Periodic Gasping (possible URI?l

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Ranger87

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Hey all!

So...
Piper-George, my four year old female, is displaying a peculiar "symptom" I can't seem to find an answer to. So, before I drop another $70 for a checkup and antibiotics I wanted to get everyone's opinion.

She is "gasping", making this large rasping inhale periodically at night only. And only when my partner and I are sitting within view of her in the living room.
I suspect she's getting ready to lay eggs as she is a chronic layer and has become very active after her brummation cycle. She's eating all her salads and bugs with her normal enthusiasm, pooping regularly, normal no-smell breath, and being her normal Piper self. Aside from this weird gasping.

She is in a 40 gal, tile substrate, Reptisun 10 UVB, and her high temp have been averaging in the 90s. I'm not overly thrilled with that and have been working to adjust her home to get the temps in the lower 100s and they should be there now. She's got a rock to get to her heat and a tree from Petsmart to get closer to her UV if she needs to.
Her diet consists mainly of mustard greens powdered with a calcium/multi-vit supplement. She gets this everyday with the supplement maybe every other day. Right now we also have turnip and collard greens in the diet along with Fluker's reptile "junk-food" (those red pellets with meal worms -- she ADORES her "potato chips", the little trash can). Now and again I'll add some rehydrated dehydrated food for some variety.
For bugs she gets an average of 5 superworms 2-3 times a week, a little more than 5 right now due to her potential egg cycle.

Also of note, Riza (who's roughly around 10-12) had a recent sort of similar experience when she was laying her first clutch of the season. But unlike Piper who's only gasping at night when we're present, Riza was gasping as if she were at a loss of breath. After a rush to the vet, a round of antibiotics, and about a week later an induction of her labour, her breathing issued stopped. Hers was a scary experience for all involved.

As silly as it may sound, my partner and I can't help but wonder if Piper is making this noise for the attention. We have two male cats who will cry out for attention and we always verbally respond (one of the boys picked it up from the other) and we joke that Piper must be picking it up, too.

The only thing making me feel it's more serious than a dragon trying to make noise is that she does have a bit of a wheezing/rattling in her chest when I listen closely.

I am willing and about ready to rush her to the vet. The only thing stopping me is that she's otherwise acting completely normal.

I know this post is insanely long and I thank anyone who took the time to read it!
If anyone has any thoughts on the matter, they would be deeply appreciated before I visit the vet yet again (between 5 cats and 4 Dragons, our new vet and the receptionists are starting to know us a little too well over the last three months...).

And if I left any information out that may be needed, please let me know!
 

Ranger87

Member
Original Poster
She's also only had shallow baths, but I suppose she could have inhaled some water while she was drinking -- though she's never given any indication she did (and I am aware how well they hide their sicknesses until it's too late. Hence why I'm seeking some advice before shelling out the big bucks).
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
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If she's acting normally otherwise and not lethargic I'd hold off on the vet. If she did inhale some water, try propping her with a slight downward slope at night and bump the overnight temps up to around 80 for a little while. That may help her fend off whatever this is on her own. I would also check her mouth for any signs of wound or sores. If her mouth is in pain she may show a gasping behavior. I saw this once with a dragon who had mouth rot but no RI at all. I haven't seen gravid behavior firsthand so I'm not sure how it would connect to that.
 

Ranger87

Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the input, Cooper!!

I checked her mouth the other night to check for a fungal infection and everything looked normal. The roof of her mouth looks extra yellow, but I saw this is normal -- and I don't make it a habit of looking in their mouths so I had no idea hers was so yellow.
 

Gormagon

Extreme Poster
My dragon "Peaches" gave me a scare a few weeks back! She was eating good, acting normal but, did the same thing you described that yours is doing. I couldn't stand the thought of something happening to my best friend and, buddy, she has gotten me through some tough things this past year.
So off to see Dr. K, (not her favorite person in the world but, he treats her kindly and, ladylike). Found out she had pneumonia, got her treated with breathing treatments and, batryl and, in a week she was as good as new!
I guess what I am saying is, catch it early and, treat it quick or it can get bad in a hurry!
 

Ranger87

Member
Original Poster
Oh wow! That sounds like a scary diagnosis! I'm glad to hear she's doing better!

My partner cleaned Piper's home (and Piper) today and I pulled her out to sit with me. So far, she's not been making those noises since we sat down to relax for the night. She's cuddled on the couch with me.

I am still convinced she's picked up the cats' bad habits.
But I am definitely going to keep watching her and listening.
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
I agree, as long as she doesn't start "gasping" all the time, or wheezing, clicking, coughing, or black-bearding, it's either a temperature regulation thing, or just a beardie-thing.

One thing I would tell you is that if she is a chronic egg-layer and you seriously think she may be getting ready to develop a clutch (and this obviously goes for the other female when laying as well), I'd up her calcium supplement to at least 5 times a week, I do 5 times a week with all of my adults anyway, and 3 times a week with the multivitamin, but with the most common cause of egg-binding in reptiles and birds being a lack of calcium, and the lack of calcium that her bones will get while she's making the eggs, she needs a definite increase in calcium, as well as direct, strong UVB and UVA light. I don't know what Reptisun 10.0 UVB light you have, hopefully it's not the compact or coil version, but rather the long, fluorescent tube version (if not then this needs changed out immediately), and if it's the long tube version and is the weaker T8 strength and not the much stronger T5 tube, then I hope it's mounted underneath any type of mesh lid and not obstructed by anything, and is within at least 6" of her basking spot.

The reason I'm mentioning this is that you stated that "she has a rock to sit on to get her heat and then a tree to get under her UVB light", and that makes it sound like her UVB tube and her basking bulb are not right alongside each other over the Hot Side of the tank, sharing the top of the Hot Side of the tank, with a single, common basking spot/platform that is directly underneath both lights so that she is getting both lights at the same time while basking, which is extremely important, almost as important as having a T8 strength UVB tube mounted underneath the mesh lid and within 6" of the basking spot. This is how you replicate natural sunlight for her over her one, main basking spot that is located within the Hot Side of the tank and directly under both lights.
 

Ranger87

Member
Original Poster
Thank you for the input!
I've been making sure to dust her salads every time when I feel she's getting ready (sorry for putting the wrong info in at first!).
She's got the tube Reptisun T8. It is on her lid right now. We're in the process of trying to get the lights mounted inside the tank.
 

Ranger87

Member
Original Poster
So,
I ended up taking Piper to the vet a month ago and the vet couldn't determine that anything was wrong. She did set up a medication we could do if I felt she needed it. I decided it wasn't necessary and followed her other suggestion to improve my husbandry.
Piper's UVB is now mounted inside her home and her heat is fin all back to where I've been wanting it since I recently moved.

My brother, partner, and I have determined she just makes noises when she's angry.

She still eats, sleeps, poops, and runs around acting like her normal self.
 
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