Closing one eye?

[gzambran]

My 6-week old beardie has been alternately closing his eyes one at a time. Often it happens when he is tired and before he falls asleep. He is otherwise extremely healthy and alert. He shows no signs of vision impairment, but I am worried about potential UV-B damage. We currently have a ReptiSun 75 watt UVA blub, ReptiSun 10 compact and an infared bulb for at night. He can get within about 6- 8 inches of each of them. Could the lights be dangerous? Or is this a fairly normal behavior of juvenile dragons? Thanks!

 

[nair88]

the compact uvb bulb could possibly be causing issues. compacts are known to cause eye issues. i would recommend replacing that with a reptisun 10.0 tube. also, is the infrared night bulb a ceramic heat emitter or does it give off light of some kind?

 

[gzambran]

the package says its an infared light/ heat bulb, i figured lamps were safer than a heat rock or pad... Could infared hurt their eyes?

 

[nair88]

it's not so much that it would hurt their eyes, it's that dragons need darkness to sleep well at night and if there is any light - even red light, they won't sleep well. if your temperatures stay above 65 at night, you won't need any supplemental heat. however, if they do go lower than that, then you should get a ceramic heat emitter. it will give off heat but not light.

 

[gzambran]

oh whoops...that would also explain him being tired. The people at petco said that reptiles couldnt see infared well so it wouldn't keep him up... I feel really guilty now . I'll get him a non-light emitting heater and a tube UVB light. Thanks for the info!

 

[nair88]

you're welcome don't worry about being misled by petco. i was in the same boat just a few months ago. so much incorrect information that took quite a bit of money to get all sorted out