Possible Respiratory infection or disease???

[Pumpkaboo]

My beardie is three months and a year old, and I’ve been a bit worried lately about a possible respiratory infection or disease. I’ve heard him cough a few times before, and he puffs up his body and beard a lot. Every day multiple times a day he’s puffed up to the absolute maximum. He started coughing a few times a day every other day when I had a bowl of water in his tank, so I took it out around a month ago and I figured the humidity was just too high. Now he rarely coughs. The puffing up is a bit odd to me and I don’t really know why he seems to love swallowing air and puffing up like that. He’s been doing that since I got him. He doesn’t wheeze or make a clicking noise when he breathes, he only gapes when he basks and has only gaped without basking a couple times in the year I’ve had him for. He doesn’t have discharge around his nose, eyes, ears, or mouth.
Sorry if this seems worrywart-ish, I’m a first-time beardie owner

 

[CooperDragon]

If he doesn't have mucous buildup around his nose/mouth, and isn't acting lethargic, he is probably OK. Can you take some video of the coughing and upload it to a host like vimeo or youtube and link to it here? I'll be glad to take a look. Sometimes they puff out to help loosen a shed. Sometimes it's more like a burp, especially after eating. It's not necessarily an indicator of a problem. How is he acting otherwise? Is he active/alert? Is he still eating well?

 

[Pumpkaboo]

I unfortunately didn’t take a video of the cough and he hasn’t done it for around 2 weeks or so. He seems alert, no stress marks, looks up at me when I walk by. And even when he would cough a couple times a day he never seemed more tired than before. He’d still run around his tank and the house. He sleeps under his log a lot now as he’s slowed down a bit, but when I take him out he’s happy to eat a few worms and his greens and walk around. He comes out on his own to bask, too. The cough sounds a bit like if he got dust or water up his nose and is trying to cough it out. It doesn’t sound gargly or wheezy or clicky. Just like he’s expelling air out of his nose forcefully. I brought him to the vet in April because he lost his appetite, but it seemed like just summer brumation, as he started speeding up a couple months later and was back to being very energetic. The reptile vet also told me to put a water dish in his tank and the coughing started a week or two after I added the dish. When I took the dish out he seemed to improve, and rarely does it anymore. As for the puffing up, I’m not sure. He does it every morning and sometimes in the afternoon. He’s been doing it since I got him and gulps air until he looks like a balloon. He doesn’t do it when he’s out of his tank. He seems to only puff up when he’s basking or to float in the bath. He’s sleeping more now again, but when he’s woken up he perks up.
I hope that makes sense

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Health

 

[CooperDragon]

It sounds like he's fine then. The water dish may have been coincidence. You can sometimes train them to drink from a dish but if they don't, you don't need to leave it there. It's not likely to raise humidity that much either way really. It definitely doesn't sound like a respiratory infection and if he's active and energetic he is probably just fine.

 

[Pumpkaboo]

Alright! Thank you so much for your help

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I agree, it sounds like he is doing just fine.
As long as he doesn't have mucous in his mouth or nose & isn't coughing or wheezing
right now, it sounds like regular behavior. They absolutely love to blow their bodies up to look
bigger & puff themselves up! I think it is to benefit us, for our entertainment but to also make
us worry about them more, too.

Tracie