EYE CONCERN

[BrandonMickey]

Hey , first time posting on this website
I just bought my first bearded dragon and recently noticed that one eye is swollen and purple compared to the other , was wondering if this is a concern , or normal as I noticed his arms are starting to shed . Should I take her to a vet ? Or just wait and see what happens

 

[Chris.]

Hello Brandon,
this would actually concern me, the eyes don't usually swell when they are in shed. I'd go for a vet or maybe @Drache613 has some idea of how to treat this at home?

 

[KarrieRee]

Hey , first time posting on this website
I just bought my first bearded dragon and recently noticed that one eye is swollen and purple compared to the other , was wondering if this is a concern , or normal as I noticed his arms are starting to shed . Should I take her to a vet ? Or just wait and see what happens

Are you using any loose substrate? Sand ? What kind of basking bulb are you using? Please NO yellowish off white colored or Daytime bulbs - you want a solid clear bright white bulb - UVB? Please NO coils -- you can try and rinse his eye w/ some saline solution NO contact lens stuff - shedding can cause the eyes to bulge to get the skin loosened -- but we need to rule the other things out first --- those will all cause eye irritation and can cause the issue your getting

 

[BrandonMickey]

Are you using any loose substrate? Sand ? What kind of basking bulb are you using? Please NO yellowish off white colored or Daytime bulbs - you want a solid clear bright white bulb - UVB? Please NO coils -- you can try and rinse his eye w/ some saline solution NO contact lens stuff - shedding can cause the eyes to bulge to get the skin loosened -- but we need to rule the other things out first --- those will all cause eye irritation and can cause the issue your getting

Hey

Sand substrate
Just a Ceramic heating piece and t5 UVB tube

Another quick question , does she look healthy in general other than the eye ?

 

[KarrieRee]

Hey

Sand substrate
Just a Ceramic heating piece and t5 UVB tube

Another quick question , does she look healthy in general other than the eye ?

Please get rid of the sand that is more than likely the culprit -- you can use some textured NON adhesive shelf liner cut to the size of the tank found at Walmart or your local home improvement store - clean w/ 50/50 mixture of vinegar/ water - sand is not good for babies as they lick everything and sloppy eaters - sand can cause impaction so we always suggest something else when babies - you need a solid clear bright white basking bulb -- surface basking temps should be 105-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer --- cool side of the tank around 80ish- the UVB's placement is where? top of screen or inside the tank ?

 

[Chris.]

Hey

Sand substrate
Just a Ceramic heating piece and t5 UVB tube

Another quick question , does she look healthy in general other than the eye ?

You should get rid of the ceramic heater. Those animals life in a dessert, they are designed for lots of light and need heat from above.

Hard to say from those pics. Look at the fat pads at the back of the head, they should not be sunken and the hip bones should not be visible.
Get a weight on her weekly, if she eats well and gains weight, those are good indicators for health.

 

[BrandonMickey]

Please get rid of the sand that is more than likely the culprit -- you can use some textured NON adhesive shelf liner cut to the size of the tank found at Walmart or your local home improvement store - clean w/ 50/50 mixture of vinegar/ water - sand is not good for babies as they lick everything and sloppy eaters - sand can cause impaction so we always suggest something else when babies - you need a solid clear bright white basking bulb -- surface basking temps should be 105-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer --- cool side of the tank around 80ish- the UVB's placement is where? top of screen or inside the tank ?

Please get rid of the sand that is more than likely the culprit -- you can use some textured NON adhesive shelf liner cut to the size of the tank found at Walmart or your local home improvement store - clean w/ 50/50 mixture of vinegar/ water - sand is not good for babies as they lick everything and sloppy eaters - sand can cause impaction so we always suggest something else when babies - you need a solid clear bright white basking bulb -- surface basking temps should be 105-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer --- cool side of the tank around 80ish- the UVB's placement is where? top of screen or inside the tank ?

Basking temp is at around 40 degrees Celsius give or take

UVB tube is inside of tank , front side facing the back

 

[BrandonMickey]

You should get rid of the ceramic heater. Those animals life in a dessert, they are designed for lots of light and need heat from above.

Hard to say from those pics. Look at the fat pads at the back of the head, they should not be sunken and the hip bones should not be visible.
Get a weight on her weekly, if she eats well and gains weight, those are good indicators for health.

I think I’ll be taking her to the reptile vet tomorrow, hopefully can get some final answers to everything , I posted it on some Facebook groups and heaps of people were saying she looked sick and was on the verge of metabolic bone disease ?

