Bearded dragon makes some popping noise

[Byron0526]

Hey, I recently joined this site and was wanting to know what may be causing my bearded dragon to make a popping noise while he flares his beard, I do want to mention that his beard does not get dark it stays as his normal color. He does not consecutively do this it happened a few times I’d say about 1-5 times but they are months apart. I recently today heard him doing the same noise and was wanting to know if it has to do with his humidity or lighting or if there’s something else that could be causing this. If there’s any other questions needed to answer please let me know and I will.

 

[Emilia Thuet]

Would you mind sending in a picture of him and his enclosure? It may be easier to figure out if something is wrong if you do. Also how old is your beardie? While the popping sound may be nothing to worry about, my old girl makes that sound usually when she is sleeping but she is 11 and I remember the vet saying it has something to do with how their trachea I believe and how it relaxes when they sleep. if its not that it could be early signs of an IR and that could be for a couple didn't reasons such as humidity level or if he aspired something.

 

[Byron0526]

Would you mind sending in a picture of him and his enclosure? It may be easier to figure out if something is wrong if you do. Also how old is your beardie? While the popping sound may be nothing to worry about, my old girl makes that sound usually when she is sleeping but she is 11 and I remember the vet saying it has something to do with how their trachea I believe and how it relaxes when they sleep. if its not that it could be early signs of an IR and that could be for a couple didn't reasons such as humidity level or if he aspired something.

He recently turned 1 year old and yea idk he doesn’t really show signs of heavy breathing and I usually try keeping his tank at a humidity level of 30-40 and I keep his temperatures at high 90’s.

 

[Broly]

Hey - what is his UVB? He has so much space that has no UVB coverage. Also, what are you using to measure you temperatures?

 

[Byron0526]

Hey - what is his UVB? He has so much space that has no UVB coverage. Also, what are you using to measure you temperatures?

I currently have a zoomed uvb bulb its 13 watts his basking bulb is 75 watts, I wanted to know if I should change the basking bulb as well since the tank is bigger I wasn’t sure and I was going to ask that too. I am going to buy the uvb hood so it can cover the other half of the tank. I currently have a thrive temperature and humidity reader. If you have any recommendations as to what I should get for the lighting or the temperature reader please let me know.

 

[Emilia Thuet]

definitely get a hood UVb the coils are so bad for them and don't give off enough UVB. The one I use is a retisun T5 hood with a 10.0 Bulb. Make sure you get the 10.0 bulb the 5.0 does not give off enough UVB at all could lead to your dragon getting mbd. That hood should be around 12-15 inches away from their basking spot. You should also get a prob thermometer or infrared thermometer. Stick on are inaccurate and I also suggest decreasing the humidity to 20-30%, 40 may be a little too high for him. Can I ask how often he eats and drinks and what do you feed him?

 

[Byron0526]

definitely get a hood UVb the coils are so bad for them and don't give off enough UVB. The one I use is a retisun T5 hood with a 10.0 Bulb. Make sure you get the 10.0 bulb the 5.0 does not give off enough UVB at all could lead to your dragon getting mbd. That hood should be around 12-15 inches away from their basking spot. You should also get a prob thermometer or infrared thermometer. Stick on are inaccurate and I also suggest decreasing the humidity to 20-30%, 40 may be a little too high for him. Can I ask how often he eats and drinks and what do you feed him?

I will definitely get that asap. So I usually feed him crickets and then give him a salad in the afternoons/evenings. He doesn’t always eat sometimes he eats every other day. I also usually take him out and let him walk around for a bit and I’ve been noticing that after that when I put him back in the enclosure he often eats when I put crickets in or when I have the salad for him. I also do give him some meal worms and super worms I tend to mix them with his salad but I also give him them because he seems a little too skinny to me.

