Eye problems with my Fischer's...

Hey ya'll,

So I have a male Fischer's Cham that I bought back at the (September) 2008 Reptile Convention here in Sacramento from Reptile Depot. I'm not sure how old he was at the time I bought him, but he was quite small...I'm guessing a couple months old. Right now he's about 6 inches long...still pretty small...but anyway... I've never had any problems with him before but as of the past month I've noticed he started to close his right eye. I thought maybe he just had something in it, but I've noticed he started to keep it closed maybe 80% of the day, opening it only occasionally, and even then he has it squinted. I searched through the many threads on here and most relate to infections or light problems. I have examined him over and over, and there is nothing apparently wrong with his eye. There is no oozing, gunk, custyness, no debris, no cuts...I can't figure it out. I even bought some saline eye drops to help clear out debris and hydrate the eye if that was the problem...but it only works for maybe an hour. Then a couple days ago I noticed he started to close/blink his other eye (left)...sometimes having both closed at the same time. Occasionally when I'm present I've seen him rub his eyes against the branches...
I clean his cage regularly, wiping down the branches, removing debris and waste...Nothing has helped...
I have him in a screen cage (that I bought at reptile depot along with him) that is 15" 3/4 X 23" 3/4 and 14" 5/8 deep. I have a plastic lining at the bottom to help with excess water from misting and for easier clean up (but no substrate). I have a small ficus tree and an umbrella plant with various sized branches. I keep the cage on a side table that's about 2ft off the ground.
I've read many threads and articles about the UVB problems and I'm wondering if this is what it is...I use a ReptileGlo 5.0 uvb 26W coil in a deep domed lamp fixture that sits atop the cage along with a basking lamp (sorry I don't know the brand or watts since its a lamp I took my ex when I moved out over a year ago) and have a set timer for on and off. And yes, I do take him outside to get natural sun when it's nice out.
He still eats (mealworms, waxworms, crickets, silkworms, and occasional fly or spider) and I've see him drink...Still very active- walking around cage etc, though I have caught him a couple times sleeping during the day (hence I thought infection)...I've examined his waste and everything looks normal too...
I have experience with veileds and panthers before, but never had this kind of problem...I'm kinda at a loss besides taking him to a vet...

Would love some feedback. Anything helps!

Any ideas anyone?

Seriously.........anyone.........any kind of advice or suggestions would be very appreciated! even if its to tell me my cage set up sucks or just to link me to another thread that answers all of my questions!!

This is a great site for this kinda help...check them out... http://www.chameleonforums.com/forum.php

I don't remember what specific brands,but the coil type UVB bulbs were causing eye problems. I wanted to mention that since you expose him to natural sunlight, you don't need a uvb or any reptile bulb when you bring him in. You can use a regular housebulb [ it's true] for heat when you bring him back in. The sun provides FAR more uvb than any bulb and if he's out a few times a week you are giving him a sufficiency.I don't know the specific heat/humidity for a Fischer's but your set-up looks very nicely done.

dirtridr250: Thanks! I'm actually registered on that site too and I've been searching through both here and that website's threads.

angie.h: Yea I read about the light problems too...that's why I'm wondering if that's the problem...And I didn't know that I didn't need to have the uvb light since I let him outside. I thought chams needed it at all times. Maybe I'll stop with the uvb light and see what happens..........and thanks about my set up!

Here's a few suggestions. Remove the ficus tree and replace it with another non-toxic tree. Although ficus's are normally great to have, if the branch is broken and sap leaks out, it can cause eye irritations. Hibiscus plants are great and they love the flowers, but you should do your research on cham sites or melissa kaplans site to find out if that could cause the same problem. I kept chams for years, but it's been quite awhile and I'm sure there's more info available.
Another thing. Chameleons are very sensitive to supplementation. And usually the first sign of a problem is with the eyes. Either they start closing 1 or both, or the eyes start swelling or are more prone to infections.
The best thing to do is establish a relationship with an experienced exotic vet. Usually before the cham gets sick so he sees him healthy and can identify changes in appearance when sick. If your not able to do that, go over your supplementation regime with other experienced cham people.
Chameleons do better when fed bugs that have a better quality gutload, and not as much supplementation on the side. Variety is important. Let this thread know your supplement regime as well as any gutloads you use.
Last, you should have a thermometer to let you know if the temps are varying. Some places, like where [i] live, I have to up the wattage in January, and lower it in June.
It looks like a great set-up. So go with these ideas;
1. Change the ficus for hibiscus (I don't think umbrella plant is problem) You can put ficus next to cage to provide privacy.
2. Join a few different chameleon email groups that may have a few exotic vets. I know one, [i]'ll ask what groups he's on. They're very kind and willing to go over problems long distance.
3. Tell us what kind of supplementation and schedule, as well as any gutloading.
4. Tell us your temps in cage as well as outside.
5. I'd sterilize the cage incase he's getting the beginning of an eye infection. Often sitting them in a tree in the tub, with the shower on, but not directly under flow, to steam the bathroom up and hydrate him helps, but you can't leave him alone because he can fall or drown.
Check out these links, and if they don't google them;
(Adcham is my favorite)..
Click here: Welcome to ADCHAM
Click here: Edward I
(Edward Pollack dvm?)
Hope that helps!

What all supplements are you dusting his food with? I know that vitamin A definciency causes eye problems, but I'm sure if eye problems are the first symptom.
And it would be a good idea to change the lighting to something different.

Not sure when Amber will get back on here to update this, but she took the cham to the vet today.. apparently it is a bacterial infection in the eyes, the vet said there was no specific "issue" that caused it (it was a common bacteria or something like that)

They took some blood and are going to call her tomorrow to let her know the results of the blood work.

That's all I know off hand

I have had this happen to 2 chams at my store. They need vitamin A and if they are getting natural sun they dont need vit d3 as often. Talk to your vet make sure you are supplementing vit A at least 1x weekly, gut load your crickets and dont over do it with the vit d3.