Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my beardie is having trouble breathing. we moved to florida from up north and i'm afraid that humidity may be an issue, although we keep him inside. i'm taking him to the vet first thing tomorrow, i just was wondering if anyone else has had this problem, and what helped if anything. thanks

I had one pass from a RI. The thing he was doing was making almost a barking noise and puffing up his neck. The he had a slight discharge from his nose. I asked someone on this forum what the barking sound was about and his nose and he told me it was a normal mating thing they did. I took him in the next day because i couldnt believe this was normal and well it turned out to be the case. take him in asap if you think theres any chance that he can have one. Its better safe then sorry. I waited one extra day because of some wrong advice and it cost me!
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0.1.0 Adopted Beardie (Sissy)
0.1.0 Chris Allen Red/Orange (Vicky)
1.0.0 15 year old Eastern Box Turtles (Radar)

Leos
1.3.0 SHTCT Baldy
0.2.0 SHCT
0.2.0 SHT
0.4.0 Hypo Tangerine
0.1.0 High Yellow
0.1.0 Jungle
0.1.0 Tremper Albino
1.0.0 Tangerine Tremper Albino
1.0.0 Pattenless
0.1.0 Blizzard

Only 2 more eggs cooking for the year

it seems like hes gasping for air, but after i looked closer i saw that he was acually forcefully exhaling. i'm taking him to the vet later this morning. if it turns out to be RI do have any idea if its treatable?

if they catch it early enough it can be treated. Though if you take it to a vet that doesn't know reptiles well be very careful! Our (old) vet told us to give him of couple of drops of medicine in the morning for a couple of days and he would be fine. Spike died about 3 hours after we saw the vet.
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-1-0 Rescued Mountain Horned Dragon - Ki
0-0-1 Rescued Aggressive Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-1-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet
0-0-1 Rescued Dieting Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
0-1-0 Rescued Little Angelic Kitten - Isis
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

i took him to an exotic vet. he gave me cefadroxil, an antibiotic, and told me to make sure he keeps eating. was your guy still eating when you took him to the vet, and how bad was his coughing? mine seems to cough more when he's active, and he still eats normally. thanks

not familier with the antibiotics used for Respiratory infection. For the other poster who's dragon died 3 hours after leaving the vet, it was most likely too far gone to be saved.

High humidity can cuase repiratory infections in bearded dragons. It would be a good ideal to use a dehumidifier in the room the dragon's cage is in, or if you have central air, that should take the humidity out. Dragons can tolerate around 60% humidity but much higher than that and your dragon will get respiratory infections. might be a good ideal to buy a digital humidex to measure the tank's humidity, the basking light should help evaporate moisture in the air. I would also remove any dishes of water you may keep in the cage, as water can evaporate from the dish and raise the cage humidity. If your dragon likes to get his water from a dish, instead of u sing one with a wide open top, use a smaller one. A jar lid works well, though it would require frequent refilling, or a small ceramic bowl. The ideal is to decrease the surface area of the water, so less evaporates.
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PHLdyPayne

I would also raise the temps in his cage. I would take his basking spot to about 115. I talked to a vet out here that graduated form michigan state who studied mainly in reptiles, and she suggested raising the temps during the night as well. i would keep the cage above 75 at night just until you see him getting better.

hope this helps
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0.1.0 Adopted Beardie (Sissy)
0.1.0 Chris Allen Red/Orange (Vicky)
1.0.0 15 year old Eastern Box Turtles (Radar)

Leos
1.3.0 SHTCT Baldy
0.2.0 SHCT
0.2.0 SHT
0.4.0 Hypo Tangerine
0.1.0 High Yellow
0.1.0 Jungle
0.1.0 Tremper Albino
1.0.0 Tangerine Tremper Albino
1.0.0 Pattenless
0.1.0 Blizzard

Only 2 more eggs cooking for the year