beardie possible RI

Question
QUESTION: I have a 3 month old bearded dragon that I purchased from a breeder a little over 2 weeks ago. He has been eating like a pig and has done great with shedding and seems overall to be perfectly healthy. He's very alert, runs around his cage and drinks when bathed. I also spray him once a day with warm water after his dinner of crickets or phoenix worms. However, recently he has been making a soft popping noise, and for the past couple of days he seems to be a little more stressed than normal. I know this is a symptom of a respiratory infection as I have had reptiles all my life. His eating habits have not changed and he is still running around and playing and there is no sign of excess mucus or gaping other than him regulating his body temp when basking. The only problem is the popping noise. I only hear it when he is sleeping and it's not a constant noise, just every 5 or 10 mins or so. Since I have never had a bearded dragon, I don't know if this is something they do when they sleep or if it's time for a vet visit. His temps are daytime basking 103 cool side 83, nighttime warm side 80 cool side 72. His diet consists of phoenix worms, dusted crickets, mustard greens, zucchini, yellow squash, turnip, watermelon, banana and grape. I mix these ingredients in a different fashion every time i feed him as to give him variety. New salads are prepared for him in the morning and at night and crickets or worms are offered at lunchtime and early evening in order to give him proper digestion time before his daylight goes out. Any reasons/advice you could give me as to why he is making this noise or if I have caught him in the early stages of an RI would be very helpful. Thanks.

ANSWER: Hello Ashley,

What type & brand of UVB are you using, is it a flourescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light?
Are you using a bright white basking light or a colored light?
What type of thermometer do you use, a stick on, a digital probe or a temp gun?
The diet sounds good.  
One thing is about the misting though, it is not recommended to mist them in their tanks.  It does raise the humidity too high & can cause mold issues.  The humidity needs to only be 30-50% in the tank.  
However, the popping noise you are referring to, that I am almost 100% sure of is his glottis opening & closing.  Most people do not listen that closely to their dragons at night when they sleep.  I do.  I hear it all of the time.  That is just them breathing.  The glottis opens & closes if you will look into his mouth next time his mouth is open, you can see it open & close.
That should be the noise you are referring to & not a respiratory infection.  :-))

Your setup sounds good & he sounds healthy & happy.  I would though, discontinue misting him in his tank though to ensure it is not too humid for him.  He will be stressed a little more during the shedding process.  

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'm currently using a reptiglo 10.0, but have recently read that they are almost useless, so I am going to change his bulb asap to a reptisun. I actually saved a beardie owner from purchasing a compact uvb in a pet store this afternoon. Glad I was there!! During the day I use an incandescent blue bulb but it produces white light, and at night I monitor his cage temps and if need be I turn on a ceramic heat bulb. I read that they can see red and that an infrared night light will disturb their sleep. I use a probe thermometer that measures humidity as well as temp, and after I mist him, I usually take that as an opportunity to mist the whole cage and wipe it down, so the water is promptly removed from his enclosure. I did read that misting was bad for him today and so I have placed a small very shallow bowl of water (bottled) to ensure he is hydrated rather than misting him, which he seems very pleased with. I also bathe him every 3-4 days in warm water to make sure he has a healthy digestive system and he seems to like it. I know this sounds crazy but I "rock" him to sleep every night. I hold him for about a half hour before he goes to bed and he falls asleep on my shirt :) That is when I hear the popping. It's like a soft click. I plan to take him to the vet just to make certain that he is not ill. A little check up will not hurt him; but I was SOO relieved to find that someone else hears it too, and that it is normal. I was running my fingers around the outside of his mouth and nostrils just to make sure they were dry in case there was some mucus present which I could not see. He was like "Mom, what are you doing??". lOL. I guess I am a little paranoid seeing as how he is so young and I'm new at the beardie thing. Thank you so much for your help!!

ANSWER: Hello Ashley,

You are correct.  :-))  The Reptiglo 10 flourescent tube or coil light are not very good.  They emit low wavelength UVB light which can be hazardous to their eyes & health.  I would get a Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb instead.  Oh so you are using the daytime bulb that is a bluish color.  Those are pretty good, but they are coated with neodymium which alters the way that they see the yellow spectrum.  It basically decreases the CRI or brightness.  The coating is what does that.  So, maybe later on you could switch to a bright white halogen flood light, they are very bright & white.   
Yes, at night, a ceramic heat emitter is much better.  They can see red light spectrum, so I don't recommend them for heating.  
That is so sweet, a new mother!  :-))  
The water dish is fine, as long as it doesn't raise the humidity too much.  Is it on the cool side of the tank?  
I do think that the noise will be the glottis.  A little health check will definitely not hurt him at all.  Good that he did not bite you when you had your fingers in his mouth!  LOL
How is he doing today, is he eating well?  I am happy you are enjoying him so much, they are so precious aren't they?

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: He's eating like a pig and he's running around exploring as usual. I got him a new bulb so his tank is much brighter. Yes, his water is on the cool side of his tank. He likes to sit in it, but doesn't use it as a bathroom (thank goodness). His tank is so big the humidity level is only 30% with the water bowl. He's never bitten me..then again i've only had him for 3 weeks, but he seems to be very comfortable with me. I've actually taught him to climb into my hand when I lower it palm up in front of him (with the help of a little food brib at first). He has a sweet personality, and my roommates who were terrified of him when they first saw him, are now coming in to see him and one of them even pet him! I'm so excited I can use him to change people's minds about reptiles. Thanks again for your help,
Ashley

Answer
Hello Ashley,

Great that he is running around & active now.  They are very sweet, aren't they?  At least your rommates are coming around to liking him now.  I think a lot of people have unfounded reservations about reptiles because of old stygmas of them being scary or something.
That is great the new light is much better for him too.  A 30% humidity is fine, no problem with that at all.  
I am glad that you two are bonding, he will grow fast so enjoy him when he is that size.  :-))

If you need anything, you know where to find me.

Tracie