 

[Emilia Thuet]

Hope you don't think I'm being rude but he did look a little skinny to me too thats way I asked. I suggest that once you have the proper temperature and UVB to give him a little extra protein daily to help him fatten up a bit. He may be eating less due to the improper UVB. That or he could be dehydrated, if you don't already I suggest giving him 1-2 baths a week or to spray his nose area with a spray bottle to get him to drink water, his skin does look a bit dehydrated. Also if you don't already provide him with calcium powder 3 times a week and multivitamin powder at least twice a week. Itll help give him a boost of nutrition that he may not be getting from his diet.

 

[Byron0526]

Hope you don't think I'm being rude but he did look a little skinny to me too thats way I asked. I suggest that once you have the proper temperature and UVB to give him a little extra protein daily to help him fatten up a bit. He may be eating less due to the improper UVB. That or he could be dehydrated, if you don't already I suggest giving him 1-2 baths a week or to spray his nose area with a spray bottle to get him to drink water, his skin does look a bit dehydrated. Also if you don't already provide him with calcium powder 3 times a week and multivitamin powder at least twice a week. Itll help give him a boost of nutrition that he may not be getting from his diet.

It’s not rude at all, I really appreciate the feed back you’re giving me and this was the reason as to why I joined, I want the best for him and with your answers I know what I need to get now to make his life better! I currently have the calcium powder but when I first got him they told me to give him it twice a week. Should I be giving him it 3 times a week? Also, what multivitamin powder do you recommend and for the extra protein should I keep giving him super worms or what would you suggest for that too?

 

[Emilia Thuet]

3 times a week of fine, that’s how many times I give it to them as well as calcium powder with vitamin d once a week. If you’d like you can do the same or you can do 2 days with regular calcium and 1 day with the vitamin D one. I use rep-cal for their multivitamin and calcium with vitamin D most pet stores have them and I believe they’re a popular brand among reptile owners. For protei again the best ones for them are Dubai roaches but if you live in Canada like me or are petrified of them you may not be able to give them to your beardies. Next runner up are crickets (it’s always a good idea to gut load them before giving them to your beardie). Cause he’s a year old I suggest 10 crickets 3 times a week and they should be covered in one of the supplements. I find that my beardies aren’t a fan of the supplements and are less likely to eat their salads when the supplements are on it. So to combat that I make sure that every time they have bugs that it’s covered in a different supplements. To fatten him up a bit you can give him closer to 20 crickets per feeding or give him a couple extra super worms (those are higher in fat and will fatten him up quicker but are less nutritious so you should still be giving him crickets.) when ever I get a skinny rescue they do give them extra butter worms for treats (these will fatten him up quickly but again are not nutritious at all). Do monitor his weight and size the last thing you want is an obese beardie, it can be really hard for them to loose weight and it makes it extremely hard for them to bask if they are too fat. I know this may be a lot to take in and I find the best thing to do is create a feeding chart so you know exactly what days they are getting bugs or which days are calcium or multivitamin blah blah blah. Let me know if you’d like to see mine as a reference if you’d think it’ll be helpful. Hope your beardie gets nice and plump soon

 

[Broly]

Emilia helped with a lot above And yes; that UVB needs to be changed ASAP. The recommended length for it is approx 70% the length of the enclosure. And with a reflector. The T5 ZooMed ReptiSun or Arcadia bulbs are best. The 10.0 for reptisun or 12% for Arcadia are both recommended. And it’s very, very important you get a couple of digital probe thermometers at least so you can have one in the cool end and one resting directly on the basking spot. You can also get a digital hygromometer to measure the humidity accurately. Your beardie won’t be able to digest and process food or the calcium and multivitamin supplements if they don’t have the ideal UVA/UVB and temps. Hope this and all the great feedback above helps!

 

[Skybug]

Ive heard the popping noise your talking about as well, but i only hear it when my beardy does her morning beard stretches, they do have bones in their beards, maybe ur hearing those move around? Also you might want backgrounds inside the tank BDs are notoriously stupid and will think another dragon is in there(especially if you have a boy) if u can put up newspapers or something in the meantime, it might improve his overall mood