juvenile beardie wont open her eyes help!!!

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zbaker57

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Two days ago i came to feed my 3-6 month old beardie(pet shop didnt know exact age) and she hasnt opened her eyes since. no crust. no skin hangin in her eyes. ive flushed them with a correct eye wash just to make sure. she still had quite a bit of energy when i first found her in this condition yesterday. but now shes becoming more and more lethargic today. shes got paper towels at the bottom of her cage with a solarglo all in one light and i also had a coil uvb light in the same fixture that i read could possibly hurt or burn their eyes so i took that off immediately. cleaned her cage making sure theres no chance of any infectious germs still in there. i have another one about same age in the same cage and shes in perfect health. shes been growing a whole lot better than the one im worrying about so i hope this isnt a genetic problem. someone suggested vitamin a deficiency because she REFUSES to eat greens. so since yesterday she cant see to eat her wax worms so ive been slightly force feeding her carrot and pea baby food to try to get some vitamin A in her. she pooped and it was a little more slimy than usual but not too bad to be worried about it. the white part was very white and not dark at all. her eyelids are a dark purple now and her left eye she will open for just a second every so often and her inner eyelid is about halfway over her eye. the other eye she wont open whatsoever. she will take her back leg and scratch at her eyes like its bothering her but i have yet to see any improvement from trying to flush them out. tried warm gentle compresses on her eyes to soothe a little but im just out of ideas and cant find anything else on the internet. has anyone seen this before? im super worried! :(
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Can you post some pics of her w/ her tank and lighting- go to top of page in the banner click on user image uploader-- download pics- click on reply-- click on XIMG-- at top of message box- pics should post -- what kind of UVB do you have now?
Karrie
 

zbaker57

Member
Original Poster
full



this is both of their cage the other on is in there with no problems whatsoever. could I effect just one of the beardies?
 

zbaker57

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Original Poster
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I know their terrible pictures my camera wont focus it's the best I could do. but her under eye is very purple/dark now and it's hard to even force feed her some vitamin a(pea/carrot baby food)
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
First off how many bearded dragons do you have? And are they in the same tank? What kind of lighting is that ? I am assuming its a coil UVB from the way it looks--- I would be getting the tank off the floor - dragons are a social creature and being on the floor is also drafty-- second here is the UVB that is recommended on the forum--Which UVB light should I use?
The best UVB light is a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube HO (Or Arcardia 12% in the UK). Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. Other brands, such as the Zilla Desert Series and ReptiGlo have been known to cause eye problems and other health issues with bearded dragons, and should be avoided. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia).
UVB lights should be replaced every 6 months. The T5’s are a strong bulb and only need to be replaced once a year – the T 8 every 6 months--- where as the T 8 are not as strong—they need to be placed inside the tank the T 5 10.0 bulb approx 10-11 inches from basking spot – the T 8 approx 8-10 inches from basking spot—the cover needs to be off the bulb for full effect of the UVB rays-- I need someone else on the forum to look at the dragons eyes --- one of the more experienced people would haft to weigh in on that---- third how are you taking basking temps? The dial thermometers are not accurate and would recommend getting a infrared heat gun from Walmart Home Depot or Lowes for around $10-- so I just reread your post what have you replaced the UVB w/ ? I would also recommend getting the dragon a hide --- Petsmart has some nice decor you can start there at the store if you have one or on line as well -- the lighting is crucial - her behavior and over all health rely on that UVB along w/ proper basking temps- which should be 95-105
Karrie
 

