Baby Beardie closing his eyes

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andrewmo

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Original Poster
kmwilson042182":3sb7etyp said:
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

He's had very few and they were on the smaller side (not larvae I don't think). He's mostly been on a crickets while we try out different greens to see what he likes.
 

kmwilson042182

Hatchling Member
Also, since you have only had him a week maybe slow down a little bit on the handling. He could still be having some relocation stress. Let him settle in a little more. The stress from the relocation can cause any light parasite load he might have had to start winning the battle.

Kyle
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
kmwilson042182":272hs8uw said:
Also, since you have only had him a week maybe slow down a little bit on the handling. He could still be having some relocation stress. Let him settle in a little more. The stress from the relocation can cause any light parasite load he might have had to start winning the battle.

Kyle

Good idea. I was mostly doing it around baths (to help the shed). Should I continue with the saline to keep the eyes clean? Still no discharge as of yet.

He was quite active (and hungry) tonight, though he took frequent breaks to rest his eyes. Had trouble with hand feeding (he was missing them), but is having fun catching them.

I did flip the UVB bulb on for 30 minutes so he got som today (I was thinking of taking him outside but don’t want to cause any undue stress).

Anything else I can do to help him out or just see how the next couple of days go?
 

kmwilson042182

Hatchling Member
Yeah I would just keep a close eye on it for sure. It is possible he got some temporary damage from the coils, but it’s also possible he could have an eye infection, but you would think that would start with one eye. I’m not really sure on the saline thing, that would be a better question for a vet. I think you are doing all the right things though and since you are vigilant of the issue that is great. If after turning those coils off and getting the new UVB in place the issue doesn’t correct itself, you will definitely need to seek an expert medical opinion. They do close their eyes when they are uncomfortable, not just their eyes but any situation that may make them uncomfortable. Being he has only been with you a week and the UVB was sub par, there are just a whole lot of variables in there. It could be as simple as relocation stress or as serious as illness. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. There are some serious experts on here and even some Vets so maybe they will chime in.

Kyle
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Your tank setup sounds good. Are you using a digital thermometer/probe or a temp gun to
measure the temperatures?
The starter kits are very frustrating indeed! I simply don't understand why they continue to
include the compact/coil lights since they are such poor quality of lights.
Do you have any sterile saline solution you could use for his eye, daily to help wash it out?
Also, if he seems to be bulging his eyes, that is also a common behavior that occurs when
they are shedding their head & eye areas, simply to stretch the skin around that area.
I agree, I would opt for a fecal but maybe give him a few more days to get destressed from
being in a new home as well.

Tracie
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
Drache613":29ke5pdc said:
Hello,

Your tank setup sounds good. Are you using a digital thermometer/probe or a temp gun to
measure the temperatures?
The starter kits are very frustrating indeed! I simply don't understand why they continue to
include the compact/coil lights since they are such poor quality of lights.
Do you have any sterile saline solution you could use for his eye, daily to help wash it out?
Also, if he seems to be bulging his eyes, that is also a common behavior that occurs when
they are shedding their head & eye areas, simply to stretch the skin around that area.
I agree, I would opt for a fecal but maybe give him a few more days to get destressed from
being in a new home as well.

Tracie

Digital --- I do have an analog one (one of those dumb stickers), which is seemingly semi-accurate at least for ambient temps, but yes digital is what I'm going off off (the one with a plastic tip you can leave on the basking spot).

Yes, I've been using sterile saline solution to keep it clean for now just in case. :)

After looking at what bulging looks like, I dont think its quite what he's doing. He's more "rolling them around" from time to time.

He's currently doing his morning bask. I noticed he was puffing out his beard and rubbing against the wood he sits on, so maybe he's not quite done with his shed (he did this when he got a huge chuck off over the weekend).
 

kmwilson042182

Hatchling Member
Hopefully it is just a head shed and his face is bothering him. The digital probes are good. I would also recommend investing in a thermal temp gun too. You can get one on amazon or at Home Depot for like $15. They are really handy for getting the surface temp of the basking spot as well as spot checking areas all throughout the enclosure. Hope your little guy gets back to normal very soon!

