Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Have a beardie that is being treated for an eye infection since June 5th. Now she has stopped eating,and just seems to want to sleep. Her temp for basking is 95 degrees. She was having trouble eating because of the eye. Missing her aim of the cricket. Shes 4 1/2 months old and 8 1/2 inches long. worried I will lose her.

Best shot would be the vet.
However a very long time ago i had a beardie that just lost everything all of a sudden. It wasn't eating or nothing. Sat in the cold side of the tank. I went to the pet shop and told one of the guys my dragon was very sickly and inactive-he gave me this eye dropper vile and said to put a few drops into its mouth. I Put my dragon on my bed squeezed open its mouth and dropped a couple in. The thing shot across the mattress out onto the carpet where i chased him for a good five minutes. It was like some kind of steroid or something. I whish so much that i could remember the name because i know this stuff would work for your dragon. Even if u need to treat the eye it will still feed. Because that stuff woke my dragon out of what seemed like a half coma and he lived a full life after that. You gotta go to a pet shop and tell them your looking for the stuff im describing. It was years ago- it was in a little brown bottle-shaped vile with a black screw-on eye dropper. I'm very sorry i can't remember the name. See if your pet shop has something of the sort and i whish u the best of luck.

Also, i don't want to offend you(experience wise), im not sure if your new to lizards or not but make sure to supply him/her with crickets dusted with Repcal(the pink and white one) every day. It very well could be calcium deficiancy. You can also administer repcal mixed with water into its mouth but not too much. When you mix repcal with water im talking a very tiny sprinkly of powder on a drop of water. And make sure you give it to her/him as soon as you mix it because proteins and calcium can lose potency in liquid.(i assume u already use repcal but if not that is very important.) Most importantly it needs to eat. Have you brought it to a vet yet? If you haven't, or can't afford it call your local pet shop about force feeding a heavy protein/calcium mix.(mushed cricket,repcal, and water altogether.)I have done this before but was very young and have no idea whether it is safe or not. And email all the big bearded dragon breeders you know and ask for info.(Bearded Dragons and Other Creatures-a website- are very experienced.) Keep the posts coming because along time a ago i had a beardie that always had one eye shut and wouldn't feed and it died-i dont want to see the same happen to yours.

We are fairly new to lizards, it's been about 5-6 weeks now. We do dust her crickets and stuff. She ate 2 crickets this mornin and we have taken her to the vet like 3 times now, all with a new medicine to bring home, none of them have yet to work. My son thinks she need's surgery on her eye, but we will have to wait till the next vet visit. And i'll ask about the brown botttle, thx for ur care and support.

MY biggest concern would be that she is feeding. Is the infection spreading? Has it been querntined? A bearded dragon with one eye that is feeding is much better then a starving lizard with both eyes. I'd recommend calling your vet-if you already brought her in the vet can answer some questions about how life threatening the infection is-if its not wasted money on surgery might not be needed. Actually a one eyed bearded dragon having trouble catching crickets sounds cute in an odd sort of way-as long as its feeding and healthy.

For any sort of eye infection the vet most likely would prescribe some form of antibiotic. As antibiotics often have the side effect of killing off alot of beneficial gut flora, it is a good ideal to add a pro-biotic to your dragon's everyday diet. Non fat unsweetened fruit yogurt, a small amount each day (half a teaspoon or less) can work, but better to buy one of the probiotics available for reptiles (or those available for human children, just reduce dosage appropriately).

Also, I suggest raising the basking temp above 95F. 95f is the minimum temperature the basking area should be and with sick recovering babies, a higher basking temp would be better. Still keep cooler areas available for them of course. The higher range (100-115F) is best.

Make sure the dragon is well hydrated, kept in as stress free an environment as possible (ie dont' handle unless it's for treatment, bath to help hydrate etc). You can also try offering easier digestable foods, such as silkworms, butterworms, pheonix worms and baby roaches. Having fresh healthy greens available helps too.

A product called parazap may also be benefial. It helps replenish benefical gut flora much like probiotics and also helps to reduce parasites in your dragon safely.
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PHLdyPayne