zbaker57

Member
Original Poster
just two they have a hide inside the hollow orange rock to hide in. I replaced the UvB with a reptisun t5 24in bar light. the lightbulb in the black fixture is an all in one solar glo mercury light. I got a table I can put them on top off if it would help. the other dragon is doing great in the same tank very big and healthy. my first beardie lived to about 11 years old before he passed and I haven't changed the husbandry side of things. the sick one still wont open her eyes today and I'm still force feeding her little bits of Gerber baby food(pea,carrot mix) for more vitamin A.she still has strength to fight me when I try to feed her but she wont move by herself. i put a tiny warm towel over her eyes before i went to work and i just got home for lunch (5hrs) and she hasn't moved an inch. I'm constantly worried about her and I'm confused as to why one is thriving and extremely healthy, and the other one Is not doing good at all.same food. same treated water. Sam environment and they get along very well. I'm so lost. the eyes are scaring me I dont know what to do
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok the reason why the one beardie is not doing well is you never house 2 bearded dragons together --- they are very territorial and one will thrive while the other will eventaully die--- you need to separate them ASAP-- -- please get a better picture of her and PM either TracieDrache613 or AHBD they can help you w/ the eyes -- but in the meantime please get them seperated!
Karrie
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, sorry to read that your beardie is not well. It would be best to get a separate tank for the other dragon but I don't that is causing the eye problem. He/she may just be very sick suddenly, some illnesses come on very quickly. It could be atadenovirus so you might want to get him checked for it. Could also be a very high parasite load, but those are just guesses. Can you get him to a good reptile vet ?
 

zbaker57

Member
Original Poster
it's a 5 hour drive from where I'm at so I'm going first day I get off most likely Monday... I hope it's not gonna be too late. I'm in the middle of nowhere northern michigan unfortunately. I got a stool sample today(she pooped thank god) was not too slimy. I really hope she makes it to Monday I'm so worried:'( gotta go down to detroit for a good vet the one near me doesn't have the right equipment to check him properly unfortunately. so it's a waiting game now
 

zbaker57

Member
Original Poster
so she just pooped. and there was a little bit of red what looked like blood in her stool at the end of her urine white. she went while i was soaking her in the bath so i couldnt tell how slimey it was but her urine (white part) was much darker than the first poop. seems like a parasite maybe? can anyone weigh in on this? goin to a vet monday hopefully sunday.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

So sorry your girl isn't doing well. Are you housing her alone now, did you get her a tank of
her own?
I hope you were able to get her to a vet. Did they do bloodwork on her?
I think a fecal should be done on her to rule out worms or parasites which can make them very
ill if they are in high numbers. Has she had anymore blood or reddish color to her stool?
I would recommend giving chicken or turkey baby food, along with either squash or sweet
potato baby food, daily since she isn't eating.
Be sure that her basking temperatures are optimal for her, in a range of 95-110F with a cooler
end of around 78-82 measured with a digital probe or a temp gun.
As suggested, the best UVB lights are either the Reptisun 10 T5 tube or the Arcadia D3 12% or 14%
T5 tube.

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie
 

zbaker57

Member
Original Poster
she hasnt pooped since the lzst one with a little blood in it. i work 12 hour days during the week and i get to come home twice a day so plus when i wake up, 3 times a day i use a siringe and give her some water and pea,carrot,spinach gerber baby food i gave her two soft wax worms and she loved that so hopefully its enough protien but not enough to hurt her stomach. and a warm bath everytime i see her. i split the two by just putting a seperater piece of cardboard in their cage and take the healthy one with me to bed at night and take out the seperator so she has no stress while sleeping. i dont have a close petstore within 40 miles of me unfortunately so nno tank yet. saturday i will be able to take her to the emergency vet 4 hours away, they said they are good with beardies so i have faith. ive saved every fecal sample she has givin me since she got ill just in case she doesnt poop the day i get there. now its just a waiting game. oh she opened her eyes for a couple seconds when i was feeding her so thats a big step in my opinion since she hasnt opened then in almost 3 days now. just gonna keep her nutrition up and hope for the best. its a waiting game till saturday... prayers and fingers crossed.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

That is promising she did open her eyes some, even if it was for a short while.
I'm glad you have them separated so that should help a lot too. Be sure to keep her
warmer overnight, around 80 or so, just to help boost her immune system while she is
not doing well.
You can also add some squash or sweet potato in for her. Using turkey or chicken along
with the carbohydrates will help her get more strength unless she happens to have a few
insects too. You can also try the calcium/phoenix worms for her, if you get a chance. Most
of them tend to like them pretty well.
I hope that she is able to turn around & get healthy for you. Keep us posted on her!

Tracie
 
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