Bearded Dragons are extremely hardy lizards, when they are provided
with the proper temperatures and lighting in their environment.
However, they are also pets who do their best to hide their
symptoms from us when they become ill, as do most other reptiles.
This is no doubt an instinctual behavior, since a sick Beardie, in
the wild, would probably not live for very long.
Since your Beardie can’t groan or complain about where it hurts,
you must use your observation skills to determine when something is
not right. There are times when a healthy Beardie will act
differently, but these changes should be seen for what they are by
the experienced veterinarian.
Because of this, you need to be very aware of what normal behavior
is for each of your particular dragons, and what is not. An alert
eye can generally spot a problem long before it becomes a major
concern. Particular attention should be paid to each dragon’s
eating habits, and the amounts that they usually eat, as well as
what is the norm as far as how often they present with bowel
movements, and what they usually look like, when they do. Attention
should also be paid to the amount of urates (the white solid or
powdery materials) that are passed within the bowel movements, as a
change in this can be a sign of kidney problems.
If you purchased your dragons from a pet shop, unfortunately you
may have gotten more than the one living thing that you paid for…
there is a better than a 50% chance that your dragon may be
carrying some type of intestinal parasite, particularly if they
were being housed with other dragons, and the conditions that they
were being kept in were not exactly as clean as you would have
liked.
They may be infested with coccidia, roundworms, pinworms,
hookworms, or numerous other pests. If you should buy from a
reputable breeder, this is much less likely to be the case, but
even then, it is possible.
For this reason, once you have had your dragon for two weeks, you
should make it a point to have him or her seen by a reputable vet,
who is well versed in the care of reptiles, and take in a stool
sample for testing. Give your dragon at least two weeks to settle
in, unless it is apparent that they are ill, as when they are
stressed, their parasite count, particularly the coccidia count,
may be higher than normal.
Diseases and Disorders
Normally, if you provide your dragon the standard habitat, food and
care, you will have the healthiest bearded dragon on earth. But,
from time to time your dragon could get sick. The most often
diseases, beardies get are:
1. Mites
2. Terminal Ingestion
3. Thermal Burns
4. Calcium Deficiency
5. Impaction
6. Hypovitaminosis A
7. Respiratory Infections
8. Dehydration
9. Stomatitis
10. Internal Parasites
11. Coccidia
12. Other Parasites
13. Dystocia (Egg Binding)
14. MBD (Metabolic Bone Disease)
15. Skin Problems
Detailed information on every on each diseas and treating
solutions, along with everything you need to know about bearded
dragons, you can find in the new complete guide on Bearded
Dragons at
http://www.pets-lovers.com/bd/beardeddragons.htm
Florian Ross is a freelancer and small lizard expert. For more tips on raising Bearded Dragons Lizards and having them live 3 times longer, go to http://www.pets-lovers.com/bd/beardeddragons.htm
Tags: bearded, bearded dragon, bearded dragons, dragon, dragons, pet lizard, pet lizards
Recent Comments