Often gaping with tongue sticking out. ~ Is he alright?

Lately I've been noticing that Mulder will occasionally gape and stick his tongue out for a few seconds to even a minute or two. Especially when I'm holding him.

I haven't seen this AS often this week which is good, but It's often enough for me to notice it a lot and be paranoid enough to post about it. I don't currently have a photo of him doing it, I'll try to snap a photo of him if he does it again, but here are some random photos I found via google that best would describe what he looks like when he does it. View media item 60792View media item 60590
So, is this normal? Should I be worried about this or is this just Mulder being a dork? a few things to note though is that he has a mild underbite and he's really stubborn to eat as well.

Off topic mini update: Mulder has gained 75 grams since we got him!! He's so much more active too, and he is getting another tank upgrade soon.

Hello,

He is a little cutie & growing fast, too!
For how long of a period of time does he leave his tongue out like that? When did he develop
the underbite?
It is probably nothing, but double check the temperatures for him & since he seems to be growing
pretty fast, maybe increase his calcium too. Which UVB light are you using for him?

Tracie

Hello,

Yes he is a adorable little dude. still no photos of him actively doing the tongue thing yet though, He hasn't been doing it that much this week which is really great. He's also been exceedingly active and finally started pooing on a semi regular basis (praise the lord on that!).

Usually when I see him do it he does it for about 10 seconds or more at a time. In which he'll Close his eyes, Stick out his tongue and partially open his mouth. Usually he keeps his head down when doing that too.

I'm not sure when in his life he developed the underbite, As I'm his Third home in his life, and I've only had him since September 22nd of last year. When he was little, his first owner didn't give him ANY UVB or lighting at all, and fed him a pretty crappy diet.

This is according to the guy I got him from who was moving and couldn't care for him anymore, Who took decent care of him from what I could tell, Mulder was a bit dirty and Nervous around people and scared of being held at first which brings up some concerns, Which the guy also said he's bred him before (big red flag imo). So I'm not too sure on how he was treated previously, but he's with me now.

From that, he is a bit smaller than normal male beardies, and the main problem is that his legs are permanently locked in a folded position, same with his arms but not as bad. And he has arms kinda like Popeye the sailor honestly. Which an X-ray with my vet revealed that He has had FOUR possibly Five fractures in all of his legs when he was little, which after he was put in better-ish care the fractures all healed causing him to look so wonky.

I'm guessing he's anywhere from 3-6 years old, As the guy said he's had him since he was littler and had him for a while, but he was still smaller than his other dragons.

I give him calcium 3x a week but I can bump that up too, His UVB is a Reptisun 10.0 T5HO tube. Currently he is in a 20 gallon aquarium for right now until I get Rocket's new tank upstairs and start playing musical tanks (Rocket gets a new 4x2x2 that's huge, Mulder will receive Rocket's 40 gallon, and Sebastian (leopard gecko) will receive Mulder's 20).

Here's a couple pics of him:
View media item 60737View media item 60798This was him getting weighed yesterday.

View media item 60818View media item 60995View media item 60427View media item 60370this was the day after we got him.

View media item 60471this shows his underbite pretty well.

View media item 61070and this was when he finally got to experience a glass tank.

And here's a earlier thread of mine showing some photos of his MBD issues and everything. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=251372&hilit=+Mulder

Sorry I was wrong with the weight, it was 309 grams actually. I just found my note of what the exact measured weights were.

Currently it is:
Rocket: 231 grams
Loki: 401 grams.
Daisy: 394 grams.
Phoenix: 131 grams.
And Mulder at 309 grams.

Hello,

Wow, he sure had a hard life previously, poor thing! That is a lot of fractures in his legs. Can
he use them to some extent? Are you still giving pain killers off & on for him?
He has come a long way. The T5 should help him out a lot, but his back legs probably wont
straighten out though.
That's good he hasn't been exhibiting the tongue behavior too much lately then. Perhaps he's
just thermoregulating a bit.
I'm happy to hear he is doing well! I know he will love his new larger tank, too. When are you
moving him into that one?

Tracie

Drache613":19q9lrpi said:

Hello,

Wow, he sure had a hard life previously, poor thing! That is a lot of fractures in his legs. Can
he use them to some extent? Are you still giving pain killers off & on for him?
He has come a long way. The T5 should help him out a lot, but his back legs probably wont
straighten out though.
That's good he hasn't been exhibiting the tongue behavior too much lately then. Perhaps he's
just thermoregulating a bit.
I'm happy to hear he is doing well! I know he will love his new larger tank, too. When are you
moving him into that one?

Tracie

Click to expand...

Indeed he has, Poor guy has had a rough life but he's a fighter. And yes he can surprisingly use them Very very well, he's very fast and hyper, Loves to run around everywhere and he's getting better at keeping himself up while running and walking (aka he's getting better at walking more and more like a normal Beardie, but just with a bit of a limp/wobble).

I Haven't been giving him the painkillers recently as we ran out, plus it always really stressed him out anytime we tried to do so. When we schedule a follow up wellness appointment for him I'll see if he needs more of it. Which I don't know, when he was on it he was a bit lethargic and refused to eat usually, but now that's he's off he's been hyper as heck and finally very eager to eat. So I'm not sure what's with that. ??‍

I already figured that his back legs wouldn't fully straighten, but for the short time I've had them they actually have straightened out a considerable amount. When we first got him his legs were almost fully tucked in and locked in a full fold (if that makes sense).

But now they're much much less tight, they're more like Wide N's now and more like a healthy beardie's legs but just a bit harder for him to stretch out, and sadly enough I do doubt he'll ever be able to do the infamous beardie sexy-leg.

He actually has completely stopped doing the tongue behavior, I guess When I needed to take a photo of him doing it that was a instant response to never do it again like the little dork he is. :lol:

And He's getting into his new tank the moment my uncle can come over and help bring Rocket's new tank and tank stand upstairs. Which will probably be sometime this week or the next.

Hello,

That's great he can support himself on his back legs. At least he can get himself around even
if he does have a limp, that's alright. If his legs have strengthened & straightened out some
while you have had him, that is a lot of progress already.
The paInkillers take a toll on their digestive systems which really affects their appetites so that's
what probably what has been going on with him not eating.
I'm sure he will love his new tank once he is in it.
He has stopped sticking his tongue out now, that's good. I'm glad he seems to be doing ok!

Tracie

These Are the pics of his new 40 gallon tank. He really likes it.
View media item 60478View media item 61124View media item 60780View media item 60609
And this is Rocket's new tank btw.
View media item 60991
And yeah, he can support himself decently. He still walks weird though, but that's part of his charm lol.
I knew that about the painkillers, He really did not like it when he was on them.

He actually did the tongue thing a couple times the last few nights. My mom got a few photos to show to the vet, I can ask her to send me the photos so I can post them here. But he has a vet appointment later today at 3:45 PM so I'll get back to you on that once we're done.