zaboomafoo
Hatchling Member
Hi all, this might be a bit of an unconventional question so I apologize if this isn't the right forum for it.
I'm currently a veterinary technician student, and something I've encountered so far in my education is a lack of information about our reptile friends. In many of my classes, we've discussed the "Fear/Anxiety/Stress" scale- or "FAS". This is a technique used to evaluate an animal's body language (usually in the context of a vet visit). We have FAS scales for cats and dogs, but not other animals.
We've also learned about "grimace scales", which are a way to evaluate pain based on facial expressions of animals. The grimace scales include a few more animals, like rodents and rabbits, but it's still hard to find information about evaluating pain and stress in our reptile friends.
I'm a beardie lover, and even though they can't exactly make facial expressions the same way a mammal does, I know how expressive they can be. This is where you all come in! I would love to pick all of your brains for ideas of what sort of body language I could highlight in an FAS or grimace scale for bearded dragons. I have some obvious ideas bouncing around my head such as beards changing color, closing eyes as a stress response, etc... but I'd love to know what sort of patterns you all have noticed in your own dragons, especially if you've ever had the unfortunate experience of seeing them in pain or stress. I'll include some examples of existing FAS and grimace scales to give you all an idea of what I'm talking about. I really like the idea of putting together something like this for our beardie friends as a resource for both veterinary professionals and bearded dragon owners, to help make sure they get speedier and more accurate care and pain management.
Thanks for anyone who's read this far and thanks in advance for any thoughts you have to share!
KC
I'm currently a veterinary technician student, and something I've encountered so far in my education is a lack of information about our reptile friends. In many of my classes, we've discussed the "Fear/Anxiety/Stress" scale- or "FAS". This is a technique used to evaluate an animal's body language (usually in the context of a vet visit). We have FAS scales for cats and dogs, but not other animals.
We've also learned about "grimace scales", which are a way to evaluate pain based on facial expressions of animals. The grimace scales include a few more animals, like rodents and rabbits, but it's still hard to find information about evaluating pain and stress in our reptile friends.
I'm a beardie lover, and even though they can't exactly make facial expressions the same way a mammal does, I know how expressive they can be. This is where you all come in! I would love to pick all of your brains for ideas of what sort of body language I could highlight in an FAS or grimace scale for bearded dragons. I have some obvious ideas bouncing around my head such as beards changing color, closing eyes as a stress response, etc... but I'd love to know what sort of patterns you all have noticed in your own dragons, especially if you've ever had the unfortunate experience of seeing them in pain or stress. I'll include some examples of existing FAS and grimace scales to give you all an idea of what I'm talking about. I really like the idea of putting together something like this for our beardie friends as a resource for both veterinary professionals and bearded dragon owners, to help make sure they get speedier and more accurate care and pain management.
Thanks for anyone who's read this far and thanks in advance for any thoughts you have to share!
KC