Possible respiratory problems and eye infection.

[AdamHanis]

Good evening, firstly I would like to express my gratitude for reading my post. Any and every help would be very much appreciated. I apologise in advance if my post is too long.

A little about myself, I do have experience in keeping reptiles however this boy here is my first beardie.

Meet Toothless (for future reference), he is currently 10 inch long from head to tail. With refrence to online charts, I estimate him to be about 3 months old. This is a picture of him.

I got Toothless about a week and a half ago. For the first two days, I tried to feed him in a seperate tank (feeding tank) however he refused to eat the crickets I got for him. I then tried to hand feed him crikets, with the aid of a feeding tong. After about 15 minutes of doing so, I manage to feed him about 5 crickets. This goes on for a couple of days. I also got him some mealworms which I feed in moderation. I only give him meal worms, about 3-4 of them, when he totally rejects the crickets.

Initially I thought it was just the relocating stress that is causing his poor appetite. I soon realise he is starting to shed. As you can see in the picture(s) below.

His head, tail and legs are a slightly dark shade. I then decided to aid him by misting him regularly and giving him showers about 3-4 times a week.


As you can see in the picture below, I was using Exo Terra dessert sand as my substrate. I did not think it was a problem as I always feed him in his feeding tank, or at least I tried my best to. (He refused to eat eitherway)

Today, just about 2-3 hours before I post this, I realised he has something in his eye. I first took a closer look. These are the picture(s).

I decided to soak him for about 15 minutes in warm after. It's slightly better now. These are the picture(s) after his soak. While he was soaking, I also decided to take a precautionary messure and took out the sand out of his 2 feet tank. I am currently using paper towels.

Adding on to that, I have heard him 'coughing' several times. He makes a chucking sound as if he is coughing and he shakes his head. There was once when he vomited out 2 - 3 crikets ( just after I fed him ). He does it quite a few times and I would love to know if it's something to be concerned about. I also notice salaiva near his mouth occasionally after he 'coughs'.

I was ( for about a week and a half) using Exo Terra dessert sand as substrate but I have removed it and currently using paper towels. This is my current set up, along with a couple pictures of him now.

I am using Exo Terra lamps. One with a day slight basking lamp (green box) , and the other with UVB bulb (red box). Both bulbs are from Exo Terra.

Other information that I may have missed out,
- I do offer him fresh greens everyday on his food bowl but I have never seen him eating it. I had hand feed him a couple of slices of greens once or twice before. Now he just refuse to eat them even when I handfeed.

-At times, he would be at the corner trying to climb out by the glass.

I am also curious on how long the shedding may take.

Thank you so much for your time, I hope to hear from you!
Cheers.

 

[AHBD]

Hi Adam....he's a beautiful dragon ! So you say he's coughing some ? It may be one or two things....if you are actually putting him in a shower then he could develop a respiratory infection. Beardies aren't like tropical lizards ...spraying him in the tank is fine for a drink, but only a quick spritz and then a direct gentle stream on the snout for a drink. Some days mine drink that way, other days they don't, but cut the showers for sure. A 10 minute shallow lukewarm bath every day or 2 is also helpful.

The other thing that can make him choke or vomit is if the crickets are too large. What size were they ? They should be no longer than the space between his eyes.

Also, can you list your exact type + brand of lights ? Oh, and the sand may have gotten in his eyes, or maybe water in the shower irritated it. You can try gently squirting some normal saline solution in it [ not the type for contacts ] or eye wash.

 

[AdamHanis]

Hello AHBD,
Thank you for your advice.

I apologise for the misunderstanding. I meant bath and not shower. I don't bring him to the shower with me. (I wish I could tho) thanks for the heads up. I soak him in shallow warm water for about 10-15mins.

For the bulb and lamps, I'm using Exo Terra Lamp (S) x2
Exo Terra Sun Glow Bulb75 W and
Exo Terra Reptile UVB 100.

Thank you

 

[AHBD]

Oh, I didn't think you had him in the shower with you but just on his own. :lol: Anyway, it might be the sand...see how it does if you flush it with the sterile saline wash. As for your bulbs, is the UVB the coil or compact ? Those types can cause eye irritation, sometimes very severe, so you might want to look to the right hand side of this page at the article on lighting and consider the most recommended UVB.

 

[AdamHanis]

Hello AHBD,
Thank you again for your reply.

He is much better, his eye cleared up. I will still use paper towels as his substrate for now and possibly switching back to sand only when he is older.

However, he still does make chucking sounds while shaking his head. Like he is choking on something. Crickets that I feed is of a suitable size for him.

Thank you.

 

[britjoejack]

Hello AHBD,
Thank you again for your reply.

He is much better, his eye cleared up. I will still use paper towels as his substrate for now and possibly switching back to sand only when he is older.

However, he still does make chucking sounds while shaking his head. Like he is choking on something. Crickets that I feed is of a suitable size for him.

Thank you.

Sounds like he may have a respiratory infection from the misting. Don't mist in the tank, it raises the humidity which causes the RI. I would find a good herp vet and take him in to get some antibiotics if he needs them.

 

[AdamHanis]

Hello BritJoeJack,
Thank you for your reply.

I did not see your post beforehand, however I decided to bring him to the vet last week.

Yes indeed, suspected RTI, and the doctor said he might have some water in his lungs as well. I cut down totally with the misting and give him a 5-10min bath every week.

He is currently on a 10 day antibiotic cycle. Hopefully he gets better soon. He is also in critical care, he lost a lot of weight and he is now on OX liquid food. He is currently taking in about 5ML of it each day.

He has improved drastically. However, he still has no interest in eating by himself. I know it might sound silly, but it is as if he doesn't know how to eat or hunt for crikets/ worms/ roaches. I've tried hand feeding too but he is often not interested.

Any advice on how to 'teach' him to eat?

Thank you guys !

 

[CooperDragon]

The lack of appetite may be a combination of things. The antibiotics can set their system off balance by eliminating good gut bacteria. I suggest offering a probiotic like Acidophiliz+ or Bene-Bac during the antibiotic treatment to help restore balance. I've also found that when syringe feeding it can be tough to get them interested in hunting on their own. The main thing for now is probably to get his weight back so syringe feeding is your best bet. Once he's at a healthy weight, you can try weaning him off of the syringe/liquid diet by offering a variety of bugs and some salad while reducing the amount/frequency of syringe feeding. This can take a lot of time so be patient and keep a close eye on his weight. (I created a google doc weight log to check in daily which helps track trends).

 

[AdamHanis]

Thank you for the advice.
I've tried to do some research on their average weight.
He is a (estimated) 3 month old male, 10 inches from head to tail.

He was 54 grams when he was sick and currently 65grams now. What is their average weight for its age and length? Thank you