cloudy shingleback eyes?

[scaredofbees]

Hello all,

Longtime lurker. first time poster.

I very recently acquired a pair of aspers. Really wonderful animals. The male's eyes appear a bit cloudy... not completely milky like a snake going into shed, but more along the lines of cataracts. There is no discharge and he otherwise seems fine.

The previous owner kept them on a diet of about 20% animal protein, 80% vegetable and fruit matter. The animal protein, I should mention, was chicken, sometimes egg, mouse, earthworms... nothing processed. They were not kept under any overly intense UV light. The male, to my knowledge, has never sustained any sort of injury that would cause this. The female, who's eyes are fine, was kept under the same conditions, fed the same things, and resided in the same enclosure.

Here are some pics of the male:

http://www.scaredofbees.com/downloads/eyes.jpg

Any thoughts? Thanks!

[Musoke]

Do you think he might be blind?

[MiwSher]

Do you know how old he is? That is often a sign of old age with lizards. I've never seen a lizard with eyes like that unless they were gettin on in age. :/
Cutie though!

[El Lobo]

It does seem like a cataract but could possibly be a problem with the nictitating membrane.

[Scotts1au]

I've thought about this one a bit, still going with cateract from excess UV exposure as being likely from previous owner/s.

[scaredofbees]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I have an update on this. After being under my care for about a year and recently coming out of brumation, I have noticed that the aforementioned affliction is completely gone. His eyes are now as clear and bright as the others. Weird. The diet I provide him is slightly different than the previous owner, which is the only thing I can really guess that might have caused this to clear up.

http://www.scaredofbees.com/downloads/eyes.jpg

[Richard.C]

i have eastern blueys that have the same,cloudy eyes,doesnt seem to affect them ,some are only 4 years old to,theres even a couple of wild ones here with same symptoms

[Katrina]

Wow - that is interesting! Nice to hear it cleared up, how does the diet differ? just curious.

[scaredofbees]

For those curious about this, here is an updated photo of his eyes:

[Kbell31]

Yes that is interesting, funny how stuff like that works out...and all because of diet perhaps?

[scaredofbees]

That's my thinking. Then again, perhaps not. I'm assuming the female he was kept with was given the same diet and developed nothing of the sort. Either way, it's weird.

[Richard.C]

could quite easily be more than just diet that has improved the eyes,you probably keep them better than the previous owner,by that mean they are more comfy,all there needs tended to ect ect,stumpies are quite hardy when kept right,and its amazing what they can come back from