RI? Mouth Rot? Stress? – PLEASE HELP!!!

[Brunster]

Hi All – We're new to keeping bearded dragons however doing our best to read as much as possible and my 6YO son's baby beardie, 3-4mos old, has recently developed something around her mouth.

She definitely did not have this when we first got her about five weeks ago. It seems to be getting worse each day. The vet we saw today said nothing is wrong with her but my intuition says otherwise.

There seems to be some sort of crust around her mouth. We also noticed the tip of her mouth has an opening now, something she didn't have/do before. We've also noticed the dark stress marks under her after she had her shed earlier this month (September). Additionally, when we walk up to her tank to see her or reach in to grab her to hold, she'll gape at us. A few times a saliva bubble would form. Also, do her nostrils look clogged? She still has an appetite and is eating just fine.

I just snuck in to take a quick photo with my camera light on and you can see how bad her mouth now looks. This was about thirty minutes ago (last image). If it's easier to view the photos without the Photobucket watermark, you can find them here: https://app.photobucket.com/u/Brunster/p/abfc0f29-212e-4508-8b21-23b0eb30c5e6

I know you’ll ask so her set up is the following:
• 20gallon long
• 100w basking on from 8am-8pm
• 24” 10UVB T8
• 100w CHE for nighttime on from 8pm-8am
• day temp: ~100-105°
• night temp: ~80-85°
• substrate was the calcium sand that came with the kit but now just a mat
• eats about 4-5 small crickets per feeding 2x/day with calcium powder
• ate romaine lettuce and spinach about twice a week but just switched to collard greens

I've read this forum and a few others over and over... and at this point would guess it's either RI or mouth rot and clearly the poor girl is stressed. Can you experts help?

I would be devastated if anything happened to her as my kids have quickly recognized her as our latest family member... please help! Appreciate any insights that will help point the way to her quick recovery.

– Stressed Mom and Dad

 

[Silver dragons]

Hello, that looks very bad, it looks like a combination of MBD and stuck shed. I would try to find an exotic vet as soon as possible and take him there. Till then I would give him a chest level warm bath with a washcloth in there so he can climb out if he wants to.

 

[Emilia Thuet]

Hi, I have to say she is a cutie. Anyways, definitely take her to a proper vet that specializes in reptiles, she should be looked at. That is probably stuck shed that may have gotten infected or is hindering her ability to grow and is deforming her mouth. Best thing to do at the moment is give her warm baths. Try to use a tupperware container (see through), fill it up to just below her belly and partially close the lid. This will create a humid bubble and help shed her skin even more. Leave her in there for a good 15-30 minutes and just keep changing the water when it gets cold or if she poops in it. Always make sure someone is watching her so that she doesn’t drown by accident and do give her a wash cloth just in case she wants to climb on something. I think her temperatures may be a little too high. During the day there should be a warm and cold side. So the warm side is around 105F (this would also be the basking side) and the cold side around 85F. And night it should be around 70F - 75F. If the temperatures are too high and dry it can cause them to not shed properly. If she’s still eating that’s good news and he beard doesn’t look to black so she isn’t horribly stressed out and there may not be anything health wise wrong with her. Just a heads up in the future, romaine and spinach are bad for bearded dragons because calcium can bind to them which causes it to not be absorbed. Basically for example any of the calcium you were giving her with her bugs may have not been used, so the gap could be from mbd. Here’s a website with a good list of foods that they can eat. Hope I was able to help and that she gets better soon.

 

[Brunster]

Hi, I have to say she is a cutie. Anyways, definitely take her to a proper vet that specializes in reptiles, she should be looked at. That is probably stuck shed that may have gotten infected or is hindering her ability to grow and is deforming her mouth. Best thing to do at the moment is give her warm baths. Try to use a tupperware container (see through), fill it up to just below her belly and partially close the lid. This will create a humid bubble and help shed her skin even more. Leave her in there for a good 15-30 minutes and just keep changing the water when it gets cold or if she poops in it. Always make sure someone is watching her so that she doesn’t drown by accident and do give her a wash cloth just in case she wants to climb on something. I think her temperatures may be a little too high. During the day there should be a warm and cold side. So the warm side is around 105F (this would also be the basking side) and the cold side around 85F. And night it should be around 70F - 75F. If the temperatures are too high and dry it can cause them to not shed properly. If she’s still eating that’s good news and he beard doesn’t look to black so she isn’t horribly stressed out and there may not be anything health wise wrong with her. Just a heads up in the future, romaine and spinach are bad for bearded dragons because calcium can bind to them which causes it to not be absorbed. Basically for example any of the calcium you were giving her with her bugs may have not been used, so the gap could be from mbd. Here’s a website with a good list of foods that they can eat. Hope I was able to help and that she gets better soon.

Thank you both for replying! Certainly helps.

As of this morning, Bruni looks wildly better. I'm hoping it isn't RI, mouth rot, or any other disease and rather just her having a hard time with her shed from a few weeks ago.

Re: heat... I'm waiting for our digital thermometer to arrive. We have a glass sticky thermometer as well as a thermometer/hydrometer combo. I also have a laser temperature gun so have been keeping a close eye on the warm through the cool side of her tank. Do you suggest I raise the basking lamp higher so it's not directly sitting on the grate? Perhaps the distance is too close? My guess from the top branch to the bottom of the dome/screen is about 5 to 6 inches. What's suggested?

Is there anything I can do to help clear her nostrils? Do they seem clogged, potentially from the previous shed?

 

[Emilia Thuet]

For the temp I suggest jus getting a lower heat bulb because hey should be within 6”-8” of their uvb bulb. For his clogged nose again a warm bath because they actually have skin that sheds in their nostrils. If it’s just really bad stuck shed. A couple humid baths will help. I also suggest whenever he’s going through a shed to just give him daily baths because they do help a lot and not stress him out too much. They’re shedding period is honestly kinda like when we have our periods and we need a warts bath to help ease the cramps. Hope that helps