babybeardie79
Member
- Beardie name(s)
- Drax
When I brought my baby home 8 months ago, I immediately saw signs of a respiratory infection. I took her to the vet and got it verified and medicated, and it went away. since then, it has kept coming back, despite her treatments and hundreds of dollars and many many hours going into her setup to ensure proper husbandry, and I do not know what could be the issue. I really want to help her out and give her the best life, but I can’t pinpoint something that could be causing this She is 11 months old now, and just got diagnosed with another infection. She has been clean for months, but this one is hitting her particularly hard. I know at this point it must be something that I am doing incorrectly, but my reptile specialist vet has said I’m doing everything correctly. She is currently on SMP suspension, as of 07/13. I came home to her blackbearding and obviously not feeling well (deep breathing, mucous, weaker than usual). She still has quite the appetite and eats everything I give her, veggies and bugs. She’s usually quite mobile and will bask or walk around her tank, holding herself high. Her poops are normal and regular, about every day to every other day. She’s really very healthy other than these infections. Today was the only time I’ve seen her this stressed.
Here’s her setup:
40 G at the moment (about to purchase her a 120 G
Basking temps of 105 - warm side temp range from 90-100 - cool side about upper 70s to low 80s (and plenty of hides)
Uvb - 8 months old Reptisun 10.0 t5 tube that runs 3/4 of tank (but checked daily with Solarmeter I purchased for peace of mind) -ranging from 4.0-8.0 on basking site (taken with both multiple probe and laser temp guns)
Night time heat of 80-85 in tank with CHE
Humidity is mid 20s in her tank, I bought a $300 dehumidifier to see if that would help. Acurite humidity sensor used to take, as well as dehumidifier reader
Cleaning- daily with chlorhexidine solution and weekly with ammonia (letting it sit for about an hour and rinsing out, giving more time to air out)
Food - 2 insect feedings a day of BSFL and dubias (occasional hornworm treats) and veggies left out and freshened up throughout the day (curly mustard greens are her favorite, but add other dragon-friendly foods too)
Vitamins - reptile multivitamin twice weekly, and only dusting calcium when feeding no BSFL for extended period of time. She does get a daily dragon specific probiotic and I have been giving her reptaboost since she has not been feeling well
She does have a soak dish, but it does not raise the humidity.
I do not think I’m leaving anything out, but please feel free to ask any more questions. I truly do want to help her! I’ve taken her to my reptile specialist vet multiple times and we’ve done multiple lab tests and scans, and it seems to mostly be URIs with this specific infection having spread to her lung sacs, which I have been monitoring very carefully. If she continues to struggle throughout the night I will take her to my vet ASAP tomorrow morning.
Here’s her setup:
40 G at the moment (about to purchase her a 120 G
Basking temps of 105 - warm side temp range from 90-100 - cool side about upper 70s to low 80s (and plenty of hides)
Uvb - 8 months old Reptisun 10.0 t5 tube that runs 3/4 of tank (but checked daily with Solarmeter I purchased for peace of mind) -ranging from 4.0-8.0 on basking site (taken with both multiple probe and laser temp guns)
Night time heat of 80-85 in tank with CHE
Humidity is mid 20s in her tank, I bought a $300 dehumidifier to see if that would help. Acurite humidity sensor used to take, as well as dehumidifier reader
Cleaning- daily with chlorhexidine solution and weekly with ammonia (letting it sit for about an hour and rinsing out, giving more time to air out)
Food - 2 insect feedings a day of BSFL and dubias (occasional hornworm treats) and veggies left out and freshened up throughout the day (curly mustard greens are her favorite, but add other dragon-friendly foods too)
Vitamins - reptile multivitamin twice weekly, and only dusting calcium when feeding no BSFL for extended period of time. She does get a daily dragon specific probiotic and I have been giving her reptaboost since she has not been feeling well
She does have a soak dish, but it does not raise the humidity.
I do not think I’m leaving anything out, but please feel free to ask any more questions. I truly do want to help her! I’ve taken her to my reptile specialist vet multiple times and we’ve done multiple lab tests and scans, and it seems to mostly be URIs with this specific infection having spread to her lung sacs, which I have been monitoring very carefully. If she continues to struggle throughout the night I will take her to my vet ASAP tomorrow morning.