Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone,it's been awhile since I posted..My chameleon has been having an eye problem for atleast 6 months now..It has recently gotten even worse..Before he would only close that eye around the last hour before he'd go to bed and now he closes it all through out the day..He has good days and bad days..There is no crust or anything coming out of his eye..His left eye(the bad one) is now smaller in size than the full left one..I've brought him to 2 different vets(one vet works with a lot of exotics)and everyone says they've never seen anything like this..

Also,the color in his eye is basically completely gone(all black now) in that eye unlike the other..He can still use it but he has had some problems shooting his tongue because of it sometimes..I've used meds on his eye too but no progress..For the last month he was on 2 meds and for 1 other week another one..I don't know what to do but I feel so bad for him..He is 2.5 years old now..I wish I knew what to do to get it better,I've tried a lot..He does get stressed when it bothers him but when it isn't he is his happy self..Every vet said that he is the healthiest looking chameleon and his looks show how much I care and how much effort I put into him..The vet said he might of been poked in the eye with a branch from his plant or something..No one really knows and no one has given me answers..This new vet(exotic vet) is really good and has been calling around to everyone they know also and no one knows..

I don't know what I'd do without him to tell ya the truth..He's been the perfect chameleon(my one and only too)..I know he isn't going to die from this but I just wish he didn't have to go through this..Let me know if any of you have any ideas..
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Jonny Blaze
1.0 Nosy Be Panther--Diego
1.0 Bearded Dragon--Vinny
0.1 Yorkshire terrier Brandy,10 years old
1.0 Golden lab-Dusty R.I.P May 16,2007,14.5 years old
1.0 Black lab "wiggler",2 years old
s136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/jonnyblaze_04/?sc=3

First - What meds have you had him on?

Second - Did either one of your vets use anything to get a good look at the eye? I'm talking about the type of instrument your doctor or eye doctor uses to look into your eyes (the little hand-held thing with the light in it)? Without that tool they won't be able to tell if there's trauma to the eyeball itself.

I've seen the loss of color in amphibian eyes when there has been trauma. Rounds of antibiotics, both internal and external will sometimes clear it up. In extremely bad cases I'll have the vet glue the eye shut for awhile. Think of it as putting a cast on it.

What is the brand and type (compact/spiral/screw in or linear/tube/long fluorescent) UVB light that you use?

kinyonga asks an important question regarding the type of UVB bulb in use
I would also be interested to hear what you are feeding your chameleon, what you are feeding the feeder insects, what if any supplements you are using.
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Sandra
BC Canada

He eats hornworms and superworms for the most part..The hornworms have their food in the cup already..Something happened with my bearded dragon and chameleon with crickets and they both don't like eatting them much anymore,but still will sometimes..I gutload the crickets with the orange cube cricket diet..I am going to start feeding the superworms fish flakes..

Supplements--Now that he is older I give him vitamins once a month,calcium 1-2 times a week,and minerals 1-2 times a week..

One vet tested his eye out to make sure he can see out of it and the exotic vet used a special instrument to see everything going on in his eye..They said blood MIGHT be around his eye..I'll post again about the meds I gave him..One vet did give him a med that had steroids in it and I saw it wasn't going good very soon(within the first week) and took him off it right away..This new exotic vet has given him 3 meds..2 for his eye and 1 for him to digest..For awhile they seemed to be working well but they had me give them to him for 3 weeks and near the end it didn't seem to be going as well as it did at first so I took him off them midway into the 2nd week..I am going to be taking him back this Friday so I'll keep ya guys posted..
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Jonny Blaze
1.0 Nosy Be Panther--Diego
1.0 Bearded Dragon--Vinny
0.1 Yorkshire terrier Brandy,10 years old
1.0 Golden lab-Dusty R.I.P May 16,2007,14.5 years old
1.0 Black lab "wiggler",2 years old
s136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/jonnyblaze_04/?sc=3

Well my husbandtry is perfect,I know that(not trying to sound cocky either)..I use a reptisun 5.0..His favorite spot to hang out is under his UV light..

Don't know if I mentioned this but I got him when he was a baby..He was a month and a half old..

Not sure if this could be related but he did have a mouth infection before and was treated and healed..That was caused by a cricket leg which then made him stop eatting crickets for a long time..
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Jonny Blaze
1.0 Nosy Be Panther--Diego
1.0 Bearded Dragon--Vinny
0.1 Yorkshire terrier Brandy,10 years old
1.0 Golden lab-Dusty R.I.P May 16,2007,14.5 years old
1.0 Black lab "wiggler",2 years old
s136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/jonnyblaze_04/?sc=3

Is the light the long tube light or is it a compact??

