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QUESTION: How are you Tracie.I'm Antone and have some worries about my male dragon.For the pass few days he has been coughing like he is about to throw up and a couple of times he made a rattling breathing sound.This started happening when I fed him 19 large sized crickets which I only feed them insects every other day.He is about 10 months old.He is still eating,running around and looks healthy except when he displays those symptoms.I think he might be developing a respitory infection.I had a previous male dragon that displayed those symptoms more frequently even though one day he would be looking to be perfectly fine but then other day he would be looking sick.Spikes,the previous dragon also would eat his food but cut down on the vegetables.One day I had to leave for the whole day but before I left I made sure the male was fine which that day he seemed extremely healthy.When I came back home I found out that my previous male dragon had passed away that day the temperature had suddenly dropped.I don't understand why both males had displayed these horrble signs of death when my female always has been a healthy fully grown sweet lizard.Please help me to avoid another lost.I care much for these animals,don't want them to suffer,regret for not taking action at the right time for Spikes,lost and spent a lot of money and don't want the female to be alone again.Lizzie was stressed out when Spikes left her by showing a different behavior.To me she felt down.I read some of your answers and if you think my male dragon has a respitory infection I would prefer to use a nubelizer with Tylan(I saw a nubelizer on ebay with the whole kit for an affordable prize)instead of injecting the poor animal.I'm trying to avoid a vet because the cost might be scary for me and it's been pretty rough for me,economically.If you think I can cure him myself tell me what to do and if I can't then I have no choice but to take him to the vet which I would really rather not do.Thank you so much for taking your time to read this long message and hope to receive a response from you.

ANSWER: Hello Antone,

Sorry that you lost a male dragon, it is never easy to lose one.
Could you run over the tank setup with me?  He is housed with your female?
What type & brand of UVB are you using?  A fluorescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light?
What are the temperatures in the tank?
How large were the crickets, were they larger than the space between his eyes?
If these symptoms just started right after feeding the large crickets, he could possibly be impacted somewhat.  Has he gone to the bathroom since you fed the large crickets?
Is there any mucous in the mouth or nose to indicate a respiratory infection?
It is good to be proactive with regards to treating a respiratory infection, so if you want to go ahead & purchase a nebulizer, you will have it in case we need to treat him.  Baytril may work a little better though.
In the meantime, keep his tank around 80 overnight to help boost his immune system right now.
Do you have Tylan?  If not, I can send a link where you can purchase Baytril.
Is his beard black as if he was in distress?


Tracie

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


Spikes & Lizzie   QUESTION: Hey Tracie, the tank setup you requested to know about will be explained by you viewing the attached image I sent you along with the message to give you a better understanding.Regarding the image,the Zoo Med Repti compact coil Halogen Heat bulb 100 watt reptile light is above the rock from which Lizzie(female on the back) and Spikes which was the one that past away(on the front)is basking on.The 26 watt Repti Glo 10.0 UVB light is almost on the right corner of the log shown on the image.Spikes,the male that past away looked as healthy as he did on the picture but then tricked me by leaving me and Lizzie behind when he passed away.Just as the current male(Snoopy)looks,I'm afraid he is starting to go on the same road as Spikes did by coughing  but not as often as Spikes.The thing that I don't understand is that Spikes would eat and run around like crazy just as Snoopy is doing right now.They also never had black beards or runny nose or mucous coming from the mouth.There temperature would be from 80 to 90 dregrees even though I would give them the regular and UVB light for only 6-8 hours because they would close their eyes looking so cute and tired trying to tell me they want darkness to go to sleep.Now I'm starting to give Lizzie and Snoopy those lights longer to see what happens.To answer your question,yes I've been housing the female with the previous and current male.Lizzie never had these problems, I don't understand Tracie why the males have to suffer.I don't understand if the cricket size you are talking about is lenghtwise or widthwise.Also when Snoopy coughs, he then licks his lips as if he just finish eating.When this happened to Spikes I would bath him and he'd felt better, but then he would later on go back to the frustration that I think lead him to
death.I dont understand Tracie, this is confusing.I also feed them worms 3 or 4 times a week but every other day i feed them vegetables.I almost forgot to mention that I don't put the 75 watt fluker nightlight bulb because they puff out and get mad during midnight(it's an incandescent reptile lighting).

Answer
Hello Antone,

Thank you for the picture.  Does he seem to be upset around the female or no?  How often does he cough?
I would take the sand out in case it is irritating him.  Using paper towels, non adhesive shelf liner or textured slate tiles would be cleaner.
The temperatures in the tank, on the basking side need to be between 95-105 with a cooler area/end of around 78-82.  The temperatures need to be measured with a digital probe or temp gun.
I am not sure why it is happening just to males, that is interesting.  If he is not warm enough, he may be having trouble digesting.  
If you feed crickets, they should not be any larger than the space between the eyes.  The worms are fine.  
The Reptiglo 10 coil/compact bulb is the reason they close their eyes.  It is a harmful bulb which can cause eye damage & ill health.  That light needs to be turned off right now.  The compact/coil lights are not conducive to D3 synthesis & produce the incorrect wavelength of UVB frequency.  So they are not able to absorb calcium or vitamins properly.
You can get either the Reptisun 10 tube bulb or the Arcadia D3 12% tube bulb for better UVB exposure.  It will need to be 6-8 inches from them.  It needs to be left on 12 hours per day, along with a bright white basking light for the same length of time.
Normally the prefer it to be dark at night, to sleep.
How often are they getting calcium?  
It is frustrating I realize.  I am not sure why it is not happening to your female.  
Could he be getting too worked up possibly & stressed too often?

Here is the for the baytril:
http://www.allbirdproducts.com/newproductpages/baytril.html

If you want to go ahead & purchase the Baytril, be sure to also give probiotics too.
Maybe you should try housing him alone for awhile to see if there are any improvements.  If you do that, you will need to purchase a UVB for him also.  

Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie