Maybe overreacting.?

acidburn01

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Toothless
Hello,

Just thinking about you & hope you are doing alright. We have all been through loss & it is no fun at all.
We are all here for you if you need anything at all. 💗

Tracie
So very sorry for your loss of your beloved beardie! You did everything you could and then made the very brave decision to let her go and end her suffering. Im hoping with all my heart that your other beardies pull through just fine and do well!
If it was a reaction to the medicine there was probably not likely anything you could have done. I know that don't help but don't blame yourself either. If she aspirated on the water it would have probably been noticeable quickly. It was more than likely the thickened saliva. You didn't have any way of knowing about it or preventing it.
Dr. Cabbil said to keep an eye on her. Said if the cough doesn't start clearing up soon, consider taking her to uga because a persistent cough that isn't cleared by meds is usually an indication of heart disease/problems. Which when we brought Nova to uga initially in October (right before she got spayed) im pretty sure they did say something about her having some "mild heart disease issues" because she's so overweight. (Which, upside is she was like 900 something grams -- 998g per our vet, like 870g per uga -- and she's down to 775g in just 5 months) so, i wouldnt be super surprised there, unless that is the case and its gotten worse in which case, awesome, more money we absolutely don't have right now.😮‍💨😮‍💨

Im a little concerned with her, her coughing sounds like an old squeaker toy and while I did bump her temperatures up a good bit, when she's basking, she sits with her mouth kinda cracked and im a bit worried that's an open mouth breathing thing because of the cough, etc. And she's not wanting to eat, but thats not super uncommon for her. And Cabbil checked really well and said her saliva isn't super sticky, like Dreki's was. Dreki was so sticky, it was like tacky glue. And nova hasnt eaten more than like a hornworm or two in the last week-ish amd so i was considering giving her some critical care/repashy. But I'm paranoid of her aspirating on it, like Dreki. She doesn't look nearly as bad as Dreki looked, but she does seem a little meh, to say the least.

Also, she used to love getting off the bed and going Dreki's tank to harass her. And she tried to do that today, but it was empty so she just sat there and stared into her tank and it was hard not to cry. And yes, I know Dreki's tank is messy, she loved to toss her salad everywhere. 🙄
 

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Sue E.

Sub-Adult Member
Beardie name(s)
Kai
Dr. Cabbil said to keep an eye on her. Said if the cough doesn't start clearing up soon, consider taking her to uga because a persistent cough that isn't cleared by meds is usually an indication of heart disease/problems. Which when we brought Nova to uga initially in October (right before she got spayed) im pretty sure they did say something about her having some "mild heart disease issues" because she's so overweight. (Which, upside is she was like 900 something grams -- 998g per our vet, like 870g per uga -- and she's down to 775g in just 5 months) so, i wouldnt be super surprised there, unless that is the case and its gotten worse in which case, awesome, more money we absolutely don't have right now.😮‍💨😮‍💨

Im a little concerned with her, her coughing sounds like an old squeaker toy and while I did bump her temperatures up a good bit, when she's basking, she sits with her mouth kinda cracked and im a bit worried that's an open mouth breathing thing because of the cough, etc. And she's not wanting to eat, but thats not super uncommon for her. And Cabbil checked really well and said her saliva isn't super sticky, like Dreki's was. Dreki was so sticky, it was like tacky glue. And nova hasnt eaten more than like a hornworm or two in the last week-ish amd so i was considering giving her some critical care/repashy. But I'm paranoid of her aspirating on it, like Dreki. She doesn't look nearly as bad as Dreki looked, but she does seem a little meh, to say the least.

