PLEASE HELP!!!

[xavice]

Boris was having issues earlier looking a bit bloated, I was using a Reptiglo 10.0 for about a week and just today right before i switched him to a Solar Glo I noticed he was opening his mouth and a bubble would come out. What's going on?

 

[diamc]

He may very well have an upper respiratory infection. Have you noticed any mucus around his mouth or nose? How is his breathing? How is his appetite? Is his beard and/or tail darkened in color? Does he bask with his head up and staring at the light?

 

[xavice]

I havn't noticed any mucus build up, he doesn't seem to have a loss of appetite, his tail and beard are the same as usual, but he does seem to have his head up more often then usual.

 

[diamc]

How often have you seen the "bubble" from his mouth? If he has his head pointed up and is staring at the light, then that is called "star gazing" and is a symptom of an URI so would be a good idea to take him for a vet visit. How is his breathing, any different? What is the humidity in his tank? You aren't misting inside of the tank, are you?

 

[xavice]

He will just keep his head up and look up not specifially at the light but just anywhere in his cage. The humidity felt high, I didn't have a Hydrometer but went and purchased one last night. When I gave him his bath last night I let the cage air out and put the Hydrometere in, it's now at a stable 18%. I was misting him inside his cage but now i'll just take him out. I feel so dumb that I was doing that . I fed him 5 crix this morning my roommate said he ate them all and he is no longer bulging out his neck or opens his mouth as frequently. I finally got a reptisun 10.0 in there last night too, instead of the reptiglo 10.0 I had, hopefully that will help. I will be taking him to the vet after work today no matter how well he looks.

 

[LJean]

Many dragons hold their head up a bit when basking. Star gazing is a bit different where their head is tilted up further like they are looking into the light.

When you say bulging his neck out, do you mean puffing out his beard (even if he doesn't get dark)? I wonder if he is ready to shed the beard/head?

 

[xavice]

Yes bulging out his beard, he did just recently shed and had some on his head but I read to not pull it off to let it come off on it's own. I have noticed he would rub his head on rocks or anything in his cage, kind of like if he had an itch persay. I did read somewhere that you could use a tooth brush to lightly scrub his head when bathing him if he is shedding to assist in the process .... is this ok?

 

[LJean]

You can, just use a soft toothbrush and be gentle. I just usually let the shed happen on it's own. Oscar always has a terrible time with his sheds. He likes to take a very long time to do it, LOL Makes me nuts. He will scratch along things in his viv and get really grumpy.

 

[diamc]

What concerned me was the bubbles coming out of his mouth which could be from a URI. Please don't feel dumb about misting in the tank, you didn't know. The 18% reading that you're getting now is a little low. So if you do get a reading of 30% and up to the high 40's, that's even ok. When it goes over 50, then there is reason for concern. When you mist in the tank, it raises the humidity way up where it really should stay at an even reading.

It does sound like he is getting ready to shed his beard, sometimes they even stretch their beards out in the morning, kinda like beard exercises.

 

[xavice]

Alright so ideally what should the humidity be? I've tried reading care sheets but they all say that beardies don't need much but don't say what range is too low or too high. He's not opening his eyes much now. I'm using a sun glo basking bulb from exoterra is that one of the bad bulbs? Also I was wondering if it's ok to start feeding him mealworms or should I stick to pure crickets?