Maintaining the health of your lizard necessitates paying close attention to its physical state. Many ailments have physical symptoms. So, spotting these symptoms early will help your bearded dragon get the correct medicine and care.
The tail or even the head are the most frequently affected parts. Of course, it is also simpler to detect when issues arise.
We discuss the most typical causes of a bearded dragon’s eyes not opening in this article. In fact, the main reasons are dehydration, corneal damage, access to harsh light, illness, and poor diet. Fortunately, with the right diet, a clean and safe surrounding, and regular vet visits, one can easily manage and avoid these issues.
It is typical for reptiles to face ocular issues. Of course, you might see any problems with your bearded dragon’s eyes. Then, you must immediately seek vet care to get a precise test. While the majority of eye abnormalities are not inherently harmful to your beardie, they could be symptoms of more significant health problems.
Bearded dragon eyes glued shut
People maintain reptiles called bearded dragons as pets. In fact, they are lizards that are tolerant of any home and are quite friendly. Taking care of them isn’t difficult as they enjoy eating veggies and insects. You can see them enjoying the sun after one captures them. Or, you will spot them adoring the shade. They make excellent reptile companions and have a high tolerance rate. But, w e need to be aware of the several infections that can impact the health of our bearded dragons. Be on the lookout for their symptoms, and the best ways to manage and avoid them. Having crusty shut-eye is one of this reptile’s common health issues.
Crusty eyes indicate an eye infection of a bearded dragon. The common signs of this eye infection in bearded dragons are listed below. So, be sure to observe them:
- The eyes stay closed.
- The lizard’s eyes can no longer open because of the crusting on them.
- There is also a discharge oozing from the eyes.
- Lastly, the eyes look swollen .
Why is my bearded dragon closing its eyes?
Dehydration
A bearded dragon’s inability to open its eyes is frequently caused by dehydration. And, it is problematic because beardies rarely drink from a bowl.
Bearded dragons typically lose curiosity in still water when you keep them in captivity. Because, they learn to distinguish moving water from still water in the wild.
Fatigue, constipation, and sticky spit are a few more indicators of dehydration.
Cracks in the Cornea
Sharp objects in a bearded dragon’s habitat or aggressive behaviour from another bearded dragon are also major sources of harm to its eyes. A loose substrate is another factor that might harm the cornea, especially if it has sand.
Your lizard’s eyes will likely not open as a result of these microscopic sand bits entering them.
If another bearded dragon or cricket bites it, it may injure their eye. And, it may cause swelling or infection. And, this would keep your reptile from using its eyes.
Reptile drops are on hand to help clear the debris from your beardie’s eyes. But, you must use extra care to prevent any real harm.
Because tap water is not clean and could lead to an illness, you ought to not use it to wipe your lizard’s eyes.
Luminous Lighting
The bearded dragon will also strain or keep its eyes closed if the lighting in its habitat is too high.
It will be difficult to establish a good temperature gradient. And your beardie won’t have a place to hide from the harsh light. However, this will happen if the cage is too tiny for the sort of lighting you plan to use.
Full-spectrum, coiled bulbs, like those used for plants, are too tiny to evenly spread UVB rays around the cage. Thus. they will also harm your bearded dragon’s eyes. Use of light timers assures that you won’t forget to turn on or off the UVB tube light. Of course, it is the ideal option.
Sickness
It is important to get vet care as soon as possible if you think your bearded dragon may have metabolic bone disease. Because it is an incurable condition.
You can easily spot an upper respiratory illness if you see that your bearded dragon has its eyes closed. Or, if it has nasal discharge. And, if it breathes through its mouth rather than its nose.
These diseases are frequent in reptiles. And, the inappropriate humidity in the cage is frequently to blame. A further issue for bearded dragons is mites. However, these are brought on by bad cleanliness habits. You should check the area for mites if your bearded dragon won’t open its eyes.
Additionally, these tiny bloodsuckers enjoy lurking in the lizard’s ears and skin folds. The mite’s excrement, which resembles dirt flecks, will also be visible.
If you fear your pet may be suffering from bearded dragon mites, take it to a vet. When your beardie is shedding, you should also pay attention to how it looks.
Making sure that there are no blocked sheds is important. Since they can cause infection and poor circulation. You should check the tail or limbs very carefully. because this is the top place where you can find a trapped shed. However, it can also happen close to the reptile’s eyes. The beardie will keep his eyes closed as a result of the film that the trapped shed will create over them.
Deficiency of Vitamins
Especially when it comes to vitamin A, it is not unusual for a vitamin deficit to be the cause of your bearded dragon’s eye issues.
enough veggies and fruits in its diet. The reptile’s eyes become enlarged due to the deficit. Thus. that making it difficult for it to maintain eye openness.
