Bearded dragon (left eye shut only) ?!

Question
Good day, today I have just notice my dragon's left eye wont open. I haven't tried to open it myself as it may be painful for the bearded dragon. I dont know if it is serious but i have had my bearded dragon for about 2 years now and this has just occured. I have had an observation around his eye and I am a novice about bearded dragons and I will appriciate any ideas or anything I need to know about this.
Many thanks
John Smith

Answer
Hello John,

If just the one eye is affected and you have noted no other symptoms then I would suspect that you are dealing with just a little minor irritation to that eye rather then a systemic problem like a respiratory infection.
The muscles that open the eyelids are not very strong and just a little dried discharge can be enough to seal an eye shut. This can be triggered by something as simple as retained skin around the eye or sand dust. Contrary to popular belief, beardeds do not naturally live on deep, loose beach-like sand but something more like hard-packed soil.

The trick to helping him open it more comfortably is to moisten the area well. Misting his head with tepid water a few times over the course of 15 - 20 minutes is usually enough. Saline (for contact lenses) in preferable to water but not absolutely necessary. After that, very gently swabbing over the eye with a moist cotton-tipped swab or cotton ball is usually enough to open it again. Continue misting him a abit to help flush any debris that may be in the eye.

I have had a couple vets recommend treating minor eye inflammation in birds and other animals by flushing with a cooled solution of weak, black tea. I suspect this might be an old farming trick!
The tannins in the tea make the solution slightly acidic which makes it anti-bacterial.