one watery, mucusy eye and a bit of lethargy

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hello!!

for the past week, my beardies been having issues with his right eye. he is not housed in any subtrate as i use a reptile carpet, so i dont think he has something foreign in his eye. i've very recently changed his uvb so i doubt it is anything relating to that. often it will appear watery, and ive had 3 instances of something like an eye booger around the rim of his eye. i've been consistently flushing his eye with saline solution and a bulb syringe (one drop a day) in hopes it may flush it out, but the eye issues still persist. he doesnt seem to have trouble opening it or seeing, but hes been starting to excessively close his right eye. i have access to a vet, but with the holidays being so close, i wont be able to get into a vet until a few days after. is there anything else i can try to help him right now?? his excessive closing of the eye has only started in the past day or so, so i'm starting to get concerned. ive checked for symptoms of disease and theres no jaundice, he is not impacted as he poops regularily once a week.

another issue ive faced is a sort of lethargy. going to rest at night in his cave, away from his light, and resting in the cave until noon where hes cold and not getting essential heat and uvb. he doesnt seem to want to eat as often as he used to, sometimes denying the greens and bugs i try to feed him, and when he does eat, it is not as energized as normal. he has no issue moving, infact, this past week hes been consistently let out of his tank and let to run around the house, to which is he is perfectly fine in doing so (no wobbling, slowness). i suspect brumation is finally creeping up on him, though it is a bit late for it to come about and im not very certain i want him to rest just yet with his current eye problem. if anything ive listed sounds abnormal or like a symptom related to the eye, please let me know!!

if anyone can help me with minor treatment or stimulation for him, that would be great. i brought this issue up in another forum a while ago and i got no other response for help other than to change the uvb of the tank.

thank you!!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
hello!!

for the past week, my beardies been having issues with his right eye. he is not housed in any subtrate as i use a reptile carpet, so i dont think he has something foreign in his eye. i've very recently changed his uvb so i doubt it is anything relating to that. often it will appear watery, and ive had 3 instances of something like an eye booger around the rim of his eye. i've been consistently flushing his eye with saline solution and a bulb syringe (one drop a day) in hopes it may flush it out, but the eye issues still persist. he doesnt seem to have trouble opening it or seeing, but hes been starting to excessively close his right eye. i have access to a vet, but with the holidays being so close, i wont be able to get into a vet until a few days after. is there anything else i can try to help him right now?? his excessive closing of the eye has only started in the past day or so, so i'm starting to get concerned. ive checked for symptoms of disease and theres no jaundice, he is not impacted as he poops regularily once a week.

another issue ive faced is a sort of lethargy. going to rest at night in his cave, away from his light, and resting in the cave until noon where hes cold and not getting essential heat and uvb. he doesnt seem to want to eat as often as he used to, sometimes denying the greens and bugs i try to feed him, and when he does eat, it is not as energized as normal. he has no issue moving, infact, this past week hes been consistently let out of his tank and let to run around the house, to which is he is perfectly fine in doing so (no wobbling, slowness). i suspect brumation is finally creeping up on him, though it is a bit late for it to come about and im not very certain i want him to rest just yet with his current eye problem. if anything ive listed sounds abnormal or like a symptom related to the eye, please let me know!!

if anyone can help me with minor treatment or stimulation for him, that would be great. i brought this issue up in another forum a while ago and i got no other response for help other than to change the uvb of the tank.

thank you!!
What kind of UVB are you using a coil or a tube? Most often its either the UVB bulb being used or a basking bulb--- NO colored bulbs NO daytime bulbs they have a coating on them called neoyidium that cause eye issues -- NO Infrared basking bulbs -- if your using a MVB what brand and wattage please --- basking bulbs need to be a CLEAR bright basking bulb that keeps temps to 95-100 for a adult / juvie and taken w/ a digital probe thermometer
 

manticorebug

Member
Original Poster
What kind of UVB are you using a coil or a tube? Most often its either the UVB bulb being used or a basking bulb--- NO colored bulbs NO daytime bulbs they have a coating on them called neoyidium that cause eye issues -- NO Infrared basking bulbs -- if your using a MVB what brand and wattage please --- basking bulbs need to be a CLEAR bright basking bulb that keeps temps to 95-100 for a adult / juvie and taken w/ a digital probe thermometer
i use a flukers sunspot (MVB) 160 watt that i change consistently every 3 months to keep up with uvb. his warm side of the tank raches upwards of 100 degrees so he is nice and warm. ive never had issues with the flukers sunspot MVB brand before, but if it seems to be causing issues, i can certainly pick up another MVB for him.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Please post a pic of the dragons eye --- is it shed ? Shed will cause issues w/ the eyes as well
 

