Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all,
I have a young Australian Water Dragon with a bizaree problem. One day I went in to check on her and her eyes were sealed shut! It looks like some kind of crust build up. I bought some eye drops to clear up dog eyes and I'm not getting any results. The lizard appears feisty besides the fact that it can't see anything. The tank is a 55g with a 60 watt heat bulb, Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb, plenty of calcium in the diet, and I keep it humid. Any ideas?

my best advise is to get to a reptile vet, they can tell you much more in person then w can online, even if we had pics, there is noting better then a hands on PE

outside of that we need more info. what type of substarate is she on? something fine that can get into eyes? how long have you had her? did she have any eye issues when you got her? what are the temps in the cage? cant get that with the wattage, you house may be hotter or cooler then mine.

untill you get to a vet, i would use an eyewash, normal sailine and try to soften the crustys off. i dont know what kind of drops you bought, but for them to work (if they will, really they could damage) they need to get into the eye itself, if the eye is crusted shut they will not.

let us know how things go!!
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hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!

I don't believe temperature & heat are issues, I've raised many water dragons and this is a first. I'm thinking it is some kind of bacterial or viral infection, which would definitely require a herp vet. The problem is there aren't really any good ones around here that I know of and I'm trying to see if there's anything I can do for her right now. I was told by a friend that owns a pet shop to use boric acid drops, which is what is in the dog eye drops I have. They don't seem to be doing anything for her eyes. I may have to call around some vets and see if I can find one that knows what I'm talking about.

Matt

boric acid why? I'm sure he's talking about a very dilute concentration of this, but still, why not just put some vinagar in the eye, and add some salt. Now done with the sarcasm, and I know it's not you or your friend's fault, but now you know.

If anything at this time, you'll want to use simple saline drops that you use with contact lenses.

See www.arav.com and previous threads for the multitude of ways of finding a herp vet in your area. As reptiles are still somewhat of a specialty pet, and depending how remote you are, you should be prepared to drive a bit, perhaps even take a day off work. All in all, any vet of sane mind and a willingness to learn, with an appreciation of reptiles, and a humbleness that they don't know it all, will be better off than no vet at all. They have access to textbooks and veterinary online subscriptions to tap the minds of the world's finest reptile vets.

Good luck with your lizard.

Ian

ps, as an aside, your first post mentioned a 60W in a 55 gallon. In most areas of North America at this time of year, that won't get it hot enough. You'll need a thermometer to be sure, there's really no way around it.

"boric acid why? I'm sure he's talking about a very dilute concentration of this, but still, why not just put some vinagar in the eye, and add some salt. Now done with the sarcasm, and I know it's not you or your friend's fault, but now you know."

I don't understand the logic in this comment. My thinking was that it would be better to use eye drops designated for animals than for humans. To say "why not put vinegar and salt in the eye" seems like an irrelevent and uneducated comment pertaining to the argument. Unless you have actual knowledge regarding the use of saline drops in reptiles, be careful who you mock. The friend of mine that owns the pet store isn't a "BS-er" when it comes to information. She knows quite a bit of information.

"ps, as an aside, your first post mentioned a 60W in a 55 gallon. In most areas of North America at this time of year, that won't get it hot enough. You'll need a thermometer to be sure, there's really no way around it."

I just checked the temperature of the basking spot with the probe from by digital thermometer. The guage read 98 F. I usually keep my herp room heated between 80-82 F.

Thanks for the website, btw.

The temp's sound good to me. I can't assume you had a thermometer without given readings.

Otherwords, I usually don't give too many references for my opinions because it just clogs things up with stuff that people never really use anyhow. Choose a veterinary textbook of your choice and reference that. Saline drops are the safest option considering you do not know what the problem is. They are roughly neutral in pH, and relatively homeostatic. Both properties not found in boric acid. The benefit is the moisture/lube needed to clean the eye. If you missed the irritating humour a la sarcasm, well, you wouldn't be the first.

Listen to whomever you'd like, my opinion is just an opinion and worth just what you paid for it

Ian