I cannot stress enough, the importance of proper QUARANTINE procedures. New animals should always be quarantined for 90 days minimum, no ands ifs or buts. It does not matter where the animal comes from or how well you know the seller. Without a proper quarantine period you are gambling with all your animals’ lives. Any animals that are housed together should also be separated if there is any possibility of infectious disease.

When you acquire a new animal, aside from the issues of parasites and disease, there are issues of stress and temperament. A 90 day assessment will let you get to know the animal and how it acts as well as letting it settle in comfortably. If you don’t have space for 2 setups, don’t get a second animal because if they do not get along or they need to be separated you will be out of luck!

Problem	Symptoms	Dangers	Cure	Prevention	Related Links
Parasites including: Coccidia Giardia Hook worms Pin worms Round worms	Loss of appetite and weight, lethargy, runny and smelly stools.	Loss of weight. Dehydration due to diarrhea. Malnutrition due to anorexia. Some parasites can enter organs like the lungs causing other complications leading to death.	Medication and cleanliness. It is important to use a probiotic with medications that effect digestion by killing bacteria. There are good bacteria necessary for proper digestion. Probiotics replace those killed off by the meds. It is also very important to complete the treatment or the remaining parasites not killed off will become a stronger strain, even harder to kill.	While parasites cannot be totally prevented, they can be reduced and controlled with cleanliness. There is a growing feeling among researchers and breeders not to treat every parasitic outbreak. The dragons’ immune system is strengthened by fighting off minor outbreaks without the use of medication.	Reptile Rooms 1 Reptile Rooms 2 Reptile Rooms 3 Reptile Rooms 4 Reptile Supply - Acidophiliz Marie EGURO Ohio State ARAV Melissa Kaplan
(Upper) Respiratory infection	Wheezing, gaping, mucous in mouth and/or nose.	Difficulty in breathing, infection and possible further complications.	Medication and proper environmental control. Remove any sand or dusty substrate that will irritate the lungs. The humidity should be about 40%. A vet may prescribe Baytril or other antibiotics to fight the infection.	Proper heating and humidity. Many people mistakenly believe Beardies to be desert animals that live in dry arid sand dunes. Not true! They live naturally in the outback choosing the scrub brush area where the ground is compacted to a hard asphalt like surface. Humidity averages 40%	Reptile Rooms Beautiful Dragons
Fractured bones	Difficulty in walking or bearing weight.	Deformity, pain, infection, death.	Immobilization.	Securing furniture so that logs and rocks do not fall over onto animals. Not all Beardies get along. Fighting can lead to broken bones or worse.
Fungal infections	Discoloration and blotchiness of the skin, possible lesions.	Possible damage to internal organs and death.	Chlorhexidine 2% bath diluted 30:1, antifungal cream.	Cleanliness and quarantine precautions.	Reptile Rooms 1 Reptile Rooms 2 Beautiful Dragons
MBD Metabolic Bone Disease and Gout	Tremors, deformity in joints, bumps and lumps, soft bones, misshapen mouth	Deformity, pain, death	UVB light, vitamin D3 and calcium can be used to reduce the effects of MBD but it will not totally reverse it.	MBD is caused primarily by the lack of calcium or the inability to metabolize and utilize calcium. Proper husbandry, providing UVB and or D3 and calcium goes a long way to prevent MBD.	Melissa Kaplan Tricia’s Care page Reptile UV Chameleon Community Melissa Kaplan 1 Melissa Kaplan 2 My Iguana Yahoo UVB Group Beautiful Dragons
Egg binding (Dystocia)	Constant digging followed by weight loss, dehydration, lethargy	Death of mother and babies	If the female is gravid, a place to lay eggs is essential. If there is no place to lay, they may hold the eggs until it is too late. Pitocin or other drugs to induce labor or surgery to remove the eggs may be the only choice left.	Breeding Beardies at too young an age increases the risk of egg binding. It is my recommendation not to breed Beardies less than 18 months old and smaller than 16” and 300 grams.	Beautiful Dragons
Prolapse	Internal organs pushing out of the vent area usually caused by bacterial infection.	Infection and possible death.	Soak the animal in highly saturated sugar water. Sometimes, it is possible to use KY jelly and a Q-tip to gently try to push the prolapse back in. Speak with a vet before attempting this! Place on a wet paper towel. An immediate vet visit is usually mandatory. A gram stain fecal can be done to determine if the cause is a bacterial infection.	Clean environment and running a gram stain with fecal at least once a year.	Melissa Kaplan
Impaction	Straining to defecate, tremors, twitching or paralysis of rear legs.	Slow painful death	Warm baths and gentle massage. Some vets may do an enema if the animal is large enough, depending on the cause. Impaction can come from feeding food that is too large to be digested and passed as well as ingesting other items that cannot be digested such as wood, sand and synthetics.	Proper sized food. For crickets, make sure that the cricket can fit easily between the Beardies eyes. Other items like worms and roaches should also be small enough to be easily digested. Super worms and meal worms are hard to digest and need to be fed in moderation.	Reptile Rooms 1 Reptile Rooms 2 Cold Blooded News Gecko Network Beautiful Dragons 1 Beautiful Dragons 2
Blood in Feces	Blood in feces	Depending on the cause it could be normal with no effects or serious with deadly consequences. Bleeding can be caused by breeding, internal damage due to sharp objects or other internal problems.	Bright red blood indicates fresh blood and should be handled by a vet if it occurs more than once or appears in volume. Dark red/brown indicates the blood has been sitting for a while and may lead to sepsis so a vet visit is a good idea.	Husbandry is important here. Substrates that can tear the intestines or stomach include walnut shells and wood. They should be avoided.
Dehydration	Wrinkled skin, sunken eyes, hard urates and dry stool.	Death	Soak in warm water for 20 minutes 3 times a day and offer well hydrated foods	Babies should be bathed daily for 5-10 minutes daily. Offer well hydrated foods. Misting or bathing may also be used to reduce this potential problem.	Beautiful Dragons
Fatty liver disease	Symptomology may include anorexia, weight loss or decreased energy. It is possible not to notice any changes until it is too late.	Cirrhosis of the liver, death	Proper diet to prevent obesity.	Keep fat and protein to a minimum after they are one year old.
Renal failure	Lack of or hard urates	Death	This can be caused by dehydration and may be exacerbated by meds. A 50/50 mix of pedialite or Gatorade mixed with water will help.	Keep well hydrated.	Tricia’s Care page
Star Gazing / Ataxia	Staring up at the sky or down at the ground. Imballance and falling over.	Can lead to death and inability to eat.	If it is viral, bacterial or neurological, there is no cure. However there are other things that mimic the syptoms. It can also be from a lack of calcium and/or vitiman B. The same symptoms can also be attributed to chemical fumes.	There is no real prevention but administering extra calcium and vitiman B may help.

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