Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a feeling that husbandry will be called into question so here it comes first.
Substrate: sand and soil mixture with layer of oak leaves on top
Humidity: range from 90% in soil on cool side of enclosure to 30% under heat 45% ambient air humidity.
Heat: hot spot is 129F, cool side 70F and ambient is around 85F
Feed: roaches, mice, live fish and crayfish, one item every other to every third day.

My problem is that my Dumeril’s Monitor is having trouble recently with getting dirt in his eyes. I noticed he spent two days buried in the cool side of the tank and when I tried to feed him Thursday food was refused (first time ever). He went to vet Friday and she cleaned out his eyes as best she could, and she said that there were no scratches on the eye or rips in either lid. I was told to soak the lizard to help flush the eye more and to rinse with a serial water using a syringe to try to help flush more out. I have been doing this and the problem is ongoing as of today in his left eye the right eye seems to be better. He has eaten since

Is this a problem others have had before? What else can I do to prevent or correct the problem in the future? Is there another question I should be asking myself to fix this?

Thank you for any help.

TA

Maybe the dirt is dirty! how often do you clean the enclosure! I mean a complete clean up and sanitizing everything.

Personally, I am not exactly sure where the problem is?

You might think it is a problem, your lizard may not. Just leave the food and make sure the conditions are good.

Cheers.

No new uvB lamp ?

The big problem is that he has both eyes shut constantly. Last night when I was cleaning his eyes a piece of dirt came out with a white covering of something (eye goober type look to it) that was about the size of a small pea. When he was at the vet a similar looking thing came out of both eyes. His left eye is watery now, so I guess that is him trying to work any irritant out of the eye himself.

The dirt is new as of June and the UV bulb was new as of May. New leaves were added this past week, small pieces have stuck to his outer eyelid, but I think that this is due to them being moist.

Should I do another dirt change?

TA

Personaly a will stop de uv bulb just for a week or so.
Sometimes these things go wrong.
The problem is possibly infectious but...
Just in case...

I'd like to see a pic of the dirt. Not all dirt is equal. I'm gonna make a bet it's store bought stuff...nasty sharp edges on that stuff....

Maybe the dirt has something in it! Probably some type of bacteria, I bet. I'm not surprised, though....

It sounds to me like something else is the problem, when a monitor has its eyes closed all the time, something is wrong.

I very much doubt its the sand, but if you use silica sand from HD or Lowes, that stuff is nothing more then broken glass.

also, Dums are a swamp monitor, pure sand is not such a good idea and may not be natural to them.

Also you quote stats as if that eliminates husbandry problems, your wrong, stats are good as a start, then you tune them to fit your RESULTS. Stats are generic, your Dums is not.

Each monitor is an individual, not a set of stats. Consider, do you see Dums being bred by everyone. If stats actually meant something, they would be.

Many other species of reptiles can be recipe bred, not so much with varanids, they are a little troublesome hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. They're hippy reptiles, they rebell against the norm.

Anyway, Your post is not going to help you because its narrated by you. You set up what you think it is and what caused it. Which may or may not be the case. You would be better off posting pictures of the problem and asking what those with experience have to say. The simple answer to your question is, don't use sand, but its most likely not the right answer.

About vets, some are good, some are not. Like most things. Unfortunately most are not so good when it comes to reptiles, particularly varanids.

So, try again, if you like. Cheers

Thank you for your responces I will try to get some pictures tonight.

I starrted with what my stats in the enclosure were because I figured that would be the first set of questions I would be asked. I know it doesnt eleminate husbandry I just wanted to give as much info as I had at the time

The dirt is a mixture of topsoil(yes store bought) and a wery fine sand that was bought at a garden center.

As of this morning his right eye has been open and normal for the time I watched him, was not able to see the left eye. But it looks as if cleaning the eye has helped. Again I will get pictures up in case I am wrong (and probably am).

Thank you again for your help
TA

I would definitely remove the dirt just in case. He might be allergic to something in the dirt, or maybe their is something in the dirt. Particulate substrate can cause this kind of problem to arise. It doesn't cause it all the time, but if its dirty or contain something, yes. this is especially true with dirt substrate and captive animals. The waste that the animals is more concentrated in the cage instead of spreading out like it would in the wild. You need to keep the cage clean and immaculate. Be very meticulous and fastidious about the cleanliness because some animals are more sensitive than others within the same species.

I know some, that had the same thing happened to his Savannah monitor. It was blind in one eye afterward....

The problem with store bought materials is, they are manifactured. That is, they start as large pieces and are shreaded or broken into little pieces.

For instance, sand is ground up, and not worn round, so its sharp like broken glass. And other materials are splintered into a million pieces. This is where the problem is.

On the otherhand, play sand is suppose to be sifted from nature.

I use natural materials. Leaflitter, sand, dirt, etc. I have for many many years with all kinds of monitors and have not had any problems what so ever.

on the otherhand, when I bought stuff from stores, it sucked and for many reasons.

So yes, you can have problems specially with splintered wood materials. Cheers