Bearded Dragon Blindness

Question
I have recently found my bearded dragon that had managed to get outdoors. Its been outside for more than a week. Now its eyes are swollen and can't even open. the vet I go to don't know anything about reptiles.. what should I do.

Answer
Hello Calvin,
Have you tried splashing warm water towards his eyes? Are they crusty, goopy, or just swollen shut? It sounds like he got something in his eye and it got infected like a peice of dirt most likely. But sense they cant rinse their own eyes it gets infected. If splashing warm water at it and giving him a bath doesn't help, then go to the pet store and buy turtle eye drops. They are made for turtles but are not harmful for Bearded Dragons and help a lot. Try to get them in his eye if possible but don't force him or hurt him trying to open it. Be sure his enclosure is very clean and use only paper towels as substrate for he is injured and you need to help prevent any further problems. Here is a list of veterinarians that treat reptiles.

http://www.herpvetconnection.com/    (Scroll down on this link)

Use your location and look up the info for that location to find a good vet. If there are none check on this site:

http://www.arav.org/USMembers.htm


I hope he is ok and starts healing, raise the temperatures a couple degrees to help him heal. Good luck!