Bearded dragons usually remain healthy if you give them proper temperature, housing, and light. But even with the best care, they may experience various bearded dragon diseases. Some of these conditions include metabolic bone disease, egg binding, and stomatitis. This article will discuss some of the most common bearded dragon diseases.

Metabolic Bone Disease

Lizards in the wild don’t suffer from metabolic bone disease. This problem is caused by improper care by the owner. An imbalance of vitamin D3, phosphorus, and calcium from the diet is one of the main causes. Too little UVB light can also be to blame.

The most prominent sign of this disorder is softening and swelling of the lower jaw. Your dragon may also develop lumps and bumps along his legs, back, and tail. If left untreated, your lizard will die. To treat the condition, the underlying cause needs to be fixed. Calcium supplements may also need to be prescribed.

Stomatitis

One of the next common bearded dragon diseases is stomatitis, commonly referred to as mouth rot. Although it isn’t really a disease, it is a sign of an underlying infection. Bearded dragons with mouth rot will develop a grayish or whitish substance on the soft tissues in their mouth. If the condition is allowed to progress, the teeth will become loose and the gums may start to bleed. The underlying infection needs to be treated, or this condition will keep giving your beardie problems.

Egg Binding

Male dragon owners can relax, as egg binding only affects female. This condition occurs whenever she is unable to pass one or more eggs through the reproductive tract. Various illnesses, improper diet, obesity, and malformed eggs can all cause egg binding in bearded dragons. Since it can be fatal within days, a veterinarian needs to be consulted immediately. If drugs to induce egg laying don’t correct the problem, your dragon will need to undergo surgery.

Adenovirus

An infection by an adenovirus is relatively rare in bearded dragons. This is a very good thing as most don’t survive. Young dragons or those with weakened immune systems are particularly susceptible. This disease is made more troublesome because it doesn’t produce many noticeable symptoms. Fluids, forced feeding, and antibiotics are used to try to treat an adenovirus infection.

Many patients with hypertension are sodium sensitive, meaning their blood pressure increases after they consume excessive amounts of sodium and decreases after they reduce their sodium intake. Such patients may be prescribed a sodiumrestricted diet, which usually limits sodium consumption to 2 grams a day.

If your patient must comply with such a diet, help him make the change. Along with his dietitian, provide nutritional counseling soon after his hypertension is diagnosed. Include the family or caregiver in your teaching, especially if she prepares the patient’s food at home.

Sources of Sodium

Your patient must understand which foods and drugs contain sodium. Explain that the most common sources of sodium are table salt, processed foods, drugs, and softened water.

Table Salt

Advise your patient to avoid using table salt during food preparation and tell him not to add salt to his food. Common table salt consists of 40% sodium and 60% chloride, so if he takes in 6 grams of salt, he’s actually consuming 2.4 grams of sodium.

Foods

Explain that some foods, such as beef and dairy products, naturally contain sodium. Other foods are processed with sodium to enhance the flavor or prolong the shelf life. Preserved or processed foods include pickles, canned vegetables, soups, and gravy. Tell him to be alert for products that list sodium ingredients such as sodium benzoate and sodium citrate.

Also, teach your hypertensive patient how to read food labels for sodium content. To reduce confusion and regulate what manufacturers put on food labels, the Food and Drug Administration has defined the terms used in sodium labeling:

* Sodium-Free : less than 5 mg of sodium per serving.

* Very Low Sodium: 35 mg or less per serving.

* Low Sodium: 140 mg or less per serving.

* Reduced Sodium: sodium content reduced by at least 25% of usual level.

* Light Sodium: sodium content reduced by at least 50% of usual level.

* Without Added Salt, Unsalted, or no Added Salt: foods once processed with salt and now processed without it. (These foods must list the amount of sodium per serving.)

Caution your patient about foods that claim to be low in sodium. If the sodium content is less than 5 mg per serving, he can eat the food without concern. If it’s higher than 5 mg, he’ll need to include the amount in his calculation of sodium intake for the day.

Drugs

Show your patient how to check labels for the sodium content of over-the-counter drugs such as antacids, cough syrups, and laxatives. For other drugs, advise him to check with his pharmacist. If necessary, he should ask his physician or pharmacist to recommend alternative drugs with little or no sodium.

Water

Natural and softened water can be high in sodium. A patient following a severely sodium-restricted diet should investigate the sodium content of his drinking water by contacting his water company or local public health department. Then he should discuss this information with his physician. Depending on how much sodium is in the water, he may be advised to drink and cook with distilled water.

A good diet and plenty of exercise are important to a dog’s health, but they can’t make a dog totally immune to illness. Early detection is the key to helping your dog overcome any health problem. If your pet’s stools become very loose, or you notice a marked decrease in your dog’s appetite and/or that she is very lethargic, she may just have a short-term “bug.” On the other hand, if any symptoms continue for more than a few days, you should have your veterinarian examine her for parasites and infections.

Diarrhea is a common symptom in dogs, especially puppies. It can be triggered by stress or a sudden change in food, but also by a virus, bacteria or parasites. Diarrhea causes dehydration, which can be deadly to dogs. It is extremely dangerous in puppies, because they dehydrate faster than mature dogs.

If your dog has diarrhea for more than a day, contact your veterinarian for further instructions. You will probably be asked to collect a sample and bring it in so they can examine it to determine the cause and proper treatment.

Coughing, sneezing, and discharge from your dog’s nose and/or eyes often indicate a respiratory infection. A lethargic dog with no appetite is likely fighting an Upper Respiratory Infection (URI). URI, caused by airborne viruses and bacteria, is highly contagious among dogs, but is not transmitted between dogs and humans. Early detection of URI is important; ignored dogs suffer from severe dehydration and risk developing pneumonia.

Bortadella, also called ‘kennel cough” is another contagious respiratory disease commonly contracted in animal shelters, boarding kennels, or anywhere groups of dogs have close contact with one another. It is a short-term disease, and most dogs get over it with a few days of rest and tender loving care from you. It is possible to have your dog vaccinated against Bortadella – a good idea if you plan on boarding her or placing her in “doggie daycare.”

Vaccinations are also available to protect your dog against more deadly diseases such as rabies, distemper and parvovirus. Most municipalities require that all dogs are vaccinated against rabies; some include distemper and parvovirus as well. Making these vaccinations mandatory protects the health of all dogs, and, in the case of rabies, human health as well. If your dog was vaccinated as a puppy, she’s off to a good start. However, without yearly booster shots, your dog is at risk of great suffering from one of these diseases.

Dogs serve as hosts to a number of parasites. You will probably be asked to bring a fecal sample to your dog’s yearly vet appointment, so that the staff can check for the presence of internal parasites. If you notice small, rice-like granules on your pet’s bedding or around her anus, she is suffering from an infestation of worms and needs to be seen by your vet to get proper treatment. Other parasites take up residence on the outside of your dog’s body. Mange and sarcoptic mites live on the hair follicles and skin of dogs, while ear mites live on the inside of the ear. These parasites are so small you might not see them, but they cause your dog extreme discomfort. Head shaking and pawing at ears are signs of ear mites. Frequent scratching and skin-biting can indicate either skin mites or a dog’s worst enemy: fleas.