Does this look like an Upper Respiratory Infection!?

[Shelbsalexis]

Hi, so I just got my new beardie 3 weeks ago. When I got him his head was in shed. He was constantly itching himself and rubbing on things to get it off. About 2 days after he got all of his shed off I noticed his left eye was staying shut. As the days went on gunk was building up. I continuously used a wet Q-tip to clean his eye since it was repeatedly getting sealed shut with gunk through the day. I figured maybe he scratched his eye or had stuck shed in it. So as the past 2 weeks have gone by I tried Repti Rinse as well as Terramycin (separately). To no avail. It’s not getting worse but it’s also not getting better. (Picture of eye gunked shut). So about 3 days ago I scheduled a vet appointment. There are absolutely no certified reptile vets in my area so I had to schedule with an “exotic”. But his appointment is not until Tuesday May 2nd.. 5 days away. Well starting 2 days ago he started doing this cough like thing. His beard puffs up and it looks almost as if he’s choking, and then coughs with a small noise coming out. (I’m going to post a link to a video I took of him doing this). At first I thought maybe he had food stuck in his throat but now I’m not so sure. Between both his left eye having discharge and now this choking/cough could this possibly be an upper respiratory infection!? I’m so worried that the vet appointment is going to be too far away and he’s going to just get sicker. Or they’ll misdiagnose/Medicare him.

Video #1-

Video #2-

Other info: He’s been eating every day but I noticed he tends to do this “cough” even more so when he’s eating. (and even harsher than the video I took) And it seems to make him not want to continue eating so he will walk away after just a couple bugs. So his appetite has definitely decreased. He’s also starting to shed his head & tail again which I noticed in the short time I’ve had him that he tends not to eat as much during shed. He is alert during the day, (is awake all day), although not very active. Which he’s been like that since I got him so I assumed he’s just a tad lazy. All lighting and temps are correct. I recently removed his water bowl just incase it is an URI.

But can anybody explain this? Between both his eye AND now the cough? Possible URI? Any advice on how to help him?

 

[xp29]

His eye looks bad, he needs a vet for sure i would say. Why did he fall, is he disoriented?
I would reachbout to @Drache613 and sge if she can advise you

 

[RangoRocky]

@AHBD

 

[CooperDragon]

It's possible that he's dealing with a RI based on the gunky eye. There could also be a piece of skin or something irritating the eye causing mucous buildup. If the terramycin and rinsing doesn't help then perhaps a closer inspection or different meds from the vet will do the trick.

I have seen my dragon do the burping/coughing behavior. I'm not ruling out infection because of the eye, but it could also just be some gas buildup and burping (this is more common around mealtime as you noted) or could be inflating and releasing to help with shedding. I'd certainly keep an eye out for it becoming more frequent and look for mucous buildup around the mouth as signs of possible infection though.

 

[Shelbsalexis]

It's possible that he's dealing with a RI based on the gunky eye. There could also be a piece of skin or something irritating the eye causing mucous buildup. If the terramycin and rinsing doesn't help then perhaps a closer inspection or different meds from the vet will do the trick.

I have seen my dragon do the burping/coughing behavior. I'm not ruling out infection because of the eye, but it could also just be some gas buildup and burping (this is more common around mealtime as you noted) or could be inflating and releasing to help with shedding. I'd certainly keep an eye out for it becoming more frequent and look for mucous buildup around the mouth as signs of possible infection though.

Thank you for the reply. He’s still doing a bit of what seems like mouth breathing today. Not terrible and not continuously. But definitely here and there throughout day. What confuses me is I see no mucus in mouth/sides of mouth/nose. Only the one eye discharge and the breathing.
I’m just so nervous vet apt is too far away. 4 more days. I feel so bad. I had my other beardie for 10 years and never any health concerns, so all these symptoms/things are new to me.