# Not opening eyes?



## omgtaylorg (Feb 7, 2009)

So he woke up one day from his mulch and when he came out, his eyes werent opening and when they did they would open for a short amount of time and close again, he still ate two pinky rats without a problem and basked but kept his eyes closed and just opened them every now and then and closed again....im assuming maybe its shedding of the eyes which i remember reading at one point? but idk, thanks in advance for answers


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## PinkPunisher (Feb 7, 2009)

I hope its just some shed.. How close are your UVB lights and what kind/brand of bulb are you using? You might have the bulb to close causing the tegu to get dangerously high amounts of UV radiation. 

The coil fluorescent tubes are really common for this. The animal gets photokeratoconjunctivitis which causes slight swelling of the eyes and it becomes very painful for them to open their eyes. Although it can usually be remedied by removing the light or moving it to a safe location. If the animal still doesn't seem to change with a few days after complete removal of the light I would highly recommend a visit to your herp vet.

It probably is just stuck shed but keep a close eye on him, also is the bedding moist under the surface or is it dry?

One last thing, how long has this been going on for?

Spencer


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## VARNYARD (Feb 8, 2009)

I have seen tegus doing this during shedding, shedding the eye lids are the main cause of this. Is your tegu in shed?


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## omgtaylorg (Feb 8, 2009)

Yes hes been in shed for a while, and ive never seen his eyes do this, his UVB has always been fine for the 2+ months ive had him and he just got a brand new 100w reptisun bulb in there 3-4 days ago, his basking spot sits around 8 inches or so away from the bulb which is going through a screen lid, hes been like this for 2 days or so and the substrate is moist underneath usually i try to flip it every now and then, he still ate when his eyes were partly closed so his appetite hasnt gone away...i just dont know im gonna take him out and look closer


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## omgtaylorg (Feb 8, 2009)

so i gave him a nice soak and his eyes were open the whole time aside from blinking, didnt close them at all for a period of time like he was, then i let him roam around a bit still with no closing, then i put him back in the cage and he roamed for a bit with no eye closing but when he went back to his basking log and layed there he started to close them again, i came up to him he opened them and closed them again and now im watching from 8 ft away or so and they are closed like hes sleeping...never done this before so idk, maybe the light is too bright? its a brand new reptisun 100 watt because his old one burned out


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## CaterpillarGiraffe (Nov 2, 2009)

My Red Tegu gets this, too. He spend most of his time under the cypress mulch, and when he comes up, he never opens his eyes. The only way I can get him to open them is to give him a bath. When I take him out of the bath, I put him back in his enclosure and that's when he opens his eyes. I'm thinking maybe since he spends so much time burrowed, that he may be getting wood shaving dust in his eyes? Sometimes they seem red. But my UVB lamps are a far distance from him, so it isn't that.


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## Reflektr (Nov 3, 2009)

Word. If he's been in shed for a good bit, there's a pretty good chance that's your culprit, and a nice soaking could clear it up. Certain UVB bulbs will also cause eye problems - Just something to keep in mind for reference. When that occurs they usually hide quite a bit, keep their eyes closed, and are very inactive...


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