photo-kerato-conjunctivitis

I've read more than I care to about bulbs and UVB and this rate and that measure. This is for information only to people who may need it. I just recently adopted a baby beardie. It started acting 'funny' and worried my wife (she loves this thing already!). She googled 'beardie won't open eyes' and the odyssey began. Elliot's symptoms fit EXACTLY those of photo-kerato-conjunctivitis although I am not a vet. We've used 2 bulbs all day and none at night since we brought 'him' (not sexed yet) home. They are the Exo Terra Repti Glo 10.0 compact and the Zilla Incandescent White Light Spot 50W. Also, my Repti Glo compact 10.0 has the box with the charts on it which I read in one of the threads here means it's one of the newer, better bulbs since the recalls, replacements, etc.

Hello,

Is Elliott still experiencing closing his eyes, etc?
If so, please turn off the Reptiglo 10 compact/coil light. These "newer" bulbs have not been extensively tested yet & Hagen keeps changing their specs on their Reptiglo lights making it extremely difficult to keep track of which ones are good or which ones are bad.
I honestly for right now, would stick with the Reptisun 5 or the Reptisun 10 tube bulbs. Either one is fine, though for bearded dragons, the 10 would be the more ideal one because it is stronger.
Keep the basking light over him right now, with NO UVB for approximately 5-7 days before attempting to put any other UVB source over him.
Also, begin rehydration therapy as well daily which comprises of baths along with oral fluids.

Tracie

Thank you for your reply. Last night, as soon as we knew what the problem was, we turned off the compact flourescent UVB light. Elliot opened one of his eyes (the right) this morning after spending a small amount of time in the morning sun. Later this morning Elliot actually ate 3 crickets although he was still very lethargic . We went out (me, wife, two kids, and Elliot!) and purchased a Zilla Slimline Desert Fixture with the Desert 50 UVB T8 Fluorescent Bulb as we saw it was one of the recommended ones. Elliot just sat very still the whole time on one of our hands. I even kept checking to see if he was still breathing! He now is holding his head up, basking, and I just noticed he has opened his other eye!! This is one of the times I am glad my wife is so observant and worries about everything! Looks like we caught this early. I'll update later. It will take an awful lot for anyone to convince me it was not that bulb! Sad thing was, at the 2 pet stores we went to (Petsmart and Petco), no one seemed to know anything at all about photo-kerato-conjunctivitis or that these bulbs can cause it! My only hope now is that he gets enough UVB!!

Drache613":2tiz55cv said:

Hello,

Is Elliott still experiencing closing his eyes, etc?
If so, please turn off the Reptiglo 10 compact/coil light. These "newer" bulbs have not been extensively tested yet & Hagen keeps changing their specs on their Reptiglo lights making it extremely difficult to keep track of which ones are good or which ones are bad.
I honestly for right now, would stick with the Reptisun 5 or the Reptisun 10 tube bulbs. Either one is fine, though for bearded dragons, the 10 would be the more ideal one because it is stronger.
Keep the basking light over him right now, with NO UVB for approximately 5-7 days before attempting to put any other UVB source over him.
Also, begin rehydration therapy as well daily which comprises of baths along with oral fluids.

Tracie

Click to expand...

Sad, I didn't read your whole post before posting that last response. This morning, per the advice of MANY posts on different forums, my wife gave Elliot a small, warm bath. I think, since he has opened his eyes, I will keep the new light over him for now as I heard UVB is absolutely necessary for their proper digestion. If he again refuses to open his eyes, and we are watching him like a hawk, then I wll consider leaving off the new UVB lamp for a period of time.

Tracie,

Rehydration therapy?? This is my first beardie and lizard. Am I supposed to force his mouth open and squirt in a little water? Also, how long should the baths be? Should they be warm, cold, room temp? And if you really strongly suggest I stop the UVB for 5-7 days please let me know.

Thanks,

Fred

Hello Fred,

You can gently open his mouth with a swab & squirt some fluid in very carefully. Or you can also dropper train him as well, which is pretty easy. Once he likes the flavor of a liquid from a dropper then he will take it willingly.
The baths should be around 15-20 minutes for optimal absorption. Yes you should turn the light off right now, to give his eyes some rest.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

The uvb tube I recommend you to purchase is the repisun 10 (tube). The cheapest place that I know of to get it is petmountain.com. They are charging about $21 (including their extra shipping charge for the delicacy of the bulb) plus their regular shipping. That's close to 1/2 the cost of those you find in petstores, if you can find them there.

Hello im sorry to point this out but the zilla series are also known to cause the same issues, the reptiSUN is the only one on the market at the minutes that seems to be perfectly safe!

He's had no UVB light since Sunday, June 13th. He seems to be back to his normal self. He's moving around in the tank to adjust his basking. He's eating crickets and has even taken one of the veggie balls. My wife has been taking him outside in the morning sun every day for a few minutes.

Buggsy":1qwe1jeo said:

Hello im sorry to point this out but the zilla series are also known to cause the same issues, the reptiSUN is the only one on the market at the minutes that seems to be perfectly safe!

Click to expand...

I read in one of the lighting comparison posts that the Zilla light I have is a good one. I'll try to find it and reproduce the pertinent info here with a link.

I really would like to see it, because i KNOW there are many people who have had issues with this bulb, in fact unless you are in Europe the reptiSUN is the only recommended one, esp if he has already been showing symptoms.

Btw its really good the break has helped healed his eyes!

fredwhall":1xobc62m said:

I read in one of the lighting comparison posts that the Zilla light I have is a good one. I'll try to find it and reproduce the pertinent info here with a link.

Click to expand...

that'd be great... im super curious. if its legit i'll put it in my General Lighting Info thread

This is extemely frustrating. I have tried for over an hour to find the posts and can't find them but I KNOW I saw posts that list 3 or 4 bulbs in a column that are bad then 3 or 4 bulbs in a column that are good. The person mentioned staying away from the Zilla T10 but that the T8 was fine. That's why I got it! These are posts by people that actually test the lights. But now I can't find anything but mixed or bad reviews about this bulb. More frustrations...the search engine inside this site shut down so that I couldn't search anymore. And, the search engine for this site does not include a way to search for phrases. If you search for say "Zilla T8", you get everything that has Zilla OR T8 rather than only those posts that have both.

Humm, was it an old post?? I know it wasnt a bulb included in the UK UVB light test a few years ago, so we only really have word of mouth from people that use it. I know most people who i have spoken to who have used the zilla series (a range of bulbs included) have encountered issues, and swapped them out, no rush though, just keep trying to find it, ill search too!

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=128916&p=1033555&hilit=Zilla+T8#p1033555

viewtopic.php?f=44&t=128836&p=1033334&hilit=Zilla+T8#p1033334

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=128627&p=1031415&hilit=Zilla+T8#p1031415

viewtopic.php?f=45&t=127509&p=1023650&hilit=Zilla+T8#p1023650


These are just a few from the past couple of weeks where the zilla desert has been used and caused issues, some dont state if they are a t8 though.