Respiratory infection, about to shed, or too hot?

[sarac]

Hi everyone. I have a baby beardie who is showing some weird signs while basking. It doesn’t seem like the normal body regulating gape. But also, he’s been scratching a LOT! Can’t tell if this is because of a respiratory infection or trying to get shed off or just regulating temp. It’s only while basking. I tried to listen for popping or wheezing and didn’t hear anything. I have 2 YouTube videos that I will attach.

https://youtu.be/NNXaqw9eKzg

https://youtu.be/l1rK26mBQ_8

 

[sarac]

Btw. My basking is about 100 and my humidity is 30

 

[KarrieRee]

Looks like normal behavior to me --- the basking temp how are you getting that? W / the hammock you need a digital probe thermometer to get a actual basking temp --- what are you using for a UVB brand and bulb please? Temps for basking for a baby need to be 105-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer
Karrie

 

[sarac]

Looks like normal behavior to me --- the basking temp how are you getting that? W / the hammock you need a digital probe thermometer to get a actual basking temp --- what are you using for a UVB brand and bulb please? Temps for basking for a baby need to be 105-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer
Karrie

Really? Do you know why he would be doing the “gaping” then? He’s so small and I had a chameleon who passed away from an RI which is why I’m so nervous. Especially because he’s so tiny too. I have the zoomed temp and humidity gauge. UVB is t5 10.0... and okay, somebody told me that 110 was way too hot and it should be 98. I only decreased it to that because of the gaping. At first I read the gaping was letting out extra heat, so I figured it was too hot and now basking is 100. I will increase. I have a vet appointment on Thursday, but if you could please explain why they do that it would help me a lot. Thanks.

 

[KarrieRee]

Gaping is adjusting body temp and its good hes doing that --- you want him to gape-- 110 is not too hot for a baby they like hotter temps but nothing over 110-- make sure your getting that temp w/ a digital probe thermometer - when they get older like juvie / adult they like less hot like 95-110- its good to offer a gradient heat for them to pick a spot to bask --- so a piece of decor that offers them places to sit stand lay on or lay against is good -- petsmart has some good pieces --
Karrie

 

[sarac]

Gaping is adjusting body temp and its good hes doing that --- you want him to gape-- 110 is not too hot for a baby they like hotter temps but nothing over 110-- make sure your getting that temp w/ a digital probe thermometer - when they get older like juvie / adult they like less hot like 95-110- its good to offer a gradient heat for them to pick a spot to bask --- so a piece of decor that offers them places to sit stand lay on or lay against is good -- petsmart has some good pieces --
Karrie

Okay. All of the gaping I have seen is just them having their mouth constantly open. I’ve never seen this little “burp” that he’s doing. But have you seen that?

 

[KarrieRee]

yes mine do it --
Karrie

 

[sarac]

yes mine do it --
Karrie

Wow... I wish you knew how much stress you just relieved from me lol. Thank you so much. I’m wondering if I should cancel the vet appointment now or keep it just to see if baby is doing well in general. Guess it couldn’t hurt

 

[KarrieRee]

As long as hes not breathing hard - has no mucous or discharge from the mouth or nose and no bubbles in the mouth no wheezing or crackling -- he should be fine -- just make sure his tank lighting is up to par -- you want that T 5 directly over his basking decor --- if your screen is a fine mesh like a screen door it needs to be inside the tank approx 12-15 inches - if its a wide hole type it can sit on top but decor must be directly under it approx 8-10 inches --- I can post stuff to hang if it needs to go inside the tank -- unless he absolutely needs to go to the vet I would hold off --- I am going to have some one else look at the videos --
Karrie

 

[sarac]

Okay. To me, the “baby breathing” video looked like he was breathing hard, but I also have never dealt with babies. I’ll attach a picture of the basking part of his setup. I would take a picture now but lights are out and last I checked he was all snuggled up lol. Let me know if I need to change anything.

 

[sarac]

and I just want to add, he is maybe eating like 10-15 feeders a day MAX. I think he’s still nervous. I got him about a week and a half ago.

 

[KarrieRee]

Make sure your feeding him salads every morning as well - you want him eating that too- or at least a little bit anyways- I will post a website for nutrition and more staple feeders tomorrow
Karrie

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That breathing looks normal to me. If your temperatures are optimal, then he is just doing a
regular thermoregulation behavior that they all do. Did you double check the temperatures
for him?
It never hurts to do a health check on him, for wellness. Just don't let the vet medicate him
with no justifiable cause. It is more harmful to medicate if there isn't any reason to do so.
If you aren't seeing any coughing/wheezing, or mucous, etc as you would if he had a respiratory
issue he is most likely fine. I realize it is hard not to worry!

Tracie

 

[KarrieRee]

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html ignore the kale thing it a good staple feeder
www.symptonbsf.com BSFL great staple feeder do not dust they are small and use as salad toppers feed as many as you want
www.mulberryfarms.com spendy on shipping but the ship Fed Ex - they are the only place for butterworms- they are nice and soft and fed as treats or on a salad for a lure
www.reptilianarts.com great silk worms and they have the bulk back in stock they are small they do not come w/ food you would need to buy it - containers need to be cleaned out everyday
www.dubiaroaches.com not shipping now but they have great roaches - good horn worms they are a hydrating worm they get real big fast so feed every day at least one and order small amounts - nice super worms as well you would need small at this time
www.coastalsilkworms.com - east and west coast
www.joshsfrogs.com never ordered from here but some on here have
www.abdragons.com never ordered from here either
www.hornworms.com I have ordered one time from them and had a big delay this was a while back they ended up refunding my money and I still got my order --- I also noticed on their website today that there was a huge super worm shortage -- I did not know this but would explain why Pet Smart has not been able to get any in for months --
Karrie

 

[sarac]

Hello,

That breathing looks normal to me. If your temperatures are optimal, then he is just doing a
regular thermoregulation behavior that they all do. Did you double check the temperatures
for him?
It never hurts to do a health check on him, for wellness. Just don't let the vet medicate him
with no justifiable cause. It is more harmful to medicate if there isn't any reason to do so.
If you aren't seeing any coughing/wheezing, or mucous, etc as you would if he had a respiratory
issue he is most likely fine. I realize it is hard not to worry!

Tracie

Thank you Tracie! Okay I’m glad it looks normal. I didn’t see any other signs. They were 113 and then I was told by someone to move it down to 98 but then I was told again 100-110 lol!!! So I’m going to move it back to that range today. It was 105 the last time that I checked but then I put my fan on and it went down to 97.