swollen eye on bearded dragon

Question

rocko's eye   QUESTION: hello, i got a 2yr old bearded dragon who has a swollen eye.
it is hard by touch, and a little discolored, however there
is no puss, no secretions. so can you give me an idea of
what it maybe. i have been using saline wash , which he
doesn't seem to mind. i have changed his sand to a gentle
bio-degradable coconut shavings, and made sure his lights
are not to close and are the safe ones. so please any help
would be great. have included a picture

ANSWER: Hello Crystal,

Which UVB light do you use, a fluorescent tube bulb, a compact or coil light?  What brand is it?
What type of basking light do you use?
What are the temperatures in the tank & what type of thermometer are you using?  A stick on type, a digital probe or a temp gun?
Make sure he does not eat the coconut shavings.  Normally it isn't recommended that they are housed on loose substrates because it holds too much bacteria & it can be an impaction risk.

That looks like a cyst.  It is not affecting the inside of the eye, correct?  It appears to be all on the outside of the eye.  This will need to be looked at & probably removed carefully.  They can try to aspirate some fluid from it to culture it just to make sure it is not cancerous.

Is he eating pretty well right now?

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I do not have a basking light, and have a blue 100 watt uvb
(can't remember name at this time but will find out), the
light sits 15inches away from top of tank. i have a stick on
thermometer, a strip on outside and a stick one on out
side.(the temperature has been staying around 80-90
degree's) i was told that these guys like it dark at night
so instead of basking light i have heated rock. so know i
know that pet store was wrong about shavings, what is a
better material to use? the cyst does not seem to affect the
eye, he tries to scratch it, but there is no seeping; he is
eating, i give him a cricket twice a day and some soften
pellet food every couple of days mixed with some fruit or
vegetables.

ANSWER: Hello Crystal,

Did you find out the name of the blue 100 watt UVB light?  I think that it is not going to be a UVB light though, as they are not normally colored.  I hope you were able to find out the brand of this light.
He does need a good UVB light.
The stick on type of thermometers do not read basking temperatures very well.  You will need to get either a digital probe or a temp gun to measure the temperatures more accurately.  The recommended basking temperatures need to be 95-105 on the warm end with a cooler end of around 78-82 roughly.  If you need nighttime heating for the winter, you can use a ceramic heat emitter instead of a light.  
The heat rock can be dangerous.  Have you noticed if it has gotten very hot?  Bearded dragons do not have heat sensors on their ventral sides so they can get burned without knowing it & wont move before they get burned.
A good substrate to use is non adhesive shelf liner, paper towels, or tiles.  
Good that he is eating though, & that the eye doesn't seem to bother him right now.  It could become irritated & maybe infected if he did break the skin by scratching it.  Is there a vet you could take him to that sees reptiles, around?   
As an adult, he can have 40-50 feeders, weekly, along with greens & veggies.    

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: the light is a ZillaBlue 100watts. the rock is kept on a
thermostat so that it only reaches 80degress then cools when
need be. okay so i will take out shavings, an try what you
suggested. also should i continue to gentle rinse his eye
with saline wash? and what is the difference in a uvb and a
uva light?

Answer
Hello Crystal,

Ok, the ZillaBlue is not a UVB unfortunately.  Is it a blue light, literally, shining blue or just a bluish hue that shines relatively bright white?
He will need a UVB light.  So, the Reptisun 10 tube bulb would be the best one to get.  Do not get any compact or coil lights, they are not very good.  Also, stay away from the Reptiglo 10 products, as well.  Unfortunately, this year has not been a good year for UVB lights, as the only decent one at the moment is the Reptisun 10.  You can get it for a good price at www.petmountain.com

Well, that is fine then, that the rock is on a thermostat but be careful & make sure it does not burn him.  You will need to get a different thermometer to make sure the basking temperatures are good for him.
You can continue the eye rinse with the sterile saline wash.  Does his eye itself, look irritated at all?  Is it red?  It didn't appear too irritated in the picture you posted.  I would suggest an antibiotic eye ointment, but am not sure if it would help much since this is a problem outside of the eye itself.  
The differences in UVA & UVB light is the nanometers, intensity & the length of the wavelengths.  The UVA is a longer wavelength than the UVB which is a little shorter.  There are other differences too but the main one when we talk about the need for UVB in reptiles, is that they need the particular wavelength of the UVB to synthesize D3 to help maintain strong bones.  The UVA will not produce that for them.

Tracie