Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have three new babies as of earlier today... just a couple minutes ago i went up and turned on my beardie's uv bulb to get a look at them... its night and they seem to show there true colors while at rest... there all up on the one log and a cricket is on top of one of there heads... i figue that the cricket is pickin at him so i try to blow him off.

the cricket runs down his tail and another beardie looks up and sees this... so what does he do... imediatly after waking up the fatty pounces after this cricket but gets the sleeping beardie's tail instead, oonce he realizes what hes done he lets go... but the bitten dragon wakes up ( a pretty rude awaking if you ask me) opens his mouth at the agresor dragon and starts wheezing at him... not hissing wheezing.

He keeps his mouth open and while hes wheezing his belly looks as if filling and letiing out air at a veryh uncomfortable rate... it almost looked like his ribs were moving with his breath, like he was having a heart attack or something, poor little guy i feel so bad

so i reach in to rub his back and try and calm him (like thats gonna help) and he gets scared an runs down to the bottom of the log to which he is back into his normal, retarted, turning his head to the side in question bearded dragon he was when i got him, like nothing happened. The thing looked as if it was having a major respitory failure and then looked at me like "why'd you touch me?" i dunno what to do but i cannot afford a vet right now, i dont men i dont want to pay for it, i mean quote I CANNOT AFFORD A VET RIGHT NOW unquote... but the way he settled down i cant tell whether theres really something wrong, but he looked like he was having a straight up panick attack. Any input on this would be appreciated.

>>i have three new babies as of earlier today... just a couple minutes ago i went up and turned on my beardie's uv bulb to get a look at them... its night and they seem to show there true colors while at rest... there all up on the one log and a cricket is on top of one of there heads... i figue that the cricket is pickin at him so i try to blow him off.
>>
>>the cricket runs down his tail and another beardie looks up and sees this..

I don't know about the rest of the stuff, but I do know that you do not leave crickets in a beardie's cage overnight. The crickets will chew on them and that can cause infection. I had a juvenile die from a systemic infection brought on by a cricket having chewed on the dragon's tail... the tail started dry rotting and the infection couldn't be stopped. Always best to feed dragons crickets in a separate container especially if the main cage is set up where crickets can hide easily and be overlooked and mistaken as having been eatened when they weren't.
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PHWyvern

What happens to Beardies in the wild when a cricket (or other insect) decides to have a chew? They live with it. I am not saying that we should subject our Beardies to un-necassary chewing, but I do think that some people tend to be too over protective and thus remove part of the nature of the creature. These creatures have survived for millenia. I know that they are out of their natural habitat and that mostly their care is in the owners hands but I think that some people do not give Beardies enough credit for being a hardy animal.
You mention that your BD died bue to an infection caused by a cricket chewing on its tail. How do you know that the cricket found some infected area on your BD's tail and though "mmmmmm - I fancy a nibble of that" and that the infection was caused by some other non-related influence? Just thoughts and I am not trying to be rude (sorry if it sounds that way but Im really hot (BIG heatwave in UK at moment) and Im at work just wantin to get out n enjoy it!)and I do take good and proper care of my aniomals but I am interested if anybody agrees in that you can remove an animal from its natural habitat too much and thus loose the natural charm that got you hooked in the first place.
Thanks,
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AndyD

0.0.1 Mexican Kingsnake
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Hypo-Green)
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Red Phase)
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Hypo Red X Purple Tiger)
1.0.0 Egyptian Uromastyx
0.0.1 Frilled Dragon

You can't have any pudding if you don't eat your meat!!

i leave crickets in the tank, i like to watch him walk around to find his food, and at night i just leave veggies on the side for the cricets so they wont be starving enough to eat my barded dragon i see no problem with leaving bugs in the cage as long as u feed the bugs too, beside when he finds em the next morning and they just ate a big meal that night, its liek a treat for him haha

I have to agree. I have not seen it as a problem to leave them in there. I figure it can be his choice when he eats and, like stated earlier, they do not get this in the wild and manage to survive. I think as long as you are attentive to your animal there won't be a problem. Just my opinion.
As for the original post...I have no idea what your beardie was doing but wow that does sound scary.

>>What happens to Beardies in the wild when a cricket (or other insect) decides to have a chew? They live with it. I am not saying that we should subject our Beardies to un-necassary chewing, but I do think that some people tend to be too over protective and thus remove part of the nature of the creature. These creatures have survived for millenia.

In the wild the bugs and dragon are not confined to a very tiny space where they have no choice but to come in direct contact with each other for long periods of time. The chances of a bug happenstance to come along and just happenstance to start chewing on a bearded dragon in the middle of the night in wild is very different than in captivity where the bugs and dragon are forced together in confinement where neither can escape the other.
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PHWyvern

Not to mention in a caged environment crickets can't find the food they would normally eat in the wild. Or moisture for that matter. the only thing in the cage that may meet the cricket's needs is the dragon.
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PHLdyPayne

why is it less likely for an insect to chew on an animal in the wild? You may leave half a dozen crickets in a viv overnight. If your viv had an area of say 8 sq feet, half a dozen crickets is still way less that the number of insects in 8 sq feet of outback!
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AndyD

0.0.1 Mexican Kingsnake
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Hypo-Green)
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Red Phase)
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Hypo Red X Purple Tiger)
1.0.0 Egyptian Uromastyx
0.0.1 Frilled Dragon

You can't have any pudding if you don't eat your meat!!

To comment on your concerns, when dragon's hiss, they do sound like they are wheezing. As long as there is no excessive mucus discharge from either the mouth or nostrals, I wouldn't be too worried about Upper respiratory infection.

Giving the fact it is very common for dragons to nip eachother's toes or tails mistaking them for insects or just missing a cricket, as what happened in your case, it is best to keep them separately.
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PHLdyPayne

As one post stated, leaving fresh veggies in gives the crickets food and moisture so I do not see this as a problem. In the wild, do insects still not co-habit with other creatures or do they think "OK, its evening and I won't chew on any Beardies"? - no, of course not. Also, the relative population of insects to lizards is very high. I think that it is more likely that the insects in the wild have other things to chew on so do not eagerly try and chew Beardies. If you leave food for the insects in the cage then you are keeping the environment more real and also the crickets feed on the veggies, thus gut loading and then provide a nutritional meal when the Beardie wakes.
I just think that some people go over the top by over caring.
I think that things may be different if there was an open wound or sore on the Beardie. In this case, an insect might see the flesh as a tasty meal, which is why I asked if the original post was sure that the cricket caused the wound and not just capitalised on a free meal.
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AndyD

0.0.1 Mexican Kingsnake
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Hypo-Green)
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Red Phase)
0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Hypo Red X Purple Tiger)
1.0.0 Egyptian Uromastyx
0.0.1 Frilled Dragon

You can't have any pudding if you don't eat your meat!!

. . .if I was sound asleep, something bit my tail, and then something else touched my back as I was trying to run away from the tail biter-- I'd be terrified that something was trying to eat me! Sounds like the poor little devil was having a panic attack, and for good reason.
Just a thought.
rgds,
althea