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Has anybody noticed an odor coming from their beardie after lights out?

wideglide Jan 22, 2004 08:00 AM

I have noticed for the last few days a few minutes after I turn the lights out there is a distinct odor coming from where my beardie is sleeping. I think it may be coinciding with his shedding leg. Maybe the layer of moisture that builds between the new and old skin?

Also, I have smelled and smelled and can never smell it when the lights are on.

Anybody else ever notice this?
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Rob

Replies (4)

figuerres Jan 22, 2004 08:20 AM

That does not sound right to me.

I have had my bd at times "Need a bath" after getting some poop on him and a nice bath made him clean and odor free.

you might want to check the area and see if some kind of old food or other stuff is hidden from view and perhaps you just notice it at that time?

also sheding skin should be clean and *DRY* if your bd is having any area where the skin seems to be moist / wet and he has not been in the water then check that out asap.

if that shed is moist then it *MAY* have an infection that needs to be treated.

depending ....
1) is it a normal shed (with the rest of the body)?
2) could it be an injury trying to heal?
3) if its one area and moist it could be a blister on an area that has been burned by heat or by chemicals like an acid or cleaning solution like bleach / lye etc....

I hope it's not some bad problem....
the above is just some ideas to check out and rule out (I Hope)

depending on how the dragon is housed and such He may have got into some trouble when you were not looking...

they can and will seek heat and light, and do not understand the effect of contact with a hot light bulb for example.
that beeing one way to get a burn in a cage.
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wideglide Jan 22, 2004 08:55 AM

Thanks for your help!!

I know there's no burn and he has always shed different parts at a time which I understand is perfectly normal.

The moistness I was referring to is not apparent. If the beardies shed is physiologically similar to a snakes, which it may not be, I'm not really sure, then I believe there is a thin layer of some kind of fluid that builds up between the old and new skin. You can't feel or see it but on a snake it's there. I know that fluid sometimes has an odor to it so I thought maybe it would be similar on a beardie sometimes to have an odor during shed.

Both nights I had given my beardie a bath about 2 hours before bed time and he didn't go after that either night, so I ruled out any waste odor.

I can see or feel no lumps, discoloration, buildup or any other irregularity of any kind that I know of. I gave him a thorough exam last night. Well, in terms of trying to see every nook and cranny and feel every part of his beardie body. I'm no expert, you know!!

This only seemed to start when his leg started going gray and that just looks like a normal shed cycle. There's full functionality and no swelling or anything abnormal I can detect there.

Hmmmm.
-----
Rob

JoeyP Jan 22, 2004 01:02 PM

Maybe an hour or so before lights out you could take the dragon out of the cage and let her fall asleep on a couch or something in a different room. This would help you figure out if it's something in the tank (ie rotting food, something on the bulb it self buring, maybe even a short in the timer itself), or the dragon (in which case the smell would be with the dragon).

wideglide Jan 22, 2004 01:04 PM

>>Maybe an hour or so before lights out you could take the dragon out of the cage and let her fall asleep on a couch or something in a different room. This would help you figure out if it's something in the tank (ie rotting food, something on the bulb it self buring, maybe even a short in the timer itself), or the dragon (in which case the smell would be with the dragon).
-----
Rob

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