The foremost and best way to tell if your bearded dragons are healthy or unhealthy is by observing their behaviors. For instance, bearded dragon droopy eyes indicate a lot of things.
It is so unfortunate that unhealthy bearded dragons cannot tell you what is going wrong. Because of that, it becomes difficult to know if your dragon has droopy eyes due to a problem or not.
Eyes drooping is common in bearded dragons, and it creates a lot of worries to many owners, especially if they don’t understand what is causing it.
Further, in the article, we’ll learn what causes droopy eyes in the beardies, how to prevent and treat it, and more.
Let’s continue reading
This article has been reviewed by Dr. Dilber. Read more about our knowledge control process here.
Contents
Understanding Bearded Dragon Droopy Eyes
I had lived with my beardie for several months after buying it, and its eyes seemed to be dropping. With not much to think of, I assumed it was normal or perhaps a genetic defect.
But with time, it started bothering me, especially after gathering some clues about the drooping eyes, and it was not a good feeling to see my friend with these kinds of eyes.
I would even promise that I will not forgive myself if my buddy had these strange eyes due to sickness. Out of curiosity and desire to know much about bearded dragon droopy eyes, I had to do thorough research.
Everything went successfully, and that is why I’m here today to help you understand this behavior.
In most cases, immediately, you realize your beardie’s eyes are drooping; it is best to see a reptile vet.
However, when the dragon has droopy eyes, but it is feeding as usual, and there are no other signs of illnesses, you don’t need to worry. Also, some beardies have naturally drooping eyes.
Why Is My Bearded Dragon having Droopy Eyes?
Although some dragons possess natural droopy eyes, typically, these kind of eyes occurs due to a variety of reasons. Some beardies have droopy eyes due to their genetics. However, it is also considered as nutritional problem.
A bearded dragon can have one or both eyes drooping, and they tend to resemble the typical eyes of a bloodhound. If you know a bloodhound, then you know exactly how the droopy eyes look like.
Bearded dragon droopy eyes can occur due to dehydration, kidney issues, excess/deficiency of vitamin A, and parasites. Now that you know what causes droopy eyes in the beardies let’s go deeper into each situation for more understanding.
Drooping Eyes Due to Kidney Problem
Droopy eyes, together with a black beard, are an indication that your lizard is seriously sick, and you need to go to your reptile vet as soon as possible.
A beardie can suffer from kidney problems at any age, which may be acute or chronic, kidney problems occur due to prolonged dehydration. More often, kidney issues occur due to poor husbandry practices and improper diet. For instance, it occurs due to; vitamin A deficiency, low humidity, long-time deprivation of water, and excess protein.
In most cases, the signs that a beardie has kidney problems are non-specific, which makes it hard to detect the problem early. Due to this, many dragons end up receiving their treatment when the problem has advanced. I know you don’t want to reach such a point, right?
If your bearded dragon is having some kidney issues, the early signs that you can notice are drooping eyes, reduced appetite, and lethargy. If you observe these signs, be sure to visit a reptile vet right away. At an advanced level, kidney issues can result in more severe problems.
The first step to addressing kidney problems is focusing on the husbandry practices and ensuring that everything is well set. Moreover, the vet may recommend long-term medication.
Droopy Eyes Due to Eye Infection
Bearded dragons can contract eye infections from different sources, so the best way is to take the lizard to a reptile vet should you suspect it has an eye infection. It is possible to cure eye infection at home, but I would always advise you to see the vet first.
If you choose to care for the beardie at home with no prescription from the vet, the truth is, you don’t know the exact cause of this problem. It will be a matter of guessing, and you may end up complicating things even more.
Eye infection is a severe problem, and you will notice that even the vets prefer to diagnose it first before administering treatment. It is not always something to just see with the eyes and give drugs.
So, what causes eye infection in bearded dragons? It can occur due to a viral and bacterial infection, vitamin A deficiency, and substrate problems. Some substrates like shavings or sand can get into the beardie’s eye, irritates it and, in the end, eye infection.
When a bearded dragon’s eyes droop and appear like those of a bloodhound, and probably with discharges, it could be due to an infection in the eye.
Droopy Eyes as a Sign of Dehydration
Dehydration lowers the concentration of fluids to the body tissues including eyes and cause droopy eyes.
Most of the time, droopy eyes in bearded dragons occur due to dehydration. It should always be the first thing to check when you notice your pet eyes drooping.
Here is how to check for dehydration; carefully pick the lizard and with your index finger and thumb gently pinch the skin in the areas with loose skin. If the dragon is dehydrated, when you let the skin go, it is slow to return to normal.
There are other signs of dehydration apart from droopy eyes, including lack of energy, reduced appetite, wrinkled skin, and lethargy. If you notice that your beardie suddenly becomes more cheerful after drinking water, it is because of dehydration.
Likewise, dehydration occurs due to several reasons, including diarrhea, illnesses, and water deprivation.
You can help a dehydrated dragon through misting, regular bathing, or get it to drink water. You can also use a syringe, of course, with its needle absent if the beardie doesn’t drink water on its own.
Bearded Dragons Eyes Dropping Because of Lizard’s Parasites
Parasites don’t only cause droopy eyes in bearded dragons but can also lead to other severe problems if not treated right away. Parasites are incredibly irritating, and they attack more sensitive parts like the eyes, ears, nose, and belly.
They suck blood from the beardie and can easily pass on diseases from one bearded dragon to another.
Similarly, you will need to see your reptile vet to confirm whether it is parasites causing the drooping eyes in your beardie.
You can easily control external parasites like mites and ticks by cleaning the enclosure regularly and disinfecting it together with all the accessories and substrates.
Dropping Eyes and Vitamin A Deficiency
Vitamin A deficiency also called hypovitaminosis A in bearded dragons, leads to eyes problems. One sign of this disorder is swollen eyes. Droopy eyes can occur due to swelling of the eyelid.
This is a severe condition and requires immediate treatment to prevent severe problems from arising. If the swelling persists, the conjunctiva becomes swollen and visible and affects the vision of the beardie.
The problem can be addressed through the administration of vitamin A, medication, and correcting the diet. Bearded dragons get this disorder when they are supplemented with artificial vitamin A for reptiles.
To prevent this problem, you will need to supplement your bearded dragon with multivitamins that have natural vitamin A.
What are the Signs of a Healthy Bearded Dragon Eyes?
Now that you know most of the signs of unhealthy eyes in bearded dragons, you need also to understand how they look when healthy.
Since you are the person spending much time with your beardie and caring for it, I’m sure you can tell when it is okay, or there is a problem.
The same way you need to feed your bearded dragon every day, you should also keep an eye on them more often to be able to know when things aren’t right. It is enough to tell whether your pet is healthy or not by just seeing.
There is no time you will hear your beardie telling you that it is sick, and that is why you need to pay attention to its behaviors and appearance. Having that in mind, let’s now see the signs of a healthy bearded dragon eye.
A healthy bearded dragon’s eyes should be clear, alert, and bright. Anything contrary to that indicates that the beardie is unwell. However, a beardie can have dull eyes due to shedding issues.
Wrapping Up
That’s all I have about bearded dragon droopy eyes. I hope you enjoyed reading about the droopy eyes in the beardies and everything in the article.
Eyes drooping in bearded dragons isn’t a life-threatening problem, so you should not be worried a lot. If the issue is addressed without delay, it will help to save your pet and avoid extreme issues like blindness.
If you notice your beardie has droopy eyes and it is not dehydrated, it could be due to kidney problems, vitamin A deficiency, eye infection, or parasites. Always inform the reptile vet when your pet has this problem.