Why does my bearded dragon open his mouth

Hello my 11 month dragon seems to open his mouth a lot why? He seems to open if every couple minutes recently

Janeyjet":1uo7kcca said:

Hello my 11 month dragon seems to open his mouth a lot why? He seems to open if every couple minutes recently

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Bearded dragons usually do this when basking. It's called 'gaping', and it shows that your beardie is at their optimum temperature for basking. Holding their mouths open helps them regulate their body temperature by emitting excess heat because they don't sweat like we do. If you see your beardie doing this for short periods quite regularly, it's usually nothing to worry about. However, if your beardie is ALWAYS gaping, or they do it for extended periods of time, it may be that the temperature in their vivarium is too hot.

You should have a temperature gradient in your vivarium, with the highest temperature beneath the heat lamp and a cooler temperature at the other end of the enclosure. This allows your beardie to move to a cooler space if they do get too warm under the lamp.

The basking temperature should be between 100-110 degrees Fahrenheit, and the cooler end should be around 80 degrees, I think. What temperature is your tank at now?

Gaping can also be a sign of a respiratory disease. If your beardie has a respiratory disease, then you'll be able to hear a wheezing or clicking noise when breathing, bubbly mucous appearing on the sides of their mouths, constant puffing of their throat, and a black beard that lasts for more than 6 hours. If this is the case for your beardie, you'll have to take them to the vet for a course of antibiotics. Most of the time, respiratory diseases are caused by improper humidity or temperature levels in the vivarium, so if your temp is too low or humidity is too high, it can make your beardie sick. Vets generally advise you to keep the humidity between 35% and 40%.

Hope this helps!!

Hello,

If he is gaping constantly then it is a possibility he is too hot. Have you double checked his
basking & ambient temperatures recently? What do you measure the temperatures with, a
digital probe or a temp gun?
If you can post some pictures of your tank setup that can help us to determine light placement
& if the lights are at the proper distance for him.
Is he exhibiting a black beard at all?

Tracie