bloating when taking a bath

[craigf]

I hope this the right place to post this, I have a 8 wk old dragon, when i try to give him a bath, he swims around some then swells up and floats lifeless. Even after i remove him from the water he stays bloated up and lifeless for a couple mins and then comes out of it. I check the water temp and keep it about 90 f . Any suggestions as to what is going on with him, he swells about twice the size he does when he flattens out when he is scared. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Craig

 

[randommonks]

How deep is the water he's in? He might be just trying to float if the water is too deep. Try to keep it just covering his front legs, so he doesn't freak out.

 

[craigf]

when he is standing its just under his belly, i can understand floating but he really swells up big, is it stress or something?

 

[randommonks]

Hm...if the water level is low, he might just be freaked out about being bathed. Do you know if he's been bathed before you got him? Try putting a washcloth under his feet so he has some good grip on what he's standing on.

 

[craigf]

I use a wash cloth under him and i doubt he has before, he was 4 wks when i got him, the first couple times he was fine but not now for some reason.

 

[randommonks]

:? No clue then. Grumpy from shedding? Could he have gotten water in his ears? Babies tend to be spazzes, maybe it's just him being weird? Does he close his eyes and float or leave them open?

 

[craigf]

he closes his eyes, the first time he did it i really thought i killed him, but he does it every time now, so i just been making sure to soak him down with water. I have not seen anything that looks like he is trying to shed other than rubbing his face on the log and rock in his viv.

 

[randommonks]

Maybe it's the shock of being put in water? How long do you leave him in there?

 

[lindawaz]

My two have done that. When the water has been shallow, deep, warm , cool. Don't know why either. the only time it concerns me is when they collapse one side and tip them selves over, they open their eyes real quick and either ,stand, swim or re-inflate.- They are 3 and 4 yrs old now and still do it at times.

I put a rock on the wash cloth so it does not scratch my tub. They seem to feel more secure with something solid under their feet. They can also climb out of the water front half anyways and the vent stays in

 

[craigf]

Thanks for all the ideas, i decided to give it another try last night and it went really well. He started out on my hand with just his tail in the water for a min then turned around and jumped in. the water was pretty shallow but he was actually swiming around calmly. He was standing in the water and then just stuck his head in the water, he done that a couple times. Looks like he is starting to enjoy it.

 

[lindawaz]

he just might swim under water my female does- really cool to watch the serpentine motion with their tail and lower half. First time she did it it freaked me out- looking at me while under water cruising along. She was fine and still does it

 

[HaleyMaree]

Sounds like he is doing good!

~Haley