Problem with his eye?

[RaychelNicole.]

Over the past few days I've noticed one of my beardies, Baby, has been keeping one of his eyes mostly or all the way closed, although sometimes he will do it with both. I'm worried that he may have somehow scratched it or maybe gotten dust or something into it, but I can't see anything when he does open it/them. I've heard of using saline to flush out any particles that may be in the eye, but I'm not sure if there's a certain brand that will be best or if any regular saline will be ok. How do I make sure it gets in his eye if he won't open it?
It's really worrying me as I will walk in to check on the beardies and see him laying on the bottom of the enclosure with one or both of his eyes closed, when usually he's active and climbing in his tree basking. There are times when both eyes will be open and he's looking around.

Some background info:
He's almost three years old and I've had him since he was a baby
He's always been on paper towels, so there's no chance of sand having gotten in there
He has a self ballast (heat&light) 100 watt MegaRay that is 12 inches away from his tree and has only been used for a few weeks

Is it possible that even though he can't get within a foot of the light, it is still hurting his eyes? Both my other beardies have the same kind of light and are doing fine with it. I would think it was strange if it was the light since we were using external ballast (light only) MegaRays before we started using the ones that provide heat and there were never any problems with those.

 

[Dragoon]

Maybe Baby is tired. Do you have a light on for Baby during the night that could possibly be keeping him awake?

 

[RaychelNicole.]

No, I always make sure it is completely dark and silent in the lizard room and that the lights are off for about 12 hours every night.

 

[Dragoon]

Hmm... Okay.

Is your UVB bulb coiled?

Studies show coiled UVB lights can affect a beardie's eyesight severely.

 

[RaychelNicole.]

No, I'm using a new MegaRay MVB bulb. He has never had coiled UVB lights; before we started using MegaRay (about a year and a half ago) we always had ReptiSun 10.0 tubes.

 

[Dragoon]

Then, I really have no clue. Sorry...

 

[sjsexotics]

saline is perfectly fine to flush the eyes with it will not hurt them at all is there any watery discharge. there is the slight possibablity of an eye infection also is he in shed sometimes when there eyes are getting ready to shed they are irritated and they will close them more then normal

hope it helps a little

 

[RaychelNicole.]

Then, I really have no clue. Sorry...

That's ok, thanks for trying

is there any watery discharge

I haven't seen any kind of discharge and he isn't shedding by his eyes either. I hope it isn't an infection-I don't know how he would've gotten one.

 

[bigsidsmomma]

my 6 month old closes one eye sometimes too. it doesnt appear to be infected or watery or anything. when he is in the tub i try to flush it out. but i think its just something he does!

 

[diamc]

Have you read about the issues of the Megaray bulb and how they have changed it? If not, I suggest you read that, it's in the Enclosure forum.

Could you look at your bulb and see what the batch # is? That info is to the left of the ReptileUV logo and should be a letter and the #1. The bulbs having issues are J1, K1 and L1.

What is the wattage of the Megaray you're using? I know you said it is 12" from the tree, if you're using the 100 watt, the minimum distance has now been changed to 14 to 15" from your beardie rather than from the basking spot itself.

It sounds like he is avoiding the basking spot, is that true? If so, would be a good idea to remove the Megaray and replace with a standard household light bulb instead that will give you the correct temps.

Please check the batch # and contact Bob at www.reptileuv.com to let him know the issues you're having. He can help advise you and will do the right thing to get this straightened out.

 

[RaychelNicole.]

I didn't know there were any problems with the MegaRays; I'll go ahead and read that then.
The bulbs all say BJ next to the logo.
I am indeed using the 100 watt, so it sounds like it's too close.

He's not basking quite as often as normal, but he still does bask under it on his own. Should I try moving the light up four or five more inches and see if that helps any before switching out the bulb?

 

[diamc]

If you could take another look at the bulb, the batch # should have the #1 alongside it, could it be B1 perhaps or is it J1? That's extremely important to find out. Here's the link to the Megaray recall thread: viewtopic.php?f=34&t=121986

Yes, definitely raise the bulb or lower the basking spot so that it isn't any closer than 14 to 15 inches from your beardie when he is in the basking spot.

Are you using either an infrared temperature gun or a digital thermometer with a probe to get the temp readings?

 

[RaychelNicole.]

Hmmm. Maybe I'm looking at the wrong thing? I took a picture of what I was looking at so you can tell me if I'm reading it wrong/looking in the wrong place.

When I raise the bulb, I think the temps won't quite reach 105-110. I know it used to be ok to use a low watt heat bulb in conjuction with Megarays; is that still the case?

I use digital thermometers with probes on the basking spots and a temp gun for spot checks.

 

[diamc]

Hmmm, that's strange perhaps that's one of the new bulbs that was recoated. When did you purchase that bulb, do you remember?

Actually, I've noticed that adults prefer to have the temps 95 to about 102 but no higher and since yours is an adult, he may actually be more comfortable with those lower temps. The distance is actually more important than too low of temps but if you needed to, you could always use a low wattage household light bulb alongside it. What basking & cool side temps had you been getting the way you had the bulb before?

 

[RaychelNicole.]

We ordered the bulbs in March or April, but have only been using them for about two weeks due to moving.
He had a basking temp of 105 and the cool side was 80-82 degrees. He usually spends almost all his time in his tree, basking.