks! Yeah, I have been really bad about posting pics. He's almost 11 months old!!! He definitely has more turquoise/sea green color than the shocking blue, but maybe that will come in time. He is pretty docile so takes a lot to get him fired up and even then his color does not change much - is that a trait of nosy bes?

He really is a sweetie. I do have some pics on webshots (13lele) but have many more to post - when I find the time! Have had company, work and my 52nd birthday all in the last 2 weeks!! :-O

how are your kids doing??
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info
1.0 Nosy Be Panther Chameleon - Cyrus
0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
1.1.1 Side-blotched lizards - Ana and Stan
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skippy
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh, Died 4/21/06
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha, donated to science 4/4/06
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

lele, I like the humidifier with the pvc idea, is that a cool or warm air humidifier? The cool ones are really expensive where I've looked, are the warm ones ok for chams? Its not really that big of a deal for me though here in north carolina, the humidity stays ridiculously high usually.

The "warm" ones can create hot water (steam) that will be harder on plants, and can make the cage simply too warm. Cool mist types are fine..."cool" is really room temp.