Reoccurring upper respiratory infections

[shane4d]

I have had my bts for about 2 years now and he keeps getting respiratory infections. I have him in a 90 gallon zilla aquarium with 2 lights on him for 12 hours a day with the warm end around 87 and the cool end around 79 so I'm ruling out the draft possibility. So I guess my question is could the substrate I use be causing my skink to get sick? I use the repti bark and make sure I have enough in there so he can dig and burrow. Recently when I was cleaning his cage I noticed the repti bark would get very dusty and even caused me to have a sneezing fit for an hour. Any help would be much appreciated

[Katrina]

How do you know it is a respiratory infection? Just curious - I've found sometimes that they will sneeze and whistle a bit when breathing and vets will almost always prescribe Baytril for RI even though it is normal for some blueys. A whistle or noise when breathing can be normal and they sneeze all the time; obviously if there is discharge from the nose or it sounds like the breathing is crackling / bubbling through liquid then it is a concern.

What does your vet say about this?

[shane4d]

I had some baytril leftover from the last time he was sick so I have him a few doses of that and he seemed to be fine. I'll always get paranoid and think he's breathing funny and was hearing the crackling noises a few days ago. I've never seen discharge thru the nose though. You may be right it just might be normal for him, usual notice him breathing heavy a few days before a shed as well

[Katrina]

Administering antibiotics without a vet prescribing them is a really bad idea, same with not finished all of them. If you don't medicate long enough you can see the symptoms disappear but not kill all the bacteria - when you stop early or only give a couple doses then any bacteria not killed can become resistant to the antibiotics and much harder to get rid of. Antibiotics also kill good bacteria, so you don't want to medicate unless it really is necessary.

Crackle or a slight whistle / wheeze and heavy breathing are NOT bad - some blueys just do that. The really frustrating thing is that some vets don't realize this (same as they don't see enough T. Gigas spp. to know that red bellies are normal and not a sign of septecemia) - I've had vets prescribe antibiotics for RI and septecemia based on these symtoms and I've dutifully medicated them only to realize 7 years later that it is just completely normal for these guys.

Crackly / bubbly / very labored breathing and discharge is a bad thing and you need to see a vet - if it sounds like the air is going through fluid in the lungs then you need to see a vet ASAP. But a whistle, sneezing, heavy breathing and some odd sounds aren't an issue. Some of my blueys seem to have a bit of a sound when breathing and two have had really small nostrils that make whistling sounds. It sounds like your guy is just making a bit of noise and not like he has RI. If you see discharge or have concerns, please see a vet and don't try to medicate on your own!

[shane4d]

I believe you hit the nail right On the head,it's really hard to find a place familiar with blueys as well. Do you have any recommendations for substrate? I do appreciate the info youve provided, really helped me make sense of his behavior

[Katrina]

Glad it helped! As for substrate - it really depends on what is available to you and what you like. Your climate also plays a part - I love aspen as it is cheap and readily available and good for burrowing, but it is pretty dry. If you're in a dry climate it might be too dry. Repti bark or cypress mulch are great and hold humidity a bit better, but where I am they are more expensive and cypress mulch isn't sustainable. The substrate won't cause respiratory issues (unless it is pine or has some kind of aromatic issues or is extremely dusty) so I'd just use what works for you. Sneezing is normal for them, so don't be worried if they are burrowing and sneezing.

[Scotts1au]

Other symptoms of an RI include the bluey holding it's head in the air, walking around the enclosure as though in distress, not eating, lethargy, bubbles from the eyes and/or nose etc.

[shane4d]

Well I'm right outside Kansas City so this crazy Midwest weather is hard to judge lol. I'll just stick with the repti bark then. Doesn't really matter the price it's whatever I have to do to keep my bluey healthy

[Richard.C]

What are over nite temps like?

Just medicating wont fix issues,they get ri,s for a reason,so an important part of treatment is fixing conditions that cause probi first place,meds alone is a bandaid remedy,likely to se reoccurances of issues if the cause isnt remedied

[shane4d]

Overnight temps stay around 74 at the lowest. I have a heat pad that stays on 24/7 as well