HELP beardie inhaled water?

[samphychippy]

HELP
I gave my beardie a bath (hes had them before) and all of a sudden he stopped swimming so i immediatley took him out and for a while he wasnt moving and didnt look like he was breathing. Every minute or so his head would move and bubbles would come out of his mouth. I thought he was dead then all of a sudden he fell over backwards and was twitching so i picked him up and kept him so he couldnt fall again and then he moved and started breathing and now his eyes are open. there are no more bubbles coming out of his mouth and his breathing looks mostly normal. I put his heat lamp over him to warm him up and he is not limp anymore. (if i try and move him he grabs his hammock where as 30 minutes ago he was a complete limp noodle). If anyone has any advice to help me help him through this please let me know!!

 

[CooperDragon]

Poor guy! Try holding him at a slight angle with his face down for a bit to help any excess fluid come back out. I'd also put him in his basking spot as you've done to keep him warm. If you have a ceramic heat emitter, I'd use that at night to keep the overnight temperatures up in the high 70s to around 80 to help his system fight off any possible infection.

 

[samphychippy]

i tried to tilt him and he kept his head up and no water came out. I just tried to touch him again and he hissed at me three times but at least i know there is air in his lungs if he can hiss perfectly fine.

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah that's a good sign. He's probably a bit rattled. Just try to keep him warm for now and watch for labored breathing or lethargic behavior.

 

[samphychippy]

okay thank you so much! right now he climbed to the top of his basking tree and he is doing the open mouth basking. He has done this 1 other time to my knowledge which was the day i got him. I read however that this is a common behavior when beardies reach optimal body temp, its how they sweat i guess.

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah that's normal behavior. They open their mouths while basking to regulate temperature in their head (like sweating or panting) while under the relatively warm temps they need for digestion.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That was quite an ordeal for him.
I would watch for signs of a respiratory infection just in case. For now, try to keep him a little warmer overnight to help boost his immune system.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie