Crusty eyes-Possible Photo-kerato Conjunctivitis?

[JimmyBlues]

Hello all you fabulous BTS owners,

First time poster, regarding my Jimmy, my BTS. He is a little over a year old, bought him in late august 2012 from Jabberwock Reptiles out of Winchester MA. They were not sure exactly how old he was when I bought him, however to give some sort of idea his entire body (including tail) was about 6 inches long. Anyway, when I first got him, I noticed that his right eye seemed to not open up as wide as his normal looking left eye. Around the eye there was just a very slight pink-ish outline that the healthy looking eye didn't have. I guess where I first went wrong was I didn't think anything of it at the time.

He seemed to have otherwise grown well over the months, as he was fed wet cat-food (recommended by reptile store, no seafood), and this vegetable/meat mixture that was always supplemented with Repti-Calcium with D3. I had read on here that it was ok to not have a 10.0 UVA/UVB light, as long as you supplement calcium and d3. His eye problem still persisted though. I can provide more info on his 1st year upbringing if you need more background to help answer my questions, but I want to keep this post short for now.

Now with my questions:
1. In the last 2-4 months, his eye problem has gradually gotten worse. See attached photos. Is anyone familiar with this issue? I did some research but can't reach any conclusions. Could it be some sort of eye infection or photo-kerato conjunctivitis?
2. Whenever he's moving around, he seems to make a "sneezing" noise almost every 5 seconds or so. Is this normal?
3. What's the best way to get him to do his business in his tank? He seems to only like pooping and peeing when hes out of his tank playing.
4. Does anyone know of any reputable reptile/lizard vets in the Boston area? I really wanna help my little buddy out, but as a broke college senior without a car who goes to school in the city, it appears to be a tough task to get him out somewhere. Any advice is appreciated.

Since I moved a couple weeks ago, he hasn't really eaten much at all. Now his right eye is starting to look like the left eye. Also seems to be breathing oddly.

Please feel free to ask any questions regarding my BTS, as any critique is appreciated since I am a first time reptile owner.

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Thanks,
-E

[Kurt]

That's something you will want to go to a vet for. This forum has many experts but to get a propper diagnosis and treatment you will need a vet. I know there is a list of good reptile vets on this forum somewhere, that'd be a good place to start.

You have an Indonesian, which means he was either wild caught and imported or born from a gravid wild caught that was imported. Wild caughts often come with parasites which I'm guessing is the underlying problem.

[Kurt]

And sneezing frequently is pretty common. Every 5 seconds sounds like a lot though... What substrate do you have him on?

His bathroom habits... If its while you're handling him then it's because he's nervous. If its while he's just roaming around then idk... Maybe just wait for your BTS to go on his/her own in the tank and take him/her out. What are the temps in the tank?

[JimmyBlues]

Hi Kurt thanks for the reply. I guess 5 seconds was an overestimate, its just recently whenever he's been on the move, it seems like its pretty frequent. I use aspen wood shavings in his tank, could it be that?

About his bathroom habits.. its almost always when hes roaming about (hasn't gone while someones been holding him in like 6+ months). My thought is that since he moves around more when he's out of his tank, maybe his stool just loosens up? I have a 40 gallon tank. Over the last couple months I have tried to get him to go in his tank more by leaving him in there for longer periods of times (days on end), and while he sometimes goes in his tank, I think he still prefers the good ol play and poop outside his tank.

The guys who sold him to me said that it was captive bred.

[Richard.C]

could be a number of things,so as kurt mentioned a vet is probably your best bet,they arent super expensive to take for a check up,and you will get an accurate answer,then can go from there

hopefully someone can reccomend an exotic vet in your area,if not u could try googling exotic vets in your area and see if they practice reptillian medicine

welcome to the forum

what ever happens keep us posted on how jimmy goes

[Spindown]

sneezing is very common, they are burrowers and that is how they clear their nose. The eye thing is concerning, I almost lost my IJ that I used to have to a similar looking issue...the IJ rubbed her eyelids off! Definitely take him to vet, because this could actually be something more serious. Not trying to scare you, but better to be safe than sorry.

I hope for you that he really is captive bred, but many sellers will flat out lie. In the end it doesnt matter, since even captive bred animals can have parasites, but it can definitely make the taming and socializing aspects take longer.

[El Lobo]

Photo-kerato conjunctivitis is caused by over-exposure to UV. If no UVB lamp is provided that could not be the cause of the problem.

Eye inflammation combined with sneezing suggest the probability of a bacterial or viral upper respiratory infection which will need accurate diagnosis and treatment by a (preferably) reptile vet.