manticorebug

Member
Original Poster
Please post a pic of the dragons eye --- is it shed ? Shed will cause issues w/ the eyes as well
IMG_2244.jpg

best pic i could snag. hes chilling out with me right now. he shed around his mouth recently, so i thought maybe he would shed his whole head, but it has not happened yet which is concerning. the eye doesnt bulge or sag very much, just looks very watery.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
i use a flukers sunspot (MVB) 160 watt that i change consistently every 3 months to keep up with uvb. his warm side of the tank raches upwards of 100 degrees so he is nice and warm. ive never had issues with the flukers sunspot MVB brand before, but if it seems to be causing issues, i can certainly pick up another MVB for him.
If your going to stay w/ the UVB please get a PowerSun or a MegaRay they seem to be the better ones on the market - alot of them will cause eye issues -- so on that note I also recommend you get another UVB in the tank most do not emit the proper UVB for the dragon so a back up and to make sure he is getting enough I would get either a Zoo Med 24" fixture for a 40 + gallon tank here are some links to some good UVB's
Zoo Med ReptiSun T5 HO Hood this will come w/a 5.0 bulb keep it for back up distance and placement is different from the one you need
22" Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO
or this one Arcadia ProT5 12% UVB Bulb With Hood or this one
SunBlaster NanoTech T5 HO - Fluorescent Fixture with 6400K Lamp 2 ft or 24" --
ok I see the shed under it but the constant watering tells me its the UVB / basking bulb --
depending on the screen on your tank will determine placement and distance for the UVB fixture --
but I would replace the Flukers MVB ---
 

manticorebug

Member
Original Poster
If your going to stay w/ the UVB please get a PowerSun or a MegaRay they seem to be the better ones on the market - alot of them will cause eye issues -- so on that note I also recommend you get another UVB in the tank most do not emit the proper UVB for the dragon so a back up and to make sure he is getting enough I would get either a Zoo Med 24" fixture for a 40 + gallon tank here are some links to some good UVB's
Zoo Med ReptiSun T5 HO Hood this will come w/a 5.0 bulb keep it for back up distance and placement is different from the one you need
22" Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO
or this one Arcadia ProT5 12% UVB Bulb With Hood or this one
SunBlaster NanoTech T5 HO - Fluorescent Fixture with 6400K Lamp 2 ft or 24" --
ok I see the shed under it but the constant watering tells me its the UVB / basking bulb --
depending on the screen on your tank will determine placement and distance for the UVB fixture --
but I would replace the Flukers MVB ---
ok!! sounds great. ill look into a new MVB and a UVB fixture and pick them up as soon as i can. if there is shed that you can see irritating him, would it be smart to continue the saline solution flushes? it was hard for me to tell if there was anything irritating him so thank you for that.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
oh, and as for the lethargy, does it seem normal? its concerning me but im sure its very normal. :)
Usually if its shed it would be right above the eye but I only see it underneath -- get the MVB changed out and go from there - the lethargy could be lack of uvb -- I am going to post some distances for those bulbs so you can have them when you change it out - in order to determine whether its the weather as they do get less active in the winter less eating some are in brumation now some are in semi brumation but we wont know for sure till the MVB is changed out and the extra UVB you get --- those type of things need to be ruled out for the behavior -- the PowerSun and the MegaRay need to be changed out every 6 months if your using them entirely for UVB but w/ the extra UVB I posted it wont need to be cuz you will have the long tube I posted and those are good for a year I recommend changing them out a month prior to --
This is info from CooperDragon and those bulbs - he uses them
The 100w should be at around 12'' above the main basking area for both models. Best not to have a mesh screen in between. If there is a mesh screen, then moving up to a higher wattage (160w I believe in both cases) and slightly raising the distance to maybe 14-16'' or so would be good. I don't have one of the higher wattage models to test though.
 

