Bearded dragon with eye problem

Fletcher · Dec 27, 2017

Hello! I'm not sure how urgent this is, so I'm sorry if this is in the wrong place!

A couple days ago, I noticed that my bearded dragon's eye looked a little off. Here's a picture, but keep in mind that this was about 10 minutes after he woke up and got to his basking spot.

As you can see, the eye looks off center, and there is a pinkish part to the left of his eye. I've been looking around for some help, but could never find someone who had a definitive way to help. I've been washing his eye with just water, but I've also seen people that reccomend saline solution, but I've seen varying opinions on which kind to use, and what ratio of solution to water. I'd love some help, if anyone can provide it! Thank you!

EllenD · Dec 27, 2017

Hi...I'm not seeing anything alarming at all here, or even off...how long have you noticed this "difference" in his one eye? Has he ever kept this eye shut, or has he ever had any type of discharge or liquid coming from the eye or around/in the eye? Is his entire eye at all swollen or bulging?

It would help if you could post a photo of his entire head that shows both eyes and the size of each eye/eyelid, as sometimes the entire eye will swell for various reasons. Also, can you post a photo of a close-up of the other eye, just like you did this eye?

Does he happen to be shedding? They do tend to bulge their eyes, sometimes very dramatically, when they shed, it helps to loosen the skin around the eye. But as far as looking at his actual eyeball, regarding the lens, retina, pupil, iris, etc., nothing looks off to me at all. It's not at all red or inflamed, there doesn't appear to be any scratches to the lens, no broken vessels, no "bleeding" of the iris, no dilation of the pupil, etc. I see what you mean about "the pupil being off-centered", but that really isn't a sign or symptom of anything wrong with his eye.

Has he been scratching at his eye, keeping it shut or squinting, or showing any "active" signs that the eye is bothering him at all?

Also, one more question, but do you use any type of loose substrate in the bottom of his tank (any type of sand, crushed walnut shells, bark, wood chips, rodent bedding, seeds, etc.)? I ask this because all loose substrates harbor and breed all types of microbes as soon as they are put in the tank (bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, etc.) and this often causes infections of the eyes, ears, mouth, skin/scales, and upper respiratory system, as well as constant irritations because of not only small pieces of these loose substrates getting in the eye, but because all loose substrates also create constant, continuous "dust" that causes constant irritation. However, I don't see any signs of irritation in his eye at all.

As far as using something to "wash out" the eye, normally I recommend plain sterile saline, like normal, plain Visine or the generic equivalent of plain, sterile-saline eye drops with no medications or chemicals added to treat "redness" or "allergies", just plain sterile-saline eyedrops. However, I don't see any reason to be washing his eye out, unless he does get a discharge or watering of his eye. But from the looks of it I'm not seeing that. That's why I'd like to see a photo of the entire eye and surrounding area of his head, and be able to compare it to the other, "normal" eye...

Fletcher · Dec 27, 2017

EllenD":1n6q45tz said:
Hi...I'm not seeing anything alarming at all here, or even off...how long have you noticed this "difference" in his one eye? Has he ever kept this eye shut, or has he ever had any type of discharge or liquid coming from the eye or around/in the eye? Is his entire eye at all swollen or bulging?

It would help if you could post a photo of his entire head that shows both eyes and the size of each eye/eyelid, as sometimes the entire eye will swell for various reasons. Also, can you post a photo of a close-up of the other eye, just like you did this eye?

Does he happen to be shedding? They do tend to bulge their eyes, sometimes very dramatically, when they shed, it helps to loosen the skin around the eye. But as far as looking at his actual eyeball, regarding the lens, retina, pupil, iris, etc., nothing looks off to me at all. It's not at all red or inflamed, there doesn't appear to be any scratches to the lens, no broken vessels, no "bleeding" of the iris, no dilation of the pupil, etc. I see what you mean about "the pupil being off-centered", but that really isn't a sign or symptom of anything wrong with his eye.

Has he been scratching at his eye, keeping it shut or squinting, or showing any "active" signs that the eye is bothering him at all?

