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I posted a while back saying my panther wouldnt open his eyes. Well he has been getting better and drinking way better, but still not quite as good as i would like, and only when i spray directly onto his mouth (luckily I have enough time to do this several times a day) but he still hadnt eaten in a month. So i decided to open his mouth and put food in. (I used suplimented silk worms to try to get a good meal in). So my first question would be is it ok to open his mouth and do that? once i put the worms in he ate them with no problem. I have done this 2 times but the 1st time he has a big defecation right afterwards. I know that defecation is a good sign but is there any way he could have just ran the worms strait through his system? It was within 2 minutes of eating. sorry for the long post my cham just really seems to be making an amazing comeback and I wanted to make sure he keeps getting better.

How did you make out at the vets with him??
Did you listen to the advice about some of the bulbs causing eye issues and change them? The most highly recommended UVB light is the Repti-sun 5.0 long linear tube fluorescent one and the basking bulb most often recommended is a regular incandescent household bulb. Neither of them have been found to cause problems.

You said...I posted a while back saying my panther wouldnt open his eyes. Well he has been getting better"...so does he keep his eyes open all the time now?

You said..."drinking way better, but still not quite as good as i would like, and only when i spray directly onto his mouth"...be careful that you don't get any water into his lungs. The glotis needs to be shut when you put water into their mouths.

You said..."he still hadnt eaten in a month"...this is not good...and you need to take him to the vet if you haven't already.

You said..."is it ok to open his mouth and do that?"...it is if there is no other choice, but you really need to be finding out why he won't eat on his own.

Nothing would pass through his whole intestinal system in two minutes.

You said.."just really seems to be making an amazing comeback and I wanted to make sure he keeps getting better"...in what way??

he doesn not keep his eyes open all the time yet, but when he moves around he opens then a lot. I did switch the light and took him to the vet, the vet couldnt find anything wrong i guess as far as an eye infection or anything, and i told him about the light thing and he said that could definitely be the case. He did give me some drops just to help with keeping them moist, i guess like visine for people. and when I say watering him directly I mean I just gently spray hi around the mouth he will start opening and shutting his mouth, I never directly spray in his mouth. And when I say he is getting better I mean he is opening his eyes more, drinking some, and as of a few days ago got some food in him. Anyways my main question is it ok to feed him by opening his mouth and putting the food in, at least for the time being. I mean he eats it up once i put it in, with no hesitation.

You said..."is it ok to open his mouth and do that?"...and I answered..."it is if there is no other choice"...so I did answer your question.

I hope your chameleon will recover completely soon.

yes it does. thanks. And ive noticed after he eats he will keep his eyes open a lot more for a few hours.

I'm glad to hear that he's doing better...if you have to hand-feed,that is O.K....he may get stronger and begin to use his tongue when he sees the food coming.I imagine that he was not eating due to his eyes being closed,maybe he will make a turn-around now.