manticorebug

Member
Original Poster
Usually if its shed it would be right above the eye but I only see it underneath -- get the MVB changed out and go from there - the lethargy could be lack of uvb -- I am going to post some distances for those bulbs so you can have them when you change it out - in order to determine whether its the weather as they do get less active in the winter less eating some are in brumation now some are in semi brumation but we wont know for sure till the MVB is changed out and the extra UVB you get --- those type of things need to be ruled out for the behavior -- the PowerSun and the MegaRay need to be changed out every 6 months if your using them entirely for UVB but w/ the extra UVB I posted it wont need to be cuz you will have the long tube I posted and those are good for a year I recommend changing them out a month prior to --
This is info from CooperDragon and those bulbs - he uses them
The 100w should be at around 12'' above the main basking area for both models. Best not to have a mesh screen in between. If there is a mesh screen, then moving up to a higher wattage (160w I believe in both cases) and slightly raising the distance to maybe 14-16'' or so would be good. I don't have one of the higher wattage models to test though.
oh wow this is great info. im looking into a megaray 160 watt as we speak, and the uvb tube fixtures you sent are wonderful help! im hoping after the holidays ill be able to grab these things locally from a reptile supply shop in town and set them up in the same day, but if not i'll be getting them as soon as possible via mail. when all is set up ill monitor his conditions and tell you how it is going!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
oh wow this is great info. im looking into a megaray 160 watt as we speak, and the uvb tube fixtures you sent are wonderful help! im hoping after the holidays ill be able to grab these things locally from a reptile supply shop in town and set them up in the same day, but if not i'll be getting them as soon as possible via mail. when all is set up ill monitor his conditions and tell you how it is going!
Ok when you get the uvb let me know about your screen-- that is going to determine the placement and distance
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I completely agree, the Fluker's brand is "probably" not the best UVB source. My best guess would be that it may be emitting some
low wavelength frequency or it isn't quite bright enough & is causing eye irritation. Is the affected eye the one closest to or facing the
MVB light most of the times?
The lights mentioned by Karrie are all good, if you would like to stick with the MVB lights. The Exoterra Solar Glo is a nice bright light,
though low on the UVB output but is great combined with a long tube UVB light. The Powersun too, can be used in combination with
a tube bulb.
To help out the eye irritation right now, try getting some sterile saline solution, to flush out the eye. Also you could try some raw, unpasteurized
honey to help with infection. You would need to thin out the honey a little with some warm water & just use a few drops daily.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

manticorebug

Member
Original Poster
Hello,

I completely agree, the Fluker's brand is "probably" not the best UVB source. My best guess would be that it may be emitting some
low wavelength frequency or it isn't quite bright enough & is causing eye irritation. Is the affected eye the one closest to or facing the
MVB light most of the times?
The lights mentioned by Karrie are all good, if you would like to stick with the MVB lights. The Exoterra Solar Glo is a nice bright light,
though low on the UVB output but is great combined with a long tube UVB light. The Powersun too, can be used in combination with
a tube bulb.
To help out the eye irritation right now, try getting some sterile saline solution, to flush out the eye. Also you could try some raw, unpasteurized
honey to help with infection. You would need to thin out the honey a little with some warm water & just use a few drops daily.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
hello!

he basks pretty evenly, so i dont think his affected eye has been facing the MVB. thank you for the suggestions and tips on the MVB!! id love to stick with an MVB bulb, but i think now i will def pair it with a UVB strip for backup.

this morning i woke up to him with his one eye completely closed and very watery. he opened it eventually, and i was able to apply some saline solution to try and help him out. the eye looks less irritated than it has previously (no redness), but he is now excessively keeping it closed. he was popping his eyes a while ago, but i will be getting him to a vet as soon as i possibly can. he ate better for me today and seems happy, his eye is certainly healing, but i think this eye issue needs to be properly assessed.

thank you so much! and merry christmas :)
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
hello!

he basks pretty evenly, so i dont think his affected eye has been facing the MVB. thank you for the suggestions and tips on the MVB!! id love to stick with an MVB bulb, but i think now i will def pair it with a UVB strip for backup.

this morning i woke up to him with his one eye completely closed and very watery. he opened it eventually, and i was able to apply some saline solution to try and help him out. the eye looks less irritated than it has previously (no redness), but he is now excessively keeping it closed. he was popping his eyes a while ago, but i will be getting him to a vet as soon as i possibly can. he ate better for me today and seems happy, his eye is certainly healing, but i think this eye issue needs to be properly assessed.

thank you so much! and merry christmas :)
The pooping of the eyes out usually means shed coming on
 

manticorebug

Member
Original Poster
The pooping of the eyes out usually means shed coming on
i know, which makes me very happy! im hoping soon he'll be able to shed properly and this eye issue will be able to go away for good. right now he is out of his tank exploring in the living room around the christmas tree with both of his eyes open and looking fine :) will be keeping you posted
 
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