So this is my first bearded dragon I've ever kept. I am sorry for the long post but I'm desperate to find out exactly what is going on with my new baby so I don't want to leave out any details. I did a ton of research before diving in and finally purchasing one about 2 weeks ago. Here are some of the care/habitat specifications:
40gallon tank
Reptisun T5 UVB 24" hood
150 Watt basking lamp
Basking temps 105°-110°
Cool side around 80°
Humidity has been staying around 30%
Reptichip substrate
Mainly eating greens and dubia roaches
In his tank I keep a water dish in the center
And food dish is on the cooler side of the tank.
Hammock for basking and one stone hide on the cooler end.
I've been giving greens mostly in the morning but they are in the tank throughout the day. Dubias 2-3x per day and I dust some with Fluker's Repta Calcium w/ but D3 & phosphorus Free 3x per week as advised by our vet. *Side note* the pet store told me dragons do not need to see a vet unless there's something wrong however, I always have new pets checked by a vet and provide regularly scheduled visits regardless of species.
The dragon I chose was around 2 months old looked healthy enough when I got him and all has been going relatively well for the first week and a half. He did have a shed a few days after we brought him home but that seemed to go well. I've been bathing him regularly and checking for stuck shed. Everything looks good there. He eats well and has been having regular bowel movements that look perfectly normal.
However Monday evening I noticed that he was closing his right eye very tightly and his bottom eyelid looked a bit swollen but no discharge or discoloration or anything. Then he started trying to scratch at it and rub it on things. I decided to bathe him and try to rinse it. I have a Zero water filter and I only bath him in or give him water from that filter. But it didn't help. I called our vet (the only one in town who sees reptiles) and the scheduled an appointment for 5:30pm the next day. So I reluctantly put him to bed that night fearing a deadly infection and every horror I could read about online. Probably spent 3 hours just googling.
The next day I woke him up at 7 as I do every day. He looked ok so I gave him some time to warm up but after an hour of basking he just seemed like he really didn't feel well. The eye was still closed he was lying his precious little head on his arm and just looked miserable. So I called my vet to see if they could get him in sooner. They allowed me to drop him off there where they observed him from 8:30 AM till they called me in to pick I'm up around 1PM. The vet said that it appears he may have injured the eye but she could not observe anything foreign in the eye so she prescribed Meloxicam (Metacam) 1.5/ml to be taken once a day in the evening for pain and discomfort and Enrofloxacin (Baytril) 0.20 ml to be taken in the mornings for 10 days (antibiotic). She gave him a dose of the Meloxicam in the office to show me how to administer the medication.
I brought him home and as I was taking him out of the car that he was enjoying the sunlight and that he was attempting to open the eye. So I decided to set outside with him for a while and let him enjoy it and he did end up opening the eye a few more times and he did have a good poop that evening.
But as I often do, I got to researching and I read all the horror stories about beardies and antibiotics. I went to the reptile store in town to pick up some fresh veggies and roaches and asked them what they thought. They're all pretty respected reptile experts around here and I wanted to get another perspective and their attitude was that beardies are resilient and that if the eye is the only issue that he'll be fine but that antibiotics could do more damage than good.
So now that brings me to today. I woke him up at 7. The eye is still closed he took about 1 small piece of collard greens and watermelon but is pretty much just wanting to bask in his hammock and nap. He is looking more alert now at 10:30 am. but still just basking not moving around much and the eye is still closed. I am supposed to be giving him his antibiotic this morning but I feel so apprehensive. I don't want to do anything to cause him further harm or pain. I already love him so much.
So my question is has anyone dealt with this in a juvenile beardie before and what did you do? How did it turn out? Does this sound like a life threatening issue? Do I medicate or not medicate? I'm just looking for straight answers and everyone is telling me something different. It's been a long couple weeks just getting used to everything and now this. I'm so confused and I just want him to be ok.
40gallon tank
Reptisun T5 UVB 24" hood
150 Watt basking lamp
Basking temps 105°-110°
Cool side around 80°
Humidity has been staying around 30%
Reptichip substrate
Mainly eating greens and dubia roaches
In his tank I keep a water dish in the center
And food dish is on the cooler side of the tank.
Hammock for basking and one stone hide on the cooler end.
I've been giving greens mostly in the morning but they are in the tank throughout the day. Dubias 2-3x per day and I dust some with Fluker's Repta Calcium w/ but D3 & phosphorus Free 3x per week as advised by our vet. *Side note* the pet store told me dragons do not need to see a vet unless there's something wrong however, I always have new pets checked by a vet and provide regularly scheduled visits regardless of species.
The dragon I chose was around 2 months old looked healthy enough when I got him and all has been going relatively well for the first week and a half. He did have a shed a few days after we brought him home but that seemed to go well. I've been bathing him regularly and checking for stuck shed. Everything looks good there. He eats well and has been having regular bowel movements that look perfectly normal.
However Monday evening I noticed that he was closing his right eye very tightly and his bottom eyelid looked a bit swollen but no discharge or discoloration or anything. Then he started trying to scratch at it and rub it on things. I decided to bathe him and try to rinse it. I have a Zero water filter and I only bath him in or give him water from that filter. But it didn't help. I called our vet (the only one in town who sees reptiles) and the scheduled an appointment for 5:30pm the next day. So I reluctantly put him to bed that night fearing a deadly infection and every horror I could read about online. Probably spent 3 hours just googling.
The next day I woke him up at 7 as I do every day. He looked ok so I gave him some time to warm up but after an hour of basking he just seemed like he really didn't feel well. The eye was still closed he was lying his precious little head on his arm and just looked miserable. So I called my vet to see if they could get him in sooner. They allowed me to drop him off there where they observed him from 8:30 AM till they called me in to pick I'm up around 1PM. The vet said that it appears he may have injured the eye but she could not observe anything foreign in the eye so she prescribed Meloxicam (Metacam) 1.5/ml to be taken once a day in the evening for pain and discomfort and Enrofloxacin (Baytril) 0.20 ml to be taken in the mornings for 10 days (antibiotic). She gave him a dose of the Meloxicam in the office to show me how to administer the medication.
I brought him home and as I was taking him out of the car that he was enjoying the sunlight and that he was attempting to open the eye. So I decided to set outside with him for a while and let him enjoy it and he did end up opening the eye a few more times and he did have a good poop that evening.
But as I often do, I got to researching and I read all the horror stories about beardies and antibiotics. I went to the reptile store in town to pick up some fresh veggies and roaches and asked them what they thought. They're all pretty respected reptile experts around here and I wanted to get another perspective and their attitude was that beardies are resilient and that if the eye is the only issue that he'll be fine but that antibiotics could do more damage than good.
So now that brings me to today. I woke him up at 7. The eye is still closed he took about 1 small piece of collard greens and watermelon but is pretty much just wanting to bask in his hammock and nap. He is looking more alert now at 10:30 am. but still just basking not moving around much and the eye is still closed. I am supposed to be giving him his antibiotic this morning but I feel so apprehensive. I don't want to do anything to cause him further harm or pain. I already love him so much.
So my question is has anyone dealt with this in a juvenile beardie before and what did you do? How did it turn out? Does this sound like a life threatening issue? Do I medicate or not medicate? I'm just looking for straight answers and everyone is telling me something different. It's been a long couple weeks just getting used to everything and now this. I'm so confused and I just want him to be ok.