Inflated Lungs

tchaney71

Member
Help!!! Not sure what to do. My bearded dragon for awhile now has a hard time breathing. She is ok when she is sleeping and when I have her head elevated but the minute she lays flat she turns jet black and starts gaping and looks like she is choking trying to breath. I have taken her to 2 vets, the first vet says her mouth and lungs looks and sounds fine. The 2nd vet looked at her and did some xrays and treated her for respiritory infection which did not work. The xrays showed inflated lungs and gas in her GI tract, at this point the vet wanted to do blood work. Blood work came back yesterday and she found nothing out of the ordinary so she suggested I take her to Cornell. I just do not have that kind of money, I HATE watching her be so uncomfortable, does anyone have any advise???????????
 

tchaney71

Member
Original Poster
I just wanted to share that my beardie is 6 years old, her tank temps are on the basking side about 98-100 and the cool side about 80 degrees. I bathe her about 2-3 times a week, her food she gets her greens, shredded carrots, peas, red pepper, super worms, etc. The other thing I forgot to mention in my first post is that she is also not eating, I have been syringe feeding her critical care diet food.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I just wanted to share that my beardie is 6 years old, her tank temps are on the basking side about 98-100 and the cool side about 80 degrees. I bathe her about 2-3 times a week, her food she gets her greens, shredded carrots, peas, red pepper, super worms, etc. The other thing I forgot to mention in my first post is that she is also not eating, I have been syringe feeding her critical care diet food.
Please lay off the baths - dragons do not need to be bathed that often -- what kind of lighting are you using? Any coils? Colored bulbs? Please go over that so we can better help ---brand and bulbs and where they are in the tank? Are you taking surface basking temps w/ a digital probe thermometer?
@AHBD
@Drache613
 

tchaney71

Member
Original Poster
Please lay off the baths - dragons do not need to be bathed that often -- what kind of lighting are you using? Any coils? Colored bulbs? Please go over that so we can better help ---brand and bulbs and where they are in the tank? Are you taking surface basking temps w/ a digital probe thermometer?
@AHBD
@Drache613
I am using solar glo uva/uvb 80 watt light and yes I am using a digital thermometer and taking surface temps. No colored bulbs no coils.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I am using solar glo uva/uvb 80 watt light and yes I am using a digital thermometer and taking surface temps. No colored bulbs no coils.
Ok I am going to recommend you get another long tube UVB -- we always recommend this when people are using MVB- most do not emit enough UVB-- I would get a 24" Arcadia Pro T 5 placement and distance will determine by the screen on your tank Arcadia ProT5 12% UVB Bulb With Hood
the MVB has good heat but not so much UVB rays -- I would do this as soon as you can -
 

tchaney71

Member
Original Poster
Please lay off the baths - dragons do not need to be bathed that often -- what kind of lighting are you using? Any coils? Colored bulbs? Please go over that so we can better help ---brand and bulbs and where they are in the tank? Are you taking surface basking temps w/ a digital probe thermometer?
@AHBD
@Drache613
Here is a picture of the tank
 

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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
I believe its a 50.
Ok it looks small -- I would look at upgrading if you can to a 75-120 gallon- I 've got Tracie and AHBD flagged about the breathing issue - but I would get the extra UVB I recommended - its going to help her
 

tchaney71

Member
Original Poster
Ok it looks small -- I would look at upgrading if you can to a 75-120 gallon- I 've got Tracie and AHBD flagged about the breathing issue - but I would get the extra UVB I recommended - its going to help her
Thank you will do. I hope to hear back soon about her breathing. Thank you
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
I really feel for you, spending a lot of money and worry with no real answers. The bathing wasn't excessive so I doubt that's the problem unless she aspirated water but you might cut the soaks down to once a week. She looks pretty good sized so I would lay off the syringe feeding too, just once a week at most for nutrition but they can also aspirate the food. Do you remember exactly when you first noticed the odd breathing ? Can you get a video of it ?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Yes, if possible, please try to get some type of video of her breathing so we can see more clearly her behavior.
Do you know what the humidity is in her tank by chance? If for some reason, she might be developing a respiratory
infection it is a good idea to reduce her baths & to try & keep her humidity at less than 30%.
You could keep her nighttime temperatures around 78-80F to help boost her immune system, too.
The Solar Glo MVB is a decent bulb, nice & bright. So, her basking temperatures are around 95-105? What type of
ventilation is in her tank, could she be getting overheated?

Tracie
 

tchaney71

Member
Original Poster
I really feel for you, spending a lot of money and worry with no real answers. The bathing wasn't excessive so I doubt that's the problem unless she aspirated water but you might cut the soaks down to once a week. She looks pretty good sized so I would lay off the syringe feeding too, just once a week at most for nutrition but they can also aspirate the food. Do you remember exactly when you first noticed the odd breathing ? Can you get a video of it ?
See attached video. I'm trying to remember when I first noticed her breathing, you know what I think she might have aspirated. I gave her a bath probably about a month ago , she drank water and seemed fine I put her back in her cage and she then shook her head kinda violently and spit up all the water she drank. I can't remember if she was breathing hard before that or not.
 

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AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Sorry I didn't get back sooner, I didn't get a notification or I somehow missed it. Poor girl definitely has an issue, it does sound like she aspirated water and now possibly has pneumonia. I'm not sure if the vets missed it but that's not normal. Can you get the xrays to post here ? I'm wondering if the gas the vet sees may actually be an indication of an R.I more located in the lungs rather than gas in the G.I tract.
 

tchaney71

Member
Original Poster
Sorry I didn't get back sooner, I didn't get a notification or I somehow missed it. Poor girl definitely has an issue, it does sound like she aspirated water and now possibly has pneumonia. I'm not sure if the vets missed it but that's not normal. Can you get the xrays to post here ? I'm wondering if the gas the vet sees may actually be an indication of an R.I more located in the lungs rather than gas in the G.I tract.
working on it now.
 

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