HELP

[beardedlover101]

Ok now are the collard greens dry or wet and how often do you you feed him peppers

 

[beardedlover101]

 

[beardedlover101]

This is my case for my beardea

 

[beardedlover101]

All I can say for now is that if u feed him a lot of peppers he could be breathing with his mouth open because of the spice of the peppers

 

[Alexmc2003]

Also do you now how to ad a picture I'll show you my case for my beardea

 

[JessPets]

Hello, is your dragon gaping when he is basking? If so, this is fairly normal (kinda like a dog panting). Make sure you have correct temperatures - baby beardies need a 105-110 basking spot. I might be missing it, but do you have a long-tube-style UV bulb? I don't see one in the picture posted. Bell peppers are fine to feed occasionally, but I wouldn't do so everyday. Collard greens are great, so are kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, and dandelion greens. How are you measuring his temps in the cage?

@beardedlover101, is that your setup for your beardie? If so, I would HIGHLY reccomend starting a thread so we can help you improve it, as it isn't really fit for a beardie. No loose substate, good lights, thermometers, and a larger cage are a good start

 

[Alexmc2003]

Hello, is your dragon gaping when he is basking? If so, this is fairly normal (kinda like a dog panting). Make sure you have correct temperatures - baby beardies need a 105-110 basking spot. I might be missing it, but do you have a long-tube-style UV bulb? I don't see one in the picture posted. Bell peppers are fine to feed occasionally, but I wouldn't do so everyday. Collard greens are great, so are kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, and dandelion greens. How are you measuring his temps in the cage?

@beardedlover101, is that your setup for your beardie? If so, I would HIGHLY reccomend starting a thread so we can help you improve it, as it isn't really fit for a beardie. No loose substate, good lights, thermometers, and a larger cage are a good start

My tank is a 40 gallon? Which i was told is good for a beardie especially a juvinile. I also do have propor Uvb and propor Basking lights they just arent shown as well in the picture. I am using reptile carpet which is recommended and i have a thermometer at the back but im not sure if it was set up in the picture, i keep meaning to get a digital one

 

[EllenD]

Okay, wow, lot of stuff going on here, lol...

Back to the OP with the original problem, so for the past 2 weeks your juvenile has been puffing his beard up and opening his mouth...They do this for a number of reasons, it does not sound like a respiratory infection, usually with a URI they wheeze, cough, make clicking sounds when they breath, and they have a lot of excess mucous around their mouth when they open it, in strings.

This sounds like a husbandry issue, probably with your temperature zones or your lighting. I did notice that you have 2 compact lights on 2 different sides of the tank. This represenst a problem in and of itself, because you should have a bright-white colored basking bulb (which is the correct wattage to put both the Basking Spot Surface Temperature and the Hot Side Ambient/Air Temperature within the correct ranges) and a UVB light BOTH OVER THE HOT SIDE OF THE TANK, RIGHT ALONGSIDE EACH OTHER, WITH HIS BASKING SPOT/PLATFORM DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH BOTH LIGHTS! This is how you achieve the goal of replicating natural sunlight for him, so he gets both lights at the same time while basking. So that's problem #1...(Unless you are using a Mercury Vapor Bulb)...

Usually when they open their mouths inside their tanks like that it is because they are trying to regulate their body temperatures. It doesn't mean that they are too hot necessarily, it could, but it can also be completely normal. But we need to know some things about your lighting and temperature zones:

#1.) What type of thermometer are you using to measure the temps inside his tank?
#2.) What are the CURRENT temperature readings of his Cool Side Ambient/Air Temp, his Hot Side Ambient/Air Temp, and then his Basking Spot Surface Temp?
#3) EXACTLY what UVB light do you have for him (Brand, Wattage or Strength, and what type is it, meaning is it a compact, a coil, a long, fluorescent tube, or an MVB)?
#4.) Is the UVB light on top of a mesh lid to the tank/ How far away, in inches, is the UVB light from his Basking Spot/Platform? How many hours every day are you leaving both his UVB light and his Basking Bulb on?

#5.) What wattage and color of Basking Bulb are you using? Is it a regular, halogen basking bulb/Indoor Flood Bulb, or is it coiled/spiral?
#6.) What is his normal daily diet? And how many days a week is he getting a calcium supplement and a multivitamin supplement?

You're using a solid substrate, so that's good, often times they get chronic Upper Respiratory Infections when they are living in ANY TYPE of loose substrate, as all loose substrates are breeding grounds for all types of bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc. and they harbor these microbes from the moment you put them in the tank, no matter how many times you change them or scoop out dirty substrate. Most people think of bowel impactions being the #1 issue with loose substrates like sands, crushed walnut shells, bark, wood chips, rodent bedding, etc., and this is a huge issue, especially with babies and juveniles under a year old, but Bearded Dragons are VERY prone to Upper Respiratory Infections, Eye Infections, and Skin/Scale infections, so loose substrates are just an unnecessary risk that owners take, and I can't for the life of me figure out why, because they are not at all natural for a Dragon, they come from the Australian Deserts, which have little to no sand at all, they are a hard, rocky terrain, so you're forcing them to live in an unnatural environment, and then on top of that you are risking all of these serious health issues every day, all day long, simply because you like the way it looks I guess...disposable paper towels would be better...

Anyway, that's not your problem, and I don't think it's a URI, though it could be, but we'll know a lot more once you answer the above questions as closely as you can. You can find the info right on your lights if you don't still have the boxes or don't remember.

 

[EllenD]

FYI, to Beardedlover101, I totally agree with Jess, you need to start your own thread in the Health or General Discussion section to go over your husbandry, as your tank does not at all look adequate for a Bearded Dragon, it looks more like a tank for a gecko of some kind. If you do not have the correct UVB lighting or temperature zones your dragon will quickly end up very, very sick with a calcium deficiency and MBD from not getting adequate UVB light, and will end up with bowel impactions and all kinds of nutritional deficiencies if your 3 temperature zones are not within the correct ranges. We can help you, but the first thing you need to do is dump out whatever that loose substrate is, bark it looks like, completely disinfect the inside of the tank and everything in it with hot water and bleach or F10 Disinfectant, then just put down paper towels as a temporary solid substrate that you can throw away and replace as they get dirty. That's step #1. I'm very concerned about your lighting situation though...