CONFUSED

[Mel90]

Alright, my big boy Malice is acting very strange and I have absolutely no idea what is going on. He always has his eyes closed it seems like and he is always laying around. When this first started, way back when the MegaRay place had bad batches of bulbs, we thought that he was closing his eyes because we had a bad batch. But we've ordered more since then and as far as we know they're good batches. But it seems like he always has his eyes closed now. He also rubs his head against the cage often as if he was shedding...but he's not and hasn't been. Another thing is that it looks like he has stuff in one of his nostrils. And I could be wrong, but it doesn't look like skin and it's been there for a while. So if it was skin I would assume that he would have pushed it out by now. Also, he doesn't eat that much anymore...I'm lucky if he eats just one roach. But that may have to do with relocation stress too who knows. The temperature in the cage is normal, everything is right so that is why I'm so confused. We built our own cages and they're all three stacked on top of each other. All three are built the same, same temperatures, same batch of bulbs, same everything. But the other beardies are just fine and aren't having this problem. I take that back, temporarily Malice is sharing a cage with Envy because we got a new baby and I've been setting up. (and yes I know that's a no no but they've been sharing a cage every since they were babies and I'm splitting them up now) But Envy has started to shut her eyes more too and is being more sleepy. But she is shedding, especially on the head and eye region. So she might have that as a reason but I still thought I'd add that in there. Again, I don't think it's just that one cage because for one they are all the same and two Malice and Envy were originally in a different cage and are now in another that is the exact same. I'm just confused over the whole thing and was wondering if anyone may no a reason for Malice's behavior. If he doesn't show signs of improvement I'm going to take him to the vet. And one more thing, he is very very happy and has a white belly and no black beard. So that's another factor in my confusion.

 

[Mel90]

Another thing I was wondering about is if this somehow fits dehydration? That idea popped up a while back so I didn't know if these symptoms fit.

 

[kariann]

Closing of the eyes is a general sign of ill thrift or stress. It may or may not be the result of a true ocular problem. Aside from the megaray, exactly what other bulbs do you have?

I would wonder about a respiratory infection since there is something plugging a nostril (dried discharge?), and in the picture, he is holding his mouth open a bit. Any beardie could get a respiratory infection but usually there is some source of stress or environmental factor such as increased humidity to account for it. I would recommend seeing a qualified herp vet to get to the bottom of this ASAP. Bring both Malice & Envy since she is holding her eyes closed a bit too. It would be wise to check a stool sample from them while at the vet. Double check your temps and humidity in all your set-ups: slight changes in the ambient temperature of the room (i.e. change in your home thermostat or sometimes outside temps) can really make a difference in the viv.

Please let us know how Malice does.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Sorry to hear your beardies are not doing well. I would recommend turning off the Megaray and contacting John at Reptileuv. There have been reported cases where the replacement Megarays were still producing the same ill effects, such as the eye closing. If it is indeed the Megaray, you should start to see an improvement in their eyes in a few days. Keep them UVB free for at least a week, their eyes are going to need some time to heal, if in fact it is from the Megaray. They will be fine with just a basking light for that time.
Let us know how they are doing.

 

[Mel90]

That problem seems to fit perfectly, but he has been under a few different Mega Ray bulbs in the past few months. So I must be really unlucky if they all sucked. Oh, and last night after I turned the lights off (maybe 15-20 minutes after) I heard a commotion coming from Malice's cage. He was still rubbing his head against the cage even after the lights were off. This is very unusual because they love it when it's sleepy time and usually settle down quickly. Do you think his eyes could have been damaged a while back when we first thought we had a bad batch and it may still be effecting him? Would it hurt him to look at any light?
Sorry I keep adding new information but the other day I realized it was too hot in the cage so I took out the normal bulb and left in the UVB bulb. It only changed the temperature by a few degrees but it seemed to make them all feel better. But afterwards he seemed to be more active and have his eyes open. Buuuuut, the next day he went back to having his eyes closed. This is one seriously confusing baby!!!He is also a lot more active out of the cage. So I feel like the either the cage or the light bulbs are to blame. I would take him to the vet but I hate how they'll probably think I'm stupid and ask all the obvious stuff and not figure out the real problem. The last time I went the lady gave me information sheets on how to feed them and all this simple stuff that I already knew. She also listened to my problems and seemed to grasp on one specific detail and blamed that for the problem. I didn't really like her to say the least. Anyway, I was just wondering if the original Mega Ray bulb could have damaged his eyes in the past and if it could still be effecting him and not the new bulbs?

 

[Mel90]

So I didn’t see your post Kariann for some reason, but you pointed out a lot of good points. Right now the mega ray bulb is the only bulb in the cage. I did have a normal 35 watt bulb but I took that out because he was too hot and the cage was too hot. The set up of the cage isn’t necessarily to my liking because the bulbs don’t have domes so the heat seems to be all over the cage and there isn’t really a warm and cool side like there should be. But only having one bulb seems to help the situation because they aren’t always hiding now, they actually come out to bask.

But a respiratory infection has crossed my mind before but the symptoms didn’t seem to be severe enough. He had a few crusties around his mouth and had a little more slobber than normal. But, like you said, he does hold his mouth open a lot more than he used to and to me it seems more than normal. So thanks for pointing that out because I didn’t know that was a symptom of a respiratory infection. Also, it has been a lot hotter outside lately and my room temperature has also gone up a significant amount since I have 4 beardie cages up and running. So maybe that is an environmental factor…? When it comes to Envy, she is in her own cage now and she is doing just fine. I think her closing her eyes was because of shedding, but I’ll still mention her if I go to the vet. Which I’m thinking about making an appointment and getting him in this Friday.

 

[Mel90]

Alright, after doing a little research on this site I came to the conclusion that Malice has the signs of a respiratory infection. I'm getting him an appointment ASAP. I tried calling this afternoon but the vet was closed. But I still don't know why he closes his eyes. I may try changing the lighting setup in his cage and start using different bulbs, so hopefully that helps his eyes.

 

[Mel90]

Just an update.

I took Malice to the vet today and I got him some antibiotics for his respiratory infection so hopefully he gets better. And it turns out the stuff in his nose was skin after all, he just had a bad shed and it got backed up in his nose. The vet I had isn't one of my favorite people in the world, especially because she made him black beard, but that's beside the point. He was a happy boy to be home, he plopped on my seat belt close to home