Sudden Blindness

[Nic&Bubba]

I have a rescue beardy. Bubba.
He began having puffing and swelling around the eyes a few months ago.
After some research I changed from the coil style bulb which we used for nearly a year.
I'm worried I've caused his sudden blindness.
I'm fairly certain his nutrients should be right however may have been a little heavy on the kale.

I have changed out the coil style uvb because I noticed he was completely missing his worms and even fell off his perch.
I confirmed today that he has no response to stimulus near his eyes. He Can't see his food At all. I removed all of his perches that he could fall from.
I've also noticed he hasn't shed in Over a year
He is about 10. I read that they shed less once fully grown.
I give him a bath 3-4 times a week. He seems to enjoy it. Humidity says 30% in his enclosure.
The lack of vision seems to have been progressive.
I feel awful about the bulbs.
Is there any chance his eyes will heal ?

 

[xp29]

I can't answer your question, but im very sorry to hear your boy is blind. Hopefully it's not permanent.

 

[Nic&Bubba]

I've been researching to exhaustion. .I'm fairly certain it was the coil bulbs. They should be taken off the market. .I thought he was bulging his eyes to prepare to shed. .

Here I thought I was improving his life.
And in some ways I did.
I'm so upset about his loss of vision.
He fell right off of his ledge and can't see his food at all. It's so sad.
I hope his eyes can heal.

 

[xp29]

I was raising 7 kinds of hell in a reptile store earlier today because the kid was pushing a lady into coil bulbs. I agree i wish they would ban them.
If he stops eating (which i suspect will be the case) you can syringe feed him. It may take a little to get him to warm upto it though. Puree his food and drop a little on his snout, if he won't start lapping it, then gently pull down his bottom lip and squirt just a little on the outside of his gums so he can taste it. He should start lapping at his nose. Be really careful and don't force it into his mouth, that could aspirate him.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh I hate to hear about your dragon. I agree, those lights have been causing issues for a long
time & I have wished as well, that they would be removed from the market.
How long has he had trouble seeing, just recently?
At the moment, there isn't a whole lot you can do other than try to keep him eating, etc, & make
sure the basking light is nice & bright. Which UVB light did you get for him?
You can get some chamomile tea bags & nightly, use 1 termed & moistened on each
eye making sure it isn't too warm. You can put a towel over the eyes too for holding in some of
the heat & moisture in. You can do this treatment daily, for a 5-10 minute, before his bedtime. Are
his eyes inflamed or infected at all?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[Nic&Bubba]

Feeling more hopeful and less blame this morning.
When he seemed to be uncomfortable I did find people saying the coil style fluorescent were harmful so we're on day 4 with the all in 1 plus a regular bulb to add more heat.also I'm in AZ very similar climate to Australia so we get outside quite often for the real deal.
This morning he went after his food. With several misses but when his worms were up on his rock instead of below him in a dish he seems to see them or at least have an awareness of their location.

Are there any lawsuits orbiter business bureau complaints about the lights?
The packaging even had a beardy right on it!

I know this may have been somewhat progressive since previous owner and that I'm dealing with an senior beardy.
But I still feel so frustrated seeing all the many you tube videos of people trying to feed blind dragons.

 

[xp29]

I would continue to take him out in the real sun. At the end of the day there isn't any better source of uvb. Watch him closely though if he can't tell where to go to get into the shade he could over heat very quickly.
If he seems like he can hone in on his worms i would call that a good sign. Hopefully You can turn this around for him. Have you tried a bigger worm? Hornworms and Silkworms are good options, they are much larger and soft bodied. Beardies love them and the size may make it easier for him to catch them.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

It is definitely NOT your fault at all. I totally am with you on the desire of wanting to file some
type of complaint regarding the lighting. I am not sure if there is anything that can be done but
it is worth looking into. The problem is that there really aren't any regulations on reptile lighting,
that I am aware of. However, the one thing you can do is purchase a Solar meter to measure the
UVB u/W to be sure it is safe, etc.
For now, I would cease using any UVB lights in his tank for a week or two so his eyes can start to
heal up. Just use a basking light for now & you can take him outside instead for full sunshine to
help him out.
How is he doing today?
That is promising it seemed like he could possibly see a little bit, to get some food. I hope that he
starts to make a full recovery soon.

Tracie