Why Is my beardie winking/closing one eye?

[addy dunk]

Hi! I am new to owning a beardie and just got mine yesterday! He is pretty young and seems to be getting used to his new home very quickly. I have been spending lots of time around his enclosure and have noticed that he keeps closing one eye, it’s not always the same eye, I am wondering if this is normal, and if so what does it mean?? I know it can have something to do with the lighting hurting their eyes, but i also know it can mean they are relaxed or other things! Someone please let me know so my mind can be at ease

 

[ChileanTaco]

Is the eye closed (almost) all the time, or only when you try to interact?
Closing an eye is a signal that somebody (human, animal) should stop doing something - like "put that away!"
My beardie did this for example when I showed him new kinds of insects when he was younger and he seemed to be afraid of them first. Also being touched and not wanting that is signaled in that way.

Which kinds of lights do you use?

Could you post a picture of your beardie, especially the head so we can see if his eye(s) look(s) normal?

 

[addy dunk]

Is the eye closed (almost) all the time, or only when you try to interact?
Closing an eye is a signal that somebody (human, animal) should stop doing something - like "put that away!"
My beardie did this for example when I showed him new kinds of insects when he was younger and he seemed to be afraid of them first. Also being touched and not wanting that is signaled in that way.

Which kinds of lights do you use?

Could you post a picture of your beardie, especially the head so we can see if his eye(s) look(s) normal?

Yes I will! It isn’t closed all the time, but sometimes when he is looking at me through his enclosure he will do this behavior or when i am looking at him. I havnt interacted with him a ton as i am trying to let him get used to his new tank. My uvb light is a coil light, could that be part of the problem? I know those aren’t the best but it is what came with the cage, and I will be upgrading his enclosure soon anyways since he is a baby and growing.

 

[addy dunk]

Yes I will! It isn’t closed all the time, but sometimes when he is looking at me through his enclosure he will do this behavior or when i am looking at him. I havnt interacted with him a ton as i am trying to let him get used to his new tank. My uvb light is a coil light, could that be part of the problem? I know those aren’t the best but it is what came with the cage, and I will be upgrading his enclosure soon anyways since he is a baby and growing.

Is the eye closed (almost) all the time, or only when you try to interact?
Closing an eye is a signal that somebody (human, animal) should stop doing something - like "put that away!"
My beardie did this for example when I showed him new kinds of insects when he was younger and he seemed to be afraid of them first. Also being touched and not wanting that is signaled in that way.

Which kinds of lights do you use?

Could you post a picture of your beardie, especially the head so we can see if his eye(s) look(s) normal?

 

[addy dunk]

Those are both of his right eye! One when it is opened and then one when he is winking, I couldn’t upload the picture of his left eye because the file was too big, however it looks identical to the right eye when opened.

 

[ChileanTaco]

The eye looks okay. The closed eye looks very much like the "put it away, go away, I'm annoyed" expression. To get your beardie more used to you I can recommend that you spend more time near his enclosure, but not directly looking at him or interacting. E.g.: sit nearby, and read something or use your electronic device, and that's it for the beginning. When my beardie was younger, he also wasn't fond of humans. He then was hiding when somebody entered the room.

The coil light is bad. You can already get the large UV tube and then put it at an angle (diagonally) on top of the enclosure - so you don't have to buy first a short and then a long one.

 

[addy dunk]

The eye looks okay. The closed eye looks very much like the "put it away, go away, I'm annoyed" expression. To get your beardie more used to you I can recommend that you spend more time near his enclosure, but not directly looking at him or interacting. E.g.: sit nearby, and read something or use your electronic device, and that's it for the beginning. When my beardie was younger, he also wasn't fond of humans. He then was hiding when somebody entered the room.

The coil light is bad. You can already get the large UV tube and then put it at an angle (diagonally) on top of the enclosure - so you don't have to buy first a short and then a long one.

Okay! And may I ask why the coil light is bad for them, just curious?