Also, she used to love getting off the bed and going Dreki's tank to harass her. And she tried to do that today, but it was empty so she just sat there and stared into her tank and it was hard not to cry. And yes, I know Dreki's tank is messy, she loved to toss her salad everywhere. 🙄
Oh your girl Nova is missing Dreki too! Time for you both to have some cuddles with eaxh other. Much love and hugs to you both!
 

xp29

BD.org Sicko
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sinatra, Zsa Zsa, Stumpy, Lucy
Dr. Cabbil said to keep an eye on her. Said if the cough doesn't start clearing up soon, consider taking her to uga because a persistent cough that isn't cleared by meds is usually an indication of heart disease/problems. Which when we brought Nova to uga initially in October (right before she got spayed) im pretty sure they did say something about her having some "mild heart disease issues" because she's so overweight. (Which, upside is she was like 900 something grams -- 998g per our vet, like 870g per uga -- and she's down to 775g in just 5 months) so, i wouldnt be super surprised there, unless that is the case and its gotten worse in which case, awesome, more money we absolutely don't have right now.😮‍💨😮‍💨

Im a little concerned with her, her coughing sounds like an old squeaker toy and while I did bump her temperatures up a good bit, when she's basking, she sits with her mouth kinda cracked and im a bit worried that's an open mouth breathing thing because of the cough, etc. And she's not wanting to eat, but thats not super uncommon for her. And Cabbil checked really well and said her saliva isn't super sticky, like Dreki's was. Dreki was so sticky, it was like tacky glue. And nova hasnt eaten more than like a hornworm or two in the last week-ish amd so i was considering giving her some critical care/repashy. But I'm paranoid of her aspirating on it, like Dreki. She doesn't look nearly as bad as Dreki looked, but she does seem a little meh, to say the least.

Also, she used to love getting off the bed and going Dreki's tank to harass her. And she tried to do that today, but it was empty so she just sat there and stared into her tank and it was hard not to cry. And yes, I know Dreki's tank is messy, she loved to toss her salad everywhere. 🙄
Bless her heart. I fully believe they grieve the same as we do. When I lost Chomp, Zen lost interest in everything. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't move, he just was sad for a lack of words. I honestly was afraid he was going to grieve himself to death. It was weeks before he started being ok again. I've seen it with my others also.
I suspect it's the same for Nova. Keep an eye on her in case she gets depressed. If she seems like she is, spend as much time with her as possible. That's what I did with Zen and it seemed to help him.
 

acidburn01

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Toothless
Bless her heart. I fully believe they grieve the same as we do. When I lost Chomp, Zen lost interest in everything. He wouldn't eat, he wouldn't move, he just was sad for a lack of words. I honestly was afraid he was going to grieve himself to death. It was weeks before he started being ok again. I've seen it with my others also.
I suspect it's the same for Nova. Keep an eye on her in case she gets depressed. If she seems like she is, spend as much time with her as possible. That's what I did with Zen and it seemed to help him.
@Drache613 Do you guys think this is anything weird.? She's basking, i do have her temperature up a good bit, she's nice and toasty and im just worried the mouth open thing is related to her coughing. That and her nose closing/opening as she's breathing. No wheezing/cracking that i can hear.

 

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acidburn01

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Toothless
Are her nostrils crusty with mucus, sand, or shed? That could be why. @Drache613 can explain how to clear them.
Nope, she got spayed in October and even though her stitches are long out and she's healing great, we haven't put the sandbox back in her tank, just to be safe. And her substrate is non-adhesive shelf liner. Her nose is super dry and clear. I had never noticed it do that, it's definitely new.
 

xp29

BD.org Sicko
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sinatra, Zsa Zsa, Stumpy, Lucy
Wow, I have never seen that before 🤔 hopefully Tracie has some idea.
 

Sue E.

Sub-Adult Member
Beardie name(s)
Kai
Im no vet or experienced reptile person but maybe shes just responding to the warm temps by gaping? Or maybe leftover from her resp infection? The nose thing I have no clue..maybe Tracy knows why. Its good if you cant hear any labored breathing though. Is she drinking water?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

It doesn't seem that she has any symptoms of a respiratory infection at the moment. Since she is basking
normally, & the temperatures are optimal, I would say that she is just thermoregulating to cool off or also
known as gaping.
As long as she doesn't gape constantly then she shouldn't be overheating. Double check her temperatures
to be sure the temperatures aren't too high for her.

