Hi, I have a new beardie and I’m a new reptile owner, with a lot of anxiety about my new pet. I’ve noticed that it gulps often, not often enough for me to be dialing up the vet, but also often enough to notice. I’ve seen articles about respiratory infections, but my beardie isn’t opening its mouth when it gulps and also isn’t making any noise. I also read there’s a possibility it’s going to shed soon, so it’s possible that’s the case (also considering it puffed out its eyes for a bit today while basking). I’d just like to know if this is normal and whether I should be more or less worried about this sort of behaviour.
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Mind explaining this “gulping” in slightly higher detail?
Beardies will beard flare/puff to take in air for better temp regulation when basking. Does your beardie do this when basking or just randomly?
Is the gulping like a head bob or are they actually sinking their head/neck down like a real gulp?
Also do you know how old your beardie actually is? Mind sharing a photo of the beardie?
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Sadly since Im a new user, I says I cannot upload attachments, otherwise I have a video of how the gulps look. So far I’ve only noticed the gulp when it’s in the basking spot. This gulp does not include it opening its mouth, it happens quickly, looks kind of down the middle, not like it would puff its whole beard. From what I know it should be around a month old (a month and a half at most, measuring by the size, unclear how well it was being fed before I bought it). There have usually been around two quick gulps one after the other and then either it stops for a while and I don’t observe the rest or another pair of gulps after a few minutes and it would stop again for a longer while.
If you’re worried about Respiratory Infection (RI), what I use is a fondant steamer to make a little snake sauna with my royals. You can use it to give a really good blast of warm humid steam into their enclosure. They cost about 10-15 pounds on amazon. They’re not a treatment for the RI but a really good way to help the reptile sooth if they have it or a way to prevent them from getting one