MacNCharlie
New member
Hello all, I’ve come to this site for many great advice but never posted. I currently have a 3-yr old female bearded dragon undergoing treatment for URI (vet’s best guess given symptoms). She is on Orbax 0.06 ml per day (starting today - she has been on it for the last 6 days but I incorrectly gave her only 0.02 ml per on those days). She was also placed on calcium by the vet, since she recently finished laying her unfertilized clutches.
Currently, she is in a 65 gallon terrarium. I recently replaced the Reptisun 10.0, which I do every 10 months. I have a ceramic heat emitter above. The basking spot is 110 degrees. The middle of the tank varies around 90-95 degrees, and the cool side of the tank varies around 75-80 degrees. We relax on balcony for about 30 mins a day to soak up sun and people watch. Charlie gets a mixed diet. She isn’t very picky. Mix of collard greens, bok choy, and mustard greens for breakfast 4 days out of the week, and as many Dubia roaches as she wants and 3-5 superworms for breakfast 3 days out of the week. For lunch/dinner, she gets syringe-fed organic baby food (squash and veggie type mixes that contain only what is safe for dragons). At night, warm side of the tank is 80-85 degrees. The reptisun light is on from 6am to 6pm.
I noticed after she laid her last clutch that she was more lethargic and absolutely skinnier than usual after she’d lay clutches. She started doing the little gulping/hiccup-like thing in her throat. She had clear mucus starting to drip out of her nostrils and mouth. After a vet checkup, we got to see that she had no fluids in her lungs, her bone density was strong and healthy, and she didn’t have any impaction or leftover eggs in her. Based on her symptoms and imaging study, best diagnosis that could be made was upper respiratory infection and she was placed on Orbax and calcium.
My question is, post-vet visit, and despite getting the typical care instructions, does anyone have experience caring for a beardie trying to recover from URI? For example, what was the best routine you found to work for you, as in possibly keeping the basking side at the daytime temp through the night as well or just keep to the usual temp settings for day and night, and whether you like feeding them a particular meal especially when on meds like Orbax, and do you let them sleep longer during these times or make sure they get their daily dosage of uvb (my girl likes to sleep under her rock and I would assume that she should get as much uvb during the day while recovering but I’m not sure). Any other tips, advice, routines and settings you can share that have worked for making your beardie as comfortable as possible as they recover from respiratory infections would be great! Thanks
Currently, she is in a 65 gallon terrarium. I recently replaced the Reptisun 10.0, which I do every 10 months. I have a ceramic heat emitter above. The basking spot is 110 degrees. The middle of the tank varies around 90-95 degrees, and the cool side of the tank varies around 75-80 degrees. We relax on balcony for about 30 mins a day to soak up sun and people watch. Charlie gets a mixed diet. She isn’t very picky. Mix of collard greens, bok choy, and mustard greens for breakfast 4 days out of the week, and as many Dubia roaches as she wants and 3-5 superworms for breakfast 3 days out of the week. For lunch/dinner, she gets syringe-fed organic baby food (squash and veggie type mixes that contain only what is safe for dragons). At night, warm side of the tank is 80-85 degrees. The reptisun light is on from 6am to 6pm.
I noticed after she laid her last clutch that she was more lethargic and absolutely skinnier than usual after she’d lay clutches. She started doing the little gulping/hiccup-like thing in her throat. She had clear mucus starting to drip out of her nostrils and mouth. After a vet checkup, we got to see that she had no fluids in her lungs, her bone density was strong and healthy, and she didn’t have any impaction or leftover eggs in her. Based on her symptoms and imaging study, best diagnosis that could be made was upper respiratory infection and she was placed on Orbax and calcium.
My question is, post-vet visit, and despite getting the typical care instructions, does anyone have experience caring for a beardie trying to recover from URI? For example, what was the best routine you found to work for you, as in possibly keeping the basking side at the daytime temp through the night as well or just keep to the usual temp settings for day and night, and whether you like feeding them a particular meal especially when on meds like Orbax, and do you let them sleep longer during these times or make sure they get their daily dosage of uvb (my girl likes to sleep under her rock and I would assume that she should get as much uvb during the day while recovering but I’m not sure). Any other tips, advice, routines and settings you can share that have worked for making your beardie as comfortable as possible as they recover from respiratory infections would be great! Thanks
