new baby beardie keeping eyes closed

[furbyteeth]

new bearded dragon owner here! i got my bearded dragon a couple days ago, maybe a week at most, and have of course been stressing to give them the best possible treatment. i've spent hours scrolling through the internet and this forum to answer all my questions regarding how to care for them, but something i can't find any information on is why my beardie constantly has their eyes closed. i've seen a couple of websites saying that they might be ill/dehydrated, which is absolutely terrifying to a new caretaker, but they don't seem to be showing any other signs of something being wrong. they do open their eyes occasionally when i talk, or when they want to walk around and switch basking spots, so i'm thinking this might just be something to do with relocation stress. any help would be greatly appreciated, and if you have any other advice for me i'd be happy to hear it. thanks.

 

[CooperDragon]

There can be a lot of different causes (not all of them bad). It could be due to irritation from lighting, something causing eye irritation like a piece of shedding skin stuck there, it could be just relaxation - especially if the eyes are closing while basking. If you would like to provide info on your setup we can check it to make sure everything is just right. Photos of your dragon and setup would also be helpful. You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.

 

[furbyteeth]

sorry for the semi late reply, currently i have a 20 gallon tank that came with a zoo med kit (terrible decision, i know. i want to purchase a bigger enclosure soon), and i've been using the dome lamps included with a reptisun 10.0 UVB light and an exoterra 100W basking spot light after finding that the 75W didn't provide enough heat. making sure the tank has enough heat is still an issue for me, though. i've heard dome lamps aren't very good too, and while i was wondering if what's going on with their eyes is because of insufficient lighting, this behaviour continues even outside of the tank. here's a few pictures of my setup

i'm not very proud of it and, again, i've been hoping to purchase a bigger enclosure very soon with better conditions, but for now this is all i can muster. however i'm much more worried about their condition, as today they suddenly became much more lethargic, with them only really moving when i had picked them up to examine them closely. this was not the case a day ago. they also haven't eaten anything but a worm or two from a blend of food, which i don't see as weird as everything else since they're still adjusting. here's pictures of them from only a few minutes ago, if you need them

i apologise for bombarding you with all this information, i've been stressing over how to care for a beardie since i got them, and i actually have many more questions that i think i'll save for another time. i appreciate all the help!

 

[KarrieRee]

He looks really dehydrated to me please get him into a nice warm bath for a soak-- 10-15 minutes --- or syringe feed him some water -- very slow so he does not aspirate-- he needs food --- he looks weak - do you have any baby food in the house? You can syringe feed him some squash organic or blend some fresh veggies in a blender collard greens mustard greens turnip greens w/ some insects in it like crickets but you wont be able to use that blender after the insect go into it ---- you can also get some baby food chicken as well for protein and mix them --- together w/ the squash -- cut the end of the syringe off the tip so it does not get plugged and feed slowly and small amounts like 1 ml at a time -- and 3 times a day --- then you need to change out your UVB I know you said you have a 20 gallon tank so the fixture you need to buy is going to be too big for the 20 gallon tank but at this point we need to work w/ it --- I recommend getting a 24" fixture w/ a reflector Reptisun 10.0 T 8 for now place on top of the tank w/ no screen have him be able to sit directly under it the top of tank should be about 8 inches w/ a piece of decor --- but you need to do this ASAP- it would need to go width wise across the tank not length -- basking temsps should be 105-110 for him taken w/ a digital probe thermometer -the stick ons are not accurate - get that at petco or petsmart for $5
Karrie

 

[furbyteeth]

thank you so much for the help, your insight was really important. i helped them hydrate a bit to provide them some relief while i try to run them a small bath, and they already seem just a little more better. i'll be going out today to buy some things for them and see if they sell what you suggested anywhere near me. as for feeding, i'll definitely try that, and if it all works out i'll keep you posted. again, thank you so, so much for the help, i felt awful knowing i wasn't doing something right

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree he doesn't look healthy for some reason. Hydration is a very good place to start. It's possible that something has been wrong from the start but its hard to say one way or the other. Getting a higher quality UVB light is a good place to start and where I advise folks to invest most of their budget. Which wattage of UVB bulb do you have now? Is it the 13w or the 25/26w? It could be that the UVB output is not sufficient so as mentioned getting a good UVB light is a good idea.

For a 20g tank a T8 is usually good enough if it has a reflector built into the fixture. What you might want to do is get a 24'' T5 fixture now though. They come with a 5.0 bulb which is good for a smaller enclosure. That way when you get a larger enclosure you can upgrade just the bulb to a 10.0 (which is much cheaper than bulb & fixture).

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-26053-Reptisun-Terrarium/dp/B00AQU8F2O

 

[KarrieRee]

How is your dragon doing?
Karrie

 

[furbyteeth]

unfortunately, they have passed when i had initially chosen them, i failed to notice that they were malnourished and had a disease from the very beginning. they were from a pet store, so i'm not surprised, but i still feel bad. thank you again for your help though, i'll be sure to avoid shopping over adopting in the future

edit: the expert i talked to about them never specified the illness, but assumed it was some kind of fungus(?) from the conditions they were held in before

 

[KarrieRee]

That is terrible --- I am so sorry ---
Karrie