Hello:
Has anyone experienced this?
My 4-yr-old Cherryhead--who appears to be the only male in my creep of 5--takes 30 seconds and sometimes longer to open his eyes when picked up and/or jostled in the mornings. They are outside year 'round here, where we're on an island off the Gulf Coast of Florida. For whatever reason, this one has always been particularly skittish and anti-social, and I generally don't handle it much. Upon undertaking the yearly ritual of winterizing one end their enclosure about a month ago, I became aware of the eye issue. At first I thought it might be parasites, so I gave it a dab of Panacur a week apart. At the same time, I have been giving him warm baths every two or three days. He eats normally and acts as he always has...apart from the first 30 seconds or so after he's awoken in the morning, when he looks like a blind old man. I do notice his eyes are slightly watery at times, and I have observed him rubbing his head to one side, as if to be trying to remove an imaginary cover from his eyes.
Should I be worried?
This is his 4th "winter," where it may get to the high 40s a few nights from December through February; they do have a Stanfield heat pad that keeps them warm in the enclosed area. Each of the other four appear fine with no issues.
It's only supposed to get down to 61º tonight, but I brought him inside in a large plastic tub for observation. We gave him a warm bath, and he pooped up a storm while eating grapes, tomato, and squash. We even gave him a small scrap of raw tuna that he devoured in seconds. He also ate 4 Mazuri pellets and a hibiscus flower from our tree earlier in the day. If there were a parasite causing the eyes to be closed when awoken, wouldn't he refuse to eat?
It won't let me attach a video of the eyes closed when first awakened, but here is one photo with his eyes closed taken from a video clip a week or so ago, along with two others from him eating inside the plastic pen tonight.
Is this serious to the point of being life-threatening? Might this go away? Any/all advice welcomed. Thank you!
Has anyone experienced this?
My 4-yr-old Cherryhead--who appears to be the only male in my creep of 5--takes 30 seconds and sometimes longer to open his eyes when picked up and/or jostled in the mornings. They are outside year 'round here, where we're on an island off the Gulf Coast of Florida. For whatever reason, this one has always been particularly skittish and anti-social, and I generally don't handle it much. Upon undertaking the yearly ritual of winterizing one end their enclosure about a month ago, I became aware of the eye issue. At first I thought it might be parasites, so I gave it a dab of Panacur a week apart. At the same time, I have been giving him warm baths every two or three days. He eats normally and acts as he always has...apart from the first 30 seconds or so after he's awoken in the morning, when he looks like a blind old man. I do notice his eyes are slightly watery at times, and I have observed him rubbing his head to one side, as if to be trying to remove an imaginary cover from his eyes.
Should I be worried?
This is his 4th "winter," where it may get to the high 40s a few nights from December through February; they do have a Stanfield heat pad that keeps them warm in the enclosed area. Each of the other four appear fine with no issues.
It's only supposed to get down to 61º tonight, but I brought him inside in a large plastic tub for observation. We gave him a warm bath, and he pooped up a storm while eating grapes, tomato, and squash. We even gave him a small scrap of raw tuna that he devoured in seconds. He also ate 4 Mazuri pellets and a hibiscus flower from our tree earlier in the day. If there were a parasite causing the eyes to be closed when awoken, wouldn't he refuse to eat?
It won't let me attach a video of the eyes closed when first awakened, but here is one photo with his eyes closed taken from a video clip a week or so ago, along with two others from him eating inside the plastic pen tonight.
Is this serious to the point of being life-threatening? Might this go away? Any/all advice welcomed. Thank you!
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