Beardie keeping his eyes shut now during day

[Vegasmommy]

Hi, my beardie is about 2 years old. I recently switched him to a larger cage and replaced his 100watt bulb from 1 brand to another. The new brand has more of a flourescence (spelling?) to it. Although he is eating/pooping/etc as normal, I've noticed that he keeps his eyes shut tight now during the day. He used to pop them open once he heard or saw me near the cage, but ever since I've changed his cage and bulb he keeps his head up as if he's basking, but hardly moves and keeps his eyes shut pretty tightly. The lower lids seem a little purple in color, I'm not sure if that's normal or not. He seems really really lethargic. He gets water each day. Please someone help me, I'm really worried. Could the light be too bright for his eyes since he's not used to such a bright light? Should I go back to the previous light? I believe the old light was the reptisun?? The new one is TREX Active UV heat 100Watts.

 

[GoFast]

Chances are you have a bad T-REX. There have been some issues with them as of late. Shut it off immediately and return it to where ever you bought it from.

Another possibility is proximity. How far is your basking spot from the bulb?

 

[Vegasmommy]

I'm thinkin' you are right, and after reading posts re: T-Rex Active UV Heat lamp I unplugged the light immediately until I can go get the bulb he had before which was a ReptiSun. He's basking about 10 inches away from the light, but moves away from it alot like it bothers him. He never did that in the old cage and old bulb, and actually got closer than 10 inches to the old one...

 

[GoFast]

I'm thinkin' you are right, and after reading posts re: T-Rex Active UV Heat lamp I unplugged the light immediately until I can go get the bulb he had before which was a ReptiSun. He's basking about 10 inches away from the light, but moves away from it alot like it bothers him. He never did that in the old cage and old bulb, and actually got closer than 10 inches to the old one...

Well good move unplugging it. There are two things I want to point out though..

1. He was waaaaay to close to the MVB. When it comes to MVB's they are VERY powerful so your distances have to increase a lot as well. 10" is a very dangerous distance for an MVB. The minimum for a 100w MVB should be 14". ( I know the box says 12" but that is too close to a dragon.)

2. Leave his UVB lights off for the 5 days or so, until he starts keeping his eyes open. He probably has something called photokeratitis and his eyes need a break. Keep a regular bulb in there for heat but NO UVB. Also, keep him hydrated for the next week. Lots of baths!

 

[Vegasmommy]

Thank you for the reply, I had a couple of questions. I just got him the new bulb to replace the one that did this to his eyes and that he's had in the past (Powersun 100Watt). I've positioned his wood branch so can not get any closer than 14" to it. You had mentioned to let him have a regular bulb for 5 days until his eyes open. Like a regular house bulb or ? That's all I have on hand...I took him out right now and his eyes are still shut and he's just sitting there w/his head up, eyes shut. Do I soak him a bit (and what does that help?) Please respond, I'm a scared mommy...lol
P.S. I have a 75Watt household bulb (energy efficient) will that work?

 

[GoFast]

Yep, just a regular household bulb is fine if it can get his temps to 100-105 You still want him to be warm enough, you just don't want any UVB until his eyes heal up. Right now, for him, it feels like he has sand in his eyes.

As for bathing...Yep, just let him soak for about 15 minutes. The extra moisture will help him feel better a bit quicker.

 

[Vegasmommy]

I'm so sad!!! Ok, I am on it. Bath everyday and regular bulb until my lil guy gets back to normal. THANK YOU so much you have been a lifesaver (possibly literally). Vegas thanks you too. ;-) I hope more people read this post and get rid of the bad batch of T-Rex bulbs!!!

 

[GoFast]

I'm so sad!!! Ok, I am on it. Bath everyday and regular bulb until my lil guy gets back to normal. THANK YOU so much you have been a lifesaver (possibly literally). Vegas thanks you too. ;-) I hope more people read this post and get rid of the bad batch of T-Rex bulbs!!!

Don't be sad...you didn't know any better. The good news is that you have found a great place for anything you could even want to know about bearded dragons!

 

[Goonie]

[Moved from Behavior to Health]

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Nick, thanks so much for helping Vegasmommy.

 

[vickson420]

Yes Nick you did a great job!

Vegasmommy can you look at the TRex bukb you have and tell me what serial # is stamped on the bulb? It will be right on the glass and be a letter followed by a number such as J1.Did you purchase it online or in a store?

 

[Okiemavis]

Don't feel too bad, it's amazing how many of these bulbs don't let you know about the min distances. In fact, T-Rex lists the minimum distance on their 100w bulb at 6 inches! I would advise filing a complaint with the company and including pictures of your poor little guy. Make it clear that you will be warning others of their questionable business practice.

Still better than ExoTerra though, which gives the user no min distance instructions. In fact, when I questioned a rep about why they didn't provide any info, she replied that most people who use these bulbs are serious reptile keepers and already know. I informed her that my store would no longer be carrying their bulbs. If we don't stand up to the manufacturer, we can't save other reptile keepers, and their poor animals from harm.

 

[GoFast]

Don't feel too bad, it's amazing how many of these bulbs don't let you know about the min distances. In fact, T-Rex lists the minimum distance on their 100w bulb at 6 inches! I would advise filing a complaint with the company and including pictures of your poor little guy. Make it clear that you will be warning others of their questionable business practice.

Still better than ExoTerra though, which gives the user no min distance instructions. In fact, when I questioned a rep about why they didn't provide any info, she replied that most people who use these bulbs are serious reptile keepers and already know. I informed her that my store would no longer be carrying their bulbs. If we don't stand up to the manufacturer, we can't save other reptile keepers, and their poor animals from harm.

I am as anti-commercial as the next guy but I also like to look at the facts. Where do you see that the minimum recommended distance is 6" for a 100w MVB bulb?? I just looked at my box and I see 12". If you could, please provide a picture

 

[Okiemavis]

Huh, weird, the Instructions and Safety Warnings say something completely different than the box...they also make a flood and a spot with different requirements. The one I have I bought on clearance, in older packaging (and covered in dust), so it's possible they must have changed their warnings.

 

[GoFast]

Huh, weird, the Instructions and Safety Warnings say something completely different than the box...they also make a flood and a spot with different requirements. The one I have I bought on clearance, in older packaging (and covered in dust), so it's possible they must have changed their warnings.

Yea that is a possibility....I am guessing that as they developed the product more, they changed the directions and recommendations. Until recently, t-rex has been a very reliable bulb that was produced by the same manufacturer as Megaray, Westron. The big difference between the two is that Mega Ray has taken an aggressive role in getting the problem solved and reconciled with it's customers while t-rex has been a bit passive. I have a feeling that the same fix that was applied to megaray, will be applied to future t-rex bulbs.

 

[vickson420]

While I am not a fan of defending "the man" so to speak they have actually have refused to coat their bulbs( per the President of TRex),they are not producing ANY bulbs until they have the original versions of glass available and with no uncertain terms will they be attempting to "fix" the bad bulbs.I do wish he would have come here and said this himself as it may have held more water because truth be told I am only repeating what I have been told by them but we will just have to wait and see I suppose. :roll: