Baby Beardie closing his eyes

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andrewmo

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Hi everyone! New beardie owner here. We picked up our little guy just over a week ago, and he seems to be acclimating quite nicely.

However the past few days he has been increasingly closing his eyes and today it really appears to be bothering him.

We went with a Zoomed Starter Kit (never again) -- I initially thought the UVB coil-bulb was bothering him, so I've shut that off and have a Reptisun 10.0 coming in on Wednesday. However even with this off, his eye still seems to be bothering him.

He just completed a large part of his shed, some still to do on his tail and I got the sense that perhaps he's struggling to get it off his eyes, but its tough to tell. I'll attach a picture shortly.

I gave him a bath this morning (I've been doing this every two days during his shed). I've added saline solution around his eye and also used a q-tip to apply some mineral oil.

If its still bothering him by Friday, he's off to the vet. But I was wondering if anyone had any insight as to why this might be? No discharge or anything, so I'm unsure if its an eye infection. Either way, want to make him as comfortable as possible.
 

kmwilson042182

Hatchling Member
How longs has his UVB been shut off? If he has gone with zero UVB for several days that could be a factor in causing lethargy.

Kyle
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
kmwilson042182":1xnbt1rk said:
How longs has his UVB been shut off? If he has gone with zero UVB for several days that could be a factor in causing lethargy.

Kyle

I shut it off this morning -- so a few hours he's been without
 

kmwilson042182

Hatchling Member
Yeah that's not too long. I don't think the coil will do too much damage to hold you over until the other light arrives, but it could still be lack of UVB since you were using the coil. You will have to go over the rest of your husbandry and maybe we can figure out what the issue is. What are your temps, where was the coil placed (if you were shining it through a screen and it was far away he definitely wasn't getting adequate UVB), what are you feeding, what is your substrate, etc. Shedding can definitely cause them to act weird too. Are you using a basking bulb that puts out regular white light? They need this in conjunction with the UVB to help their pupils dilate correctly. Is he just closing his eyes while basking? Is he still active?

Kyle
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
kmwilson042182":g0mxt5qq said:
Yeah that's not too long. I don't think the coil will do too much damage to hold you over until the other light arrives, but it could still be lack of UVB since you were using the coil. You will have to go over the rest of your husbandry and maybe we can figure out what the issue is. What are your temps, where was the coil placed (if you were shining it through a screen and it was far away he definitely wasn't getting adequate UVB), what are you feeding, what is your substrate, etc. Shedding can definitely cause them to act weird too. Are you using a basking bulb that puts out regular white light? They need this in conjunction with the UVB to help their pupils dilate correctly. Is he just closing his eyes while basking? Is he still active?

Kyle

Thanks for your quick reply. I'll get more accurate temps and maybe a picture when I get home, but generally the warm side is around 95 degrees, cool side being 80 or so.

Coil was placed over the screen closer to the cool side. I did get a second coil bulb on the warm side just in case he wasn't getting enough, but I stopped using that yesterday as someone mentioned it was overkill. (I also assumed it might have been bugging his eyes).

Heat lamp is 100W, usually about 10 inches from he normally basks. Basking spot is 100-105 degrees.

No substrate, just a drawer liner.

I thought he was closing his eyes while basking but it is much more prominent today, but he only opens his eyes for short periods of time. In or outside of the enclosure.

He's a *little* lethargic today, but I believe this is just because he's uncomfortable. He's been active the past few days.
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
kmwilson042182":29q8q4hx said:
Is he raising his head really high in the air with his eyes closed?

Not that I've noticed. He might have been doing this a few days ago though, I chalked it up to him enjoying his bask. Head today is relatively level -- not down & not up.
 

kmwilson042182

Hatchling Member
Okay that’s good. It is possible the coil hurts his eyes. Your husbandry otherwise sounds good. He definitely needs better UVB, but you already know that. Usually when their eye shed and head is bothering them they bulge their eyes out. It’s pretty freaky too. It’s also possible he could have some parasites causing him to slow down and be lethargic. If he only does it when he sees you he could also be trying to make you disappear. If he doesn’t snap out of it and continues to decline then vet visit is definitely in order.

Kyle
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
I have noticed him wigging his eyes around (almost "bulging" if you will).

Yes, he's got a hide he can tuck into on the cool side (large rock with opening at the front).

I don't think he's trying to "make me disappear" :) -- I've been working on taming him a little bit each day (maybe 20-30 minutes). He's still a little skittish at times, but is warming up. Yesterday he sat comfortably on my hand while I pet his back for a good 10 minutes. I've been hand feeding him for the most part to help that bond (I still make him chase his food...dont want that bad habit!)

I'm frustrated at what comes in the Zoo Med starter kit --- you get the sand, which is an obvious no no. The rest is useful, with the exception of the infrared and uvb coil bulb. You think of aquarium starter kits and for the *most* part, they're what you need. Not so much with these.

I'm hoping the fixture is small enough to mount on the inside of the tank (from a height perspective). I went to every hardware store trying to find a barebones fixture (that will literally just hold the light and plug in) to no avail. I ended up getting a GE one off Amazon. Its a little clunkier than I'd like, but would get him the right UVB sooner rather than later.
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
kmwilson042182":3jvoyuo0 said:
What’s he eating? Is he still eating and pooping?

Mostly crickets (dusted w/ calcium every few days). Couple of mealworms as a treat. Pooping as normal, he went when I had him in the bath this morning with ease.

He's eaten a couple of crickets today, not near as many as he usually does but partly because he's keeping his eyes closed and not going after them.
 

kmwilson042182

Hatchling Member
Mealworms probably aren’t a good idea. I’m assuming he is still very small. BSF larvae would be a better idea. It is very strange. Quite possible the coils hurt his eyes. Good he is eating and pooping. All I can say is keep a close eye on it. Post some pics of setup when you can. I had trouble viewing the links. Hopefully the new UVB placed correctly will do the trick.

Kyle
 
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