eye problem

[Ettie^]

hi. ive got 3 bearded dragons. 2females and a male. the one female is due to lay her eggs in a few days and theres something wrong with her and the males eyes. they cant open their eyes , the eyes isnt swollen they just cant open it. i had a uvb5 light and just replaced it a week ago with a reptapet uvb10 light. is this the cause? or is the cause vemiculite in the one corner of the tank the cause? i added the vermiculite fot the female to lay her eggs in. this is my first clutch of babies coming and i was told to add vermiculite for her to lay it in and then dig the eggs out with a spoon and put with new vermiculite in the incubator. anyone know whats wrong with their eyes. the other female is fine so why doesnt it also happen to her?

[jbnery6465]

A good UVB source is also important for Calcium absorption by the dragons. And Calcium is important both during and after laying eggs.

[Ettie^]

because now their eyes are both shut and they cant catch crickets or eat their vegetables? anyone know what i can do to make it go away. ive turned the uvb light off but i can only buy a new one in 2weeks

[Ettie^]

yes they are kept on sand (like children playsand ,never was a problem before). they are sort of housed together coz ive got a 3meter by 1.5 meter reptile tank but i divided the cage in 3 with wood each part with a basking lamp and evrything. they are approx 2 years old ive got the female nd male that has the eye problem around 3 months ago for free coz the owner wasnt looking after them properly he let them live in fish tank gravel and didnt clean the tanks and stuff . and this eye thing only started 3 days ago. i think it was the new uvb light i installed 6days ago because if i put them outside they open their eyes alittle and run around and stuff and when i put them back in the tank they close their eyes again. i turned off the uvb light yesterday morning. if no improvement in a few days ill haveto take them to the vet

[zebrajanie]

Sounds like that is your problem, Etta.  I know you said it would a few weeks til you can get a Reptisun 10.0, but can't you take the one you have and exchange it against the cost of the Sun?
Just an idea
Janie.

[Ettie^]

i turned off the uvb light and in 2days they were back to normal. so it was the uvb

[jbnery6465]

What you can do in the mean time, if possible, is set them in direct sun for an hour or two. That should give them more than enough UVB until you get pick up a reptisun 10.0.