Bearded dragons not himself

Question
Hiya i got my bearded dragon about 3 months ago and he's about 6 months old, but the past two weeks he seems to have developed a eye infection its a bit swollen and i keep having to wipe it for him because its gungeing. He doesn't seem himself anymore tho he hardly eats unless i chase the crickets to him and he's started walking funny do you know what i can do?

Answer
Hi Melissa,

The eye problem alone is likely to seriously affect his eating. Beardeds are visual hunters (some reptiles hunt primarily by scent) so his ability to track and catch crickets would be quite affected. The irritation/discomfort and resulting stress will  affect their appetite and general behaviour. Eye problems can be very uncomfortable and make you quite miserable!  You might want to offer some slow moving feeders like large mealworms, silkworms or waxworms until the problem is resolved. You can rinse his eye with saline sold for contact lenses. That can help flush it and is less irritating on eyes then water. Any product that is suitable for human eyes can be used. Polysporin makes an over-the-counter antibiotic drop that can be used in eyes but it may not be available everywhere. Some eye problems can originate from physical irritation caused by sand. If you do have him on sand you should probably switch him onto something like reptile carpet or even paper towel/newspaper.

The "walking funny" is a bit concerning. This is often one of the symptom that owners notice with animals that are suffering from calcium deficiency. This is an extremely common condtion with captive reptiles. It affects the strength of the bones in their legs as well as the muscle contractions so mobility and climbing are seriously affected.
Bearded dragons, especially young ones, need to have their insects regularly dusted with calcium and vitamin D3 (which helps them absorb the calcium).