Can’t find it, but I can promise you that it’s true. I took her to the vet in May, 2020 for the same issues and they did a fecal, flush, X-ray, blood test, and my vet who specializes in reptiles told me her results were “fantastic” and no sign of RI.
That does appear to be a respiratory type of issue.
Is it dusty at all in your room or in her tank? Is her breathing like this all of the time, or just
when she drinks, etc?
I would recommend trying to nebulize her daily in case there is some type of infection or
bacteria deep in her lungs. They don't have cilia so it makes it more difficult for them to
clear our their lungs which does seem to make them more prone to respiratory issues.
Since you have some Baytril left, you can nebulize with baytril daily for a couple of weeks
to see if there is any improvement.
For now, I would keep her a little warmer overnight, usually around 75-80 is good, for help
with boosting her immune system.
When she drinks and eats, she puffs more and does the things in the videos. Then she calms down and basks and the heat normally helps and she doesn’t do it as often. As for the dust, my room does get dusty. I clean it usually every few weeks, but the top of her terrarium attracts dust. I’ve always wondered if it went into her cage when I wiped it, so who knows if that’s a cause. I wouldn’t really know how to prevent dust from sticking to her cage.
What do you mean by nebulize?
And I have a CHE I keep on at night above her so it’s warmer in there. I live in Ohio where it is cold and snowy.
I found the email that had her results from the tests. I copy and pasted the key parts of it below:
“The radiologist said there was one focal portion of her lung that looked like it has pneumonia or possibly a pocket of pus (aka abscess), but the rest of his x-rays looked normal.”
“Her bloodwork looks great! Her liver and kidneys are functioning well, and her calcium and phosphorus balance was perfect”
“The fluid sample from her lungs showed a moderate amount of inflammatory cells with some structures that the pathologist couldn't quite identify. They said it didn't look like typical bacteria or fungal organisms, but they could potentially be a parasite or one of the less common infectious organisms. The bacterial and fungal culture were both negative.”
“So where does this leave us? The radiologist and pathologist agree that she has diseased lungs, but it is not a typical bacterial or fungal infection. I would recommend sending a poop sample to the lab to check for parasites, just in case this is an unusual lungworm infection. You can stop the Baytril antibiotic at this point. If she continues to have problems with his breathing, there are two options from here: 1.) I can refer her to a specialist in Akron and they can perform a CT scan of her chest to further identify the source of his disease, or 2.) we can use a special scope to look inside of her body and possibly take a biopsy of the lung tissue. If she does have an abscess in his lungs, that could potentially require surgery to remove.”