Watery Eyes, A Bit Swollen

[LucisAbsentia]

hey guys! Been a while since I've needed some help, but I'm hoping someone can give me some insight here. Recently I've noticed that Gabriel's eyes have the tendency to swell up a bit. They do not remain this way, they do return to normal "flat" look, but I also can't tell you what triggers them to swell and then de-swell. Also, when he eats his eyes get clear, watery discharge. This is only triggered by eating as far as I can tell. The discharge does not crust up.

Can anyone help? In case you are thinking dietary concern, as I know sometimes those have some of these symptoms: Gabe is about 2.5 years old, and eats crickets several times a week and has a fresh salad every day, of which I believe he eats a decent amount of, although he's been in brumation so he's been eating less recently. His staple is collard greens as they are his favorite, but I also sometimes switch to mustard or turnip greens, and I add in various other treats (I use the nutrition chart from Beautiful Dragons to judge what I am giving him).

The first three pictures are him right after eating. The last two are recent pics showing what that his eyes deswell back to that state.

 

[CooperDragon]

How long has he been doing this? Since they go back to normal that's a good sign. He is likely bulging his eyes to loosen skin for shedding around his eyes. This should be temporary and return to normal within a few minutes and the behavior should stop after a shed is done (this can sometimes take weeks with an adult). If you see this continue past a shed or if he doesn't bring them back to normal then I would suggest a vet visit and possibly blood work. As it is though it sounds like normal shedding behavior.

 

[EllenD]

I was going to ask if he's shedding, if so then that's likely the cause, as Cooper said, especially if they are going back to normal like that fairly quickly. They do that purposely to loosen the skin.

If he finishes the shed on his head/face and his eyes keep doing this, then he definitely needs a routine blood panel done because if this is continuous for no reason, usually it's a sign of either an infection or a kidney problem. But it does sound like it's just due to a shed coming.

 

[LucisAbsentia]

Thanks, guys!

It's been a few weeks, I believe. It could be shed, he has been slowly shedding various parts of his body recently and I don't think I've seen his head shed with it yet.

I'll keep an eye on it and if it doesn't appear to be getting better within the next month, I'll take him to the vet and ask to have some bloodwork done.