Armadillo lizard with eye problem.

[Mikeg414]

Hi! I have a baby tropical armadillo lizard (cordylus tropidosternum) with crusty eyes, and one eye is always closed, looks swollen, from the outside, and when i try to open it (which it doesnt open much) looks yellow inside. Could you tell me what's wrong, and if some terramycin would help?

 

[millipede]

No one can tell you for sure what's wrong, or even be close without a valid care report from you. In my experience several things can cause eye problems. The problem won't subside without treatment; you should probably see a qualified reptile vet. I don't think you should prescribe any antibiotics with vet recommendation, aside from 'natural' antibiotics such as 'reptaid'.

 

[Mikeg414]

It's living with a sibling that is doing great and shedding, this one just has crusty eyes......They have a reptisun 10.0 flourescent tube, large grain walnut shells (too big to fit in eyes). I got this one with the crusty eyes, but it has been getting worse.

 

[millipede]

What do you feed? What do you gut load the feeders with? Has the bulb been changed every 6 months? How close can they get to the UVB/UVA bulb? Humidity and temp levels? Basking spot temps? And please list all supplements if you use any and how often you use them.

 

[Mikeg414]

Mealworms, dusted with reptivite and calcium with D3 (every other feeding), and small crickets twice a week. Brand new bulb, only 2 months old. They can get within 8in of the bulb. Gets about 85F for basking. Don't really gut load other than specific food for the crickets. And potatoes for the mealworms. If I got some terramycin could I try it out and use it just to see if that could work?

 

[millipede]

You may want to look in to that reptivite supplement ( http://www.petco.com/product/5023/Zoo-Med-Reptivite-Reptile-Vitamins.aspx ) because it contains preformed vitamin A and different species require either that or beta-carotene supplements. It is easy to overdose with that particular supplement. This problem sounds like a nutrition problem, possibly related to vitamin A deficiency.
The insects you are feeding should be gut loaded, I would use dandelion greens (or collard, mustard, watercress), butternut squash (or other yellow squashes), sweet potato (you can find this in the baby food section) or carrots and fruits like raspberries, blueberries or papya. I would also add bee pollen, freeze dried kelp and alfalfa (powder or rabbit food), if you can get a hold of any of that. Throw this into a blender, and freeze most of it for later. Feed that to your feeder animals. Crickets probably will eat more of it than meal worms. If possible syringe feed the mixture every now and then. If he takes dead food, you can manually insert the mixture so he gets more of it (can o worms caterpillars is really good for this).

A high quality gut load is important for the long term well-being of the animal, but it's especially important now that you're trying to help him recover from this because it will also strengthen his immune system. What I would also do is clean the lizards eye sterile saline solution or turtle eye drops. You can try that terramycin eye cream if there is no improvement with the condition, but a healthy immune system plus keeping the eye clean should be the most helpful even if this is an infection.

 

[Mikeg414]

Ok, I can do that. Thank you so much! But, if it is a immune deficiency from the vitamin A why doesn't it's sibling have the same thing? By the way, this one hasn't really eaten because of it's eyes always being closed and it is getting skinnier......I have tried hand feeding but his mouth is so small (and he closes it shut) I can't shove anything in.....

 

[millipede]

I'm not sure what it is or whether or not a nutritional deficiency caused it, but it will support natural recovery without harsh medications. Also the other lizard not getting it doesn't really mean anything, but if this is an infection (bacterial) the he is far more likely to come down with the same thing. The eye infection could be a secondary cause of a suppressed immune system from another cause. Vitamin A is often associated with eye problems.

I strongly recommend this http://www.reptaid.com/, and to administer this whenever you suspect there is any problem with any reptile (follow the given directions), that way you can address the problem quickly and avoid the stress of a vet for this lizard and any others in the future. Accompany this with enhanced nutrition, stress reduction as much as possible and warmer temperatures. It's a 'natural antibiotic' consisting of herbs that will help to induce appetite, fight infections, parasites, and improve overall health. In the fridge it will last up to a year. It will have a guide for the right dose based on the weight of your reptile.

For your lizards current condition now, it's going to be pretty difficult now that he's not eating. He really needs to eat, and he's probably not drinking either and is dehydrated. If you've exhausted other options, such as putting food mixture on his mouth so he can lick it off;
do you think it would be possible to force feed if you had someone help you hold him while the other gently pries his mouth open? Don't do anything that doesn't 'feel' right or might hurt him. I would order this http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2753955, mix that according to the instructions and mix that with the reptaid dose if you have it. You would probably have to use a needle syringe; I would try this very slowly, by holding the head, lowering the bottom jaw and placing it in the mouth, taking care not to put it in too far or inject it down the throat. It would be better, if it is at all possible to get an insect in there, to inject an insect with this mixture (I believe reptiad comes with a needle). Unfortunately this will stress the animal out but eating is the best chance of recovery. At the very least, a high protein baby food with a mixture of greens and fruits with water or pedialyte needs to be administered orally. You need to get creative to try and fine the best way to feed him. There is a small chance that his appetite will come back if you only treat the eye. As of now he's experiencing stress from his condition and needs as much strength as he can get.

 

[Mikeg414]

I will order some reptaid, thank you so much for all the help! As for force feeding, he is still only 2 1/2 inches in length so prying his mouth open with someone elses help would still be a challenge.....is the needle syringe sharp or flat pointed and small enough to maneuver into the lizards mouth? Again, thank you for all the help and answering my many questions!

 

[millipede]

No problem. The needle that comes with it is for injecting the insects and it has a sharp end. For force feeding you can use a dental irrigation syringe http://www.amazon.com/Ezy-Care-Dental-Irrigating-Syringe/dp/B000FQ5N1A, but even smaller that would be easier is http://www.amazon.com/Deep-Pocket-Irrigator-Tips-Syringe/dp/B002CZ2SXS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=hpc&qid=1301536024&sr=8-2, injecting small amounts at a time slowly.
It will only hold liquid so it will work with the pedialyte and reptaid. For now try to keep putting water on the lizard's mouth to get it to drink.