Advice please

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merediths02

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I have an adult Male bearded dragon. When I came home from work he was sleeping and did not sit up as he usually does. I took him out of his enclosure and he would not open his eyes for about a minute and when he did, one eye was still kinda squinty. I tried to look in that side of his month to see if it looked ok and when I did there was some saliva (not a lot but a tiny bit) but everything looked ok. I held him for a bit trying to figure out what to do and he kept pressing his face against me. A friend recommended that he may need to use the bathroom and to give him a soak, which I did and he did go A LOT, so he obviously must have been constipated. He also drank quite a bit during his soak, even though he had fresh water in his enclosure. After his soak he has been very up and down. He will lay very quietly with his eyes closed. I am a wreck worrying about him and when I would start to cry he would open his eyes and look at me. At one point, he climbed up on the back of the couch wide eyed. He does keep rubbing his face on things. I put him back in his enclosure and he really looked dead for a minute. I got extremely upset and was crying very hard and then all of the sudden he opened his eyes and sat up. I am so confused. Now he is sitting pressed up towards his heat lamp (almost like stargazing, but this is the first time I've ever seen him do this). This started around 7 or 8 PM and it is now 11pm where I live and I have called EVERY VET around and nobody that is open sees reptiles. PLEASE, any advice, he is my baby. Is he just exhausted/uncomfortable from the constipation? I'm so worried I cant stand it. Thank you

P.S. his living conditions have not changed since I got him 4 years ago, he is bright green and appears very healthy.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Please post pics of his tank and lighting------we need info on basking temps- what kind of UVB your using- what size tank hes in- what substrate your using- what is he eating - and what are you feeding him--
Karrie
 

Ellentomologist

Hatchling Member
Hiya,

What Karrie said - a picture is worth a thousand words on this forum. Do you know how to post them? I can walk you through if you need.

Things that stood out to me:

I took him out of his enclosure and he would not open his eyes for about a minute and when he did, one eye was still kinda squinty. I tried to look in that side of his month to see if it looked ok and when I did there was some saliva (not a lot but a tiny bit) but everything looked ok.

Can you explain your logic for this? Are you worried about it being an upper respiratory infection? If so, you may want to hold your ear close to his nose/mouth and see if you hear and wheezing or whistling noises.

I held him for a bit trying to figure out what to do and he kept pressing his face against me.

Was he warm? Usually when Guac "presses" himself against me it is in the morning when he is still cold.

A friend recommended that he may need to use the bathroom and to give him a soak, which I did and he did go A LOT, so he obviously must have been constipated. He also drank quite a bit during his soak, even though he had fresh water in his enclosure.

Have you ever seen him actually drink from his water dish? A lot of dragons never will. The habitat they come from is pretty variable and as a species they tend to be adapted to getting most of their moisture from the plants they eat. Guac, my beardie, DOES drink sitting water left in his cage, but if you've never seen your actually do it he might not.

He does keep rubbing his face on things

Is he in shed?

Now he is sitting pressed up towards his heat lamp (almost like stargazing, but this is the first time I've ever seen him do this).

Another thing that kinda makes me think he may be cold...
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi Meredith, I agree that pics would be helpful. By the way is that a typo where you said he's bright green ? That's not a shade of color for a beardie. Some have a very tiny bit of greenish hue at times but even that's a stretch. Anyway, here's how to post pics :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them
 

merediths02

New member
Original Poster
Hello all. I am just leaving the vet now, better safe than sorry for my guy. They said he does have a low grade bacterial infection and are giving me antibiotics for him.

In answer to some questions he was definitely warm so I dont believe that was an issue. Me taking him out was just instinct I guess. I could tell he wasnt himself and he usually gets happy to see me. I have seen him drink from his water bowl but I have learned through all of this that I definitely need to soak him more often than I have been, he drinks more during his soaks. I will upload a photo of him so you can see his color. I guess it is a yellowish green? I'm not sure if it's a rare color or not. He was a gift years ago and is just my buddy now. Thank you all!!
 
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