Whats up with my Merauke's eyes

[Reptobob]

WOW am I having a time trying to upload a picture...This Is Layla 1 1/2 year old female Merauke. Lower lid of both eyes are crusty have been for about four weeks ever since I bought her from a reputable pet shop; owner said it is due to left over shed which is causing irritation. Cleane the eye with soft cloth and saline looked better for a couple of days than started getting crusty looking again, nostrils are clear and clean as is her mouth, no wheezing eats fairly well although she is picky.
Tank is a forty gallon breeder 100 watt spot for basking ,around 85 -90 degrees, night time heat lamp keeps tank around 75 degrees. humidity between 65 and 85 percent, hard to regulate and maintain a constant percentage. Substrate shredded cypress.
I am going to try to attach a picture. Thanks for the help.
Bob

[Dakota]

This is not a Merauke, rather — a Halmahera.

What type of hygrometer are you using?

[Reptobob]

An inexpensive dial ( pointer) type going to order a digital. I am totally rocked that this is not a merauke. I am a snake guy, had one B T before an Irian Jaya that was a number of years ago. I really appreciate any help and knowledge you send my way Dakota!

[Dakota]

It is really hard to say what is going on. If the humidity is that high, then I wouldn't think crust would form around the eyes. This is common with skinks (especially Halmaheras) when humidity is chronically low or has a respiratory infection. First, I would make sure your hygrometer is accurate. Hard to believe you can get it up to 85%, when 82% is the absolute highest I can get in South Florida. If the humidity is genuinely that high, then a vet visit may be in order.

For now take any sharp or rugged decor out of his cage, this will drop him from rubbing his eyes so hardly.

Find out what the humidity is with a different hygrometer and let us know. I've never seen this happen when humidity was at an appropriate level.

[Reptobob]

OK, ill pick up a digital hygrometer.
I do not maintain 80-85% that is the high; as the misting evaporates and things dry out the humidity drops down to around 60%. I have two large water bowls a pump style mister which I use twice a day and I pretty much cover the screen top with moist towels to keep heat and humidity in. Not the best set up I know. But yea at the end of the day the humidity does drop off( and can get quite low) until I repeat the process again.

[Dakota]

Moist towel on the top only works for a few hours for me. I would put some type of wrap, such as foil or something. Probably put it on about 75-80% of the top. I keep all mine at very low ventilation. The low ventilation helps the relative humidity stay up without having to spray (rarely do I ever spray). Keep us updated. Hopefully he'll be better in no time!

[Susann]

This to me looks like a definite low humidity problem, which Halmaheras can be very prone to.
I would recommend bumping up the heat a bit if you are doing a lot of spraying; if your basking temp is at 85-90 and the substrate stays pretty wet, that might be a tad low. I might look into maybe making a warm, humid hide for him, see what that does. Because, regardless what a hygrometer tells you, it seems like the humidity may be a bit low for your individual skink.