Beardie has allergic asthma?!?

[CurlyShark]

I have a bit of a frustrating and heartbreaking issue with my little boy and I really hope someone can help me here. I've been a lurker here since I got my first dragon, and have read some very useful information by very knowledgeable people, so I am hoping someone can advise me about this issue!

My little boy is a 3.5 year old male bearded dragon. He was a Craigslist rescue; when I got him he was in pretty rough shape. (1 year old and only 10.5 inches and 83 grams) Miraculously we got him better, and now he is 18 inches and 400 grams!

He has been in surprisingly good health considering... We got his MBD in time with no lasting problems, and besides a bit of digestive troubles (food sensitivities I work around), he's a happy, healthy, active, and loving little boy.

The problem I've been having now for the past year (on and off) is he keeps getting what we thought were URI's. This is the fourth one now, plus he's been having a lot of trouble with his eyes watering and bothering him.

The first URI the vet gave us Baytril and a nebulizer solution. The first time was definitely a URI.. His lungs were crackly and the Xray showed the infection.

The second time I had to take him to the exotic hospital as his vet wasn't available. The vet there said his lungs sounds were clear and the xray showed nothing but a little tummy gas. But since she'd witnessed him coughing, she went ahead and gave us a course of Baytril and plain saline for the nebulizer.

The third time we got to see his regular vet, but like last time, she said there was no sign of infection. But since he was coughing, we got antibiotics (not baytril that time, but I can't remember the name) and the nebulizer solution from the first time.

Now we are at the fourth time. The vet wasn't able to see us straightway, so she gave us some more nebulizer solution, and scheduled us in for a followup later that week (this past Friday) since he was only lightly puffing at the time and otherwise seemed well. He got a little worse though, so I brought him in. Again, lungs clear, no sign of infection. She was stumped; said the only thing she thought could cause this would be his heart, but she ruled that out and said his heart is fine. She said the xray showed signs of inflammation of the bronchia as you'd see with COPD or asthma, but there was no infection or fluid in his lungs and everything else looked good (heart/liver/intestines/etc).

Over this year there is one thing I noticed though- He seems to get sick right after I start feeling sick. And most of the time for me it's my allergies. I am allergic to many things (dogs, cats, dust mites, mold, etc) and have to keep my house very clean and run allergy filters in every room, as well as in the main air handler. I'd been suspecting he might have allergies as well, but research showed that to be pretty unlikely. Regardless, figuring it wouldn't hurt, I started cleaning his house more, plus I bought him a little mini hepa filter and that seemed to really help his eye irritation.

Prior to this third and fourth time, I got behind in some of the more in-depth house cleaning. I'd fallen and broken my foot and wasn't able to do more than the necessary. Also because of the pandemic and people using the allergy filters for facemasks, my replacements were on backorder and I wasn't able to change them on time. So when I started feeling pretty cruddy with my allergies, a couple days later my little boy started with his eyes watering and then the puffing and coughing.

This fourth time I told this to the vet and she agreed that's what it sounds like is going on with him based off his symptoms and what she saw in the xray. So she figures he has a sort of allergic asthma. She gave me prednisone to give him by mouth, and I am to continue the nebulizer solution since it seems to help him a little.

So here's the big problem for me.. There is NOTHING online about this. It seems allergies in reptiles, though not impossible, are pretty unheard of. So of course there isn't any allergy testing for beardies to find out exactly what it is that's bothering him, and nothing online to advise me what I can do to help him. I feel horrible cos he's really miserable and I hate seeing him go through this.

This weekend I've upgraded his HEPA filter. He's started his prednisone, and I'm still doing his nebulizer when he asks for it (2-3 times a day.) I've changed his house decor in case it's dust mites he's allergic to (he LOVES soft things, plushes, pillows, etc. so he's really frustrated about that!) But beyond that, I don't know how to help him, and the vet doesn't really know either, just the medicines and what I'm already doing. But I want to keep this from happening to him again!

Does anyone here have any advice? For myself and my allergies, I am unable to take allergy medicine because I have epilepsy, so I use guaifenesin and home remedies, and those do seem to help me. Is there anything similar and safe I could use for him?

Is there anything else I could try to keep him from flare-ups like this? Or maybe even something the vet may not have thought to check? She's a good vet, and would definitely be open to suggestions and would not get weird about it like many would.

Besides the breathing problems and being miserable and frustrated from that, he seems fine otherwise. He's still pretty active and very alert. His appetite is down a little and he's lost a tiny bit of weight (less than 10 grams), but he's still eating a decent amount and pooping daily.

Thanks for reading and for any help anyone can give. Sorry if this is long-winded; I'm not the best at getting my words out. I really love my boy; my dragons are my life and I will do anything I can for them so I will be grateful for any help!