Also, one more question, but do you use any type of loose substrate in the bottom of his tank (any type of sand, crushed walnut shells, bark, wood chips, rodent bedding, seeds, etc.)? I ask this because all loose substrates harbor and breed all types of microbes as soon as they are put in the tank (bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, etc.) and this often causes infections of the eyes, ears, mouth, skin/scales, and upper respiratory system, as well as constant irritations because of not only small pieces of these loose substrates getting in the eye, but because all loose substrates also create constant, continuous "dust" that causes constant irritation. However, I don't see any signs of irritation in his eye at all.

As far as using something to "wash out" the eye, normally I recommend plain sterile saline, like normal, plain Visine or the generic equivalent of plain, sterile-saline eye drops with no medications or chemicals added to treat "redness" or "allergies", just plain sterile-saline eyedrops. However, I don't see any reason to be washing his eye out, unless he does get a discharge or watering of his eye. But from the looks of it I'm not seeing that. That's why I'd like to see a photo of the entire eye and surrounding area of his head, and be able to compare it to the other, "normal" eye...

Thank you so much for your response! I'm probably overreacting, so I appologize.

I can't currently get a picture of his other eye, but I will post one as soon as I get a chance. I'll also try to get a better picture of the eye in question, because the one I took wasn't the best.

I just noticed this a couple days ago. I have seen him keeping the one eye shut, and having the other one open. His eye is not bulging, but it is quite watery.

It doesn't seem to be bothering him that much, but he has been squinting/closing his eye. He did shed fairly recently, though, and I found a few other people who had issues with pieces of shed skin getting caught in their eyes.

He does not have any loose substrate in his tank, so that shouldn't be an issue.

Again, thank you so much for your help!

EllenD · Dec 27, 2017

Don't apologize, it's always better to ask than not ask, trust me. If he has been "squinting" the eye and he recently shed, then that is likely the problem. As long as there is nothing in his eye and it's not producing any discharge, then yes you can irrigate it twice a day with the plain, sterile-saline eyedrops, just regular Visine with no medications added for redness or allergies. Just put a couple drops in the eye in the morning and at night, and it should stop bothering him shortly.

If you see any type of discharge develop then he needs a culture taken and sent off for testing to determine whether or not it's a bacterial or fungal infection, what strain of bacteria or fungi, and what medication will be effective in treating it, then he'll get a prescription antibiotic or antifungal eyedrop or ointment from the Reptile Vet based on the results of the Culture/Swab. But I don't think that it's an infection at all, I think the shed around his eye irritated it, and sometimes when they are shedding their eyes they also claw at it with their toenails and actually scratch the lens of their eyeball, obviously not badly because there's no bleeding or visible scratch, but even a tiny, microscopic scratch on the lens of the eye will cause it to be irritated and uncomfortable, and it just takes time to heal up. But I don't see any signs of infection as of right now, and I don't think it's a big deal at all.

Drache613 · Dec 27, 2017

Hello,

I agree, I don't see any eye infection in that eye. It looks like there may be a small little piece
of shed skin on the top portion of the lid. This is fairly common, especially during the winter
time when the environment is drier than usual. That could possibly cause the lid to become a
little mishapen because of the dryer skin.
The sterile saline solution would probably help soothe the eye so you can definitely use that on
his eye for awhile.
I think he will be fine though. We all worry about our little ones, so no concern is too great on
here!

Tracie

Fletcher · Dec 28, 2017

Thank you both so much for your help! I picked up some saline solution last night, and gave him a few drops. He seems to already be doing better this morning!

Fredrick2015 · May 24, 2018

Help! My bearded dragons eyes are super swollen, red, and droopy. The past 2 days he hasn't been eating. Not moving very much and gasping/opening his mouth. Can he possibly have a respiratory infection?

Drache613 · May 24, 2018

Hello,

****Fredrick2015****This is an older thread. Please start a thread for your dragon so we can
address it better. Thanks.

Tracie

Bearded dragon with eye problem

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Had my bearded for 9 months and he tries to run away from me still and doesn’t trust me

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