double checking on possible resp. infection?

[teddy1999]

"backstory" you dont have to read: my beardie, nessie, is approx. 4 years old and was a bit of a rescue. we're in the uk. previous owners said they were moving but when i arrived they bragged about the new cooler animals they were getting. they said she eats anything and is healthy and normal (spoiler: she wasnt. refuses all greens and is always low energy, but eats insects well). i didnt get to do a straight away health checkup because this was last march and then covid happened.
her hot temp is around 100f and cool is around 80-85, hopefully this image link works: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/694271886095286385/804454099683639346/20210128_202207.jpg

so i've been meaning to see a vet about her low energy/disinterest in surroundings or if she's just lazy and needs to eat healthier (work in progress, i still have to trick her into eating greens.) now i worry she has a new issue of a respiratory infection

link to a video from today: https://youtu.be/-dbtpkMcxR8

started about 2 weeks ago and i thought she was throwing up the greens i gave her (didnt end up vomiting). i saw other videos and realised it could be an RI. she does this sort of coughing fit about once a day and got very black bearded today, and lots of saliva in her mouth. she has a lot more noises involved than other beardies ive seen, so just as a second opinion while i'm trying to get booked in, do you think it is an RI and how serious does it look? i wouldnt describe her viv or my room as too humid, its pretty cold here usually anyway. she eats pretty good, if lazily, but takes a bit to poop. maybe every 1-2 weeks.

i've heard they're common but as i thought she was throwing up/gagging on too much food at first i didnt know how immediately serious it might be. thanks in advance!

 

[SentientRoomba]

That looks like a pretty serious RI to me, the low energy might be from her not feeling too well. Its good that she is eating but she isn't looking too hot so try to get her to the vet asap. If you don't know where a reptile vet is this site can help you find one near you!
How humid is it in her tank and how often does she get baths since frequent baths could lead to a RI. The vet will most likely prescribe baytril for the RI if they do make sure to pick up some probiotics for Ness.
Her tanks humidity should be around 20-40% and if its over that i suggest putting a container of baking soda where she cant reach in her tank to absorb some excess moisture. If you don't have a humidity gauge i suggest picking one up they can be found on amazon and a lot of petstores carry them for around 8 dollars for the cheapest. Do you know what type of UVB lighting and basking lighting she has? How many inches is she away from them since if she is too close she can get burnt.

 

[teddy1999]

That looks like a pretty serious RI to me, the low energy might be from her not feeling too well. Its good that she is eating but she isn't looking too hot so try to get her to the vet asap. If you don't know where a reptile vet is this site can help you find one near you!
How humid is it in her tank and how often does she get baths since frequent baths could lead to a RI. The vet will most likely prescribe baytril for the RI if they do make sure to pick up some probiotics for Ness.
Her tanks humidity should be around 20-40% and if its over that i suggest putting a container of baking soda where she cant reach in her tank to absorb some excess moisture. If you don't have a humidity gauge i suggest picking one up they can be found on amazon and a lot of petstores carry them for around 8 dollars for the cheapest. Do you know what type of UVB lighting and basking lighting she has? How many inches is she away from them since if she is too close she can get burnt.

thank you for replying!
i will invest in a hygrometer, and she bathes maybe 2/3 times a month. i got this recommendation off another forum: Arcadia ProT5 UVB Kit, 22in/24w Desert 12% UVB and for basking she has a regular spot lamp at (if i remember) 70w that reaches good temps sitting atop the mesh (i have a temp checker at least). directly under the heat she could be at most 7/8 inches away sitting on her log hide. her hammock is partially under her uvb at about 4/5 inches away but she doesn't often face that way. are those okay? i heard about not enough uvb getting through mesh tops so we have a gap on that side where we removed some plastic to lie the uvb down.

i am worried about her increased frequency of gasping, but she ate just fine today and released bowels in a quick bath, but she was very black bearded afterwards so she went back to the viv. my closest reptile vets are being absolute hell to contact currently but i'm trying to book as an emergency.

she's had the low energy issue for a long while before these symptoms so i'd like to ask the vet whether it's to do with her being brought up mainly on insects from prev. owners and its made her...sluggish perhaps?
i know i'm from the uk, but can you recommend probiotics from any specific brand? thank you so much, i really do appreciate any help! you're a star!!

 

[SentientRoomba]

I don't believe it was bathing that caused this then. The UVB is a little too close, if you can try to get it at least 6 inches away, any closer and it could eventually cause eye problems.
There might be mucus in her throat so to help elevate some of her symptoms you try can propping her on a towel or folded blanket with her face slightly angling downwards to try to clear her airway.
If you can't get her into a vet you can try treating at home worst comes to worst. You can try Serrapeptase which is an a anti-inflammatory or using a nebulizer with some colloidal silver mixture which is a natural antibiotic. As for the probiotic I typically order this but Im unsure if they ship to UK, this is also the place where you would buy the colloidal silver. If you are unable to get any probiotic you can give very small amounts of natural yogurt. Bearded dragons are good at hiding sickness until its urgent, so she might have a few problems going on so a good check over would definitely have some benefits.

Also a thing to try for the greens; I had hell getting my beardie to eat them also, a little bit of sweetness might entice her to take a nibble I used some bee pollen and red cabbage since red colored things sends my beardie into a feeding frenzy for whatever reason but there are also bearded dragon salad dressings out there. Also if you have a tall enough salad bowl you can put some BSFL at the bottom of the salad and the wiggling might entice her or she might get a few greens in with the larva .Its best to offer salads in the morning since they would be hungriest then.

 

[teddy1999]

I don't believe it was bathing that caused this then. The UVB is a little too close, if you can try to get it at least 6 inches away, any closer and it could eventually cause eye problems.
There might be mucus in her throat so to help elevate some of her symptoms you try can propping her on a towel or folded blanket with her face slightly angling downwards to try to clear her airway.
If you can't get her into a vet you can try treating at home worst comes to worst. You can try Serrapeptase which is an a anti-inflammatory or using a nebulizer with some colloidal silver mixture which is a natural antibiotic. As for the probiotic I typically order this but Im unsure if they ship to UK, this is also the place where you would buy the colloidal silver. If you are unable to get any probiotic you can give very small amounts of natural yogurt. Bearded dragons are good at hiding sickness until its urgent, so she might have a few problems going on so a good check over would definitely have some benefits.

Also a thing to try for the greens; I had hell getting my beardie to eat them also, a little bit of sweetness might entice her to take a nibble I used some bee pollen and red cabbage since red colored things sends my beardie into a feeding frenzy for whatever reason but there are also bearded dragon salad dressings out there. Also if you have a tall enough salad bowl you can put some BSFL at the bottom of the salad and the wiggling might entice her or she might get a few greens in with the larva .Its best to offer salads in the morning since they would be hungriest then.

I've been busy but just wanted to let you know she's doing great!
Got her into the vet and he said she does have what sounds like a lower area issue when breathing, and he was worried it could be an RI or a disease at worst, but since being given marbocyl and metacam she started to sound a lot better and hasn't done any deep breathing/strange noises at all for at least the past 3 days. She honestly sounded better after even just 1 dose. Thanks so much for your help by the way!
I figured the only change lately was this reptile disinfectant I got from a local shop. It isn't largely branded or anything, just a cheap one. I'm like 70% sure it might be the issue since everything else is okay. I'm going to just use the 50/50 vinegar-water solution I've heard people mention going forward.
Thanks again!
Thanks again!