The obligatory info (hopefully I don't miss anything):

Housing: 24x48x18 wooden vivarium (3 stack; two adult females in the other two houses)
Previously reptile carpet- probably will replace with vinyl flooring unless someone can recommend a better hypoallergenic option (he hates tile and slate gets too hot)

Lighting: 60w incandescent basking bulb, 36" T5 Reptisun 5.0 HO (4 months old)

Temps: 102f basking, 98f hot side, 83f cool side (temp gun)
Nighttime usual 74f (ambient house temp) raised to 80f when ill using CHE
35-38% humidity

 

[KarrieRee]

Tracie is going to haft to address the asthma / allergy med issue but I would suggest you upgrade the 5.0 UVB to a 10.0 UVB --- is the UVB inside the tank? If not it needs to be w/ the 5.0 and if you upgrade the 10.0 has a possibility of staying on top of the screen depending on the screen itself ---
Karrie

 

[CurlyShark]

Tracie is going to haft to address the asthma / allergy med issue but I would suggest you upgrade the 5.0 UVB to a 10.0 UVB --- is the UVB inside the tank? If not it needs to be w/ the 5.0 and if you upgrade the 10.0 has a possibility of staying on top of the screen depending on the screen itself ---
Karrie

The guy who built the enclosure(s) said because of the height of the enclosure (18" instead of the usual 24" of these types), I should use the 5.0 or else the UVB would be too high. It's due to be changed soon anyway, so if that's not the case, I can upgrade to the 10.

The enclosure is a wooden vivarium-style; the fixture is mounted at the top of the tank, so there isn't a screen or anything obstructing the UVB. I don't have a clear photo available of his actual light setup, but you can see from the enclosure above his a similar setup. His light is a longer one though. (He's in the middle with the baby sharks, although I've since removed all the plushes but his favorite. Also that device in his house is not an Alexa; that's his previous HEPA filter.. I get that question a lot :lol: )

And a photo of my boy Ajkula himself

 

[KarrieRee]

Ok so since you have 18" for height the T 5 should have a basking distance of 12-15 inches directly above the basking decor piece -- I would start there and lets let Tracie weigh in on the allergy thing -- shes the vet mod on at nite
Karrie

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Sorry, I ran out of time last night but did see your post. There have been a handful of
members on here in the past with issues somewhat similiar to his. I would have to agree
that allergies do seem like the culprit.
Your tank setup sounds fine to me, the substrate is not a loose particulate which eliminates
that option. Since you are allergic to dogs, cats, etc, then I am assuming that you don't
have any dogs or cats or any other pets with fur? Just checking.
The air filters should be helping out. What type of foods & gutload do you use to feed the
insects before he gets fed? What type of bedding do you keep your insects in?
The nebulizer treatments should hopefully help out. Have you tried adding in bee pollen to
help with allergens? You could also try monolauren (coconut oil, essentially), or grapeseed
oil or extract to help with immune system.
Do you have a copy of blood work you could post?

Tracie

 

[CurlyShark]

Hello,

Sorry, I ran out of time last night but did see your post. There have been a handful of
members on here in the past with issues somewhat similiar to his. I would have to agree
that allergies do seem like the culprit.
Your tank setup sounds fine to me, the substrate is not a loose particulate which eliminates
that option. Since you are allergic to dogs, cats, etc, then I am assuming that you don't
have any dogs or cats or any other pets with fur? Just checking.
The air filters should be helping out. What type of foods & gutload do you use to feed the
insects before he gets fed? What type of bedding do you keep your insects in?
The nebulizer treatments should hopefully help out. Have you tried adding in bee pollen to
help with allergens? You could also try monolauren (coconut oil, essentially), or grapeseed
oil or extract to help with immune system.
Do you have a copy of blood work you could post?

Tracie

Thank you so much for replying! I really appreciate your time and trying to help me.

About the fur pets, I do have two chihuahuas and two cats... Hence why I have to keep my house so clean and run air filters in every room. (Also I use a pellet litter system for the cats so there is no dust.) I'd already had the dogs and the one cat prior to getting my Ajkula dragon in July 2018, another senior cat since in Feb 2019 (who died of old age in April 2020 before Ajkula's allergy problems began).

Yesterday however, while looking back over the times he'd been sick trying to find a connection, I'd realized his first allergy issue began shortly after getting a new cat after the other one had died. So I am really beginning to suspect he might be allergic to that cat specifically. Is that possible? (We'd gotten the cat May 2, and Ajkula's first case where they couldn't find any infection was May 4.)

We were finally able to purchase a filter for the main air handler a couple weeks ago, and last week the ones for the standalone and Ajkula's units came in so hopefully those will start clearing the air and helping him to feel better soon!

