Beardie Without Nostrils?

[HylianHealeys]

Hi everyone, my husband and I just got our beardies two days ago, and we're super excited to be new dragon owners! We own two beardies, Deliora and Nabooru (names pending). They are adult females, both retired breeders.

When we were looking at Deliora before purchase, we noticed that she frequently gaped and released a "puff" of air. This occurred when she could not have possibly trying to cool off. Otherwise she appeared to be in good health, so we asked her owner (who is, by the way, not a breeder) about it. He said that she had been doing it for a while, and called it "smiling."

Today, we gave our beardies their first bath, and while drying them off, I noticed that Deliora didn't appear to have nostrils! She just has an even layer of scales over her snout. I even looked at Nabooru for comparison, and she had distinct nostrils.

So do any of you know what's up with Deliora? Does she have a respiratory infection and her nostrils have been clogged with a mucus plug? Or could it be that she was born without them?

Also, I'd like to post pics for you guys to see what I'm talking about. How do you do that...?

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....I know you're excited to be new beardie owners + you'll find lots of helpful info on this forum . Are these nice sized + healthy looking ? It is strange about her nostrils but I think it's probably that they are clogged. As for the previous owner saying that she's " smiling " , ummm.....no just trying to breathe :shock: To post pics, upload them to a site like photobucket, then copy/paste here. Try to get close ups of her nose. Hopefully if it's a respiratory issue the other dragon won't get it. But sometimes these are long standing problems and not contagious. If you are able to find a vet with lots of experience with reptiles [ not just exotics ] they may prescribe meds., Baytril is the usual med. for an R.I. So I hope for a good outcome.....oh and baths only need to be given once a week for a healthy adult, always pat them dry + allow them to warm up for at least an hour in the tank before lights out. Some [ most of mine I've owned ] will drink water dripped on their snout once - twice a week.

 

[HylianHealeys]

Okay, so here are the pictures:

Deliora's right side:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/107254769299417390776/albums/6082667997866932209/6082668005460856018?pid=6082668005460856018&oid=107254769299417390776

Left side:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/107254769299417390776/albums/6082667997866932209/6082668129309449842?pid=6082668129309449842&oid=107254769299417390776

 

[AHBD]

First of all I just wanted to say what a beautiful + colorful dragon she is. And very cute face. Those nostrils really are odd looking...the first pic [ her right nostril ? ] actually does look as if there are scales or scar tissue covering it, but I'm not positive. The 2nd pic [ left nostril ?] is not at a good angle....can you get a closer shot and just a bit more from the side ?

 

[HylianHealeys]

Thank you! Sorry it has taken me so long to reply - we had a busy evening yesterday. Anyway, I got out my real camera (no more smartphone pics, thank you!) to get you better pictures. I hope they are enlightening. Thanks for your help!

Right side:


Left side:

 

[AHBD]

That is very odd....I've never heard of this type of peculiar problem, but I guess it's possible. She looks bright eyed + healthy. Does she breathe through her mouth constantly ? It doesn't look like just a clog, but you can try getting a very soft bristle [ like a baby's ] toothbrush and rub ever so lightly to see if anything comes away. If that doesn't do any good,it might be good to have her examined by an experienced reptile vet.

 

[HylianHealeys]

Yeah, she's happy and healthy - ate A LOT of Phoenix worms today. But she seems to exclusively breathe through her mouth, and aside from an occasional slightly dark beard, she doesn't seem bothered by it. I guess she's been dealing with it for a long time.

I'll definitely try the toothbrush on her next time she's in the bath. If not, the vet. I'll keep you posted.

 

[HylianHealeys]

Decided to bathe the girls last night - looks like Deliora's going into shed, so we figured she could use the extra help. We used a toothbrush to gently scrub each of her nostrils as you recommended, but to no avail. If anything, she gave us this "Is this really necessary?" look. We're starting to suspect that it's just a birth defect.

On the positive side, Deliora dipped her head under and took a long drink without problems. Looks like aspiration will be the least of our problems!

We'll still take her to the vet, though, when we find a good one in the area.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is very interesting. I have never seen anything like that either.
You mentioned her going into shed? Is her face/mouth going to shed? It is still possible that she has clogged or stuck nose plugs.
Around her mouth area looks like some old or dried shed or some dried discharge? Could she have any type of respiratory problem like a respiratory infection possibly?
At least she enjoyed her bath! Let us know if you find a vet to get her checked out.

Tracie

 

[HylianHealeys]

I would suspect that shedding's the issue, but like I mentioned earlier - her previous owner said that mouth breathing was a habit of hers, so clearly she's had blocked/no nostrils for a while.

I am wondering about the dry stuff around her mouth, too. Her lips usually have a little bit of moist substance on them. She's not showing other symptoms of a respiratory infection, though. She's happy, perky, active, and has a good appetite (for Phoenix worms anyway - we're trying to convince her to eat her vegetables). And her cagemate isn't showing signs of infection, so she doesn't seem contagious. Back to the oral discharge - I'm thinking that all the mouth breathing she does could just be causing her to secrete more saliva so she doesn't dry out. Thoughts?

 

[AHBD]

It is possible that it's a birth defect, or just an abnormal growth of scales and that she does have to breathe through her mouth causing more visible saliva. Hopefully she'll stay healthy and there won't be any complications.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The open mouthed breathing would cause more saliva yes which could be what the culprit is around the mouth area.
Poor girl, how is she doing? I am glad that she is active & eating some though, that is good news.
I hope she is learning to eat her greens & veggies. It may take some time if she isn't used to them. At least she isn't showing any signs of respiratory issues. She should be just fine, if it is a birth defect, hopefully there aren't any other problems to come along.

Tracie

 

[Tails77]

We bought a Baby Bearded dragon about a week ago. We have just noticed that he only has one nostril and a slight dry swelling on his lip. His lip was fine when we brought him so this is new. However we are not sure whether he only had one nostril or not when we bought him. I would like to post a picture to see if this is normal as part of shedding. We have lots of learning to do and will need lots of advise on our journey. He has had no baths while we have had him as we thought he was too young. I have just read on your Care sheet that even babies should have a bath 3 times a week, so that will start today.

 

[Tails77]

I havent got a site like Photobucket, and Im not brilliant on computers. Is there an easier way to upload a photo of our little dragon?

 

[HylianHealeys]

When my Deliora was shedding, we discovered that she does indeed have two nostrils, but they get easily clogged from a mild mucus discharge that we suspect is the aftermath of a previous respiratory infection. We raised the temperatures by providing more basking spots (less competition from the roommate) and adjusted the timer so she gets more sleep, which has improved her breathing - both nostrils are now usually visible and she gapes far less often. Now we are seriously considering that she may gape to greet people - the result of a lot positive reinforcement, I suspect.

Tails77, your baby probably has both nostrils, but one may be clogged with shed or mucus. Is he shedding right now? Also, dried mucus has a strange habit of looking exactly like scales. Brush his snout with a soft toothbrush during baths to see if you can dislodge anything, but if that doesn't work, it's best to see what happens when he sheds.

The easiest way to upload a picture is to create a Photobucket account, upload your pictures there, and then paste the link between the img brackets (available as an insert option in the same row as the bold/italic/underline text options) in a new post. Be sure to preview the post before submitting to make sure you did it right.