Bearded dragon sometimes does weird throat thing...? I'M COMPLETELY PARANOID!!!?
I'm losing my mind worrying over my bearded dragon. Please help me regain a very tiny fraction of my sanity...
Sometimes I notice my beardie making a swallowing motion. It's like when you swallow something and your throat moves a little. It's kind of like he is very subtly flexing his beard, but it is NOT him puffing his beard out. I've seen his angry beard and this isn't it. Why is he doing that ???
I'm paranoid he has a respiratory infection or something. He is breathing normally, eating like a pig, is alert and active throughout the day, and there is no visible mucus in his throat, mouth, or nostrils. The only unsettling thing is that once in a blue moon I will hear a "clicking" or "popping" sound coming from him...I know that clicking and popping sounds when breathing are signs of a URI. The thing is, it isn't constant. I've only heard it a couple times...maybe 3 or 4 times is the month and a half I've had him. My sister said he did it last night and I took him and half an hour later I also heard it. So today I've been watching him like a hawk. I check on him every few minutes for labored breathing or gaping, but I've not seen anything like that...I'M JUST SO PARANOID!!! How do I stop myself from freaking out over every little thing? Is this normal? Or SHOULD I be freaking out???
Bobbi2010-05-04T22:13:10Z
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No worries, he's fine! Beardies have a way of doing things just to stress us out! He's just showing off how sexy he is. Depending on his age, it is a response to the season... mating season. Or he's just found a new way to get your attention. ;)
I have a 4 year old female who will making hoarking sounds on occasion and then run a lap around her cage. At first I thought something was horribly wrong and rushed her to the vet, but she checked out as perfectly healthy. She's been doing it for years now. ;) Some dragons are just funny.
Apples and bananas are ok but nothing else from your list. Stick with collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, and or dandelion greens. Try to feed at least 2 daily but 3 is better and top them off with shredding acorn or butternut squash, sweet potato, turnips, parsnips, green beans, peas and such. They usually love peas and raspberries as well as strawberries. No corn, cabbage or lettuces at all. A little carrot is ok but not every day. Crickets and super worms that have been gut loaded and dusted with calcium are staples. Forget the pellets you see kn pet stores, they just don't eat them so save your money. You can also use phoenix worms as well as wax and butter worms but use the last 2 as a treat only. This should get you going.
Hard to say, I never owned a beardie, but the things i do know about them is they can make noises just like every other retile (only to a certain extint can you hear them) it may be their mating call because summer and spring are mating months. Look up on google the things about beardies. youll find alot of good info on them (i hope hes okay)
stay calm momma...lol i noticed my big beardie doin different things every day. theres different levels of him puffing out, or making his beard black. i get paranoid sometimes, like when feeding, im super scared hes gonna choke, or when drinking, because he keeps his head under water for to long lol it only means you bein a good owner!! i would just keep an eye on him, if hes still eating and drinking, and active..hes fine. im not sure what the popping could be, but im sure hes still fine. :0)
Inflated Beard You may notice that this is the most common behavior of bearded dragons. Their beard under the neck area is expanded, seems to be inflated or filled with air. Both male and female have conducted this kind of behavior, however it happen more often with male. They show this during mating or it is aggressive. If it’s getting more aggressive, mouth may be opened as a threatening sign to its enemy.
Bobbing Head If you have a bearded dragon as your pet, you may notice that another common type of bearded dragon behavior would be head-bobbing. This happen more often to male as head-bobbing is a sign of masculine and supremacy to other disrespectful male dragons when they are housed together. Bearded dragon may show this for courtship to female dragons.
Arm waving As compared to the bearded dragon’s behavior of head-bobbing, arm waving is the opposite sign. It is shown by subordinate male dragon, females and juveniles as obedience to the more dominant dragon. The posture is shown as they will lift one of its forehands and wave while stand on its legs and a hand. If you’re breeding your bearded dragon, and notice the female dragon is waving its arm. It might be a sign the female is rejecting the male’s courtship.
Tail curbing This is the sign of alertness that shown by adult bearded dragons. This is a posture that they will bend their tail toward their body or head. This means that the bearded dragon is staying attentive and it’s a sign of healthy dragon.