Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just picked up a large 3 year old male beardie today and his eyes almost look like they are swollen. The lady I got them from said he has looked like that since she got it 2 years ago. Its the area surrounding the eye and to me it almost looks like what happens to snakes when they have mites that crawl underneath the eye socket but this guy appears to be free of any parasites. Is this something to be concerned about?

Since this is a new dragon, I would be worried about it. Obviously it's lasted this long with the condition, so perhaps it's just scare tissue, but if you can correct the situation and possibly spare this guy some pain and immunologic effort then much would be gained. This lizard is a good candidate for an overall "new pet" exam by a good herp vet.

Ian

Thanks for the reply. You just answered a question for me about my incubator. I appreciate the help.

I have been reading these forums all day and I think I might know what has caused it. The lady I got them from had no idea what sex they were. When we asked how they interacted with each other, she said that they get along fine but her pics that she sent me were not very good. When I got there, it so happens that they were 2 males and she had them together. Apparently they had been together their whole lives. They are 3 years old. I asked her about their mannerisms and she said occasionally the other one would bump its head on the one in question. Not even 5 minutes later, the healthy one jumped on the other one and bit its neck as though it was trying to mate with it and did a little dance on him. So I knew right away it was time to separate them. I have the sick guy in a huge tote with a nice towel and a heat lamp on him. He actually appears to be doing better. The posts that I read said that this is a common symptom of stress and I would imagine that if I spent 3 years trying to get humped by my cagemate, I would be pretty stressed out myself. He also had some of hs toes and tail bitten off when he was younger. Poor thing has been getting picked on for years. He appears to be alot more alert now. He was pretty miserable and lethargic when I got him. He has eaten and the swelling seems to have gone down a bit, at least in one eye. I wont be putting him in with his friend again.

Ugh...I got three male "rescue" dragons from a lady and two of the males were housed together for 4-5 years. I was able to rehome one male who was a huge bully. I still have the little victim who just isn't quite right. He has so many scars and certain parts of his body don't quite work right any longer.

I second the exam just to make sure there isn't an underlying eye infection.

Ask the lady if she used UVB light.

Read this stuff:

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm