Hi, everyone.
acwood04":f71a7 said:
I'll wait and see how she is tomorrow. Is this condition fatal for beardies? What exactly is going on with their eyes and the light? and what are the effects of it if left untreated?
I wrote a bit more about this in a reply to Figpucker the other day, but it was just before the threads merged so it may have got a bit buried beneath other posts. Here's the link:
viewtopic.php?f=45&t=121986&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&start=195#p976798
That post also gives a link to a very detailed description and loads of info about this type of eye problem, on UV Guide UK. Please take a look...
But to answer your concerns... No, it isn't fatal. Nor does it permanently blind the beardie. The UVB does not reach the internal parts of the eye, so the light-sensitive retina at the back of the eye is not damaged.
It is just very painful opening the eyes - like having sand in them - so they sit with their eyes shut tight. And so they can't see.
Sometimes the inside of the eyelids - the conjunctiva - are also damaged, because this soft skin is delicate. Like a mild burn. If this happens the eyelids swell, and I think this accounts for descriptions of "white" lower eyelids. (The lower eyelid is thin and very slightly translucent normally, too - so when closed you can sometimes see a dark shadow through it (sort of bluish) - what you are seeing is the pupil of the eye, through the lid. It's quite normal but it does look odd if you've never noticed it before.)
Unless other things happen, they will recover best with no treatment at all, once the too-short-wavelength and/or excessive UVB is removed. To be honest I don't think
bathing the eyes does much good unless there's a stickiness there which needs gentle removing, as MissT says. Firstly, you should use warm water that's been sterilised earlier, by boiling, and to which has been added one teaspoonful of table salt per pint, so that it is isotonic. Using ordinary water or anything else could introduce bacteria or irritate the eye worse. And second, nothing will get through closed eyelids.. and it would be very bad to try to force open his eyes or anything like that. So it's really just rinsing the outside of the eye. If the eyes are open, be very very careful not to touch the eye itself with whatever you use to
bathe the eyes. You could easily make things much worse. Personally I would leave well alone, and if the eyes look bad, take him to a vet and you'll be given a prescription ointment or drops, if it's thought necessary.
The other things that could happen (rarely) would be:
1. An infection (bacterial or fungal) invades the damaged area of cornea or the sensitive skin of the eyelids. You'd see a sticky or crusty discharge and swelling. An infected eye must be seen by a vet.
2. The beardie is so shocked and traumatised by the pain that he becomes unable to do anything, he crawls into a corner and becomes dehydrated and his whole body seems to shut down; if there is any other ongoing problem or weakness, they can die. I've only heard of a couple of cases of this in three years, though, thank goodness. They were either very small babies or very elderly dragons.
3. The beardie, because he sits motionless with his eyes closed, doesn't thermoregulate properly and is either overheated (sometimes by a well-meaning "mom" who plonks him under the heat lamp all the time) or gets too cold, hiding in a shelter. But fortunately, once the light is removed they often do open their eyes quite soon - enough to move around and thermoregulate again. The problem comes when the owners don't realise that it's the lamp that's causing the eye-closing. The longer the lamp stays on, the longer the little guy keeps his eyes firmly closed, and can't see to do anything, eat or drink.
If you have had a lamp causing this problem; I don't recommend putting it back on again but at a greater distance. If as I suspect, it's the wavelength of light that's the problem, rather than just "too much", then your beardie is still getting the wrong type of UVB - just less of it. Not a very good idea.
All the best
Frances