Po is our first beardie, whom we got about three months ago when she was a hatchling. She's well adjusted into her new environment and has more then DOUBLED in size since she arrived.
For the past few days I've noticed her winking, but only while she's basking on her favorite spot in her viv. It is usually only one eye, which she will close very slowly until something catches her attention and she will be fine. I am unsure what type of lamp we have (we purchased a 'beardie starter kit' with a light included) but I think that since she only winks while in the viv, the cause is the lamp.
There appears to be no swelling or tearing up in that eye, and she eats like a bottomless pit, as always. The only change in diet we've noticed is a bigger interest in greens. We dust her crickets and have started her on a liquid spray multi-vitamin today (Flucker's brand). Otherwise she's still the same-old curious girl!
We have also noticed, but are unsure of the relevance, that she has gotten lighter in color over the past few days. She did have a big shed on her back last week, so we think that might be the cause of the lightening.
My biggest suspicion to the cause of the winking is the mystery lamp, but I would love to consult more seasoned beardie parents have any words of wisdom.
Po is (we think) 4-5 months old. She is 11" long.
20 gallon glass tank with screen top
Repti-Carpet as a substrate
The temperature on the basking side is about 90-100 degrees
Humidity is a little high (between 40-50%). Coming into the summer months in New England concerns me about her health.
Type of lamp is unknown - it was bought in a 'starter' kit.
On average she is about 6-10 inches away from the basking lamp.
If you could post a pic of either the starter kit box (listing the contents) or the bulb itself, we'd be able to better determine whether you have a bad bulb or not.
She does have a Zilla Slimline light on as well as the basking lamp. I forgot to mention that one, as she only winks when directly under the basking lamp.
Oh my goodness! Please turn off and remove the slimline immediately! (if you haven't done so already)
When I first got Pookie, I didn't have any of the necessary setup items because he was an impulse buy. Well, in a desperate attempt to provide UV, I purchased the Zilla Slimline from a local petstore. At first things were ok because I still had the protective covering over the bulb, but then I read that the UV cannot penetrate the plastic so away it went. What a big mistake that was! Within just a few days, Pookie started to close his eyes and was no longer able to catch crickets that were right in front of him. He also stopped eating and moving around in his viv. Of course, I immediately got on the computer and did more research on the net and here, and came to find out that the slimline emitted too much UV and was burning my baby's eyes. After about a week of not having the slimline turned on, his eyes were opening more and he was able to see the crickets much farther than right in front of him.
So, instead of the basking light being the culprit of your baby's eye closing, it's the UV.
Given the recent manufacturing mishap with some of the megarays and MVBs (mercury vapor bulbs, sold under the brand name PowerSun 100w), the safest UV bulb to use is the ReptiSun 10.0. It is a tube-like bulb and ranges in sizes from 18 to 48 inches.