I am very worried about My Husbands Beardie, hes about 2 years old and hes been acting kinda funny but then again he seems normal.. I am just worried, he doesn't really have much of an appetite, we feed him bearded dragon bites and some crickets but not often. and either hes just becomming picky and wanting to eat crickets all the time or I think he may be ill, hes also shedding as well but for the past 2 days I've been noticing he makes like a sorta heaving movement with stomach and he blows air out when he does it...what does this mean?? also I just now checked on him and when he breathes his beard puffs out a little.. is this normal? My Husband thought maybe he was just venting???? so I don't know, but I am just really worried and looking for answers or a similar situation,.. thanks!
ps we plan to take him to a vet once my Husbands gets off work by the end of the week if he hasn't gotten any better.
It sounds like your beardie may have a respitory (sp?) infection. There is a certain medication you can buy in a powder form at you local pet store if they sell reptile merchandise. All you do is buy baby food (I buy organic green beans, beef, or chicken) then mix a small amount of the medication with the baby food. Read the directions to know exactly how much. You should also turn the heat up in the tank this will help them dry out, and get rid of the infection. If these suggestions do not work then I would take him to the vet.
I have a few questions for you that may help figure out the problem.
1) what kind of UVB do you have? Some UVB lights aren't any good and can cause health problems.
2) What are the temps in the cage? and what do you take them with? Temps need to be around 100-105*F basking and around 80-85 cool side.
3) Beardies need live food for protein etc.... 30- 50 live crickets a week (if I'm not mistaken at this age),salad consisting of mustard greens collard greens or turnip greens as staples offered daily.
3) Is there humidity in his cage? (do you mist your dragon in his cage or have a water dish?
4) Are you offering calcium and vitamins daily?
5) Is this a sudden change? If so a vet visit may be in order to find out what is wrong. It could be anything from too much humidity to bad digestion(if temps are inaccurate a beardie is not able to digest properly),a respiratory illness....... Please answer these questions as accurately as possible and maybe we can help you figure out what is wrong.
Hugs,
Sara
My fiance just informed me that beardies also will "puff" out when they are shedding because they are trying to break their dead skin off of their body.