Closed Eyes

[nymarie88]

Hello,

I need some help! This is my first time having a reptile as a pet. I got him 12/22/20. I purchased a 40 gallon tank from PETCO that already head the equipment in it. For the past two day I noticed he is not eating much or moving around as much. I see his skin is shedding, I thought it was because he stays under the basking light all day. Yesterday he was able to open one eye lid but today he won't open neither of his eyes for me. Please help me or should I take him to the vet? His tank reads 105 degrees inside.

 

[Sadie]

Hello,

I need some help! This is my first time having a reptile as a pet. I got him 12/22/20. I purchased a 40 gallon tank from PETCO that already head the equipment in it. For the past two day I noticed he is not eating much or moving around as much. I see his skin is shedding, I thought it was because he stays under the basking light all day. Yesterday he was able to open one eye lid but today he won't open neither of his eyes for me. Please help me or should I take him to the vet? His tank reads 105 degrees inside.

Correct basking temps taken w/ a digital probe thermometer is a MUST --- NO stick ons they are inaccurate --- next UVB what are you using if its one of those "kits" they usually come w / a coil and they are NO good - inadequate especially in a 40 gallon tank ------ please go over this w/ me and we will go from there -- basking temps need to be 105-110 taken w/ the digital probe as mentioned

 

[HoomanSlave]

Hello,

I need some help! This is my first time having a reptile as a pet. I got him 12/22/20. I purchased a 40 gallon tank from PETCO that already head the equipment in it. For the past two day I noticed he is not eating much or moving around as much. I see his skin is shedding, I thought it was because he stays under the basking light all day. Yesterday he was able to open one eye lid but today he won't open neither of his eyes for me. Please help me or should I take him to the vet? His tank reads 105 degrees inside.

Congrats on getting a beardie!

The eye closing may be caused by an improper lighting setup. Sometimes a beardie may also close its eyes during shed.

1. Your beardie is in shed. Babies will shed pretty often. Don't pull at the shed, but you can gently scrub it with a soft-bristled toothbrush while giving him a bath.
2. Assuming you got the Exo Terra kit or a similar one, you'll need to do the following:

-Replace the stick-on thermometer with two digital probe thermometers
-Swap out the sand mat, reptile carpet, alfalfa, sand, etc. for paper towels.
-Replace the coil or spotlight UVB bulb with a Reptisun 10.0 or Arcadia 12% tube. You'll need to get a reflective fixture to put the bulb in. It's fine if you can't get these right away, but replacing the UVB bulb should be your top priority.
-Remove any colored or nighttime bulbs that the kit came with, they are not an effective heat source and disrupt sleep cycles. The light fixture(s) that came with the kit should be fine.

3. You should probably take him to the vet anyway, especially if he came from a pet store. The vet can check for parasites and ADV, weigh him, test his calcium levels, etc. If there was something wrong with him, the vet would be able to catch it before it can become a serious problem, which can save you a lot of stress in the future.

4. What are you feeding him, and how often? Are you dusting his food before you give it to him?

 

[nymarie88]

Correct basking temps taken w/ a digital probe thermometer is a MUST --- NO stick ons they are inaccurate --- next UVB what are you using if its one of those "kits" they usually come w / a coil and they are NO good - inadequate especially in a 40 gallon tank ------ please go over this w/ me and we will go from there -- basking temps need to be 105-110 taken w/ the digital probe as mentioned

Thank you so much,

This is what came in the kit:
To provide lighting this kit comes with a Combo Deep Dome Dual Lamp Fixture a ReptiSun 10.0 UVB Compact Fluorescent Bulb and a 100 watt Repti Basking Spot Lamp

 

[Sadie]

Thank you so much,

This is what came in the kit:
To provide lighting this kit comes with a Combo Deep Dome Dual Lamp Fixture a ReptiSun 10.0 UVB Compact Fluorescent Bulb and a 100 watt Repti Basking Spot Lamp

Please get rid of the coil UVB these cause lots of health issues eyes being one of them --- you need this for a UVB this place is my go to place but I think they are out of stock
https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood.html 24" they are out and this bulb
https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-t5.html 22" and they are out of stock as well
ok so I checked another site and they too are out of stock --- try Amazon but you need to get this ordered ASAP--- make sure your getting basking temps w/ a digital probe thermometer they need to be 105-110 --- place the probe on the place where he sits to bask wait 10 min then get the temp --- please let me know when you get the UVB I will help you get it placed --- they have certain placement and distance requirements --- do this right away please -- that UVB and basking temps are the most important things in that tank --- they control the behavior and overall health -- cant stress this enough

 

[nymarie88]

Please get rid of the coil UVB these cause lots of health issues eyes being one of them --- you need this for a UVB this place is my go to place but I think they are out of stock
https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood.html 24" they are out and this bulb
https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-uvb-t5.html 22" and they are out of stock as well
ok so I checked another site and they too are out of stock --- try Amazon but you need to get this ordered ASAP--- make sure your getting basking temps w/ a digital probe thermometer they need to be 105-110 --- place the probe on the place where he sits to bask wait 10 min then get the temp --- please let me know when you get the UVB I will help you get it placed --- they have certain placement and distance requirements --- do this right away please -- that UVB and basking temps are the most important things in that tank --- they control the behavior and overall health -- cant stress this enough

Thank you so much! I will be going to the pet store today to see if they have them.

 

[Sadie]

Thank you so much! I will be going to the pet store today to see if they have them.

Keep me posted so I can help you

 

[nymarie88]

Thank you so much! I will be going to the pet store today to see if they have them.