Bearded dragon eye problem, need help.

[Freebody]

I have this baby beardie with some eye problem, hes always keeps this one closed, and it dries up coats over as you see in the pics, any ideas what it could be? i took him to the vet the said they found some spiked like bacteria something, cant recall the name, i can ask her again, i started using ciloxan.03% eye drops, a few days didn't seem any better, now i got him on fumithalmic eye gel, i clean his eye a couple times a day as this happens in a few hours after putting the gel on, i think its drying on his eye making it look worse than it is, before i started using the eye drops and gel it dried up like this,but not near as bad, since it has gotten much less swollen looking around the eye when its all cleaned up or as swore looking, any ideas what it could be? im just worried the vet doesnt know exactly what to do, because im justworried for my beardie's eye, just incases right. 10 gallon tank, paper towel substrate,his cage temps are fine, high 80s ish, basking spot fine, little over 100d, went out and got him new 18" tube 10.0uvb zoo med bulb, instead of his other coiled uv bulb which i read are bad for eyes, so i changed it even know that uv buld was new as well, i use paper towel for substrate so i cant see it being something in his eye, and i try and flush it when i clean it, by now anything would have come out im sure, he eats collard greens,mustard green,roaches, calcuim vit d3 powder... basically everything is spot on in his care, Just posting to try and see if the treatment hes on is fine or any suggestions i run past my vet incase, you can see the in the pics, 2 of them are before i cleaned the eye, and the other 2 are after.

[Starbuck]

looks like he has a laceration on his left front leg as well?

hopefully your vet did a culture or was otherwise able to tell what type of bacteria was affecting the eye, in order to pick the correct antibiotic...
beyond that; i would continue with the treatment for at least 7 days total; and continue to take a picture every other day to document any changes. sometimes antibiotics can take some time before they actually seem to be working, especially in reptiles.

Im assuming your vet did a thorough exam, but is there any chance there could be something foreign trapped in the eye (some sand or substrate?) causing the inflammation?
sorry, i dont know any specifics about those particular drugs, cant help further.
Good luck.

[Cmwells90]

My opinion, trust your vet. It doesn't take a couple days/weeks/months or ever years to become a vet. It's something that takes a lot of time and dedication. I'm not saying every vet is great but I imagine they know a lot more than you or I. If you doubt their intelligence you can always get a second opinion just to be safe.

[smy_749]

You'd be suprised how much most vets dont know about reptiles.

[Terranaut]

Originally Posted by smy_749

You'd be suprised how much most vets dont know about reptiles.

I wouldn't. It seems to be an all or nothing deal. All reptiles or no reptiles.

[smy_749]

Originally Posted by Terranaut

I wouldn't. It seems to be an all or nothing deal. All reptiles or no reptiles.

Yea, haven't really thought about it like that but I guess your right. Something I've noticed is that reptile and exotics owners do in fact appreciate all animals (usually) and usually keep more than just reptiles, where as 'mammal lovers' tend to hate everything exotic. They are just posers! and unfortunately, I feel like most vets are mammal lovers.

[Starbuck]

in most vet schools; you will NEVER touch an exotic bird, reptile, or amphibian unless you specifically seek it out. many will never even have you do things with a chicken. You may get some briefly mentioned facts in lecture, but no hands on unless you build it into your program on purpose.

i hope the OP keeps us updated on their dragon!

[smy_749]

Originally Posted by Starbuck

in most vet schools; you will NEVER touch an exotic bird, reptile, or amphibian unless you specifically seek it out. many will never even have you do things with a chicken. You may get some briefly mentioned facts in lecture, but no hands on unless you build it into your program on purpose.

i hope the OP keeps us updated on their dragon!

The problem is since they become a vet, and someone comes to them asking for help with an exotic, they usually feel that its a better idea to make something up and act like they know, instead of just saying they never studied it lol

[Starbuck]

Originally Posted by smy_749

The problem is since they become a vet, and someone comes to them asking for help with an exotic, they usually feel that its a better idea to make something up and act like they know, instead of just saying they never studied it lol

Agree 100% :-(

[Freebody]

the vet does work with reptiles, but not often, looks like a cat and dog place to be honest, she was refered to me by another reptile specialist vet i used years ago, but she was on vacation when i called last week, so i came to this lady, this vet did not charge me for seeing him or the lab work to check the swab she took of the eye, which is great! she only charged me for the meds, and she has called 2 times this week to see how hes doing, her heart is in the right place, im just hoping shes worked with herps enough to clear this up asap is all, im just worried you know, it does look to be getting better, but im going to take a pic per day to compare, thats a good idea, as for the arm, he got bit by his tank mate during feeding the other day, they were side by side grabbing roaches and she grabbed one off his arm and cut him, if i see anything else, i will seperate them, but for now they get along great, never seen any aggression, clearly looks like she knows hes boss in the tank and he gets the best hot lamp spots and she moves when he comes by to eat which is a good communal sign, but anyways, i dont want to see accidental injuries so they will be seperated if another accident occurs, they go into a 30 gallon ish tank this weekend, just need to clean it out as it in the back yard atm. ill have to measure it to see what gallon it is, but i will be nice, I will keep everyone posted, As far as vets, ya they need to go on their own to learn about reptiles.

[Starbuck]

Originally Posted by Freebody

..as for the arm, he got bit by his tank mate during feeding the other day, they were side by side grabbing roaches and she grabbed one off his arm and cut him, if i see anything else, i will seperate them, but for now they get along great, never seen any aggression, clearly looks like she knows hes boss in the tank and he gets the best hot lamp spots and she moves when he comes by to eat which is a good communal sign, but anyways, i dont want to see accidental injuries so they will be seperated if another accident occurs, they go into a 30 gallon ish tank this weekend...

if for no other reason than biosecurity, i would separate your beardies ASAP. it would be terrible to have to treat your other one as well because it picked up the same infection. additionally, your other beardie could have CAUSED the injury if they got in a tussle for food/space etc.
I will say i've not kept bearded dragons, and dont know how well threy get on together (even as juveniles). Maybe someone with more experience could chime in?

it does seem like your vet has their head in the right place, and I'm glad to hear that they have called to check in. best of luck, keep us posted!

[Terranaut]

Omg. Yes please seperate them. Even though pet stores will put 10 together doesn't make it right. If they are both male they will fight and injure each other.

[Freebody]

they are male and female, they don't even show any signs of aggression, and yes I know, pet shops 9/10 have no clue what they are doing, when I was young my dad had a pair of beardies and we kept them together in a 100 gallon tank, never had a problem, and my good buddy had a pair for years and the same thing, to be honest I dot know of any one who had problems keeping a pair of beardies together other that keeping them apart as adults so the male don't breed her all the time, only heard/read of problem with the odd bad seed that don't play nice with others but ill cross that bridge when I get their, I will be putting them into a 44 gallon long tank today or tomorrow, most likely tomorrow as I got a kind in my neck 2 days ago so I can barrely move my head lol, freaking dangerous sleeping these days lol trust me, if I see even another scratch on him or her either accidental or deliberate they will be separated, ill just have to get another cage and another uvb bulb. as for separating them because his bad eye, that's a good idea, would hate to see her get it as well, although the eye problem does not seem to be spreading to his other eye, looks like I better get another bulb, will be nice to have another kicking around, here they are freaking deathly expensive, like $65 a bulb.

[smy_749]

Off topic, they make 44 gallon long tanks?

[Freebody]

yup, my neighbor gave usa 48x12x18" with their MBK, they gave my dad a few weeks back, snake went into my dads rack and the cage went to my beardies