Too much UV for Jackson's Chameleon?

[StudentoReptile]

So yesterday I just took in a Jackson's chameleon from our local rescue. Here's the background I got:

Lizard is approx 2 yrs old, and appears to be in reasonably fair health. Housed in (and comes with) 16"x16"x30"tall screened mesh enclosure. Compact florescent UV light and infrared basking light. Owners moving away and had to rehome.
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So I took "Ziggy" home and immediately noticed he will not (or cannot) open his eyes. I already don't care for CFBs so I removed that light from his enclosure. I looked at today and saw that it was a 10.0 Reptisun (model series rated for "desert" species, not a jungle/forest species like a Jackson's cham). I also noticed his limbs are a little on the bony side, and saw that the previous owners have been feeding him pinhead crickets (he's an adult and could easily eat med-adult crickets).

I'm assuming that the previous owners left the UV light on most of the day (8-10 hrs), which is the leading cause of the chameleon's blindness, but mind you, this is only speculation on my part. My longterm goal is to: replace the bulb with one of lower rating and better quality (possibly a standard tube bulb), reduce the photoperiod, and occasionally take him outside for natural sunshine. I've already replaced the infrared bulb with a CHE. He is moving around a bit so that is good sign, but I'm still not seeing any eye opening. I have seen him rubbing his eyes a couple times. Mind you, I have not had that bright UV light on him since yesterday evening.

My dilemma is in the meantime, he cannot see, therefore, he cannot eat on his own. I do not want to stress him out unnecessarily, and I'm leery of what help taking him to a vet would do. I have some of that ZooMed Turtle Eye Rinse stuff, not sure if that would help. I'm also hesitant to try and force-feed him, because I know that is stressful on any reptile, and a chameleon especially, but I want him to not go too long without eating either, and I'm not sure when his last meal was.

Any thoughts?

[smy_749]

Just me thinking out loud here, I have not experienced this issue before.

My personal opinion would be to wait, just keep him hydrated and wait, few days, a week tops?

If its an eye issue, he should be fine a week and it will be long enough to possibly tell if he is getting better. If its more than an eye issue, it should be apparent and probably better to just put it down than to force feed it till it dies anyways

[StudentoReptile]

UPDATE: Unfortunately, the chameleon didn't make it. Last night, I decided to entice him with a few crickets in front of his face, and he seemed very uninterested. I had been steadily misting him and his cage all week, making sure water would drip/run around his mouth and I would dab his eyes with warm water Q-tip. He would still move about the cage, albeit very slowly (of course, most chameleons move rather slow, right?) This morning I found him hanging upside down, one hindclaw still clutching a piece of foliage, no longer among the living.
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My opinion is that 1) he was older than the 2 yrs I was told. What is more likely is that the previous owners had him for that long, not necessarily he was that old. -

2.) The state in which he was given to me [partially blind & somewhat malnourished], he was probably in for some time. I do not partially blame the previous owners because judging by all the supplies/equipment that came with [reasonably-sized cage, UV light, basking lamp, lots of pet-store-bought decorations, crickets & gutload, misting bottle, etc], I think they simply bought and cared for the lizard exactly how they were told by [I'm only assuming here] either a petstore clerk or perhaps a previous owner before them.

3.) The above conditions combined with the stress of being relocated to a new environment may have ultimately led to his demise. Perhaps a vet exam might have been warranted, but given the species in question & the pre-existing conditions, in retrospect, I don't think it would have done much. I wish I could have done more for him, because I was really looking forward to letting my boys watch him catch insects with that spectacular tongue they have.

[deathdealer91]

It also might have been mbd. from some of the things you described it might have been. you won't know unless you takee him to a vet to get an autopsy. sorry for your loss. it sucks to have one of your friends die.