Bearded Dragon - Eye issue

Question

Stella 1   QUESTION: Hey,
I have a bearded dragon I acquired as a sub-adult(I think she's about 8 months) that shortly after arriving developed swelling in lower left eye. I took her to a reptile vet and he did some analysis and came up with Conjunctivitis. He prescribed Tobrex(tobramycin)twice daily and saline flush (which I do prior to the tobrex) after 3 weeks of this therapy she is showing no marked improvement. She has no other symptoms. Diet is good (dandelion, chard, crickets, mealworms, butterworms, multivitamin dust, calcium dust). Her Tanks runs from 110F to 80F. I have a heat/UVA buld and SlimeLine Reptile Fixture UVB light with SuperUV T8 bulb. I don't want to keep going back to the vet because at 2 hours of driving and $200 a pop I'm sure I can get the same results (or better on the internet). I have more pics, sorry for quality.

Thanks in advance for the help.

ANSWER: Hello Mike,

Conjunctivitis is usually set off by either dust or dirt getting into the eye or improper lighting.  
Your UVB lighting is ESU/Zilla, right?  How close it is to your dragon?  What type of basking light do you have, is it a bright white light or a colored light?  The basking light needs to be mounted directly beside the UVB light focused at one end for the hot spot that you have at 95-110.  
Is the UVB a flourescent tube bulb or a coiled tube type of light?  Can you post a picture of your UVB light too?
The UVB should not be any closer than 6 to 8 inches.  
Can you post an entire picture of your setup for me please, that would be great.  Thanks.


Tracie

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


Stella's House   QUESTION: UVB is ESU, it is 18" from dragon. Bright white basking. USB light is tube. Setup pic is posted.

Thanks for the prompt response.

Answer
Hello Mike,
Ok, good that it is a tube bulb.  ESU is not a great bulb, but it doesn't really put out any low wavelength emissions which are harmful.  However, it is not a very strong light so he wont be getting enough UVB's either.  YOu should try to upgrade to Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb for better emissions.  
In the meantime, try to move the UVB light to 6-8 inches if possible.  Can you move the basking log or platform up somewhat or lower the light into the tank more?  
Otherwise, everything looks great, newspaper is much better than sand.  Could she have scratched her eye somehow?  Is there anything sharp in there she could have hurt herself on?  
Overall, it looks bright enough in there, so I don't think that is the problem, either.
If the problem persists you could try some turtle eye wash for 7-10 days, once to twice daily, before going to the vet.  She could have just scratched her eye with her claw.  Is she going to shed on the head or eye area, or can you tell?


Tracie