My female beardie is about 1 year and a half old. She's always been a picky eater and sometimes just refused to eat, but I've taken her to a specialist vet many times who has confirmed that she is fine. She hasn't lost weight, she hasnt got adenovirus or mbd. Her habitat is fine. I have an arcadia long uv light and a mercury heat lamp for her basking spot, which is 36-40C in different parts of the hot side. We even did an x ray and an mri after that and the only thing that showed up was that her kidney was a bit 'too round' but the vet had no idea what it could mean because she'd never seen it before.
This morning she keeps almost coughing at random intervals. She was running around her tank in the morning as she often does, and then started 'coughing'. What happens is her mouth opens and her head sort of lunges, and then a little wheeze. She has been really bad with eating these past few months but I didn't take her to the vet because she's picky and hasn't lost weight and isn't blackbearding. I've heard her make little wheezes before but never as bad as this, I thought she might have a respiratory infection but the vet said not the last time I checked.
You are using the Arcadia D3 12% T5 or regular T8 10%? How close is the tube bulb to her?
Which brand of MVB do you use?
Is her face possibly getting ready to shed? Sometimes, their nostrils become plugged up
when they are getting ready to shed & they can't breathe very well.
If she isn't showing any other signs of a respiratory infection, I wouldn't think that she has
one currently. Coughing & wheezing constantly are not good so if she does continue that
you should take her back in. For now, maybe you can keep her a bit warmer overnight using
a ceramic heat emitter & be sure her humidity is no higher than 20-30%.
How are you measuring the temperatures in her tank & what is the humidity?
Mercury bulb is an arcadia or exo terra Mercury that's a similar distance away.
I've been using a probe thermometer with two probes to detect temperature, but the only humidity detector I have is a crappy stick on one. I don't know of any better options.
She's stopped doing it now, but she isn't shedding.
So she isn't wheezing right now?
Can you move the T5 to a 10 inch distance, in case it may be too strong for her? Is it mounted
directly overhead?
If possible, post a picture of the tank setup for us so we can see the placement of the lighting.
Which brand of MVB are you using? If it is an Arcadia, those are very good & relatively strong.
The Exoterra Solar Glo is a decent one, too. The Arcadia MVB is a bit stronger though in UVB
strength. Is it a 100 watt or a 160 watt? You will want to keep a 100 watt at around a 10-12
inch distance & a 160 watt at a 14-16 inch distance.
You will want to try to get either a digital probe or a temp gun for a much more accurate
reading of your temperatures.
Ok, well that is fine then, since it mounted on top of the mesh then, it shouldn't hurt her
eyes. The setup looks good, nice & bright for her.
Is she still wheezing today? Is she possibly going to shed her face/nostril areas?
Let us know how she is doing.