Hiss or a cough?

[Meganolvt]

Hi all, new beardie owner here. I adopted what I was told is a 2- 3 year old female beardie yesterday. Previous owner said she hasn't been eating much lately but assumed it was due to brumination. To me she seems a little skinny but is alert and has clear eyes. She ate 2 crickets today, left the rest alone. Four times I have heard a noise, and i'm not sure if it is a hiss or an actual cough. All 4 times she was puffed up and mad/stressed, but it sounded like a wet cough. Immediately after she would swallow a few times. My question is do they have a hiss that can sound like a cough, or is it likely an actual cough?
I soaked her this morning. She's in a 40Reptohabitat, hot side is 90 degrees, other side is 75 degrees. She's not very active, but is holding her head up and watching us all day. I will be taking her to work with me (I am a veterinary technician), but i'm not familiar enough with what their hisses sound like to say for sure if she is sick or just mad. Any guesses?

 

[Willtheeman]

For me my boy is always skinny and I worry a lot because I never see him drink water or eat his veggies. I give him hornworms to hydrate him and make sure his insects are gutload ed properly but he's going through a hunger strike. As long as her eyes aren't sunken in or the fat deposit on top of her head aren't sunken in either she should be ok but u won't find out til u get her to the vet as she could have parasites. Mine has never hissed at me so I'm not familiar with that but mine does puff up when I try to get him and when he is basking he usually has his mouth open for a little while but not all the time.

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[Meganolvt]

I haven't seen her do it today, and I did see her eat a couple of crickets and 2 bites of greens, so I guess that's improvement.

 

[Cori]

Did you notice what happened before the hiss/cough? My girl likes to drink too much water and will burp afterwards to clear her throat. She also burped a lot when she was gravid cause she had so many eggs.

They definitely hiss but it's normally a long (ish) angry hiss. Had a boy who hated me and would puff up and hiss anytime I tried to interact with him. He wasn't a big eater either.

Vet appts are always a good idea though

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[Hdrydr31]

a wet cough, mucus in the mouth, noises or popping sounds are respiratory issues.. It's always good to get them vetted to get a baseline on the health, just know that if a fecal is done it may give a high reading if any pin worms are present as stress will "knock" them down a bit..we call it relocation stress typically it's best to wait for a fecal test for 4-6 weeks after rehoming.

Could be that she's a bit sassy lol or cranky or not feeling well..

 

[Meganolvt]

I'm taking her to work with me tomorrow. I heard her do it twice yesterday, It's almost like a wet gag. She's not eating much either, just one bite of salad or 1 waxworm here and there. And I haven't found any poop or urates and she's been here since Saturday night. I'm going to soak her again and see if she'll poop. This is so hard because I got almost no history and I don't know whether to attribute not eating to stress, brumination, unfamiliarity with what i'm offering, or sickness. We'll see what my vet says tomorrow.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Keep us posted..

 

[Meganolvt]

Took her with me to work yesterday and she finally pooped. My vet agrees with me that she is a little skinmy. Ran a fecal and she has pinworms, along with two other parasites that aren't parasitic. So I am deworming her and will recheck a fecal in 2- 3 weeks. She did eat some greens and some veggies today, and at least one cricket. Overall she is doing great, and i'll be interested to see if deworming her picks up her appetite. Hopefully then I can get some weight on her!

 

[PatsyB]

Also bump up her basking area. 90 is still a little low for an adult dragon. Try to get it to 95-98 degrees.

 

[Meganolvt]

Thanks @PatsyB. I remeasured and it is actually 95ish luckily. She is on day 3 of Panacur, and she has been eating more and there hasn't been anymore hissing OR coughing, whatever it was. Yay! I just love her so much already.

 

[PatsyB]

They worm their way into our hearts very quick