Eye issue

[Megantron]

My little guy has had his eye closed for a couple weeks now. We got him a couple weeks ago and the pet store didn't tell us ( and I'm blaming myself also for not researching before we got him ) that we needed a bulb that put off UVB ( we're retarded, I know.. no one feels worse about this than I do ). So tomorrow we're getting the bulb in the mail and that'll be all good. OKAY.. that asideee... His eye has been shut for about a week and a half.

Substrate: Reptile liner.. the green stuff.. kinda like turf.
Feed: A few crickets a day.. He always has meal worms avaliable and I've been offering some greens everyday although he rarely eats it. I also got some veggie baby food to try and he seems to like it.
Light: Read above and we're using a daylight blue reptile bulb by ZooMed-100watt.
Temps: We're getting a temp gun soon but our circle therm's say 95-100 in basking side.
Water: He has a dish avaliable although I know he never drinks out of it. I give him 1-2 warm baths a day and offer him drips off the tip of my finger which is a 50/50 shot on whether or not he drinks.
Poo: He poo's one a day.
Vitamins: I have a calcium supp powder that I dust the crickets and meal worms with. BUT.. without having UV light is he not digesting and absorbing that properly?

Anyhoot.. I have taken a close look at his eye and nothing seems to be in it. Just over that last couple day I've noticed a small amount of discharge.. not sure if it's puss or not. I know there is a basking light that damaged eyes thatr I've read about in several places. The FIRST basking light we had was a ZooMed 50w 120v. I didn't know if that was the wrong one so I went ahead and got the daylight blue one. I was just scared I burned up his little eyes.

What can I do beside wait for the light tomorrow and cross my fingers that his eye gets better?

 

[LJean]

How old is he?

I don't think it is the basking bulbs causing eye problems. It is the UVB bulbs (compact, coil or Reptiglo 10 bulbs)

Firstly, don't beat yourself up over the uv light. You have one coming now. Can you tell us which one though? Some have caused problems, and we don't want you to start off with one of those.

Secondly, some bearded dragons suffer from relocation stress. It can last up to a few weeks until they feel secure in their new homes. They may hide more and eat less during this time. My newest dragon took longer than two weeks to get used to us.

Thirdly, Circle therms may be off, as I am sure you know by now. Are you taking the temps at the basking spot itself, or the air temps? Does he have a cool side temp?

As for getting them to drink, it does take some time to find which works best for your beardie. Dripping the water and baby food on his nose is a good idea to help hydrate, as is a bath a day.

If you have a baby beardie, meal worms are not a good idea. Even for adults they are generally used as treats instead of feeders. They are more "shell" than meat.

I hope these things help you.

 

[Megantron]

Thanks for your quick reply

The light that's coming tomorrow is the ReptiSun 10.0 Linear Fluorescent UVB lamp - 18" and the thing it goes in.

Thanks for the advice on meal worms.. I figured they were okay because he was passing them everyday with no prob. But I'm gonna order some pheonix worms.

And yes.. his therm is in his basking spot. And I'm not sure what the cool side temp is.. but he never goes over there anyways. He is pretty much lazy and stays on his basking log all day..

I'm gonna get him to the vet though.. his eye is getting goopier as we speak and something's just not right. But we shall see

Thanks for your help!

Megan