Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was just given an 11 month old male beardie, cage and all. Thanks Cris. He makes my third beardie. All day I noticed he is not closing his mouth all the way. I very very gently helped him, to see if it would close all the way, and it did, almost. I did not want to hurt him so I did not force it. It stays open about 1/8 of an inch, with just the tip of his toung sticking out.

Any thing to worry about? Some details about how he WAS being kept-

No digi therm in his cage, but I checked his basking spot with my digi when I got home = 110

Cris said he would not eat greens, so all he got was crickets. I offered him a salid when we got home and he did eat a little for me.

He also said when he bought crickets, he would have pet store dust them for him. I am guessing he would get a week suppyl, and also guessing that most of the calcium/vits would not stay on the crickets very long.

Any guesses? Thanks, Dave

I would post a picture of his mouth. It could be a calcium deficiency issue. Dusting crickets at the pet store is completely worthless. I read once that crickets lose 90% of what they're dusted within 5 or 10 minutes or something like that.

Ok..TY...I did figure a calcium issue. I cant remember where I saw it, but I thought! I read that that was a symptom of lack of calcium.

Will post pics WHEN MY DAUGHTER FINDS OUR CAMERA....lol

And as I was typing this, I gave him a couple well dusted crickets, and a taste of rasberries. I noticed that the tip of his toung is about 3 shades lighter than the rest of his toung. Also calcium issues??? Pics to follow.

That's pretty normal. Some of mine are like that too.

An open mouth by itself isn't a sign of MBD...if the jaw looks soft and floppy sort of, or misaligned, that is more a sign of MBD. Gaping, with mouth partially or fully open, is what bearded dragons do when too warm. They will also open their mouths if they feel threatened, sometimes only partially, others fully open in a full threat display.

From your description, hard to say what is wrong with your new dragon's mouth. Pictures would be best. Till you do find your camera, a much more detailed description will be useful.

Is he active at all? When he walks, stands etc, does he seem shaky or have trouble with his hind legs? What else can you tell us about how he was kept before he came into your care? Did your friend use a UVB light at all? Did he dust or gut load his crickets after he got them from the petstore? (by the way, the dust does get rubbed off the crickets in several ways, them just coming into contact with anything, plus they do groom themselves and get it off that way. Always best to dust then feed the crickets to the dragon within 10-15 minutes, before the dusting comes off).

What sort of substrate was he on with his previous owner? How old is the dragon? How long did your friend have him (if he doesn't know the exact age...knowing how long he had it and roughly how long it was when he first got it, will give a fair estimate on age). What is the current size (snout to tail tip) length and weight of the dragon?
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PHLdyPayne

Well... he isn't just "gaping" though right (allowing heat to escape)? A pic would help, the tongue sounds normal, it's stickier on the end