Baby Beardie Breathing Hard

[kariann]

Hi there,

I got a 6 week old beardie shipped to me on April 6th. I've had beardies before (i.e. my enclosure temps, UV, etc. are fine) but never one this young. He is eating feeders very well and took a little salad today. He has pooped every day and it looks normal.

I am a bit worried because he seems to be breathing hard. His chest excursions seem exaggerated. He has not opened his mouth to breath and there is no ocular or nasal discharge. He has PALE stress marks sometimes but he is a 20 clear nailed hypo so maybe pale is the best he can do. His beard is white. I wondered if baby dragons just appear to breath harder or should I be worried? Has anyone seen this related to overeating? I mean if his stomach is very full then maybe it is harder for him to breath because of that? He ate about 15 small phoenix worms and 7 micro superworms today: about half those were between 2-5pm and it is 8pm here now.

Thanks in advance for your responses!

PS He is going to sleep now so I'll be watching to see if the heavy breathing continues while sleeping

 

[kariann]

While asleep, his chest excursions aren't nearly as prominent, but still are greater than I would expect during sleep. His respiratory rate is about 30 per minute. Any insight from those that have experience with baby dragons would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[beardie parents]

I don't have much experience with baby beardies, so I don't know what could be wrong. This is to bump it up so someone who would have an idea what could be wrong will see it.

 

[PuffMagic]

I am not sure either, but BUMP.

 

[TASTIGER]

can you hear wheezing or clicking? or meaby hes just slightly scared i dont know hopfuly somone comes soon

 

[kariann]

No, there are no wheezes or any other respiratory noises. He is still asleep and will wake up in about an hour so I'll see how he looks then. His breathing rate is less than 30 breaths per minute now: maybe 20-25 as he will take about 5 breaths in 10 seconds and then pause before starting up again. He is all sprawled out with his little legs behind him like a beardie usually sleeps. He probably wishes I wouldn't wake him up to check on him. Hope he is okay: these guys are so tiny that everything worries me.

 

[kariann]

Well, his lights have been on about 30 minutes and he is bright and alert but still in his bed with his legs stretched out. His breathing looks pretty normal to me now: not pronounced chest excursions like last night. I have to go to work for a few hours: hopefully, this is a false alarm. I would love to hear from others with baby beardie experience and get their opinions.

Thanks

 

[TASTIGER]

i got my first baby from petco and he was really small but he would only breath hard if he was stressed like when i had my hand in the cage
i hope it was just a false alarm and that he will be perfectly fine

 

[kariann]

He seems to be better today and only breathes hard if he has reason (i.e. stressed from bath, after eating a lot). I am just going to watch him closely since everything else seems 100%.

 

[PuffMagic]

Glad to hear that everything seems okay!