Obviously as a first time owner not sure what to believe so fingers crossed it’s just an eye issue and nothing more , the breeder that sold it to me said there’s a warranty included but I like the dragon I have now and she seems to be quite calm around me also

 

[Chris.]

I think I’ll be taking her to the reptile vet tomorrow, hopefully can get some final answers to everything , I posted it on some Facebook groups and heaps of people were saying she looked sick and was on the verge of metabolic bone disease ?

Obviously as a first time owner not sure what to believe so fingers crossed it’s just an eye issue and nothing more , the breeder that sold it to me said there’s a warranty included but I like the dragon I have now and she seems to be quite calm around me also

From the pictures it is hard to say because of the look of the eyes alone. She doesn't look very alert due to this.

A vet checkup is always good for a new dragon and a new owner.

If the uvb tube is facing front to back it is probably not long enough. If you use a tube, you want it to span 3/4 of the tanks lenght. It should also overlap the basking bulb (as mentioned, you need one of those).

How old is she? 40°C is good for the basking spot but you want it from a light source.

Can you grab a pic of the dragon from straight above? And a picture of the tank?
Don't worry, we'll help you figure it all out.

 

[BrandonMickey]

From the pictures it is hard to say because of the look of the eyes alone. She doesn't look very alert due to this.

A vet checkup is always good for a new dragon and a new owner.

If the uvb tube is facing front to back it is probably not long enough. If you use a tube, you want it to span 3/4 of the tanks lenght. It should also overlap the basking bulb (as mentioned, you need one of those).

How old is she? 40°C is good for the basking spot but you want it from a light source.

Can you grab a pic of the dragon from straight above? And a picture of the tank?
Don't worry, we'll help you figure it all out.

Sorry for bad quality photos , they’re just frames from videos I’ve taken since it’s 2am for me right now haha

Breeder said she was around 1 years not sure on the exact date .

No longer have the coil, swapped it for the tube today , if I was to get the basking light would I need to have the ceramic on at night still , or leave the tank cold for night time

 

[Chris.]

Ah okey, I see you are using the same foam background like I do mine both love to climb it, how does she like it?

She doesn't look very big for 1 years old but also not unhealthy in general. She looks cute with normal eyes and will sure thrive if you provide good for her.

So unless your room gets below 18°C you don't need heat at night. Personally I use the regular room heating in winter.

Sand is not generally a bad substrate but until the eyes clear up, it might be a good idea to use something solid or cover it up.

Not critical but in the ling run you might want to put some kind of hide in the back corner of the tank. She might regularly use it or she might never use it but she'll feel better if it's there.

At one year you would normally feed her twice a week with insects dusted in calcium powder but she looks fairly small, so you could do three times a week. Once a week ad some multivitiamin to the calcium dust.
Give her greens daily, no lettuce but something nutritious with more fiber like kale, romain lettuce, arugula and such.

The basking bulb is very important though. If the lighting is good, everything else is secondary.

...not sure if I forgot something. Feel free to ask anything

 

[BrandonMickey]

Ah okey, I see you are using the same foam background like I do mine both love to climb it, how does she like it?

She doesn't look very big for 1 years old but also not unhealthy in general. She looks cute with normal eyes and will sure thrive if you provide good for her.

So unless your room gets below 18°C you don't need heat at night. Personally I use the regular room heating in winter.

Sand is not generally a bad substrate but until the eyes clear up, it might be a good idea to use something solid or cover it up.

Not critical but in the ling run you might want to put some kind of hide in the back corner of the tank. She might regularly use it or she might never use it but she'll feel better if it's there.

At one year you would normally feed her twice a week with insects dusted in calcium powder but she looks fairly small, so you could do three times a week. Once a week ad some multivitiamin to the calcium dust.
Give her greens daily, no lettuce but something nutritious with more fiber like kale, romain lettuce, arugula and such.

The basking bulb is very important though. If the lighting is good, everything else is secondary.

...not sure if I forgot something. Feel free to ask anything

Haha she doesn’t really like the backdrop , sometimes I’ll set her on it but then she goes back to the ground

I’m definitely gonna cal and ask the breeder what the exact age is

She doesn’t really seem to be eating much and drinking anything from what I’m noticing ( bowl is staying the same ) until today she ate a piece of lettuce and 3 grasshoppers. Is this because she’s beumating , or just cold temp

Is brumating part of a biological clock also? Or do they just go into that state when they feel cold ?

