Cold? Respitory infection?

[Ratman667]

I am starting to get worried about Sunny. It is hard to explain what he is doing, but I will give it a try.

It is almost like a sneeze, but it sounds like a wheeze. I say it's like a sneeze because when he does it, his whole body moves.

He doesn't have cloudy eyes or a runny nose. His color is normal. He has been having regular bowel movements. He eats regularly. I give him mixed veggies, fresh greens and super worms daily.

His enclosure has tile and grout on the floor. His MVB burned out recently, but I have a Halogen in with him until I can afford a new one. He also has a Repti-sun 10.0 and an infrared heat lamp.

The warm side is in the mid-90s with a basking spot around 100 - 110*F. The cool side is 75-85*F.

I keep his cage clean as he refuses to eat if it gets messy.

Does anyone have any ideas? If he is still like this on payday (Friday), I'll get him seen by a vet. He isn't doing this constantly, but enough that I am getting concerned.

 

[thestack510]

I don't know much about beardy care, but is it possible that it is too humid for him in the enclosure? That could lead to a respiratory infection in an animal that comes from a dry climate I think.

 

[gitrdone0420]

I don't know much about beardy care, but is it possible that it is too humid for him in the enclosure? That could lead to a respiratory infection in an animal that comes from a dry climate I think.

The cage is extremely ventilated. It has a wire front and a wire top. I really dont think it is very humid. But that was a good suggestion, Ken.

 

[steve905]

If you have wheezing or gasping why stall the inevitable and find a vet. While your at it get a fecal done my beardies keep getting pinworms even though I only feed captive bred insects....Good Luck....

 

[JordanAng420]

Have him cultured and find out if you can isolate anything from it. Mel, you can send it to Micrim Labs, can't you?

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Hi there,
The only thing I can think of to do as a precatuin would be to bump your temps just a couple of degrees. Other than that Im stumped. Not lethargic ?

 

[Ratman667]

It turned out I didn't let his tank air out enough after cleaning it... I took him out, put him in a smaller setup so I could keep an eye on him and he stopped sneezing after about an hour.

I wiped his cage out with distilled water and put in a small fan to dry it. I put him back in it yesterday and have had no sneezing since.

It was 100% my fault. I'm going to be switching to a chlorohex cleaner and making sure it is properly aired out before placing him back in it.

If you are wondering, I let his cage air for an hour, but I have a cold and can't smell anything, so I didn't know there were any fumes left.

He ate 10 supers and almost a whole bowl of veggies this morning, so I think he will be ok.

To steve905, I wasn't putting it off. If I had the money, he would have gone as soon as I could get an appointment. I am still going to take him in for a culture and fecal soon.

For those of you who don't know, Sunny was severely neglected early in his life. My mom rescued him and spent nearly $800 at the vet on him. She had him for nearly 5 years before giving him to me. He has had respiratory problems his entire life, so I tend to get a bit panicky over little things. He is around 6 years old and only weighs 374 grams.

 

[JordanAng420]

I'm glad you figured things out, Rusty. You're going to love the chlorhexidine stuff. Just make sure you dilute it properly.

Don't beat yourself up, that's how we learn things in this hobby. At least it was fixable!

 

[Ratman667]

I know I shouldn't, it's just he has suffered enough in his life. I am responsible for him and I made a stupid mistake that could have caused serious damage.

Anyways, I'm ordering some cleaner here in a minute, so this shouldn't happen again.