Respiratory infection?

[Peep18]

I was a bearded dragon that is about 3 months old. just finished shedding. he blows air and makes the popping sound when opening his mouth. he didn't start doing it till at the end of his shed. he had a nose plug so i thought maybe he was doing it because he was having a hard time breathing through his nose but i pulled it out about 5 days ago. and he is still doing it. he is eating just fine. he has "stress" marks but he has had them since i first got him. the humidity is 30-40 percent but i do know at night it can go as high as 60 percent. basking spot is about 106-109 cool side is 78. hot side is around 85-90. I don't have a whole lot of money to go see a vet and there really aren't any close to me. He seems healthy so hopefully it is just a little phase or something? I was thinking about getting reptiaid to see if it would help. does it sound like a respiratory infection?

 

[KeyBlu422]

Based off of his labored breathing and sounds, I do think it's a respiratory infection.

 

[CooperDragon]

It's a good sign that he is active and eating well. Your temperature gradient is good and those humidity ranges are fine. Are you still using the 100w MegaRay for UVB? I'd keep the temps up a little bit overnight, maybe high 70s to up around 80 for a little while and see if that helps. Look out for lethargic behavior and lack of appetite. If he is alert and active though I'd just monitor him closely for now. If you can get a video of his breathing it might be helpful. You can upload video to a hosting site like vimeo or youtube and then link the video here. We'll be glad to have a look and let you know our thoughts.

 

[Peep18]

It's a good sign that he is active and eating well. Your temperature gradient is good and those humidity ranges are fine. Are you still using the 100w MegaRay for UVB? I'd keep the temps up a little bit overnight, maybe high 70s to up around 80 for a little while and see if that helps. Look out for lethargic behavior and lack of appetite. If he is alert and active though I'd just monitor him closely for now. If you can get a video of his breathing it might be helpful. You can upload video to a hosting site like vimeo or youtube and then link the video here. We'll be glad to have a look and let you know our thoughts.

no i just have a halogen bulb on a dimmer. and the reptisun 10.0 t5. he has actually been more active moving around to different logs and such. i will take a video.

 

[Peep18]

It's a good sign that he is active and eating well. Your temperature gradient is good and those humidity ranges are fine. Are you still using the 100w MegaRay for UVB? I'd keep the temps up a little bit overnight, maybe high 70s to up around 80 for a little while and see if that helps. Look out for lethargic behavior and lack of appetite. If he is alert and active though I'd just monitor him closely for now. If you can get a video of his breathing it might be helpful. You can upload video to a hosting site like vimeo or youtube and then link the video here. We'll be glad to have a look and let you know our thoughts.

https://vimeo.com/254769847

 

[CooperDragon]

It does look like he's breathing a bit harder than normal. That is possibly a RI but not necessarily. Since he is alert and active I'd keep him warmer overnight and just keep an eye on him. If this continues for another couple of weeks or you see signs of him losing appetite or acting lethargic then a vet checkup might be a good idea. They can do a culture and test for harmful bacteria and prescribe targeted antibiotics as needed. I hesitate to do that right off the bat though since the meds can be pretty harsh and he is otherwise OK.

 

[Peep18]

It does look like he's breathing a bit harder than normal. That is possibly a RI but not necessarily. Since he is alert and active I'd keep him warmer overnight and just keep an eye on him. If this continues for another couple of weeks or you see signs of him losing appetite or acting lethargic then a vet checkup might be a good idea. They can do a culture and test for harmful bacteria and prescribe targeted antibiotics as needed. I hesitate to do that right off the bat though since the meds can be pretty harsh and he is otherwise OK.

alright thanks hopefully he gets better. thats also another reason why i didn't want to take him to the vet right away. i will continue to be keeping a close eye on him he seems to be doing well other then the breathing. should i go run to the pet store to get a ceramic heat bulb for the night? if so about what wattage do you think would get it up to the right temperature its about 72 at night.

 

[CooperDragon]

72 is just about perfect normally. A low wattage maybe 50w would do the trick. 100w is fine if you can raise it up a bit. Shoot for 80 or so, not much more. Just a bump in temp. They're nice to have on hand either way but be careful, they get VERY hot to the touch. If you are OK with buying online I prefer the MegaRay heat projectors. They provide the heat without getting quite so hot on the outside (I've melted rugs by accidentally putting down a CHE - plastic all over the place).