ThisIsBerk
Member
Hoping I'm just a paranoid beardie mom. About 3 weeks ago I started noticing a slight pop occasionally when Berk breathes. It normally happens after he holds his breath (he'll puff up, hold his breath, and then when he releases there is a slight pop, or the reverse if he's taking a breath in to puff up usually when I hold him). It'll just be the one pop, then he takes a few shallow breaths and they're clear, and sometimes he'll take deep breaths in or out and I'll hear nothing. I listened to his chest and didn't hear any crackling or popping or anything. A couple tiny clear saliva strings when I open his mouth, but no signs of mouth rot or excessive saliva.
I noticed this right before I left for work travel, so I turned up his basking temperatures, gave strict instructions to his sitter (who is a beardie owner), and made a vet appointment for when I got back. Throughout the trip they said he was eating like a horse, acting normal, no excessive black bearding or weird behaviors. I came back and saw the same thing, he seemed perfectly fine (save for the pop every few breaths, which was still there) so I canceled the vet thinking I was just paranoid.
Within the last week though he's gone off his dinner meal entirely. He eats fine in the morning and a few bites of salad during the day (which is normal for him), acting normally, alert and moving well, not losing weight...he just doesn't eat dinner, and still has that pop (which hasn't changed in sound or frequency since I first noticed it).
So the question is, is this potentially a URI and I should make a vet visit or is it something else? Could his decrease in appetite be a sign of him getting older? He hasn't shed in a month (the longest he's gone without shedding), so perhaps he could be going into one and that could explain the decrease in appetite (though he's never gone off food before a shed before, he usually actually eats more!)? Basically, is this a normal aging thing or is it something I should see a vet about?
Quick care summary: he's almost 10 months old, 17 inches, about 450 grams. Gut-loaded dubia roaches twice a day (recently only eating in the morning), salad available all day every day which he does eat part of. Calcium supplement 5 days a week, multivitamin (with beta-carotene) twice a week. He's in a 40 gallon breeder, hammocks on both sides, reptile carpet, branch on the hot side, rock hide on the cool side, water dish (for humidity, which runs low in my tank). Heat lamp is a flood light 45V, also has a UV T5.0 strip bulb and a CHE. Hot side is 110-115 F on the basking point (I've kept it high in case it's a URI), 90-100 F on the hot side floor, 80-85 F on the cool side, temperature drops to mid 70s F at night. Humidity I'm working on, averages 20% right now, trying to raise it up based on advice from my vet (who is an exotic vet with beardies of his own). Gets soaks 3 times a week since he refuses to drink any water in any form (he's actually terrified of water, but that's a Berk quirk that I've accepted at this point).
I noticed this right before I left for work travel, so I turned up his basking temperatures, gave strict instructions to his sitter (who is a beardie owner), and made a vet appointment for when I got back. Throughout the trip they said he was eating like a horse, acting normal, no excessive black bearding or weird behaviors. I came back and saw the same thing, he seemed perfectly fine (save for the pop every few breaths, which was still there) so I canceled the vet thinking I was just paranoid.
Within the last week though he's gone off his dinner meal entirely. He eats fine in the morning and a few bites of salad during the day (which is normal for him), acting normally, alert and moving well, not losing weight...he just doesn't eat dinner, and still has that pop (which hasn't changed in sound or frequency since I first noticed it).
So the question is, is this potentially a URI and I should make a vet visit or is it something else? Could his decrease in appetite be a sign of him getting older? He hasn't shed in a month (the longest he's gone without shedding), so perhaps he could be going into one and that could explain the decrease in appetite (though he's never gone off food before a shed before, he usually actually eats more!)? Basically, is this a normal aging thing or is it something I should see a vet about?
Quick care summary: he's almost 10 months old, 17 inches, about 450 grams. Gut-loaded dubia roaches twice a day (recently only eating in the morning), salad available all day every day which he does eat part of. Calcium supplement 5 days a week, multivitamin (with beta-carotene) twice a week. He's in a 40 gallon breeder, hammocks on both sides, reptile carpet, branch on the hot side, rock hide on the cool side, water dish (for humidity, which runs low in my tank). Heat lamp is a flood light 45V, also has a UV T5.0 strip bulb and a CHE. Hot side is 110-115 F on the basking point (I've kept it high in case it's a URI), 90-100 F on the hot side floor, 80-85 F on the cool side, temperature drops to mid 70s F at night. Humidity I'm working on, averages 20% right now, trying to raise it up based on advice from my vet (who is an exotic vet with beardies of his own). Gets soaks 3 times a week since he refuses to drink any water in any form (he's actually terrified of water, but that's a Berk quirk that I've accepted at this point).
