Unusual head behaviour

[Sparktail]

Lately my baby has been rather lethargic and at first i thought it was due to brumation, but it wasn't. Anyway, he keeps doing this throat movements where he puffs it out like a frog and then it goes back to normal. He has been doing it allot lately and it's reaccuring. His abdomen squeezes tight when he puffs his throat too so i was thinking there could be a problem with his lungs?
He scratches at his head a bit too.

Any help is good~

Read more: http://www.beardeddragonforum.com/index.php?threads/whats-wrong-with-him.5363/#ixzz1oR4xk2r1

 

[Mamagordon]

Our girl is doing something simillar. It is a bit worrisome observing new behavior.

Sophia is about a year old now, is 14-16 inches and has just come out of brumation. She is also currently shedding. Her viv is lined with tile. Crickets and dandelion greens makes up most of her diet. She eats, poops and bathes once a day usually.

Have you recently changed any of his lighting?

We have. From and all in one UVA/UVB heat bulb to a coil for UVA/UVB and a red heat bulb. Plus she gets heat all night now, whereas the first light was turned off at night.

I am just thinking, maybe it could be change in lighting.

 

[diamc]

They do puff out their beards to help that area shed. Is he doing it all the time? You mentioned that he is lethargic. How long has he been acting this way? Is he not active at all? Is he eating? How old is he? What brand & type of UVB are you using and what is the distance of it? What are the tank temps and what type of thermometer are you using?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to rule some things out.

 

[diamc]

Mamagordon, it's best to use bright white basking lights rather than colored bulbs as they are hard on the eyes. The white bulbs also increase their activity level which in turn increases their appetites.

I noticed that you are using a coil UVB light, those are not good & can cause all sorts of health issues. We recommend the Repti-Sun 10.0 tube and Arcadia UVB's the most, much healthier for them and have a good UVB output that stays pretty steady rather than being to strong in the beginning and declining rapidly like the coil UVB's are known to do.

Sounds like you're using the red light at night which can actually disturb their sleep as they can see red. You don't need any heat at night unless the temp drops below 65 degrees and if it does, we recommend a ceramic heat emitter that gives off heat but no light.

 

[Mamagordon]

We were unprepared when her light went out. We do not live anywhere near a decent pet supply place and that was all they had at the time. We do plan on going back to what we had before, which was an all in one, regular bulb (I do not remember the brand), or the tube light. Plus, will buy extras for next time the bulb goes out

So, it is probably the shedding, though. Good to know.

 

[diamc]

For the white basking bulb, you can actually use a standard household light bulb so that will save you some money. If the red bulb is giving you good temps, you can try the same wattage household bulb in place of that one.

The UVB's are much cheaper when you order them online rather than getting them at a petstore, if you'd like some links, let us know. Unfortunately, they haven't perfected the problems with the mercury vapor bulbs, the companies are continuing to work on them to prevent improper burnout and causing health issues.

It is hard to say for sure that the beard & throat puffing is indeed from shedding until other things are ironed out. How long has your beardie been doing this? Any sign of eye issues like closing the eyes a lot or any shaking of the head or twitching?

 

[Mamagordon]

I just noticed it today.

Do you think it could possibly be the lights? I will change them pronto if there is any suspicion at all. Now that I think of it... After she eats, she has been opening her mouth a lot. It kind of looks like she has to vomit. Her poops are ok, but if the lighting is inadequate she may not be digesting properly, right?

No eye weirdness, shaking or twitching that I have noticed.

I am thinking to myself, buying online is a big "Duh!" I will definately be doing that now :idea:

 

[diamc]

Does she tend to avoid the lights at all? Does she spend much time basking?

Are you using either a digital thermometer with probe or temp gun to check the temps?

 

[Mamagordon]

Digi therm with probes in her viv.

She does not seem to want to avoid the lights.

she buldged out her eyes today. Is that normal?

 

[Terrbear903]

I recommend you take this dragon to the vet. it sounds like a upper respitory infection due to the billowing throat and the sides of the lungs squeezing tight. check the humidity does not get too high. 35 percent is best.

 

[diamc]

It would be a good idea to have your beardie checked by a vet and since she hasn't had an exam, it would be a good idea. How is her coloring? Could she have aspirated on water while in her bath? Changing the lights is also a good idea.

Eye bulging is their way of loosening the skin around their eyes. Hopefully the coil bulb doesn't have anything to do with it. Could you post a picture or video of her doing it?