A vitamin A shortage also results in respiratory problems . Also, it leads to other inflamed mucous membranes, like the gums, in addition to eye problems.
Since too much vitamin A is hazardous to a bearded dragon, treating a vitamin A deficit can be hard.
You’ll have to take a beta-carotene supplement. Then, the reptile’s body can produce only the proper amount of vitamin A. Additionally, it’s critical to make sure your bearded dragon is eating enough vitamin D3 and calcium. These major nutrients are crucial in avoiding metabolic bone disease. Also, this disease can lead to painful aging of the bones, vision issues, and severe bone defects. The right calcium powder supplement can help avoid calcium insufficiency.
Dusting your beardie’s food before meal time is important. So, do that at least twice a week with vitamin powder supplements. Thus, it will meet their requirements.
Use of incorrect Substrate
It’s vital to pay attention to the type of substrate you use to coat the bottom of your lizard’s enclosure. In fact, your bearded dragon may acquire a painful eye infection if you use the wrong substance. Many substrates have loose particles that might hurt or infect the eye if they reach it.
Basking
In order to keep their bodies at the proper temperature, beardies sunbathe. Since they have cold blood, their bodies are not able to regulate and shift to mild temperatures on their own. When it is cool in the morning, the reptiles bask in the sun. Other times, when their body temperatures drop below a certain point during the day, they do the same.
When your lizard is basking, you could notice that one or both of its eyelids are closed. However, you do not need to worry about it at all. This is typical behaviour for them. It does this in order to keep its eye from harsh sunlight.
Minimal humidity
Due to the low humidity inside the cage, beardies can even close one eye. The chamber’s ideal humidity levels should be in the 30–40% range. And, lower or higher levels can disrupt its heat regulation mechanism. Thus, it can also cause a wide range of ailments. For instance, dysecdysis, or abnormal skin shedding. Low humidity might be the reason for that. In order to aid in the shedding, the lizards will therefore shut their eyes. Read Also: Why won’t my bearded dragon let me hold him
Skin blistering due to high humidity might be so severe that you might need help from the vet.
Fixed Shed
When shedding, a beardie will usually seek out any object to rub against. This will help them get rid of the old skin. The pet will not be very adept at it. And, some of its body parts might still be clad with old skin.
These reptiles often fail to lose skin near their eyes. If there are any bits of old skin nearby, they may shut their eyes in an effort to shed it.
If you see your beardie shutting their eyes, always look for a lodged shed there.
It Might Be Terrified
Like humans, bearded dragons also shut their eyes when an object is too close to them. As a result, your dragon can also close its eyes while you are patting it close to the eyes. But, that would mean it is afraid that you will poke its eyes.
As a kind of safety, it may close one or even both eyes to hide them from danger. As you pull your hands or the animal further away from the eyes, you can see that the pet opens them right back. You do not need to worry about it; it’s just a normal reaction.
How to treat your bearded dragon eye stuck shut?
- Regularly clean the enclosure.
Only regular cleaning will get rid of the dirt and debris from the enclosure. Clean any loose items that could harm or become lodged in your beardie’s eyes.
- Use proper settings for the enclosure
Install artificial lighting first to give your bearded dragon’s cage the proper light. Watch out for firms that sell lights that might be toxic to a bearded person’s eyes.
As a result, when fitting lights, take the tank capacity into account. Check so that the humidity levels in the cage are always within the proper ranges. You can buy a reptile hygrometer in your neighbourhood pet store or online. Also, it is the perfect tool for the job.
- Tell Your Vet
Some illnesses, such as viruses and vision troubles, can be too challenging to treat on your own. If you think the reptile’s eye might be infected, take it to the vet. Sadly, certain infections can harm the retina or result in blindness.
The doctor might advise using antibiotics or reptile eye drops to help cure the infections. The eye drops can also aid in emptying the eyes of foreign objects.
FAQs on Bearded dragon eye stuck shut
Bearded dragon keeping one eye closed?
Bearded dragons typically react quickly to shifts in stimuli that cause them to feel uneasy. However, as we stated before, certain causes, including stimuli, are minor and irrelevant.
Beardies shut one eye to help them to fixate on an object. In fact, it is just like what people do to get a proper look at something. These animals act primarily in this manner when trying to grab a meal. As your beardie eats, you can also observe this behaviour. Since, it simply wants to fixate and boost its ability to see the food. Most frequently, it starts furthest away from the meal.
What does it mean when a bearded dragon keeps one eye closed?
If something becomes stuck in the eye, or if the light and moisture levels in the cage aren’t ideal, your beardie will shut one eye while keeping the other open. However, this shutting of eyes can happen due to any reason. In fact, even more serious issues like eye infections.
If you study the behavior, you can help it by being vigilant about its surroundings. Adjust anything you require if you need to. Ask the vet for help if an eye condition causes it.