Sorry if it sounds complicated, I’m just confused and not sure how to word it

I will definitely buy a basking light and see if anything changes

 

[KarrieRee]

I think I’ll be taking her to the reptile vet tomorrow, hopefully can get some final answers to everything , I posted it on some Facebook groups and heaps of people were saying she looked sick and was on the verge of metabolic bone disease ?

Obviously as a first time owner not sure what to believe so fingers crossed it’s just an eye issue and nothing more , the breeder that sold it to me said there’s a warranty included but I like the dragon I have now and she seems to be quite calm around me also

Please do not listen to people on FB-- you have come to a good forum here and very experienced people- we have a vet tech on this board so please I would hold off on the vet visit your going to stress her out more than she already is --- please get rid of the sand as posted earlier - the UVB is good but in time your going to want to lower it the decor pieces are ok for a baby but as they get older they might not work so good for her - distance should be about 12-15 inches directly above her - as far as lettuce is this ice berg lettuce? Not a good staple feeder - Romaine is good here is a website for nutrition Nutrition Content ignore the kale info its outdated
Good basking lights are Exo Terra Intense -- Flukers basking-- or Arcadia Halogen NO off white yellowish colored or Daytime bulbs please - you need 2 digital probe thermometers to get the temps -- she is a baby she needs calcium D3 5 x per week dusted on the insects lightly coated ONCE per feeding a vitamin w/ beta carotene 2 x per week dusted on the insects lightly coated ONCE per feeding-- your surface basking temps and UVB are crucial for the over all health of the dragon -- I just caught the year old age --- for her surface basking temps should be 95-100 F - and has she been under a long tube fixture UVB since she was a baby? To me she does not look a year old - her head looks really small for that age - the UVB is crucial at a babies stage of growth - it helps the dragon absorb / synthesize the calcium they are getting - she does not look like she had MBD those people telling you that are incorrect -- dragons do not brumate when they are babies - usually around a year old but their weight should be 300 grams or over also - if temps are not warm enough they will have issues digesting their food or they will not eat -- watch her poops it will tell you if shes dehydrated - urate should be formed moist and white -- poop dark moist and formed if the urate is dry and crusty like shes dehydrated - rinse the greens before feeding she will get moisture there along w/ gut loaded insects -- good staple feeders are dubia roaches -- BSFL -- silk worms -- or crickets -- night time temps should be 65-75 F ---- dragons need cool and dark at night --- what brand of UVB are you using? I just noticed the coil was switched out -- you might want to start giving the calcium D3 on the insects now - her age if a year should go to insects 2-3 times per week but to me she looks younger - I am going to have AHBD take a look at her and see what she thinks of age--
@AHBD

 

[Chris.]

Haha she doesn’t really like the backdrop , sometimes I’ll set her on it but then she goes back to the ground

I’m definitely gonna cal and ask the breeder what the exact age is

She doesn’t really seem to be eating much and drinking anything from what I’m noticing ( bowl is staying the same ) until today she ate a piece of lettuce and 3 grasshoppers. Is this because she’s beumating , or just cold temp

Is brumating part of a biological clock also? Or do they just go into that state when they feel cold ?

Sorry if it sounds complicated, I’m just confused and not sure how to word it

I will definitely buy a basking light and see if anything changes

Interesting, mine both spend very little time on the ground, they like elevated spots a lot more.

If you just switched out the coil, she might be low on appetite because of lack of uvb.
Or because of shedding.
Or because of the eyes.
Or because of stress in general.
Could be anything at this point really.

As mentioned, she looks to small to brumate but in general it can be triggert by both time of the year or your temps dropping to low for too long.

Also lack of visible light (low activity and low appetite).

As for drinking, if you use a water bowl, you can ditch it. Very few dragons will drink from standing water but they need very little additional water.
Personally I use an eyedropper to put some on their snout and they lick it up.

 

[BrandonMickey]

Only today I switched out the uvb coil for a tube and after that is when I saw her eat for the first time so maybe that’s a step in the right direction , will definitely load the grasshoppers before feeding them to her and try the eyedrop water method .

Do you think I should still take her to the vet for the eyes though? Or just wait abit longer and see what happens , hasn’t been a full week in my care yet so maybe the stress is adding to everything like you said earlier .

So from my understanding she’s not brumating if she’s younger then 1 years , but because of tr cold weather itself she will naturally just be more lethargic and less active

I believe the new light is ( 8000k sunlight ) 14-16% UVB from the company “getyourpetright”

I was just worried when I got heaps of comments on Facebook , everyone seemed to know the most and ssy she looked very unhealthy unhappy and on the verge of disease