My Beardie won't open his eyes & more

[BeardiesFTW96]

He is about 3 years old and some change. He has calcium sand and a strong light. Starting a month or so ago he has been less active, is difficult to feed, and now he won't open his eyes. I've been trying to feed him but its hard to get him to open his mouth. Warm water kind of helps with that though. To make things worse his thermometer broke and he is a little small for an adult mass-wise. He moves sometimes, moves when he's poked, breathes, sleeps too much (often in weird positions), and that's it. It's genuinely concerning me now. There is something wrong. His eye might be a little swollen too. He'll wake up but he won't open his eyes and so he can't see the food.I tried replacing his grassy carpet thing with calcium sand but it isn't helping. He doesn't look to well. I NEED TO HELP HIM ASAP. Maybe you guys know what it is but I don't know much about reptile health. I don't know of any Herp vets so please if anyone here can help.

 

[AllanonsWrath]

Alright, we need to know a little more about your set up in order to help you. The calcium sand is not recommended as a substrate here. I would recommend newspaper or paper towels for now.

What type of UVB are you using? Coil or Tube? Brand? How old is it?
What are the temperatures in the enclosure?
What is his normal diet?

The more information you can give the better.

 

[bltkpo]

Another thing to consider, is how long have you had him? Has he ever tried to brumate (hibernate) before?

Even though it is possible there could be a bad underlying problem, perhaps he is simply trying to sleep?

Of course, answer the other questions, in case something is missed.. but at this time, and that age.. Beardies typically become lethargic/sleep for long periods of time. Sometimes for months, without waking. Be sure to read the brumation article for more info on that topic. It's always best to have a vet check him out before/if he is brumating, including a fecal test.

If he is awake, but not opening his eyes.. then I would say something else could potentially be wrong.

Good luck! Be sure to keep us posted!

 

[PumpkinJelly]

If you could answer these questions (like another poster asked) that would let us help you a little better!

Do you use a UVB light?
If so, what brand?
Is it a tube or a compact/coil?
Is it fixed inside of the tank, or is there a screen/glass in between your Beardie & the light?
What are your temps?
What are you using to measure your temps? (Stick on type, gauges, probe, digital, temp gun, etc).
Substrate? (I read calcium sand and carpet, I kind of got confused)

Is it possible that he could've gotten calcium sand in his eyes? Calcium sand, and sands in general for that matter, aren't the most reccomended substrates. If you still have the calcium sand in there, I suggest you take it out asap and replace it with newspaper or paper towels (if you have the reptile carpet in there, that's fine). Is he pooping regularly? When is the last time he ate?

We're all here to help!

 

[BeardiesFTW96]

If you could answer these questions (like another poster asked) that would let us help you a little better!

Do you use a UVB light?
If so, what brand?
Is it a tube or a compact/coil?
Is it fixed inside of the tank, or is there a screen/glass in between your Beardie & the light?
What are your temps?
What are you using to measure your temps? (Stick on type, gauges, probe, digital, temp gun, etc).
Substrate? (I read calcium sand and carpet, I kind of got confused)

Is it possible that he could've gotten calcium sand in his eyes? Calcium sand, and sands in general for that matter, aren't the most reccomended substrates. If you still have the calcium sand in there, I suggest you take it out asap and replace it with newspaper or paper towels (if you have the reptile carpet in there, that's fine). Is he pooping regularly? When is the last time he ate?

We're all here to help!

I know its been awhile: He isn't pooping. Last time he ate was when I made him sucessfully (via warm water) eat some lettuce (not iceberg). It probably is possible he got sand in his eyes. He is still sleeping in the same position, for days sometimes. I'm getting worried, I'm not sure if I can just wait it out at this point. I don't think it's just brumation. The bulb is a normal lamp, not inside or fixed or anything. Also I keep him in a smallish terrarium (like 30 in or so) so he has always been a little smaller than normal (I know it effects what size they become). he feels soft in the underbelly, not sure if that means anything. He drinks, still can't eat.

 

[ShannyBeard]

What kind of lights do you have? Specifically, what is the type (linear tube or compact/coil) and what is the brand of the UVB? And does he have a separate bright bulb for basking?

Bearded dragons have been known to have eye trouble including closing of the eyes with the compact/coil UVB, so that is why people are asking about the UVB!

 

[louby13]

hi my beardie had a repiti glo and wouldnt open his eyes he died and we got yoshi and he was doing the same thing we changed it to a repti sun and it was like flicking a switch straight away he was better xx

 

[shygurl0189]

if your using a compact coil for the UVB (the ones that look like energy saving bulbs.) you will need to switch over to the florecent tube UVB lighting ( i use repti sun 10.0) When my Casanova was younger I was using the compact coil because the florecent fixture costed more. But then after a month or two he stopped eating wouldnt open his eyes and when he did he kept running into the sides of his tank. With the help of this forum I was told it was because of his lighting. switched to the correct lighting and seriously after the first week he was already making great improvement, 2 weeks and he was back to normal. Those compact coils arnt good at all. they can cause blindness, lithargy (sp) and other really bad symptoms. ill try to find the post that they gave me. its very useful.

please let us know how hes doing.