11 Most Common Bearded Dragon Diseases

Prevention is always better than being cured. If you own a bearded dragon, it is your responsibility to protect and prevent them from diseases, such as impactions, parasitic infections, MBD, dehydration, and calcium deficiency, etc.

In this post, we going to be talking about 11 common health issues you have to watch for when caring for a bearded dragon.

1. Stress

Stress is very common when it comes to dragons whether it has to do with first-time relocation or just a small change in the enclosure. If you make a change in the tank whether it’s just taking a rock out, changing where the basking spots are, or switching to a new cage, bearded dragons tend to lose their appetite when this happens simply because it stresses them out.

Dark markings can appear on its belly and chin when a bearded dragon is stressed out as you can see in the picture below. Those marks are a very common sign of stress but they can also appear for other reasons unrelated to stress.

Symptoms of Stress in Bearded Dragons

• Behavioral Changes: Bearded dragons that are stressed may become more aggressive, withdrawn, or lethargic. They may also become more vocal or stop eating and drinking.
• Physiological Changes: Stress can also manifest in physiological changes such as decreased appetite, weight loss, and decreased activity levels.
• Respiratory Changes: Stress can also lead to respiratory changes such as fast breathing, open-mouthed breathing, and nasal discharge.
• Skin Changes: Stress can also cause skin changes such as loss of color or dull skin, as well as excessive shedding.
• Gastrointestinal Changes: Stress can also cause gastrointestinal changes such as diarrhea, constipation, and bloating.

Tips:

Provide a hiding spot if you don’t already have one in there so they can hide out and relax

Also, try feeding them by hand giving them treats because that usually helps them become comfortable again and you end up bonding this way too.

Read more on >> Bearded Dragon Stress

2. Impaction

Impaction is caused by prey that is too large for them to chew it properly and it ends up not being able to digest through their digestive system quite so easily. It can also be caused by eating substrate whether it is paper or loose substrates such as sand bark and stuff like that because they can accidentally eat this and it will slowly build up in their digestive system over time.