Possible respiratory infection?

[BkRuski]

I've had my beardie since he was about 3 weeks to a month old. I've bought two during the July 6th ny reptile expo. One of them is perfectly doing fine no issues. This morning I was woken up to my other guy puffing and hissing. It doesn't sound like the gurgling coughs I've seen others do on YouTube. There's no excess saliva or crusting of anything around nose and mouth. His beard is orange/white, rarely a shade of black and only a small strip. He is moving around shedding and doing short hissing bursts. While he does that his sides contract and beard flares rapidly. I have a video from an overhead view of it that you guys can check out. Skip to the 2:10 minute mark. Thanks for any input!!

http://youtu.be/0j5n5NAUJWs

 

[AHBD]

Hi BK....it's possible that it is an R.I. Can you list your exact temps. and the type + brand of lights being used ? Has he had a bath recently + possibly aspirated some water ? If that happened, it could be something that is temporary + will pass. Be sure to keep the night temps. around 80 [ but no more than that within a few degrees ] and see if that helps. If it continues , then you may need a trip to the vet.

 

[pghmomofbeardies]

I have one that does this after every time she drinks too fast and aspirates. did she recently drink? I believe its water/fluid in the lungs. Sometimes she ends up being fine but On 2 occasions she ended up with a uri afterwards. I do not let her drink water out of a tub anymore! I just syringe droplets onto her snout now to prevent this.

Anyway.. a lil higher temps at night, try to get her to bask in a downward inclined position to help drain the fluid. mine wouldnt go for that so at night when she fell asleep i would place her like that. keep en eye out for signs of a uri.

 

[BkRuski]

I have a 100 watt basking bulb which keeps temps between 101-110
My UVB light is a t5 high output Arcadia 12% fluorescent
Currently he's in an exo terra 36x18x18
Since I live on the ocean my building temp stays about 78-82 at night

Also I did place a large dish of water yesterday in his cage because despite my efforts to bath every other day or every 3 days and feed hornworms every other day his eyes are still slightly droopy. I placed it in hopes that he would drink or bath when I am unable to bath him for a whole week at a time due to work.

P.s since the video this morning I fed him crickets and ever since he hasn't done it a single time so maybe the fluid drained from him being aspirated. I did take the bowl of water out asap this morning.

 

[BkRuski]

Forgive me for being rude. I forgot to say thank you! For your quick replies and help!

 

[AHBD]

You're welcome. I agree that it was probably the water bowl. Just keep an eye on him, and I agree with the other poster, the water on the snout method [ I use it on my beardies ] is a good way to offer hydration.

 

[pghmomofbeardies]

so because he has droopy eyes, you are trying to give him extra hydration? Does he have any other signs of illness?

Id drip pedialite on the snout- sometimes you have to open the mouth a bit so they know its there to begin with. You can also mix some pedialite with baby food squash or greens (make a slurry) so its getting some veggies as well as hydration. Also- droopy eyes can be a sign of so many things.. have you had a fecal done on him lately for parasites or flagellates?

May i also recommend bee pollen mixed in with the slurry or even the pedialyte. It has so many health benefits for wee ones that arent up to par. It helped a cpl of my rescues way back when and i still use it in every slurry i make to this day.

 

[BkRuski]

the droopy eyes and wrinkled skin. He eats like a monster. I feed him in the morning and evening with a salad in his cage throughout the day. But as far as insects go i feed from my dubia colony and he likes to munch on 30-40 appropriate sized dubia per feeding. He also blew up in size, almost abnormally lol.

As far as his problem from this morning. Ever since i waited an hour and a half to feed him after his lights turning on and fed him, he stopped coughing. Hes been fine the rest of the day til he went to sleep. Unfortunately everytime i move him to slope down to drain any fluids if there are any he just goes back to a different position lol.

Also im sorry if im coming off paranoid, thats just how i am when it comes to my animals. I own 5 leopard geckos all of which i know very well as far as how to care for them but bearded dragons im still relatively new to. Only have two and have had them since july 6th. I try to care for all of them to the best of my abilities which is why i guess im paranoid about dehydration.

Also i havent had any fecal tests done yet. i will try to get a picture of his eyes for you guys tomorrow after work so you can give me some better information to whats going on.