OMG, Im really scared! Is this normal?!?

Question

I was just holding my bearded dragon playing xbox, not too loud or anything and she was really relaxed and I looked down at her and she had her eyes closed but they seemed to be bulging out!? Lately shes been acting wierd like, geting spooked randomly? And shes not eating much? Shes 2 months and 2 weeks old. HELP? IS THAT NORMAL?

Answer 1

It is not normal, and chances are that she is sick, in which case there isn't anything you can do other than take her to a herp vet.

Reptile eye drops should help for at least the eyes if you follow the directions.  The swollen eyes might be caused by dust from sand (if you're using it).  Play sand and other silica sands easily cause eye and respiratory problems as the dust acts like microscopic knives-very similar to asbestos.  Calcium sand is softer and less harsh...but DON'T rely on it for calcium intake as it is not adequate as not enough will be absorbed even if a lot of the sand is eaten.  Beardies under 3-4 months should be on paper instead of sand anyway because of the risk of impaction.

Is she warm enough?  Her tank (that she shoudl be spending most of her time in) should have a gradient ranging from 75-85 degrees with the basking spot 95-105.  The entire cage should be brightly lit as well as have a special UVB buld (if the bulb's package doesn't specify UVB then it doesn't..."full spectrum" lights don't cut it).

At under 12 inches or so she should be eating about a dozen crickets (as big as the distance between her eyes) twice a day that are dusted with a calcium and mineral supplement.  She is still probably too small to be eating mealworms although pheonix worms are great-food that is too big can choke or paralyzed her.  She should also be getting veggies/greens between meals to snack on although she might not eat too much of them for a while as young beardies are primarily carnivores.  When she's larger and nearly an adult, the crickets and supplements should be cut back and fed a bit less often (once a day or every other day).

Without enough of BOTH calcium supplementation and UVB, a young beardie can develop metabolic bone disease really easily and quickly which make the bones soft and prone to breakage.  Many lizards with MBD become paralyzed when their spine breaks.  MBD needs to be treated by a herp vet as it requires a number of injections.  By the time MBD is apparent it's far too late to do anything without taking it to the vet.

MBD can also occur in beardies with enough UVB and calcium if their entire tank isn't bright enough or warm enough as they won't eat enough to get the needed calcium into their systems.

Besides MBD there are a number of different diseases that can affect beardies and many of them are lethal when untreated.  There's not much you can do on your own other than making sure there is enough heat, light, and good food as many of the over the counter meds that may work on humans or other animals are lethal in beardies.  Respiratory infections are another common and potentially lethal health issue that needs a vet.

Answer 2

does she have spots on her belly when this happens?

if so she is nervous, scared, or trying to absorb heat

Answer 3

I recently read on a site that reptiles bulge their eyes out when they are about to shed. It makes it easier to get the skin off from around the eye. Mine does the same.But i dont know why she is getting spooked or not eating much.

Answer 4

"Eye bulging"

http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/ey...

Answer 5

mines does it before sheding

Answer 6

It's perfectly normal for her to eye bulge, Jibblet does it all the time. It's a little freaky to see, but there is nothing to worry about. The not eating could be a variety of things, if it gets to be more than 4 or five days where is isn't eating at all, get her to a vet.  She could be stressed, it could be impaction, it could be brumation (hiberation), it could be diet related, not sure.  When you do go tot he vet make sure you know everything about how you are keeping it, the temps, diet, substrate how long you've had her all that the vet will need to know.

Answer 7

She could just be nervous. Has anything happened recently at your house? Like a birthday? Lots of fireworks? Someone moved in or moved out?

Alot of things that seem simple can agitate reptiles. If nothing like this happened recently, I'm sure that she's fine.

Answer 8

take it to the vet and ask them