 

[ChileanTaco]

One thing is their spectra doesn't match their requirements (I also don't know the exact specifications, but it's not "they are to strong" or "too weak" but the exact spectrum, how much comes from which wavelengths).
The second thing is they are quite small and are not providing the UVB over a wider area.

Regarding upgrading the enclosure: I can recommend, if it is possible for you (cost, space) to upgrade to the "final" enclosure, lights... right away. I know, a large enclosure with a small dragon can look weird, but if it is possible to get it right away, in the end it saves money as you don't have to buy all the gradually larger enclosures and the hassle of either keeping them or selling them. (I have my dragon Taco in a 200 gallon enclosure from the beginning (got him as a baby) on, and this looked really weird in the beginning, but was absolutely a good decision.)

 

[xp29]

The coils are entirely inadequate. Especially for babies. Please replace it asap with a long tube uvb. Babies grow extremely fast, not having uvb, basking, and calcium/multivitamins on par can cause irreversible health problems.

 

[addy dunk]

One thing is their spectra doesn't match their requirements (I also don't know the exact specifications, but it's not "they are to strong" or "too weak" but the exact spectrum, how much comes from which wavelengths).
The second thing is they are quite small and are not providing the UVB over a wider area.

Regarding upgrading the enclosure: I can recommend, if it is possible for you (cost, space) to upgrade to the "final" enclosure, lights... right away. I know, a large enclosure with a small dragon can look weird, but if it is possible to get it right away, in the end it saves money as you don't have to buy all the gradually larger enclosures and the hassle of either keeping them or selling them. (I have my dragon Taco in a 200 gallon enclosure from the beginning (got him as a baby) on, and this looked really weird in the beginning, but was absolutely a good decision.)

Okay! I have definitely considered that, but as I have done my research and talked to many people, starting the babies off in a smaller cage will allow them to grow bigger in the long run, this is because they won’t waste as much energy running around their cage and chasing insects!

 

[ChileanTaco]

@xp29
Absolutely agree! The right conditions from the beginning on are essential.

Okay! I have definitely considered that, but as I have done my research and talked to many people, starting the babies off in a smaller cage will allow them to grow bigger in the long run, this is because they won’t waste as much energy running around their cage and chasing insects!

This is for sure not the case:
1. Why does a beardie need to get as large as possible? Might look impressive for us humans, but otherwise, not necessary. Of course a beardie should not be stunted in grow (as it could be from wrong light, wrong food - we see such dragons in the forum sometimes, especially rescues), but otherwise, as large as possible is not better. In general: Larger animals of the same species often have more health issues and don't live as long as slightly smaller ones do (unless, of course, the smaller size is a result of wrong conditions).
2. Most insects, usually, don't need to be chased. And even if (not bad if a dragon can do that!), a dragon who is a pet living in an enclosure will move ways less than a dragon would need to do so in the wild. Movement builds muscles - more muscles stabilize the joints, more muscles allow for more security in their movements. Movement is also improving bone growth. So exercise is not "wasting energy"
3. A large enclosure allows a dragon to use different temperature and light zones (the temperature gradient), to explore, to hide, and also to hide and at the same time observe (especially beneficial for a young dragon that still feels insecure). A larger enclosure also allows them to avoid walking through poop. My dragon just poops at a specific place in his enclosure, and then avoids that area - which he more likely could not do in a smaller enclosure. (Some dragons might even walk through poop in a large one with ample space, but the size of the enclosure just reduces the change. My dragon never ever walked though his poop, and also a benefit for me: I never had to wash/ bathe my dragon. Benefit for my dragon: less contact with poop reduces chances of infection, and a healthy dragon who doesn't have diarrhea or loss of appetite will grow better, thus having better chances reaching a reasonable size.)

So don't worry regarding getting a large enclosure right away
Your enclosure might not be too small right now, but a larger one also doesn't "hurt".

(My beardie is in a 200 gallon enclosure from the beginning on. He's now 13 month old, weight is 500 g, length I would have to check. If I would get another beardie, I would do so again for sure.
There are also other people in the forum who have a large enclosure from the beginning on and have not observed them not reaching a normal size.)