Could this be an RI?

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kh1382

Member
Hello!

I've had my beardie for a little over a week. He is roughly 4 inches long? He was just a few weeks old from a pet rescue/store. I now realize he was too young to be sold and I'm worried everyday something will happen to him!

He hasn't had much of an appetite since bringing him home. At first he was interested in food and ate a cricket immediately after going in his new tank, but he never ate more than 5-15 a day. It got so bad that I made the switch to dubia roaches on Sunday to see if he liked those - which he LOVED for a two days. Today he refused to eat anything. I threw some pellets in today to see if maybe he would eat those, I normally don't feed them to him. Last week he went from 4 grams to 2 grams in 2 days, but is up to 5 grams today after getting the roaches.

He has pooped regularly (once everyday), but it has been green and a little mushy - but still had a clear shape. He did not poop today but did have a watery urate this afternoon.

He has been fairly lethargic, except for yesterday when he was attentive all day and alert. Today he is relatively alert, but sleeping or closing his eyes more often. You can see him pancake sleeping here - this was taken just now:
109487-5610317639.jpg

He has also been breathing heavily, as seen in this gif:
https://i.imgur.com/RDZd8EB.gifv

You can see here his general size and what looks like a slight kink in his tail:
109487-6184580568.jpg


His enclosure is a 20 gallon (since he is so small). He has a Zoomed white basking light, a coil mini compact Reptisun 10 UVB, and a regular sized coil Reptisun 10 UV. I'm working on switching to a UV tube instead but it had been hard to find the right size for his enclosure. He did have a Powersun Mercury light but they kept burning out. I check the temps regularly with a laser thermometer and they are correct (100-110F basking). At night it is 71-72F. Picture here:
109487-4842084241.jpg

He has an appointment to see the vet on Oct. 22, but I'm worried something is wrong with him. Should I call to make an emergency appointment?

Any help would be appreciated!!!!!!!!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Please get rid of the compact coil UVB --- your going to haft to upgrade the tank to a bigger one here soon so I recommend you change out the UVB now -- the fixture I am going to recommend will go into the bigger tank and you can use it on your tank now ---
https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood.html order the 24" and use the bulb that comes w/ it for now -- you will need to change the bulb out to a Reptisun 10.0 bulb 22" when you upgrade to a bigger tank but the 5.0 bulb you can use it is equivalent to a T 8 and will be good for the 20 gallon --
Make sure your basking temps are 105-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer -
The UVB will need to be 6-8 inches from basking decor --- w / no obstruction - it will need to be over his basking decor directly --
I am sure hes going thru relocation stress now but the coil UVB is not a good bulb --- and its good he is eating and you want to keep it that way - I would not take him to the vet just vet -- its going to stress him out more and he is young --- unless one of the others recommend taking him there I would hold off for now
You can look for the fixture I recommended where you live but the website I posted these people are fast and good and they sell out of this fixture quickly-- as far as RI we will need AHBD or Tracie to look -- does he have any mucous or discharge coming out of his nose or mouth? He does seem to be breathing a little heavy -- the better UVB is going to help w/ the RI if he does have it --
Are you offering any salad at all ? Its good you switched to the dubia roaches --- another good staple feeder is BSFL -- I can help w/ websites for insects / worms etc lets see what AHBD and Tracie have to say about the heavy breathing
Karrie
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, that's a beautiful set up for your little guy, everything's good except the uvb. Too bad the pet stores advertise the coil + compact as good bulbs. It's fine to use one over his basking area until you get the long tube uvb . It does not look like an R.I at all. Slight heavy breathing and lack of appetite are most likely from eating too many or too large dubias, you can see his chubby belly is still full. I would cancel the vet visit, just watch that the roaches arent' too big, they need to be smaller than the space in between his eyes so they don't cause impaction. Can you post pics of the roaches next to a coin ?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

He is super cute!
I was wondering about impaction as well, are his insects "smaller than the space between
his eyes" to avoid impaction?
You could feed some softer foods for a few days, such as squash or sweet potato baby food
to see if that can help him pass through any small impaction possibly.
The laser thermometer should be accurate so the temperatures should be fine for him. You
can also keep him around 75-80 overnight, to help out his system.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie
 

kh1382

Member
Original Poster
Thank you everyone! I ordered the 24in T5 HO Reptisun tube UV last night. It should be here by Friday at the latest. His food is the small/extra small crickets and dubia roaches (plus some shredded greens he won't touch), but it is possible some are bigger than the space between his eyes - he is so small! I'm hoping he will go to the bathroom today, and that I can bring a sample to the vet if needed.