Kyle
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
kmwilson042182":239lydhr said:
Hopefully it is just a head shed and his face is bothering him. The digital probes are good. I would also recommend investing in a thermal temp gun too. You can get one on amazon or at Home Depot for like $15. They are really handy for getting the surface temp of the basking spot as well as spot checking areas all throughout the enclosure. Hope your little guy gets back to normal very soon!

Kyle

Me too! And yes, I ordered a temp gun the other day, should be here soon.

I used some saline to clean his eyes this morning (he didn't like it of course). I tried doing it without picking him up but he kept moving ever so slightly so I did have to handle him for a minute to get the area properly.
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
Just dropping a quick update. The light came today so it's all set up for him. I did use the coil bulb for 30 minutes day while it came in so he was getting some UVB. Hopefully this helps.

Eyes are still closed for the most part. But generally speaking he does seem alert, and has no trouble hunting his food. Saline over the area twice a day.

Any other ideas?
 

kmwilson042182

Hatchling Member
I think you need to have a fecal done to rule out any parasites. Some vets will do a fecal if you just bring them poo. Usually about $20 or so I believe. Don't quote me though cause my sister is the manager of a vet clinic and I get all mine for free. If it doesn't correct pretty quickly under the new light, then a vet trip is probably next. Your new light, were you able to put it inside the cage? Did you get the T8 or T5? If the T8 it definitely needs to go inside and should be about 6 inches away at closest spot with some variation here and there so your little guy can regulate. If T5 and inside it should be about 10-12 inches with variation here and there. I don't shine my T5's through a screen, but if you do it would need to be closer than if you don't. Also, if your fixture has a plastic cover, meaning the light would have to shine through the cover, then remove it, it would block all the UVB.

Kyle
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
kmwilson042182":21izvpha said:
I think you need to have a fecal done to rule out any parasites. Some vets will do a fecal if you just bring them poo. Usually about $20 or so I believe. Don't quote me though cause my sister is the manager of a vet clinic and I get all mine for free. If it doesn't correct pretty quickly under the new light, then a vet trip is probably next. Your new light, were you able to put it inside the cage? Did you get the T8 or T5? If the T8 it definitely needs to go inside and should be about 6 inches away at closest spot with some variation here and there so your little guy can regulate. If T5 and inside it should be about 10-12 inches with variation here and there. I don't shine my T5's through a screen, but if you do it would need to be closer than if you don't. Also, if your fixture has a plastic cover, meaning the light would have to shine through the cover, then remove it, it would block all the UVB.

Kyle

It's a T8. Right now I just have the fixture on the screen shining in - did take the plastic cover off. I'll be mounting on the inside of the tank hopefully today or tomorrow.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hi, you mentioned the wattage of your heat bulb. Is this a reptile basking bulb or a household bulb. Do you have the box it came in so we can see?
It's not on a dimmer correct?

With everything you've mentioned especially the scraping of the face due to shed, I'd most likely say that the eye bulging is due to the shed.
That being said, compact fluorescents are very glaring and harsh lights on the eyes, so your dragon could have simply been closing them because of that.
Your dragon is young, its very unlikely that there is any eye damage from the CFL with such a relatively short exposure time. Personally I think you can stop with the saline solution, but its your choice. I only mention it as a way to keep stress down.

Like Tracie mentioned, I'd wait a bit on the fecal test. Stress can cause parasite counts to rise and cause potential false positives.

-Brandon
 

andrewmo

Member
Original Poster
claudiusx":25urvm0b said:
Hi, you mentioned the wattage of your bulb. Is this a reptile basking bulb or a household bulb. Do you have the box it came in so we can see?
It's not on a dimmer correct?

With everything you've mentioned especially the scraping of the face due to shed, I'd most likely say that the eye bulging is due to the shed.
That being said, compact fluorescents are very glaring and harsh lights on the eyes, so your dragon could have simply been closing them because of that.
Your dragon is young, its very unlikely that there is any eye damage from the CFL with such a relatively short exposure time. Personally I think you can stop with the saline solution, but its your choice. I only mention it as a way to keep stress down.

Like Tracie mentioned, I'd wait a bit on the fecal test. Stress can cause parasite counts to rise and cause potential false positives.

-Brandon

It's a reptile basking bulb -- I'll find the model shortly. Will hold off on saline because as you can imagine he's not nuts about it.

I'll call around and ask about a fecal test but I imagine most vets would want to see him first no?
 
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