Respiratory Infection? Something else?

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Gumipasta

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So my three year old girl Bruno has been a bit off since August 2021; at first she was gasping once or twice a day (cough like noises, and I stay in the room with her so I’m pretty sure she did it this rarely). She was also struggling to shed well. Also bear in mind she’s never tried to lay eggs before.

We took her to the vet and he was adamant to not do bloods or stool and that she just had salmonella since she was eating fine, energetic, no mucous, no other signs. He treated this and told us to call him if it started to actually have other symptoms. She coughed rarely still, but the vet put emphasis on his opinion that she was fine for some reason.
Skip to end of October 2021, Bruno suddenly starts coughing a lot more- 30+ times a day and now she won’t eat. She goes to the vet, he does full body scans, but for some reason once again won’t offer bloods and she’s pooped too recently to do stools. He says she’s fine and sends her home and to come back if she’s still not eating.

We want a second opinion but the next nearest vet is 2 hours away… regardless we go back two weeks (as his recommendation) later in an emergency, she’s not eaten and she’s lethargic, still coughing.

He is very angry at us because suddenly he can see water on her stomach, in her lungs and a lump which he vaguely said could be a cyst, tumour or abscess. We’re very confused as to why the scans didn’t show this two weeks prior but I’m just too worried about my baby to care about what the petty vet thinks about me when I know I’m caring for her well. He sent us home with 30 days of baytril and an anti inflammatory for her lump (I can’t remember the name of). She suddenly started coughing less but not much less, and was eating while on the medicine. As soon as we were done the minimal symptoms have worsened again:
-coughing many times
-not eating (other than the odd super worm and I am syringing her fresh water to make sure she’s hydrated)
- diarrhoea

But she’s totally got no mucous, no lethargy (she’s very energetic), not black bearding.
Could she also have parasites?
A combination of a RI and parasites?
Or like.. can parasites cause a cough?
And the lump?
Honestly I just want to know what it could be! Does anybody have any ideas or similar experiences?

We’re planning on getting her to the vet and will demand bloods and stool if necessary but he literally threatened us to not come back unless we were willing to let her get onto the operating table (very weird vibes, especially since we’ve not been told what it’s for. We feel like he looks down upon us..)

-viv specifications-
-viv is 4x2x2 ft, reptisun tube 10.0 UVB, ceramic heat bulb at basking area
-Temps are 37°C at basking
And 25°C for cool area
22°C at night.
-Her flooring was carpet but we found out about how bad it could be and now she’s on paper towels.

Can post some pics of her if needed but it’s 8am and I haven’t slept so later :) thank you
 
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Badwolfe

Hatchling Member
Thats very odd behaviour for a vet. Why was he angry at you seeing as you'd already taken your dragon to see him two weeks earlier and he'd done very little to help.

Personally I'd change your vet asap and take it to one with better people skills and insist on the bloods and stool sample. Better still collect your own stool sample on the day you are going to the vet which will make things easier. You really don't want the vet giving your dragon an enema as they can be dangerous.

There's a lot of vets out there who seem to be more concerned about money than the welfare of the actual animals themselves and can be very opinionated and condescending. A lot of them have very little experience with reptiles too and I think they are a little wary of working with them.

Either way change now and get your dragon sorted as soon as possible. I wish both you and your Beardie well
 

Gumipasta

New member
Original Poster
Thats very odd behaviour for a vet. Why was he angry at you seeing as you'd already taken your dragon to see him two weeks earlier and he'd done very little to help.

Personally I'd change your vet asap and take it to one with better people skills and insist on the bloods and stool sample. Better still collect your own stool sample on the day you are going to the vet which will make things easier. You really don't want the vet giving your dragon an enema as they can be dangerous.

There's a lot of vets out there who seem to be more concerned about money than the welfare of the actual animals themselves and can be very opinionated and condescending. A lot of them have very little experience with reptiles too and I think they are a little wary of working with them.

Either way change now and get your dragon sorted as soon as possible. I wish both you and your Beardie well
Thank you for your response, I’m glad I’m not the only person thinking this is absurd behaviour for a vet. We will try a new vet then. Bruno is definitely worth travelling an extra hour to try a better vet!
 
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