As for the cat, if he is allergic and all else fails, I do have a spare room where I do not allow any fur animals. It's not ideal, as he really hates being alone, but it's better than not being able to breathe or sleep at night.

To answer the feeder question, I breed roaches and mealworms (mealworms are for other critters, not the dragons). The roaches are only on egg flats and the mealworms are in wheat bran. The gutload for the roaches is roach chow, along with scraps from the dragons' salads, or Repashy Bug Burger. Ajkula does not eat the roaches as they seem to upset his stomach quite a bit (even though he loves them!). So he eats BSFL as staple, with hornworms and waxworms as treats. He rarely will eat salad, and when he does, he will only eat turnip greens (he likes kale, but I read that wasn't a good staple, so it's only a treat) topped with carrots for color and bee pollen. Most of the time I have to resort to Repashy Veggie Burger or syringe baby food/puree to get veg into him.

I don't have a copy of his last bloodwork, and his vet didn't do any this time; just the exam and the xray. I'll probably be bringing him back Friday if he doesn't improve any; I can ask her to do a draw on him if you think it might be useful.

About the supplements you suggested, I do top his salad (which he rarely eats) with bee pollen.. I can add some to a puree. Would it be just a little pinch like I top the salad with? What kind of coconut oil should I get and where would be a good place to buy it? Also would something like eucalyptus be safe for him (to breathe, not eat)? For myself, I like a eucalyptus/menthol foot soak and that helps my breathing, and I wonder if I held him on my chest and let him breathe it in if that would help. I haven't tried it as I don't want to expose him to anything unless I know it's safe to do so.

If anything else comes to mind that you think would help him, please let me know! I desperately want to help him feel better.

Thanks again for getting back to me and for any advice! My little boy thanks you too!

 

[CurlyShark]

Update on my Ajkula:

I brought him to his vet last night (they were booked on Friday). She gave me an ointment for his eyes because they were irritated, but said there aren’t many options for his asthma beyond what I’m already doing. I’m just to keep up with the nebulizer and the prednisone since he’s still coughing. She’s going to do some research to see if a medication for asthma in birds would work for him... I can’t remember what it was called; it began with an A (not albuterol though).

He has got his appetite back somewhat.. The days following his prednisone dose he won’t eat, but that is understandable as prednisone does the same to me and upsets my stomach. On the other days he eats fine, so I’ve been feeding him hornworms those days as well to keep up his hydration cos prednisone can be bad for that.

He’s been sleeping through the night for two days now, which is great! (I have a camera on him at night which notifies me if he moves so I can see if he’s restless or coughing.) And during the day he’s coughing and puffing less, but then gets a bit worse later in the day.

So far my suspicions of what he’s allergic to are narrowed down to cats, grass, and/or mold. (I live in Florida where mold is unavoidable, and the levels are forecast as high these days.) Running a HEPA filter in his enclosure, washing his bedding in allergen wash (with a second rinse to be safe), and keeping him away from places the cats frequent seems to be helping. For outside, I’m going to have to make him a little dragon run to keep him off the grass so he can still have sun time, since the grass is definitely irritating to his eyes. Also we will be working on replacing the mulch around the pond with river rock in case mold is a problem. (We were planning on that anyway, this just gives us an excuse to get it done sooner.)

Here are the medications he is on:

Gentamycin/Aminophylline (Nebulizer solution). 2-3 times a day

Prednisone 0.03ml every other day

Neomycin/Polymyxin B Sulfates/Dexamethasone eye ointment 3 times a day

His vet said if her research shows the bird medicine for asthma would work for him, she will let me know and call it in for me, and then I’ll add that info.

Unfortunately she said stuff like eucalyptus and menthol for breathing aren’t safe for him, and the only thing I can do if he’s coughing a lot is the nebulizer.

I will go ahead and keep updating periodically.. I know his problem is unusual and there isn’t much advice to be given to help us right now. But maybe my experience will help someone else who might have an asthmatic dragon. I know the advice and experiences I’d read here on other posts helped to save his little life back when I rescued him.

Btw here’s my boy Ajkula this morning with the only two plushes he won’t be without.. his fluffy pillow and his little shark! (I took the others out until we figure his allergies.) He woke up a grump; we were out way past his bedtime at the vet’s, and it’s never fun getting poked and prodded when you should be having bedtime snuggles. Thankfully he’s not still mad at me!

And here with his younger “big sis” Curly yesterday; you can see his poor eye all goopy. (FYI Curly is a HUGE dragon. 26” if she had all her tail and 813g :shock: Ajkula is a tad smaller than average dragon, but she makes him look like a baby!)