Tracie
 

NickAVD

Gray-bearded Member
Beardie name(s)
Foxy
@Drache613 Do you guys think this is anything weird.? She's basking, i do have her temperature up a good bit, she's nice and toasty and im just worried the mouth open thing is related to her coughing. That and her nose closing/opening as she's breathing. No wheezing/cracking that i can hear.

Once, I saw Foxy doing the same.
But I didn't see the movement itself. I saw that in the morning his nostril was also almost closed, and after 10 minutes I saw that it looked like usual. I think they have the ability to close their nostril, perhaps it's an atavism that they got from amphibians.
 

acidburn01

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Toothless
Once, I saw Foxy doing the same.
But I didn't see the movement itself. I saw that in the morning his nostril was also almost closed, and after 10 minutes I saw that it looked like usual. I think they have the ability to close their nostril, perhaps it's an atavism that they got from amphibians.
Hello,

It doesn't seem that she has any symptoms of a respiratory infection at the moment. Since she is basking
normally, & the temperatures are optimal, I would say that she is just thermoregulating to cool off or also
known as gaping.
As long as she doesn't gape constantly then she shouldn't be overheating. Double check her temperatures
to be sure the temperatures aren't too high for her.

Tracie
Wow, I have never seen that before 🤔 hopefully Tracie has some idea.
I know they can close their noses/airways when they drink or swim, but aside from Fury doing it when he had his weird nose open mouth breathing thing going on, I dont recall actively seeing it.

The only respiratory symptom she has is the coughing and not really wanting to eat. But she'll cough and then kinda shake her head and lick, like shes trying to hack something up BUT the vet had her mouth open wide and saw all the way down her throat and saw nothing and said her saliva wasn't too sticky so im wondering if an xray or even ultrasound would show what's causing her to act that way. She'll cough in her tank, especially if she's sitting with pressure on her chest (but that may be a coincidence I noticed) and when I take her out of her tank, but when she starts running around, she's not coughing and she usually will start to blackboard when she starts coughing.

Her temps are optimal, albeit higher. As soon as she started coughing, I bumped them and this is the reading of our ir thermometer. Im not 100% which ones the others are, as far as humidity and dew point and stuff. And she lays across the bridge like the blue blob i drew, its a very accurate depiction of her.😅 and the black circle is where the light points at from the thermometer
 

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Sue E.

Sub-Adult Member
Beardie name(s)
Kai
I FINALLY GOT A VIDEO. Jeez ive been trying to get one and keep missing it. Usually, her coughs sound like an old squeaker toy, or air being forced out and i got two of them, you can hear some sound and its definitely like shes trying to get something to come up.


Oh yeah, it sure looks that way. Maybe an ultrasound would shed some light on it idk. Does she chew her food well?
 

xp29

BD.org Sicko
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Sinatra, Zsa Zsa, Stumpy, Lucy
I FINALLY GOT A VIDEO. Jeez ive been trying to get one and keep missing it. Usually, her coughs sound like an old squeaker toy, or air being forced out and i got two of them, you can hear some sound and its definitely like shes trying to get something to come up.


She seems alert and strong, but the black beard is concerning. I kindda agree maybe an xray or ultrasound might be a good idea.
 

acidburn01

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Toothless
She seems alert and strong, but the black beard is concerning. I kindda agree maybe an xray or ultrasound might be a good idea.
Oh yeah, it sure looks that way. Maybe an ultrasound would shed some light on it idk. Does she chew her food well?
The vet had her mouth wide open and Chris said you could damn near see down into her stomach and Cabbil saw nothing so I wonder if it is something in her stomach or maybe in her lungs.? I don't know, I was thinking xray or ultrasound, too, but I wasn't sure which would give the better picture.

Yeah, she's good at chewing her food. She ate a hornworm a few days ago, then a hornworm a few days before that. She's fat so she's on a pretty strict diet of a few mealworms once a week, but she hasn't been super interested in food since the coughing/antibiotic started, it seems
 

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