Both of my Dragon's nostrils are clogged!

[BFTbucky]

My bearded dragon recently came out of shed and both of her nostrils are clogged now she's having a hard time breathing through her mouth gasping for air and panting. I'm extremely worried what can I do to get them out!

 

[CooperDragon]

That happens during sheds from time to time. She should be able to get them out on her own eventually. Be careful not to pull at the tabs too much because they may still be attached inside. If they're moving a bit as she breathes you could try rubbing her nose with a wet q-tip which may help to pull the tab away if it's already loose. Other than that, I'd just let her work on it on her own. If you can give her some time out on a carpet or other relatively rough surface it may also help her work it loose on her own.

 

[BFTbucky]

Both of them are deep in her nose and they're hard. I don't think she'd be able to scratch them out herself.

 

[CooperDragon]

From what I've seen with the nose sheds they eventually come loose a bit and pop out slightly. at that point they can be caught on something and pulled. Until then they may still be attached inside her nose and pulling on them could cause damage.

 

[BFTbucky]

So I let her try to get them at herself? And what do I do about her trouble breathing and panting?

 

[CooperDragon]

The hard breathing is likely her way of trying to force the shed out. She can still open her mouth to breathe. If you're concerned about it and you have an experienced reptile vet nearby you could bring her in and consult them, but I'm erring on the side of caution when it comes to interfering with the shed in fear that it could cause damage to the membrane inside her nose.

 

[BFTbucky]

Thank you all so much I will keep all of you updated.

 

[onceblue]

This happened to my beardie on his first shed and I was pretty worried about it too because his breathing was labored like you described, but he was able to work the shed off himself within a day and ended up being just fine. Just sharing so you can have some peace of mind!

 

[TheDragonKeepers]

If the surface scale is still intact, you can carefully flip it up with some flat-edged tweezers and draw the "stem" out.

 

[SukiLove]

I agree with Cooper on erring on the side of caution, the membrane inside their nose can be very delicate. I would let her get it out on her own, but if you're really concerned I also agree with the vet. My sister, when she was younger, tried to pull the shed out of the nostril of her juvenile iguana and it bled pretty good because of that.

 

[Kessed]

Have you given her a bath? When my dragon is shedding, I find that she likes to dunk her head under water and then scratch at her ears. It can't hurt.

 

[BFTbucky]

UPDATE:
She got the clog out of her left nostril and she's able to breathe now. I think she is trying to get the one on the right out because she keeps scratching her head on her log.

 

[Beardymama33]

That happens during sheds from time to time. She should be able to get them out on her own eventually. Be careful not to pull at the tabs too much because they may still be attached inside. If they're moving a bit as she breathes you could try rubbing her nose with a wet q-tip which may help to pull the tab away if it's already loose. Other than that, I'd just let her work on it on her own. If you can give her some time out on a carpet or other relatively rough surface it may also help her work it loose on her own.

Draconis uses his brick bridge to rub his off, maybe a rough stone or a small brick can be brought in and cleaned thoroughly then put in the enclosure when its dry.