You said..."I gutload the crickets with the orange cube cricket diet..I am going to start feeding the superworms fish flakes"....check to see if the fish flakes have preformed vitamin a in them or beta carotene. I give my superworms and crickets a wide variety of greens (dandelion, kale, collards, endive, escarole, mustard greens, etc.) and veggies (carrots, squash, sweet potato, sweet red pepper, celery leaves, etc.). I much prefer the natural things to the commercial things for feeding.

I have yet to feed the super worms fish flakes..I heard the super worms eat the bedding in their cups too..My chameleon and beardie love super worms(a lot better than meal worms I think)..My cousin's beardie died from meal worms shredding his stomach up..

The meds. I've given him in the last month were Tobramycin,flurbiprofen(for a week then stopped since I really didn't give him one eye drop one day and another the next),and metacam for his stomach..
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Jonny Blaze
1.0 Nosy Be Panther--Diego
1.0 Bearded Dragon--Vinny
0.1 Yorkshire terrier Brandy,10 years old
1.0 Golden lab-Dusty R.I.P May 16,2007,14.5 years old
1.0 Black lab "wiggler",2 years old
s136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/jonnyblaze_04/?sc=3

hey man my cham is having both eyes closed and they bulge out every now and then and he isnt eating i hope its nothing to bad it sounds like your hit his eye on a stick or something and is blind or he could have had a infection and you didnt know about it but if he eats and drinks and moves around like he should i wouldnt worry about it to much he will adjust with his tung let me know if you have any tricks for my cham

Hey man,thanks for the reply..The most common answer I get is that he hit his eye against something..He is not blind in that eye though(I know this for sure)..He could possibly go blind in it though unforuntately..His other eye is 100% and looks very good and healthy(full and round)..He is still active and is still eatting and drinking..Lately he has been missing with his tongue so he has had to put his head in the cup and shoot his tongue at very close distances like an inch or 2..He still gets really excited when I'm about to feed him something he really likes,like super worms..

Sorry to hear about your cham..I hope you can get him to be better..For your cham.,I'd suggest feeding him from a cup that isn't too deep..Try hornworms,superworms,or even phoenix worms to get your cham. to eat..Those 3 feeders in my experiences are hard for a cham. to turn down..Phoenix worms may be kinda small for an adult but they do move quite a bit to get your cham. interested..How do you give your cham water??I use a spray bottle and he'll either stick his tongue out and almost touch the bottle(he would touch if I let him sometimes) or I'll spray a tiny bit on his mouth and wait for him to drink(sometimes quickly,sometimes I wait)..Hopefully my technique can help you since I know my cham will never become dehydrated since I regulate his intake..
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Jonny Blaze
1.0 Nosy Be Panther--Diego
1.0 Bearded Dragon--Vinny
0.1 Yorkshire terrier Brandy,10 years old
1.0 Golden lab-Dusty R.I.P May 16,2007,14.5 years old
1.0 Black lab "wiggler",2 years old
s136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/jonnyblaze_04/?sc=3

im having the exact same problem i think with my male veiled just not the loss of colour and it has only been a lil under a week but he keeps his left eye closed probably more than 60 percent of the time but his right eye is fine. i think he either got something in it while digging in the corner or he hit it on a leaf or branch or something i hope its not serious and i hope yours gets better. if i get to the point of taking him to the vet if it gets worse i will be sure to let u know what he says.

Sorry to hear about your cham having the same problem..It is kind of a relief that someone else has a similar problem because of the 3 vets I have been to(1 specialist),none have ever seen anything like this before..I think I am going to have to go with the theory of he hit his eye on something..He is still active(some days more than others)..I can tell the days it is bugging him quite a bit because he'll go to a lower branch in his cage and just sit there for quite awhile and he'll be kinda dark..Normally he is all over his cage..He is still eatting normally(not very accurate with his tongue anymore),drinking a lot of water,and is the healthiest chameleon my vets have ever seen they all say..I'm lucky to have my lil guy..
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Jonny Blaze
1.0 Nosy Be Panther--Diego
1.0 Bearded Dragon--Vinny
0.1 Yorkshire terrier Brandy,10 years old
1.0 Golden lab-Dusty R.I.P May 16,2007,14.5 years old
1.0 Black lab "wiggler",2 years old
s136.photobucket.com/albums/q173/jonnyblaze_04/?sc=3