Expert: Joe Zarnick - 8/25/2010

Question
my bearded dragon is almost 6 years old, we bought him  from a previous
owner when he was 5, every once and a while i see him cough and  puff out
his beard and continue to cough then swallow and continue, i have been
placing  him in his bath thinking he might be constipated. but today i
monitoring him he did not want to eat his greens like he normal does and
when i placed a meal worm in his cage he ate it but then started coughing
again and puffing his beard out and continuing , we have him on a schedule
for 2 days in a row he has greens on the second day we bath him and he has a
bowel movement then third day he gets 8 worms with his calcium powder
(rep-cal) and repeat, in his cage he has a hammock and a log (basking spot)
temp around  95-105 he opens his mouth to regulate his temperature we also
have the heat lamp we also have a cooling area as well as the proper bulbs
and proper uv bulbs. i dont under stand if im doing something wrong or if i
can improve his health his is my baby boy and  i am very worried about him i
really hope i hear back from you soon : jessica and  mister beardie

Answer
Hello, i would not worry about the "coughing" if it barely ever happens. If it happens all of the time then you need to make a vet appointment. Make sure you spray him down when he is too hot, he needs to stay hydrated. He could be sick, if he is eating fine, backing, and has a normal attitude then there should be nothing wrong. Only a reptile vet can be sure. Let me know how he does over the next few days if necessary.