Help!- Possible Respiratory infection problem

[Sonic Reality]

Is it fatal?My beardie has been panting alot recently and i havent been sure why.I read somewhere on the gaping beardie post that beardies that pan alot could have this.Anything to stop/cure it if it does have it?And how can i tell if he has it?If he dies thats 3 beardies dead in less than 10 months...

[V.hb]

does he pant while under heat? if so thats normal. If you see any secretions from the nose, or mouth (phlegm/mucus) i would be more concerned. Listen to him/her breathe. Usually you can hear any kind of RI problem instantly. I haven't seen to many beardies with RI's unless kept severely underheated, they tend to be quite hardy most of the time.

[Sonic Reality]

he pants under his ultra violet light.he has a slate below it and his head is about 2 or so inches below the light.He pants on his heat mat which is under a favourite sleeping log of his.

the bit that worries me is by the water bowl and food he pants alot but is that just because he gets hungry?Hes demanding on his cabbage and meal worms lol.

And how do i hear breathing?I can only feel it if i put him slightly near to my face and let him breathe on me.I did that already and he breathed out once every 6-7 seconds or so

[Dark_Angel_25]

Sonic, what they mean is if he has RI, then when he breathes you will hear like a whistling sound.. similar to when a person has pneumonia.. you will hear lfuid inthe lungs.

[drewlowe]

What are your temps like? Beardies require heat from above not below. They soak in heat through thier backs (sorry forgot the technical term).

If he's gaping under the basking light it's because he's trying to "cool" himself off.

I'm going to give you a list of better greens and insects to feed instead of cabbage and mealworms. I personally never feed mealies to my beardies, they have the possibility of causing impactation.

Kale, collard, mustard, dandilion greens, swiss chard, endive, carrots, sweet potato, yams, squash, snowpeas, greenbeans, there are some more veggies you can feed there just not popping in my head right now, stay away from spinach.

Insects- crickets, buttworms, waxworms, silkworms, hornworms, all of them gutloaded.

If your really concerned about the gapping find a local herp vet and take him in for a check up. If he does have an RI there is medication they can give to help. I personally have never experenced an RI infection so i'm not 100% positive on the meds and care during this time. I'll take a peek into my books tonight to see if i can help, but the best thing to do would be to consult a vet.

[V.hb]

2 inches from UV probably isnt too safe either. most lights are fine 12 " from the animal. Get a basking light, disconnect the heat pad and you should be fine. Use drewlowes list of greens, very nutritious! my beardies recieve portions every second day. Cabbage is made mostly of water and little to no nutrition for the dragon.

[Sonic Reality]

thank you!