Popping sounds, forced exhalation and puffed up neck/bloated

[Koggle]

Hey so I recently bought a bearded dragon about a month and a half ago and I am having some concerns about her health. She is still small and recently has been making a weird popping noise a few times a day. She has also been doing like, hard forced exhalations and seems to have a bloated neck/beard. She also usually keeps one eye closed while basking.
What accessories I have for her
-ReptiSun 10.
-Reptile carpet.
-A hide/cave.
-A Exo-Terra intense basking spot bulb.
-A rock for her to bask on, she can get around 5 inches to it.
-Basking spot area goes around 90-110, and the cool side around 70-80.
-Don't know the humidity level.
-Eats dandelion greens and crickets. Around 20-30 crickets a day.
-Sometimes feed her mealworms.
-Bathes every 4 days or so.

Please help

 

[AHBD]

Hi there.....it's good that she has such an excellent appetite, she's got that going for her. It does sound like a respiratory infection though.....has she had some time out of the tank or after a bath/soak that she may have become chilled ? Anyway, just keep her in her tank while she's not well, try to keep her overnight temps. around 77-82 degrees. Sometimes just that extra night heat can help them out.

If you bathe her at all make it warm and keep it short, then pat her dry right away + put her right back in the tank. Don't get her wet in the evening, but do it earlier in the day. You can even skip bathing and just drip water on her snout to keep her hydrated....just be sure not to leave any water puddled in the tank. If she doesn't improve in about 10 days you might find an experienced reptile vet to see about some meds. Hopefully she'll improve on her own !

 

[Koggle]

If it is a respiratory infection, which I kinda thought it was, how long does it take for it to become bad? Like, life threatening ? Also, is it normal to be able to feel their jaw bone when petting them? Lower jaw bone. I'm just so paranoid. Thanks for the reply though

 

[AHBD]

A healthy baby that's eating well can recover, length of time varies but it shouldn't be life threatening at all. As I mentioned, see if upping the night temps. will help. If you thought he was getting worse, stop eating, lethargic or just not breathing right over the next 10 days then you could take him to an experienced reptile vet.

I'm not sure what you mean by a bony jaw....babies jaws are bony, not much muscle or flesh covering there. Post a few pics if you like....load them to a site like photobucket, then copy/paste the img/url here.

 

[Koggle]

http://imgur.com/2lp8sV4 This is currently the only 'good' photo of her, but I will upload more tomorow. Thank for your help, really appreciate it! But respiratory infections arent life threatening? I always thought they were. thanks again

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He is a great looking dragon.
As suggested, bring his nighttime temperatures up to around 80 or so to help boost his immune system. Try to get a gauge to measure his humidity levels, too. When fighting a respiratory infection it is helpful to have the humidity 20% or so to help.
Is he sneezing or coughing yet or just puffing his beard up? Do you see any mucous in his mouth or nose?
If you catch them early you should be able to clear it up without any problems or complications.
It is normal to be able to feel their jawbones, yes. They don't have a lot of meat in that area.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[Koggle]

She isn't really sneezing or coughing yet, just the forced exhalation and popping sounds when she does it, and haven't been able to get any good pictures of her doing it. And if she keeps doing it, what should I do, and just to be 100% clear, respiratory infections aren't life threatening? Thanks for the really really helpful responses, new to this site.

 

[AHBD]

It shouldn't be life threatening, no. But with any illness you keep an eye on it so that IF he takes a turn for the worse you can get him to an experienced vet. But give it a chance to clear up with a slight elevation of night time temps. If he doesn't improve in a week you can think of getting him in to a vet anyway to get on antibiotics.....Baytril is commonly used.

But even then it should clear up since he seems to be healthy in every other way.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Let us know how your boy is doing! Hopefully just the increase in temperatures will help.
They are not life threatening initially no, but if they do get worse & go into pneumonia then they can become more serious.
How is his appetite?

Traice

 

[Koggle]

She eats around 20-30 crickets a day, and I've recently started her on dandelion greens. Is 70 okay for her night temperature?

 

[AHBD]

That's really good that she likes dandelion greens, they are full of nutrients. A night temp. of 70 is fine for a perfectly healthy dragon, but since she is a bit ill it may actually help her get over the R.I if you get it up to 77-82.

 

[Koggle]

Okay i'll try that, raising the temperature, i'll post another reply if I see any improvements,thanks a lot for the helpful replies.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Yes, go ahead & try to get the nighttime temperatures up to around 80 right now until she shows improvement.
The dandelion greens are very good for her, so she likes them quite a bit? The 20-30 crickets daily is perfectly fine also. I am glad to hear she is eating right now. Be sure she basks for a good amount of time each day, also.

Tracie

 

[Hefsgma]

I have a little dragon with a stomatitis infection and mouth rot and the treatment has been intense.it's been antibiotics and cream for his face and he's just had a reoccurance which can happen mutiple times during the treatment process . He's at the vet for 2 weeks now. I think you should get to the vet asap. The illness has been being treated for 2 months now. The reoccurance sent him back to the vet. It's serious.

 

[AHBD]

Hefgsma, mouth rot + resp. infection are 2 totally different things. Mouth rot, once it;s advanced is extremely serious ....lesions in the mouth + gums, sometimes pus + discharge from the mouth and can even cause infection in the jawbone. Can you start a thread and post pics of your baby ? Many people are confused as to what it is + what it looks like, so it could be helpful to have the thread here, plus other posters may offer help with your baby.