Avoiding Bearded Dragon Diseases
Preventing bearded dragon disease and illness should be pretty easy if you are maintaining proper cleaning schedules and providing the proper diet and nutrition. This will greatly reduce the chances of your dragon getting sick, but won’t completely eliminate the threat. Your lizard can still suffer an injury, burn, or even become obese if you don’t keep a close eye on them.
A common cause of injury comes from the set-up of the enclosure itself. A lizard can be seriously harmed by an unstable accessory that may fall on them. When arranging your “furniture” within the enclosure, be sure that everything is nice and stable. Beardies tend to jump on and off of things, which can easily knock over unstable items. After I am finished arranging everything, I will give them a “jiggle” to see how secure they are.
Another frequent health risk are burns. Many owners do not realize that heat rocks and pads are dangerous. They see them in the reptile section when purchasing their first dragon, and assume they are safe. The truth is, bearded dragons are cold-blooded and thus cannot feel how hot they are getting until they are already burned. Another source of burns are lights that are arranged too close to the pet. If your lizard has a way to get too close to your light, it will. Make sure all lights are at a safe distance and cannot be reached via climbing. There are safety covers available to purchase if need be.
Bacterial growth is also a big problem with these reptiles. Coccidia is a bacteria that usually helps a dragon with breaking down their meals and help with digestion. However, if your pet isn’t performing regular bowel movements each day, the amount of coccidia can grow to dangerous levels and even cause death. Make sure you have proper temperatures, the right size food items, adequate hydration, and proper feeding times to avoid this issue.
There are many more bearded dragon diseases out there waiting to affect our beloved lizards. Remember to observe your pet daily and take note of how they act. Doing this will make it easy to notice when something isn’t quite right, and enable you to take quick action to resolve any issues. Also keep up on your stool, and physical check-ups. A fecal examine twice a year, and a physical once a year will also help to catch any illnesses in their infant stages. These tips along with regular and thorough cage cleaning will keep your pet alive and thriving for years to come.