Blocked Nostril (Please help!)

[loulou19]

Hi, I'm posting this in here as I got no reply about it in my last post (think it's my fault, should have put it in this forum).

Anyway, my 5 year old BD Izzy has had a blocked nostril for quite a long time. At first I thought it was skin after reading a lot of posts about it, however it is still there after bathing it, and now his other nostril is partially blocked too! He hasn't shed in quite a long time either (about a year?) and this appeared after.
He has been to vets, if you want the back story and info on his set up look here: http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=163644.

My vet dismissed it as being a respiratory infection after listening to his chest (despite him "coughing"), but still put him on baytril for two weeks. Anyway he has finished the baytril and is going back to vets in a couple of days. The coughing symptom has stopped (or eased off a lot), but his nose is still plugged up and he's still gaping - which I assume is due to the fact he can't breath through his nose. He also takes a forced breath every now and then still.

My vet wasn't exactly too helpful with him last time, suggesting to just "see how he does" which is what I have already been doing myself! He is a reptile vet though and does seem to know his stuff. So I would just like your opinions on what could be causing it so that I have something to suggest to him when I go back, as I hate to leave the vets office and feel like I haven't got anywhere when clearly there is still something not right.

Here's a photo of his nostril, any help is greatly appreciated!

Louise

 

[dragonlover3]

Poor little guy! If it was me, {and just saying if it was me} I'd tell the vet I don't want to wait to "see how he does" any longer and that I would appreciate having Izzy's nose cleared of the plugs regardless of what it is, either dried mucus plugs or a stuck shed, either one needs to be removed so he can breath easier! {He's/She's a vet and knows how}! I'd also tell the vet the respiratory infection doesn't seem to be resolved as he is still having forced respirations and gaping so he may need an extension on the Baytril. Not all respiratory infections can be heard by stethoscope so sometimes you just have to go with the symptoms, per my vet. I have 4 rescue beardies, 2 of them had persistant, recurrent RI, been to the vet frequently with them!
Izzy is a real cutie....look at that gorgeous face!
Amanda

 

[loulou19]

Ahh, now that's the kind of info I need I definitely don't want to wait, however I've not known what to suggest my vet do! I had no idea they could clear his nose though so I'll mention that when he goes back. I do believe it is a respiratory infection as his symptoms seem to fit, but vets are supposed to know best. Glad to have you confirm that it is still a possibility.

Yeah he's a cheeky one, I think it's his pouty lip. Thankyou very much for your advice! At least I can challenge the vet a little now, I hate having to just take their word and come away feeling like I've made little progress, especially when it comes to my pets.

 

[Jasper's Mom]

I apologize if you already know this, but... did you know that they have little flaps of skin inside their nostrils that they can open and close? Is it possible that's all it is?

 

[loulou19]

I have noticed my other beardies (and Izzy before it was completely clogged) do that, however Izzy's is like it constantly. He could be keeping it closed in that one though I suppose (it does quite look like that), but his other nostril looks as though there is a little something stuck in there.
It's another question for the vet thank you! But if it is that, it would be odd that he kept it closed all the time...

 

[PonchoandDaddy]

Izzy is very adorable! I love the colors especially the eye color. Have you tried gently rubbing it with a qtip? It looks like retained shed or dried mucus. If you are comfortable with it you could gently rub it with a qtip or maybe a LIGHTLY damp washcloth.

 

[bltkpo]

Even from that little photo, your dragon has some incredible colour!

I have noticed the local pet store has a beardie who has some dirt up his nose. I have mentioned it, but nothing has happened. He lives on sand, unfortunately, but doesn't seem too bothered. Maybe something just got stuck?

 

[loulou19]

Well I've had a couple of goes at cleaning it with a damp qtip. Doesn't seem to be reducing it any yet but his nostril does turn very white! So maybe it is just skin? Either way it seems very well stuck in there

He doesn't seem to act bothered by it (he's not rubbing his face against things as though it's irritating) its just the gaping that says to me that he's not able to breathe properly. Vets tomorrow however so hopefully I can get this sorted!

I know, I adore his colouring! But lately he's been very dark (like in that photo) so that's only a teeny bit of the colour he has. It makes me sad that he's so dark now, it's not like him at all.

 

[loulou19]

Well, the vet said today that he thinks it's possibly a URI so he's on baytril for another 2 weeks to see if that clears things up fully. His nostrils are still blocked, I am to clean his nose everyday to try and help clear it, but the vet is hoping for it to clear up on it's own.

Thankyou very much for all your help & advice!

 

[Valerie]

Remember to do the probiotics too. Is he still eating?

 

[LadyMeridius]

My girl has gum issues, which lead to her nostrils blocking up. After I started treating the gums with an anti-septic, her right side cleared right up. The left, still has not. I have poked through it, but it cakes back over.

She does not have any issues breathing and is back to eating normal for this time of year.

I can't seem to unclog that one nostril, but she is otherwise ok. She hates it so much and I can't seem to clear it out completely. Ive tried repta-rinse, as that always seems to clear things up well, but nothing seems to really cut thru

So, I understand your frustration

Good luck with your baby

 

[loulou19]

@Valerie - At the moment he is eating, though last time he stopped once I started giving him the baytril. I didn't know about the probiotics straight away though so he didn't have any for the first week so hopefully this time he will cope better got some acidophiliz on its way and I'll pick up some soy yoghurt today to use until then.

@LadyMeridius - It is extremely frustrating! I hope things get sorted for your baby too what kind of gum issues has she had? About a year and a half ago Izzy had a small growth on the inside of his gum. It just looked very pink and gunky, no idea what it was. He was meant to have an operation to remove it, however it just fell off on its own and disappeared! He seemed fine, it never bothered him at all, still ate and everything. He has quite an 'underbite' I guess, and tends to get a lot of build up around his bottom gums that I have to clean off regularly, I've never really considered it being an issue before.


EDIT: Oh, one other thing! The vet suggested mixing the baytril with some fruit juice to help reduce the nasty taste, as Izzy always shakes his head a lot and tries to spit it back out he said something like fresh blackcurrant or cranberry, which is best? And also how would I mix it with 0.2ml of baytril every day?

Sorry if this is a silly question, I'm just quite fussy about getting everything as right as I can.

 

[LadyMeridius]

It isn't mouthrot, I forgot what he termed it He said its common in beardeds, water dragons, and chameleons. Its not something that goes away, but kept at bay with the mouth scrubbing. It was pretty far down on the gum line, so he almost missed it.

She didn't really eat for a few months, only eating here and there. Then her nose fully clogged and she was gasping a lot, so I took her in, worried about a respiratory infection, but he ruled that out pretty quickly. Once he got a glance on the gums, he got her on the antiseptic, then we got her a supplement to help her want to eat, which was mixed in with strawberry ensure.

She did not like the syringe and attacked it, and broke 2 teeth 9_9

Within in a few days, she was back to almost normal. But then winter time came and she did her version of brumation. She doesn't sleep all day, but she goes dark and stays on the cool side of her tank every couple of days. Most times she is pretty normal and eats her supers like clockwork, 2 every other day. Then about once a week she wants more.

So other than that pesky nostril, she is doing really good. Ill take it.

 

[loulou19]

Thankyou for that info, Izzy does sound quite similar to that actually. The vet did check his mouth but only quickly so if he doesn't seem to improve I will suggest he looks at his mouth more closely.

 

[LadyMeridius]

It never hurts to ask. Fluffy was very squirmy and was being difficult, so we didn't see it right away. Ironically, it was her continuing difficulty that pulled her mouth down so we could see it.

I was just relieved it was something straightforward.

Good luck with your baby =)