You can see more videos of his breathing here: https://imgur.com/gallery/nHd8tNS
He occasionally will puff his mouth while breathing, sometimes opening it fully.

He didn't eat anything yesterday, and slept most of the evening. I called the vet who said he might be able to come in today for an urgent care visit, but I'm worried about stressing him out more! With his breathing, not pooping, not eating, and lethargy, should I risk the stress anyway?
 

kh1382

Member
Original Poster
Drache613":1dry0lch said:
Hello,

He is super cute!
I was wondering about impaction as well, are his insects "smaller than the space between
his eyes" to avoid impaction?
You could feed some softer foods for a few days, such as squash or sweet potato baby food
to see if that can help him pass through any small impaction possibly.
The laser thermometer should be accurate so the temperatures should be fine for him. You
can also keep him around 75-80 overnight, to help out his system.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

Thank you! He insects are small-extra small, but some of the smalls look too big for him. I'm going do better about weeding out the larger insects! I'll try some baby foods today and see if he will eat them. I'll keep you updated - thank you!
 

kh1382

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":k3zv9dac said:
Hi there, that's a beautiful set up for your little guy, everything's good except the uvb. Too bad the pet stores advertise the coil + compact as good bulbs. It's fine to use one over his basking area until you get the long tube uvb . It does not look like an R.I at all. Slight heavy breathing and lack of appetite are most likely from eating too many or too large dubias, you can see his chubby belly is still full. I would cancel the vet visit, just watch that the roaches arent' too big, they need to be smaller than the space in between his eyes so they don't cause impaction. Can you post pics of the roaches next to a coin ?

Thank you! I posted a slight update but to directly answer your message - I ordered a tube uvb last night and hope to have it by Friday at the latest! I can't quite get the roaches to stay for a picture, but they were the size small-extra small. The extra small seem like a good size for him, but some of the smalls are quite large, so I will do better about weeding those out! For now I am giving him space and hoping he will be able to pass the roaches. His lethargy and lack of appetite started before he had the roaches, but I'm hoping it was just him not liking crickets and relocation stress - as he majorly perked up when he first had the roaches!

Editing to add - here is a better video of the weird breathing. He mostly does this after drinking water. https://imgur.com/gallery/4fgRZBc
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I would still hold off on the vet yet --- hes going thru relocation stress so this could be why hes not pooping eating etc--- his temps are good so he is warm enough --- as long as those insects are not too big for him to eat he should pass them -- you can order some BSFL for him to put on top of his salads - that will draw him to the salad bowl - do not dust them they are calcium enriched - the are pretty small so you can order some medium size ones - if you can post a pic of him and the insects your feeding that would help-- if you need help w/ websites for insects/ worms I can post some for you-- let us know when the T 5 comes in and we can help you place it in the tank -- placement and distance is key here
Karrie
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
I don't see anything wrong with his breathing at all , he still might have had crickets too large or he might just have not had proper uvb before you got him. It's up to you if you want to keep his vet appt. though. That can go either way, with a tiny baby where some vets do help with a problem but others give too many meds. and the baby never recovers. Many vets will give antibiotics " just in case", not a good thing usually.
 

kh1382

Member
Original Poster
Thank you once again for all the advice! I will be sure to reach out once the new uvb bulb arrives.

I gave him a bath this morning and shortly after he pooped! I decided to continue monitoring him at home and eliminate as much stressors as possible. I did take the poop in to the vet for a fecal examination to rule out any possible parasites.
109487-7316024415.jpg

He is still lethargic and not eating, so I will monitor him and call the vet as needed. It does appear his hiccup-type breathing shown in the last video only happens when he drinks a lot of water. Any advice for that?
109487-1257443237.jpg

Thank you!!!
 
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