Puffy eyes after eating

Okay I have a quick question. Have you guys ever come across a dragon who eyes get all puffy and watery after eating insects?

We recently recused two bearded dragons and one of them has eye problems after eating. We have taken him to a couple of vets but noone has any idea what a going on.

Parkers eyes will puff up and water really bad whenever he eats. Its worse with insects. After two or three bugs he cant see well enough to finish eating. We have to hand feed him the rest.
It almost looks like he is allergic to his bugs ( crickets, superworms, and Dubia roaches)

His eyes are normal any other time

Hello,

That is odd, how long do they stay puffy after eating insects?
What foods so you gut load your insects with? It is possible they could be allergic to either the
insects or something in the feed the insects eat.
I hope it isn't indicative of kidney issues. How do their urates look, are they hard or soft?


Tracie

Hello,
First of all, Kudos to you for rescuing them!! They seem very happy and healthy.

That is quite strange :? :study: . How long do the eyes stay like that? Occasionally when Loki eats his eyes are a bit puffy looking (especially if he has eaten a lot of food) but they'll go back down to normal size within a minute or two.

What's their lights? Please list the EXACT Name/brand, Make/model, and tube or coil. Could you also post a few pics of their setups and their lights/how the lights are set up?

Please keep us posted on them!

-HippieLizards.

His eyes stay puffy for at least a half hour or so... sometimes longer. Actually the pic in the first post was take about a half hour or so after he ate. I feed crickets and superworms, and Dubia roaches. I give the crickets fresh veggies... the same as the dragons get. I dust the bugs with Flukers Repta Calcium with Vit D twice a week but his eyes puff up even if its not dust. Not sure if his eyes puff up after he eats the veggies cause he wont eat any veggies if we are watching him.

I cant take pics right now., but will post as soon as I can

Parker is in a 75 gallon tank with Zoomed heat lights ( Basking bulb is a 150 watt and Night bulb is a 75 watt).The UVB is a Zoomed Reptisun 10.0 T5 High Output Linear Lamp. All bulbs bought within the last three months

His last owner said his eyes started to puff up about 2 and a half years ago. At best guess he is 5 to 6 years old. He was a subadult when his last owner got him and she had him for about 5 years

Drache613":2vpsrj50 said:

Hello,

That is odd, how long do they stay puffy after eating insects?
What foods so you gut load your insects with? It is possible they could be allergic to either the
insects or something in the feed the insects eat.
I hope it isn't indicative of kidney issues. How do their urates look, are they hard or soft?
Tracie

Click to expand...

I use fresh salad with my crickets as well as a high cal cricket food. I dont gut load the other bugs.

The salad mix includes: Mustard greens, collard greens, Turnip greens, Kale, Red Leaf Lettuce, Sweet potato, cucumber, carrots, squash, and few other things....Usually whatever my box turtles and Iguanas dont eat

His urine and poop look good and has been cleared of any parasites by both vets.

Hello,

Those foods sound fine to me. How long have his eyes gotten a little puffy after eating?
It is possible he could have a clogged tear duct that doesn't let the duct drain properly.
Hopefully it will clear up on its own, but if it continues I would consider taking him into
a vet just to do a checkup on him. When they did a fecal exam did the vet look at his
eyes or was that discussed?
How is he doing today?

Tracie

Drache613":momt0kwi said:

Hello,

Those foods sound fine to me. How long have his eyes gotten a little puffy after eating?
It is possible he could have a clogged tear duct that doesn't let the duct drain properly.
Hopefully it will clear up on its own, but if it continues I would consider taking him into
a vet just to do a checkup on him. When they did a fecal exam did the vet look at his
eyes or was that discussed?
How is he doing today?

Tracie

Click to expand...

This has been going on for 2 1/2 year according to his last owner. I have taken him to two vets but they have no clue whats going on with him. They have done a fecal on him and he is good there. Its only after he eats his bugs and they stay puffy for at least a 1/2 hour after he eats.

I dont think its a clogged tear duct cause after his eyes puff up they water so bad he cant see to finish his bugs. We have to hand feed the rest to him

If they're watering like that it is possible they aren't draining properly. As far as I know there isn't much to be done about it, but the vet can do a dye test to see if the eyes are draining properly or not. If that's the case it's probably not harmful in itself. A blood test would help reveal problems with kidney function.

Hello,

Too bad this has been an ongoing issue for him, poor thing! I agree, I think a tear duct or
something to that nature is infected or clogged. I would see if the vet could check that out
for him & do a blood test to be sure there aren't any other underlying problems going on with
him.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

Drache613":3ohvflgc said:

Hello,

Too bad this has been an ongoing issue for him, poor thing! I agree, I think a tear duct or
something to that nature is infected or clogged. I would see if the vet could check that out
for him & do a blood test to be sure there aren't any other underlying problems going on with
him.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

Click to expand...

I Agree. It Does appear to be like that. Definitely go to a specialised reptile vet and get some blood work done to see what's wrong with him.

Also does the night bulb produce any light or coloured light? Also it would be best to not feed him any lettuce. Have You ever tried offering him collard greens? How often do you dust his bugs with calcium?

How is he doing today? Please keep us posted.

-HippieLizards.

HippieLizards":2ko23wnz said:

Drache613":2ko23wnz said:

Hello,

Too bad this has been an ongoing issue for him, poor thing! I agree, I think a tear duct or
something to that nature is infected or clogged. I would see if the vet could check that out
for him & do a blood test to be sure there aren't any other underlying problems going on with
him.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

Click to expand...

I Agree. It Does appear to be like that. Definitely go to a specialised reptile vet and get some blood work done to see what's wrong with him.

Also does the night bulb produce any light or coloured light? Also it would be best to not feed him any lettuce. Have You ever tried offering him collard greens? How often do you dust his bugs with calcium?

How is he doing today? Please keep us posted.

-HippieLizards.

Click to expand...

As I mentioned in an earlier post he gets a daily salad mix that includes: Mustard greens, collard greens, Turnip greens, Kale, Red Leaf Lettuce, Sweet potato, cucumber, carrots, squash, and few other things. Actual daily mixture varies but always includes mustard or collard green

The red leaf is more for water content than anything else.

Oh Ok. I Have in the past sometimes used lettuce to help a very dehydrated beardie get their water levels back to normal levels but IMO Lettuce should only be a treat. Not a staple.