Eyes shut from bad UVB?

[Janelle]

Hello! I've only had my baby for just over a week. His temps are all good, 75 watt basking bulb, over 100* on basking spot, paper towel substrate. I had gotten him a brand new Reptisun 10.0 t5 ho, in a hood, on top of the screen, about 12" above the basking spot. He started keeping one or both eyes shut all day long, not eating well, not active. I saw somebody else comment on the same issue, and Germ said it may be a bad UVB tube. I tried turning mine off for the last 1.5 days, and he perked up, eyes open all day, eating better, and more active. I tried turning it back on tonight, and within 5-10 minutes, he was closing his eyes again.

So I'm guessing I'm a lucky one who happened to get a bad tube? If I order another one on prime, it won't get here until Wednesday. Will he be ok going that many more days without UVB? I have the 5.0 bulb that came with the hood. Should I bother hanging it inside his cage while I wait? What if he squints with the new bulb, too? What do I do then?

Oh, and I'm estimating his age at 2 months.

Thanks!

 

[PatsyB]

I've never heard of eye problems from a tube style bulb. Usually it's the coil bulbs that cause the most problems. I guess it is possible though to have a bad bulb.

 

[Janelle]

He has since perked up, and I tried the current bulb again. He’s eating more each day, and he’s keeping his eyes open and alert. I’m going to assume it was relocation stress for him combined with new mom stress for me. I did order a second bulb already, so I’ll just keep it on hand for when it’s time to switch them out. Thank you!