BLUE TONGUE SKINKS

I'm really worried about cricket's eye. sometimes when he blinks this pink bubble comes out the the corner towards his nose. when i thought i saw it before i nearly flipped and watched him for an hour. it didn't happen again so i though i was seeing things. tonight when i fed him it happened 4 times! i'm pretty sure it causes him pain because he grimaced all the times it happened. i'm really worried about it, does anyone have an idea of what it is? i can't seem to get a shot of it, but if i do i will post it any.

I would make sure theres no substrate or foreign objects in the eye, first off. Also, check to make sure there's no discharge from the other eye or his nostrils/mouth.
If you can't find a foreign object in his eye, take him to a reliable herp vet.
Check out www.herpvetconnection.com and type in your state to find a good herp vet.
Good luck!

If its just the one eye-theres a good chance it's a foreign object. However, if you find nothing...take cricket to a reliable herp vet ASAP.

i looked around online and found one that was recommended on several sites. they are about an hour away, but it just so happens i was planning to be in that area tomorrow anyways. i called and left a message for them to call me asap in the morning.

When I had a Chameleon, it got a bit of debris in his eye, and it turned into a sist, he had to have an op to remove it but made a full recovery, good luck and hoping for a good result.

Poor Cricket. Hey keep us posted.

Cricket and i visited the vet today about his eye, it was not a fun experience . as you know, cricket is not social, at all, despite my attempts and pleads for his better behavior.

Diagnosis:

Cherry Eye

meaning that his third eye lid will sometimes pop out. i know that dogs get this and if it gets bad engough they have to have surgery, but reptiles? well, apparently. anyways, cricket doesn't need surgery because his goes back in -for now- not that it ever won't, but its possible. she gave me some drops to put in his eyes every day for inflammation, and from what she says, its something i will probably have to keep on hand in case this happens again.

as i said above, vet visits are absolutely NO fun. first he pooped all over the scale, then managed to freak the vet tech out by being all huffy and aggressive. then he was squirming so much that when the vet put this numbing stuff in his eyes, so she could check behind them for debris, he got the stuff in his mouth and his tongue went numb! then because his tongue was numb, he couldn't get it back in his mouth. the funny part was, was that he was making his *ticked off face at the vet with his tongue out and everything, but as soon as she said she wanted to see in his mouth he clamped it shut (this was before the mouth numbing). and she couldn't get him to open it .

over all, the vet did good. she was really gentle with him, despite his squirming, pooping, peeing, huffing, and mean faces. after about 15 minutes, he calmed down and let her do what ever to him, except open his mouth. still, he was so stressed, i think i might not hold him for a few days just to let him get over the terror.

poor guy.

PS, she also thinks he has a respiratory infection, which i really don't think he has, because he sneezed. just in case, $123 dollars later (for the one respiratory test only,not including the visit or the meds) i get to wait a few days for the results.

Poor Cricket. Good on you for taking him to the vet and getting him all checked out. Does Cherry eye go away? I really hope he gets better, and there are no RIs in sight. Wishing you and cricket good things!

Jeez ... sounds like The Three Stooges Meets the Dentist! Poor little bluey. I bet the eye drops will make a big difference. Here's hoping for blue skies for Cricket!

Was your vet qualified for Herps? (just checking because its funny that the vet tech was freaked by him.)
I wonder if there might be stuck shed around his eye scales that could be causing this? (I know mine has had a bit of scale shed that stuck out from his eye area last time he shed. He just missed that spot, was all.)
Anyways, good luck with Cricket!

yes, she was recommended by sever sites online.
sorry for the misspelling, it was a really long day yesterday.

i really really liked the vet. she knew what he was doing, was asking me all kinds of questions and even gave me some tips to improve crickets habitat. the office though, was horrible. the staff at the front desk was the worst i have ever seen. i was so mad that i almost left, but was glad i didn't after meeting the vet. i told her about the girls at the counter and she got upset. so?? its the vet that matters i guess, not the people who answer the phone.

Yes, the actual vet definitly matters, but IMHO, if they're that great, they should know how to hire competent and friendly staff as well!!!
Also, the sneezing thing has me wondering. I was concerned about sneezes when I first got Chuff, but the Caresheet said it is normal,(these guys like to burrow and go under and into things) and as I've had Chuffers for a while now, I've gotten used to it and my vet didn't think there was any issue at all.

Have to say, I laughed when I read that your guy pooped all over the scale. (I love poop stories!)

His poor tongue! How long was it numb for?
For the agression thing, my vet has this really cool trick, he gently puts his fingers over the lizards' eyes, (I'm not sure how this works with or even if its done with lidless species, by the way!!) and it kind of relaxes and hypnotises them. (It apparently stimulates certain "relax" chemicals in their little brains) It makes it easy for taking x-rays and weighing and stuff.

SailleSkinklover wrote:Yes, the actual vet definitly matters, but IMHO, if they're that great, they should know how to hire competent and friendly staff as well!!!
Also, the sneezing thing has me wondering. I was concerned about sneezes when I first got Chuff, but the Caresheet said it is normal,(these guys like to burrow and go under and into things) and as I've had Chuffers for a while now, I've gotten used to it and my vet didn't think there was any issue at all.

Have to say, I laughed when I read that your guy pooped all over the scale. (I love poop stories!)

His poor tongue! How long was it numb for?
For the agression thing, my vet has this really cool trick, he gently puts his fingers over the lizards' eyes, (I'm not sure how this works with or even if its done with lidless species, by the way!!) and it kind of relaxes and hypnotises them. (It apparently stimulates certain "relax" chemicals in their little brains) It makes it easy for taking x-rays and weighing and stuff.

If it isnt the vet's clinic, then they may not have much say in who is hired and fired.

My exotic vet covers the animals eyes like that as well! They had to do taht every time I took my iguana in. She was a feisty girl, but that really helped to calm her down.

his tongue was only numb for about 5 minutes. it was funny, yet i was pretty worried about it too. cricket spends all day burrowed, so i think the sneezing is simply because of that. its not like he sits and coughs all day, just a couple of sneezes now and again.

I've never heard of a Bluey (or any herp) coughing. Can they? I don't think they have a diaphram (which is what we use to cough) as they have much "simpler systems than mammals.
But yeah, the sneezing thing is normal, unless you see lots of bubbles or ooze.
Brad, I hadn't thought about the vet not owning the clinic, I suppose you are right about that! But I would also think that working in a vets office would be a highly sought after job so it should be easy to hire good friendly people to work there. (Maybe I'm just basing this on my local and personal experience!)

oh, i forgot to tell you guys! Cricket weighed in at 406 grams and 19 inches. he is growing so fast. i didn't weigh him when i got him (wish i had) but he has grown 3 inches since the end of September. i'll try to get some pictures up asap. he really is quite amazing.

Can wait to see some pics of him. What species/subspecies is Cricket? I cant remember. You also need to get an avatar up!

i want to have an avatar (wine). i've tried like 6 times to get one up but i simply can't do it. its hard with pictures too. i have to bring my computer to school to get pictures to go up. at home it could sit all night and still be uploading the next morning. i don't understand either. at home i have a cable connection and its super fast. i think its my computer, its old and pretty beaten. blah, blah, blah, excuses.

Feel free to email me the pic if you can and I will make you the avatar. Or of course send it to Zach as I know he is usually more than willing to help.

really?!? i would love that! thank you!! hmm... now i only need to get a good picture. you guys are the best