Water Dragon eye infection?

Question

I think my water dragon has an eye infection. A few weeks back his eyes were crusting up and he couldn't open them. I increased the humidity and temperatures in his tank since they were off. After that he was fine, and his eyes remained open.

Now, even with those environment changes made, his eyes are gooing up again, and one was crusted shut last night.

What do you recommend for treatments? What do you think is causing this?

I switched his substrate from All God's Creatures to Repti Bark. All God's Creatures would get stuck in his eyes because it is so fine, so I have him on the Repti Bark now since the pieces are bigger.

Both of his eyes are open today, and do not appear gooey.

I have had him for months. He hasn't been around any other lizards since. I don't handle any other lizards either. He didn't have any problems with his eyes when we got him, and it just kind of started about two weeks ago.

Answer 1

I suggest the vet to get a culture to find out exactly what it is.

But here are possibilities:

1. Change the water daily in their swimming pool.
2. Change the substrate regularly...actually I myself have done away with everything but Zoo Med reptile carpet. I have both Zoo Med reptile carpet and Indoor/outdoor carpet turned so the soft side is down and the sturdier smoother side is up. I have 3 sets of this carpet. Weekly or as needed I pull the carpet out, put a new one down, and put the carpet through the washing machine. Piece of cake!
3. Any furniture you put in...pour boiling water over it first to make sure you aren't introducing icky stuff from who knows where and what factory.
4. I give my dragons a bath in povidone iodine mixed in with water (slightly yellow consistency) every other week for 5 minutes. Then I rinse them off well and let them play in dechlorinated water in the tub for an hour as the iodine is drying to the skin.
5. Main point...keep everything clean and tidy. The easier you make the cage to clean, the more you are likely to clean it...trust me, I used to dread changing substrate and who knows what kind of germs and bacteria are hiding in sand and bark. Humidity and bark is asking for fungus and mold.

My suspect is that if he/she has a swimming pool...which he should (8 gallon tupperware storage container works well) then the water isn't getting changed/filtered enough. If not, it is the substrate harboring bacteria that was introduced from not sterilizing the substrate first...or a piece of cage furniture.

One of mine had a teary-looking eye and I made a point to clean more regularly and do the povidone bath, but the eye never got crusty, and it went away.

One more time for emphasis...cage hygeine is crucial in humidity conditions.

Answer 2

Chinese water dragons are prone to getting eye and respiratory infections. I wonder if raising the humidity just kept them from completely drying shut and allowing the mucus to stay moist. water dragons have an immune system as any animal does and may have taken care of the infection. but I would most definitely get him seen by a herp vet. how long have you had him. could he have contracted something from being around other lizards? if you got him say a week or two before he started having problems he may have contracted it from the pet store. or if you had him with other lizards or dragons that may have had it. eye infections can be both viral and bacterial. so they can be transmitted by your hands even if you did not put two lizards together. say you go to a pet store play with a lizard come home and handle your guy without using antibacterial soap it is possible to get it that away. have your little guy checked out just because eye infections can lead to many things one of which is death. him getting better on his own at least shows he has a good immune system and is healthy otherwise. I am sure the vet will say we can cure that right up. oh ya take a picture of your setup and make a description of substrate, plants, humidity, etc most everything that might be important and let the vet know just in case it is nothing more than an environment issue. having the picture will allow him to look at your setup and ask questions about it.

Answer 3

What is his substrate? I've known them to get bits of sand, dirt, and coconut fiber in their eyes, leading to an infection. You can gently drip warm water onto his eye(s) to soften the "crust" and rinse the eye, but if this doesn't clear, you'll need to see a vet - possibly he needs antibiotics to get rid of the infection. I'd keep him on newspaper/ paper towels in the meantime - these are easier to clean, and will eliminate any possibility of getting particles in his eyes.

Read your additions - even Reptibark can have small particles and dust in it. Did you rinse it before using? I'd still try the treatment I suggested before - usually a 2 person job unless he's small, and you're experienced with this - and a contortionist (I've done drops in two water dragon's eyes by myself & it wasn't fun!). Also, what are his temps/humidity now? Keep both up (even temps at night).

Answer 4

What are the temps in your tank and you need to take him to a vet ASAP. I rescued one just like it and it died from it.