Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey gang,

I know you don't see me around much any more but some parts of life have really gotten in the way of others!

Anyway, I need input from experienced members. Cyrus has had an eye problem for a while and figured it was a humidity thing. But even with showers, humidifiers, etc. (he is a great drinker and loves the humidifier mist) he still bulges, rubs and keeps it closed at times. There is NO outward sign. I have even looked with a 16x lens and really see no diff between the two. I have also been applying Erythromicin Opthalmic ointment 2x/day. There is NO crust, ooze, swelling, etc.

Second, I am thinking his legs are looking a bit chunky and of course all I can think about is Luna's MBD. Most of you know my setup so I will not bother to post. As for feeding was on a silkie diet for several weeks (moths and cats) with occasional super and cricket. He will not eat roaches yet for some reason I just changed his light (last time was July)

He is active, still wanders his jungle gym, etc. I also noticed some weird spots in his poop (yup, poop shots!) which is going to vet tomorrow.

Anyway... I uploaded a bunch of photos to webshots (too cumbersome here) and if you'd go there and look in the Cyrus Nov. 2006 album. I was trying to show legs and eyes - and of course poop. btw, the white spots in poop are not moving - I am wondering if they are moth eggs - it's happened before!

Thanks!!!

lele
Cyrus pics

-----
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

His legs look fine. He looks a tad fat to me so maybe you are seeing chunky well fed pampered cham. Is the cross section of his tail (at the base) round or oval from top to bottom? If it's really round maybe he should skip a few waxworms.

I've had a cham or two who had occasional eye issues that we never could pin down. Would a vet's scope show more than your lenses? It might show an increase in blood vessels inside the eye which can be a result of some early trauma. Maybe he has a vision defect that gives him eyestrain. How long has he been on the erithromycin? If it's been over 2 weeks I'd stop it and watch for change. Partially resistant bacteria that might be present may be kept at a low level but not eradicated and you may not know this until the drug is stopped. Continuing it may mask something else that you need to know.

Don't think I've seen things in poop like that. Calcifications? More urates? Would insect eggs pass through the gut unaffected?

Yeah, he was on an almost straight silkie and super diet for a while. I expected Darwin to be all excited with the silkies and through my blotchies would eat thew babies -no one! So they all went to the Cy-guy. No waxworms (did I say wax? meant silkie)

His tale is still oval but he's cutting back now anyway...the silkies are gone and he won;t eat roaches and I will only give him a few supers every other day now. So he is just going to have to like roaches!

Received his legs look OK to you! Kinyonga said the same thing on other forum (gee, hope KS doesn't kick me off for that)

As for the moth eggs... there was a time when Darwin pooped in his bath, per his customary habit , and there were loads of these little creamy colored things floating around! I panicked! But after looking closely and thinking about what he's eaten I realized they were hundreds of unfertilized silkmoth eggs! So yes, apparently they can pass thru without getting digested. Maybe if they didn't poop for a few days they might degrade some, but he's an almost daily pooper (when he is eating).

Back to Cyrus...the vet just called and his fecal is fine. We have an appt. on Friday to get his eye checked out just in case. I decided to stop the meds anyway as it really did not seem to be making any difference. I'll let you know after we get back from vet.

Happy Tofurkey Day!

lele
-----
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

-----
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

Hi Lele!
Yes, I'm still around, lurking.
Noticed your plants. I forget their name, but I know they're on the safe list.
However, I believe they have a high silica content. Either that or are considered SLIGHTLY toxic. I forget, sorry.
My point is, do you think that maybe the plant is irritating Cyrus' eye?
On a personal level, my panthers would get eye issues in the winter due to humidity level drop.
Regards;
Victor
-----
Victor Gomez
gomezvi@yahoo.com