Baby's eyes shut from bad UVB?

[Janelle]

Hello! I've only had my baby for just over a week. His temps are all good, 75 watt basking bulb, over 100* on basking spot, paper towel substrate. I had gotten him a brand new Reptisun 10.0 t5 ho, in a hood, on top of the screen, about 12" above the basking spot. He started keeping one or both eyes shut all day long, not eating well, not active. I saw somebody else comment on the same issue on another forum, and someone said it may be a bad UVB tube. I tried turning mine off for 1.5 days, and he perked up, eyes open all day, eating better, and more active. I tried turning it back on last night, and within 5-10 minutes, he was closing his eyes again.

So I'm guessing I'm a lucky one who happened to get a bad tube? I ordered another on prime, but it still won't be here until Thursday. Will he be ok going that many more days without UVB? It's already been over a week. I have the 5.0 bulb that came with the hood. Should I bother hanging it inside his cage while I wait? What if he squints with the new bulb, too? What do I do then?

Oh, and I'm estimating his age at 2 months.

Thanks!

 

[Janelle]

I found this list of questions, so I figured if any of this helps, here are the answers:

How old is your dragon? I'm estimating 2 months, based on size alone
How long have you had your dragon? A week and a day
How long is your dragon? Around 7 inches, nose to tip of tail
What is the sex of your dragon? No idea
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? I have him in a 20 gallon, while he's so tiny. I had read that putting them directly into a 40 was sometimes shocking to them.
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Paper towels
Do you use UVB lights? Yes. Reptisun 10.0 t5 ho
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? 22" tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb? Brand new
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? He is around 12" below while on his basking spot
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb? I use a Zoo Med 75 watt repti basking bulb
What are the basking temps? Basking temp is around 101*
What is the cool side temp? Right at 80*
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? Temp gun
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? Right on his basking spot and/or his back, which registers a degree or two higher
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. He gets BSFL 3x a day, but not eating tons at this point. Maybe 4 each feeding. I'm assuming because of relocation stress as well as this uvb issue. He also has a salad of mustard greens, butternut squash, and a black berry available throughout the day.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? He has the salad from about 8:00-5:00, a feed BSFL at 8:00, noon-ish, and 5:00.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? I let the BSFL eat some of his salad before feeding them.
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? I dust one feeding with Repashy calcium plus daily.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? He poops once a day, nicely formed, good amount of dark brown and white.
Do you bath your dragon? How often? He had his first bath last night--his tail was shedding. He loved it and drank water while soaking.
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? I drip water on his salad throughout the day.
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? He has not yet been to the vet.
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? He is my only dragon. He sees no other pets.

 

[CooperDragon]

That sounds like a good setup. That's the proper distance for a T5 10.0 bulb too. Is it mounted directly overhead rather than at an angle? It's possible he was just relaxing while basking. The bulb could have been bad but their quality control is generally good. Having a second tube on hand won't hurt though either way.

 

[DragonDebonaire]

Every bearded dragon has their own personalities; maybe they have their own preferences about lighting, too? He/she might just not enjoy the brightness, like how some people don't/do like having their space a certain light level. It could also be reflecting off the surface of something and appearing even brighter to him/her.

On the note that you said his/her basking spot was over 100* - please be careful! They can easily burn themselves if they sit on a rock that's been sitting under the intense heat for too long. I usually feel the basking spot and move the lamp as necessary to make sure Parallax doesn't injure himself. "While they can feel heat on their bellies, it doesn't trigger that thermoregulation response that overhead heat does." - www.beardies.info/myths/myths.html

I hope you find the root of the cause soon!

 

[Janelle]

Thank you both so much. I tried the current bulb again while I wait for the other, and he has still stayed bright, perky, and active. And he's eating better and keeping his eyes open most of the time. So I'm thinking it was just relocation stress, and maybe, like you mentioned, the shock of a new, bright bulb. I think I'm just freaking myself out and seeing symptoms where there really aren't any. I feel like I have my first newborn again! LOL

As for his basking spot, please correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a baby's basking spot supposed to be 100*-110*? I test the temp regularly, with a temp gun. The rock itself is around 101*, on his back, it's right around 104*. I thought that was right in the range it's supposed to be. His rock is white and orange striped, so it doesn't soak up tons of heat and stay super hot like a black or dark rock would.

 

[Janelle]

By the way, I LOVE the name Parallax for your dragon!!! My son's leo is named Simon for Simon Baz.

 

[CooperDragon]

He looks good in that photo. And that is the correct surface temp range. Your temp gun will give you a good surface reading so you can rely on that to adjust lighting as needed. Shoot for a gradient down to 75-85 or so on the cool side.

 

[Janelle]

Cool side is right at 80*, so I think we’re doing good. Thank you for your help!