Tegu suddenly got super-lazy with an eye problem?

[Blue Crab of PAIN!!!]

Hello everyone again!
A quick update.:
Over the past few weeks Taco has been doing great; lost virtually all of the green color on his head, gaining weight, and has had two perfect sheds so far. He was also extremely active and jumpy (but friendly). whenever I would be around He would jump up and slam against the screen top trying to get my attention. Whenever I put my hand in the cage he crawls and perches on it, since it either meant food, bath time, or free-roam time for him. He is always very active when exploring my room but is also cooperative when I put him back into the cage (but then tries to get out again after a quick bask).

Recently he got moved into a bigger cage, got a zoomed powersun 100watt MVB, and his first taste of pre-killed pinkies (which he made an absolute mess out of; ripping them in half and crawling around in its guts).

Anyway, his normal lively state changed two days ago. At 10AM he was up as normal: I offered him some ground turkey but he didn't take it; not unusual given how early it was. After that I was out of the house until about 6 or 7: a long time to go without eating but I wasn't too worried since he's usually up until 9 or 10 anyway. On this occasion though he went to bed very early, so he went the whole day without eating. The following morning I tried to make it up to him by giving him some scrambled egg: he was happy enough to eat it but I noticed that 1. He was extremely lazy and 2. He didn't want to open his left eye.

I'm confused about both of these issues: after he ate I gave him a warm bath. Normally when he's in his bath/feeding bin he's scratching up against the sides trying to get out. This time he just... didn't do much. After that I put him in my hand and pet him gently. He perked up quite a bit and then was crawling around my room as normal. While on the bed he had both of his eyes open, and when I looked into them he looked back; indicating that he was not blind and I didn't see any damage. While on the floor though he would spend most of his time walking around with only 1 eye open. He also went to bed extremely early that day: around 5:00pm.

This morning it's pretty much the same deal: doesn't want to open his left eye and doesn't seem to want to do much of anything. He wouldn't even eat the turkey I offered to him. Once in a while he'll open his left eye, take a quick peek at me, and then close it again. Again: still can look straight at me and I don't see anything wrong with it. Right now I have his MVB light off (but a separate heating lamp on). I have a feeling that keeping the light level low may help, but he's still not really opening his eye. The very closest he can possibly get to the light is 10-11 inches unless he jumps: my jerry-rigged lamp stand can't go any higher. Speaking of which, I'll buy one right after I'm done writing this.

What could be wrong? Could he already think that it's time to Hibernate? That may explain his activity levels and sleep times but I'm really worried about his eye. The only thing I can possibly imagine him getting a parasite from is a raw egg he tried from a local food co-op. Even then I wouldn't think a parasite is the problem. Otherwise its just been turkey, pinkies, weekly egg, and insects.

Thank you for your help as always.

Oh, and 2 things I've been wondering about:
1. If I were to feed a small tegu shrimp, should I get big ones, chop them and leave the shell on? Or should I get tiny shrimp without the shells?

and 2. sometimes Taco will manage to scratch or cling onto the screen top when he jumps: he always falls off right after though. Should I be worried that he might rip off his claws while doing this?

 

[Blue Crab of PAIN!!!]

quick update: Taco did eat a pinky mouse, although he won't eat anymore it seems. While free roaming he spent half of his time with both eyes open, and the other half with both eyes closed (during which it was obvious that he had no idea where he was going). I just spent over an hour petting him in my hand. Occasionally he would open his eyes and I could really see them up close. Again, no obvious signs of damage or infection.

 

[Guest]

Well, as far as him slowing down, in eating and in activity level, he very well may be preparing for hibernation. I wouldn't worry about that aspect of his behavior change at all; they know what they're doing.

