Aspiration is no joke, we nearly lost Zen last night.

xp29

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Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
Folks, we warn about aspiration on here all the time, I think most (myself included) think we'll never let that happen.
I recommend you assume it's going to every single time you give a beardie a bath. (That way your/we are more diligent)
I noticed last night Zen had a small sprem plug so I put him in a wark soak. He HATES baths so the water was less than 3/4 inch deep. He dicided to take a drink, that's the first time in his four years of life he has ever drank in a bath. He drink just fine at first, but then decided to dunk his whole nose into the water. I was standing right there (think god)and retrieved him.
The girlfriend had come in just as i got him out and the plug wiped away with no problems.
She took him and i stayed to drain the sink and put the towels in the laundry room.
In just a minute or less she's hysterical that there is something wrong with Zen.
He had the blackest beard I've ever seen and wouldn't breath.
I grabbed him and pointed his nose down and sent her to get me an eye dropper. When she got back she took him and kept him nose down. I pried his mouth open and some water ran out. He bit 2 of my fingers , drew blood on both.
I took the eyedropper and used it to suck the water out of his nose but he still wouldn't/couldn't breath. I held him and she (very gently) blew into his nose and mouth. He took 1 big gasp but still didn't breath. We repeated this 2 or 3 times and he finally started breathing, but not well. I used the eyedropper till nothing else would come out of his nose. We had to help him start breathing 4 or 5 times over the next hour. Finally he relaxed and was able to breath. We put him nose down every 15 minutes or so for about 2 hours just in case but didn't get any more water.
I thought for sure we were going to loose him. We dodged a huge bullet last night. He seems back to normal today, but I'll watch him for respotory infections for the next days.
Folks if you think it can't/won't happen to you, GET THAT OUT OF YOUR HEAD RIGHT NOW.
I know, I'm aware, and I'm cautious and it happened in less than 10 seconds. The only baths mine will be getting from now on is under a running faucet. I suggest everyone consider doing that as well.
We nearly had a tragedy here last night and I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
 
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NickAVD

Juvie Member
Beardie name(s)
Foxy
I'm very worried about Zen😲. It’s great that you weren’t at a loss and were able to help him! I hope everything will be okay with him. Thanks for the warning, I'll be 10 times more careful with my beardie in the bathroom.
 

xp29

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Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
Thank you. He seems ok today, he wouldn't eat, but thats understandable. Otherwise there's no weezing, popping, gasping, ect. I kept him very warm last might and he basked all day today. If he don't get an r.i. I think we are good.
Yes please be careful, I hope everyone that reads this post is as well. That was the scariest thing I think I've ever dealt with, I hope no one else ever has to experience it 😔.
 

xp29

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Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
You pretty much described how Zen did. I honestly though he wasn't going to make it. It happened SO fast. I'm always diligent when they are in a bath, but he actually drank water, he's never done that before so I let him. I never dreamed he would inhale the water. From now on they'll be getting all their water from a dropper.
I'm glad your girl pulled through also, did she get a respotory infection after? I'm hoping Zen doesn't.
 

Claudiusx

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Staff member
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did she get a respotory infection after?
She did not, but she developed this really weird habit of holding everything she would eat in her throat, and would often throw it back up if she ate too much. Who knows for sure if the timing was coincidence or the incident was the cause.

-Brandon
 

xp29

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Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
Zen hasn't ate anything yet. If he does the same I'll post about it.
 

Rocky2022

Sub-Adult Member
Beardie name(s)
Rocky, Ruby
How scary. I hope Zen slowly gets back to himself and the lack of eating is because he's freaked out as well. This is truly scary and quick thinking on your feet. We all think we are taking good care of our beardies and we simply never know what's next. We do our best! I am so glad Zen is on the road to recovery we are all here rooting for you/Zen-everyone. I hope your girlfriend was able to sleep- but she probably didn't take her eyes off of him and that's understandable.
 

xp29

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Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
How scary. I hope Zen slowly gets back to himself and the lack of eating is because he's freaked out as well. This is truly scary and quick thinking on your feet. We all think we are taking good care of our beardies and we simply never know what's next. We do our best! I am so glad Zen is on the road to recovery we are all here rooting for you/Zen-everyone. I hope your girlfriend was able to sleep- but she probably didn't take her eyes off of him and that's understandable.
Thank you 🤗
You summed up what i hope everyone takes away from this post very eloquently, we all try to do our best but stuff can happen so quickly.
Christina hasn't let him out of her sight since it happened, Zen is my boy, but technically he is her pet. I got him for her when our first beardie passed.
 

Chris.

Juvie Member
Beardie name(s)
Luis and Lilith
Thanks for the warning and all the best for Zen! So sad to see this happen on Christmas as well.
Unfortunately a lot of people give baths to their dragons because they find it cute or something and not because the dragon needs it (they hardly ever do). I know you have always been carefull with this and it is not fair for YOU to make this awful experience now.
On the other hand the dragon of someone who is less experienced or careing than you, might have passed away that day....
 

NickAVD

Juvie Member
Beardie name(s)
Foxy
I found common points in your case and in what happened in @Claudiusx
Before aspirating, both dragons drank while bathing.
Perhaps their instinct to “drink water” turned on and they could not “turn it off” while breathing.
I don’t know all the intricacies of how a dragon’s nervous and respiratory systems work, but I feel like there’s some kind of connection here.
We can all conclude that if a dragon drinks from the bath then we need to be 100, 1000 times more vigilant and prevent diving after he has drunk!
 
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xp29

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Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
Thanks for the warning and all the best for Zen! So sad to see this happen on Christmas as well.
Unfortunately a lot of people give baths to their dragons because they find it cute or something and not because the dragon needs it (they hardly ever do). I know you have always been carefull with this and it is not fair for YOU to make this awful experience now.
On the other hand the dragon of someone who is less experienced or careing than you, might have passed away that day....
Thank you for the kind words 🙂
Zen seems to be back to normal with no signs of an r.i.
It all started with routine upkeep, I don't normally give baths, but he had a small sperm plug so I gave him a warm soak. How this happened with something so mundane and routine is the scary part. It was definitely a lesson.
 

xp29

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Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
I found common points in your case and in what happened in @Claudiusx
Before aspirating, both dragons drank while bathing.
Perhaps their instinct to “drink water” turned on and they could not “turn it off” while breathing.
I don’t know all the intricacies of how a dragon’s nervous and respiratory systems work, but I feel like there’s some kind of connection here.
We can all conclude that if a dragon drinks from the bath then we need to be 100, 1000 times more vigilant and prevent diving after he has drunk!
I agree with every point you made. My guys will all be getting their hydration strictly from an eyedropper from now on. It was so out of character for him to even drink that way, he had never drank from a bath before. Also I had just given them all water the day before and he drank his fill.
I'm just glad folks are taking it to heart how serious it is and how quickly it can happen.
I hope everyone reads up on how to handle it if it does happen, it very well might make the difference between a scare and tragedy.
 

NickAVD

Juvie Member
Beardie name(s)
Foxy
I agree with every point you made. My guys will all be getting their hydration strictly from an eyedropper from now on. It was so out of character for him to even drink that way, he had never drank from a bath before. Also I had just given them all water the day before and he drank his fill.
I'm just glad folks are taking it to heart how serious it is and how quickly it can happen.
I hope everyone reads up on how to handle it if it does happen, it very well might make the difference between a scare and tragedy.
I am following this topic closely. And I’m very glad that everything worked out without RI.
Has he started eating?
 

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