Can I get sick from my beardy

[fisher28]

I have had the little one for about 2 months now and about a week ago I somehow managed to wake up at 3am and my eyes were beat red. I went to the eye docotor and I was told that I have viral infections in my eyes and some other mumbo jumbo terms I dont really understand. I have been trying to think of how I got this, and how suddenly, and the only thing I can think of is the fact my beardy falls asleep on my chest everynight around 9 for a while until I have to go to sleep and I put her in her tank. I have done this for a while and no problems by my mother seems to think that she is making me sick. Is this possible? I always wash my hands after I hold her but could I get sick from her?

 

[AHBD]

You probably have pinkeye , or conjunctivitis. [ Google it to see if it's what your Dr. said ] People can get it from other people [ viral ] or bacterial from something dirty getting in your eye, scraping your eye, etc. Many people that don't have any pets get it, so you can't really pinpoint where you got it from. It will last about a week, and others in your household can get it from you so wash your hands often and of course don't share anything like a washcloth.

 

[fisher28]

no its neither one of those I have been back and fourth seeing the eye doctor three times over the past week and its getting worse, thus my questioning if I could get sick from my beardy.

 

[AHBD]

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that, it sounds pretty serious. Did your Dr. take some kind of swab to see what bacteria is in your eyes ? I don't have any other ideas as to what it could be from, but you can't rule out contamination from handling your beardie and rubbing your eyes, but there's nothing conclusive [ unless the Dr. could determine ] to say that it really is that. I hope you get better ASAP. Do as much research as possible on contamination of the eye and see what you can find, especially if your Doc is stumped. I read an article about a man who applied raw, unpasteurized honey to his eyes for an infection that wouldn't go away and it was the only thing that worked. I know it worked for one of my beardies that had an eye infection, and soeone I know had a beagle with an eye infection that got cleared up with raw honey, but it must be unpasteurized, not the kind from a grocery store. Anyways, I hope you get healed up as quickly as possible.

 

[fisher28]

Thank you so much! I will look into that I just wanted to make sure handling her wasnt making it worse and if it was I wanted to make sure she was healthy as well. I am going back to the doctor on wednesday and all the swabs and tests are inconclusive so as of now I'm hiding in my dark room and applying various eyedrops and eye gels haha. I hope this goes away soon!

 

[Lauram63110]

Like the others have said, it PROBABLY isn't Beardie related, but
your Doc would have to do some more testing to know for sure.
One thing that I would ask is how do you take care of the Beardie?
Is he on sand substrate and does he poop in the cage (on the sand)?
A lot of people have Beardies that only go potty in a bath and get washed fairy often. I would think if the Beardie poops in his tank and walks thru it, or gets it on him, and then you hold him, that it could increase the chances of you getting sick. Also, if they walk thru their poop or are on dirty sand (which is bad for the Beardie also) and get it under their claws and scratch you, you might end up with an infection.
Reptiles have a bad reputation for carrying salmonella,
but I think that can be reduced by keeping your reptile clean and washing your hands after handling them.
Personally, my Beardie gets a bath every day,and that is where she poops. I rinse her well afterward and even have some Beardie soap to wash her with, but I don't use it on her really often. I just usually
rinse her well. Since she doesn't go potty in her tank, it is much cleaner. As bad as it sounds, I am not particularly diligent about hand washing. I have good intentions but often get side tracked.

 

[fisher28]

I give her a bath daily though she isnt very fond of them.. she has had a carpet bottom however she became very sick and refused to eat and all of her live food would hide under the carpet and were not helping the situading, the same happened which i switched to newspaper. She lost all of her color and looked very sickly so I had to switch sand for now, and as soon as I did she began eating and she became healthy. I am working on a new tank with tile on the bottom but for now sand seems to be working. I try to make sure I keep her tank clean and wash the area in which she decides to poop, or scoop it out if its the sand. I make sure I wash my hands and arms after I hold her because I am no stranger to being sick (swine flu =/). However the sand could be the problem and that makes a lot of sense she could easily step in it and it could pass to me. Im hoping i dont have salmonela or anything like that, that would suck. But I will tell my dad to speed up on tank construction! Thank you for the help!

 

[Lauram63110]

Once you get the new house made, you can potty train your Beardie
and that will make keeping the new house much cleaner. A lot of people on here have potty trained Beardies that only poop in the bath, and that keeps the cage so much cleaner. Basically, it is establishing a schedule that you follow and get them used to going at the same time every day. You put the lights on a simple timer (like from Walmart) so they come on at the same time every day and then feed them at the same time, and bathe them at the same time and they get a routine started.

 

[fisher28]

I have the lights on a timer so there is a routine there and I will try and make more consistent times for feeding I usually feed her between classes when I have breaks but its generally around the same time. I will try and work on that and maybe she will cooperate! Will she naturally just go to the bathroom during her bath or is there a method to the potty training?