Now, with regard to the eye thing, if he can get within 10/11 inches of his UVB producing bulb, then you have it too close to him. The 100 Watt Powersuns need to be kept at least 12 inches away from your reptile (more for the 160 Watt), as it clearly states on the reading material included in the box. The reason being is that the levels of UVB become dangerous for the little guy under that 12 inch distance, most commonly showing up in the form of eye problems like photo-kerato-conjunctivitis (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-info.htm.." onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyph ... info.htm..</a><!-- m -->. read the whole page; it's very informative). It's probably a good idea to suck it up and spend the money on another lamp stand, one that allows you greater adjustment. I've got a couple of the ZooMed ones, and I love them for what we needed (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.petmountain.com/show_product/510303/?utm_source=celebros&utm_medium=search&utm_term=521007" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.petmountain.com/show_product ... erm=521007</a><!-- m -->).

I've never fed shrimp to our reptiles, but I would think that the shell might cause damage to him, so I'd just go ahead and remove it.

Keep us posted on your little one!

 

[Blue Crab of PAIN!!!]

Yeah, I had a feeling that may be it. I've pretty much had the light off all day since my original post. I also just ordered an actual light stand from Amazon; it should arrive on Wednesday (free 2-day shipping ). IN the mean time for his UVB I'll pull out the old zilla 5.0 coil bulb. He never had problems with his eyes before that although he probably wasn't getting enough UV either.

The link you provided got a 404, but I think I found exactly what you linked to.
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor-info.htm
This makes perfect sense, although I am still almost certain that Taco CAN see when he does open his eyes.

I am relieved to hear that this is [hopefully] only a temporary problem, but this has me a little worried now:



1. Is your reptile ill? (Inactive, not basking, not feeding?)

If your reptile is ill, the first thing you must do is seek specialist veterinary advice. There are many causes of illness in reptiles which have nothing to do with exposure to UVB light....A sick reptile urgently needs to be examined by a veterinary surgeon experienced with reptiles.


Now I'm unsure whether or not Taco thinks winter is coming on or if there's some sort of illness involved. The site does not explicitly state if P-K-C can be related to this type of illness but the fact that it is so quick to mention it caught my attention. Taco doesn't really seem Ill, he just seems lazy. He eats and is active in certain situations.




UPDATE: It is 3:50pm now and Taco already went to bed. Yeah, I think it may be hibernating time.
Damn, and I just bought a Harness for him and was about to buy him 100 frozen mice.

 

[Guest]

Gotta love amazon.com...

So he'll be good for a day or two without his UVB bulb; it'll give his eyes a chance to heal until your ordered lamp stand comes in. And you're right, the 5.0 puts out too little usable UVB for tegus... however (and I sound like such the bringer of bad news) the coil UVB bulbs have been known to cause the same eye problems also. It's not just limited to one brand too. Supposedly, the problem had been worked out, but I've heard from just too many people, recently, that they're just about the worst things to use. We have a beardie that developed eye problems from them, before we junked her whole set-up and switched her over to Powersuns. So I might suggest that since her eyes have already been compromised, just leaving the 5.0 out of the equation all together, and waiting for your lamp stand so you can re-hang the Powersun. Like I said, she'll be good for two days without UVB; I mean, it's not sunny EVERY day where they live in the wild, yes?

 

[Guest]

Lame, I didn't know that link didn't post correctly. Here's the link to the actual home page for the web site. It's like the "gold standard" for all your lighting questions and information:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.uvguide.co.uk" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.uvguide.co.uk</a><!-- m -->

 

[Blue Crab of PAIN!!!]

Thank you very much for your help, I Really appreciate it. I don't know where I'd be without this site

 

[Guest]

Granted, nothing beats a good Herp Vet in terms of care, but it's great to have a place to go to to ask others about their experiences and suggestions. I know there are a lot of forums out there, but I only go to two of them... this being one of them, obviously.

 

[Blue Crab of PAIN!!!]

Belated update: On Thursday I got Taco's new light fixture set up and turned on. By then his eyes seemed to be fully recovered I am pleased to say. After not really seeing me for 3 days though he seemed a little skittish. He's also not eating regularly; about once every other day now.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, if he's preparing to hibernate, then he'll start eating less, and napping/sleeping more.