Something Odd Happened During Bathtime: Possible Aspiration?

[FuryIsADragon]

I was going to give Fury a bath, it's been a few weeks since she had one, and I was taking my time, letting her get comfortable in the space since I'm using a new tub in a new spot, etc. I held her with just the tips of her toes and tail in the water to acclimate her to the water and see if she was in the mood for playing in the water today, and she dipped her head down and started to drink. But after a moment I thought she was drinking a bit more than she usually would and I bent around and noticed she had a tiny droplet of water coming out of her nose and I quickly drew her back up to me... I'm really worried I may have accidentally waterboarded my dragon or something!

I certainly wasn't forcing her into the water, I was holding her above it, but maybe she didn't think to draw her head back up and drank too much? I don't think this has ever happened before... I was looking for answers on Google and it seems like a case of possible aspiration, is that right? She didn't seem too upset, I've seen her move her beard like she was swallowing something a few times since it happened like an hour ago, but nothing else alarming. She's sitting on my chest in a warm blankie right now, Google says she should be kept extra warm tonight and that I should keep an eye out for a respiratory infection for the next few days, is that right? One forum suggested tilting her mouth-down like a teapot a few times to see if you could get any water to come out, I tried it and no water came out, is that bad? She didn't like it very much.

How do I prevent something like this from happening again? I gather she may have been unusually thirsty, so if I try to make sure she drinks more regularly would this be less likely to happen? She pooped after this little episode and her urate was a bit shrivelly, maybe she was dehydrated? I usually let her swim around a bit in her bath if she's in the mood for it, is that a bad idea?

It really gave me a scare, has this ever happened to you before?

 

[beardie]

Hi FuryIsADragon,

I think what you've already found is pretty good advice. Keep an eye on her. Ensure her enclosure is at reasonably good temperatures. Do you have a CHE to keep her warmer, or at least keep your home warm (low 70s)? I wouldn't worry about water not coming out. It sounds like some time had passed from the incident to when you tried that, so water probably already cleared itself out. Watch her behavior and eating levels. If she seems normal, she'll likely be okay.

I can't blame her for not liking to be tipped upside down. I do that to my daughter sometimes... she doesn't always like it either.

Going forward, keep the water shallow... just enough to cover her feet to her ankles or so, if she doesn't seem to handle deeper water well. She can splash and still get a good soaking.

I've never had that happen with my beardies before, though. I certainly didn't follow the best practices with water either. I often had "too much water", but mine actually seemed to inflate their bodies and swim a lot.

I hope that Fury gets over her incident. Let us know how she's doing.