Over the last two years, bearded dragons have managed to climb from being the third most commonly kept pet reptiles behind leopard geckos and corn snakes to the most popular pet reptile in North America.
Due to this, we have noticed a huge spike in the number of questions that we see people reaching out and asking about every day when it comes to their pet with a number of people specifically asking about their bearded dragon making a clicking noise recently.
The most common reason that your pet bearded dragon may make a clicking noise is due to it having a respiratory infection with both upper and lower respiratory issues being able to cause a clicking sound from a bearded dragon.
Two less common causes of a clicking noise in bearded dragons are due to an injury to the jaw of the bearded dragon or due to there being stuck in the bearded dragon’s throat.
All three of these reasons will usually require professional advice from a veterinarian on how you should be moving forward due to being serious problems.
You can book a video call with a veterinarian to contact you and assess your bearded dragon via the smartphone on your camera if you wish or take your bearded dragon to your local veterinarian’s office to get professional advice.
Is It Normal For A Bearded Dragon To Make A Clicking Noise?
It is not normal for a bearded dragon to make a clicking noise but sometimes the sound of a bearded dragons tail moving can sound like a click.
The audible clicks that the majority of people report from their bearded dragon are usually an early indication of a potentially serious problem occurring in the bearded dragon that needs to be treat as soon as possible.
Now, at this point we want to clarify, for this article, we are specifically focusing on a clicking sound coming from the head or neck of your bearded dragon.
In some situations, we have seen some people report that their pet bearded dragon has been making a clicking sound from its leg or chest that can sometimes be an indication of a broken leg or rib that will still probably require a visit to the veterinarian to fix.
Bearded dragons will sometimes hiss if they feel threatened or get scared and although rare, they can sometimes click just after their hiss ends.
This is also usually nothing to worry about and is often just the bearded dragon reseating its jaw or throat after making the hissing sound.
This really is a very rare cause of bearded dragons clicking though and due to it always following your bearded dragon hissing, it is often very easy to diagnose as nothing to worry about.
What Causes A Bearded Dragon To Make A Clicking Noise?
The most common reason that your pet bearded dragon may start to make a clicking noise is due to the animal suffering from an upper or lower respiratory infection with clicking being a common symptom of both.
An injury to the jaw of a bearded dragon or problems with something stuck in the throat can also result in clicking sounds too but this is less common.
We go over a number of other symptoms in our article going over how to help a bearded dragon with a broken jaw that should be able to help you better identify if this is the problem that you are having.
For the most part though, you really do need to be getting a veterinarian involved as soon as possible as it is unlikely that you will be able to solve a broken jaw in your bearded dragon yourself.
If the clicking is just due to food being stuck in the throat of your bearded dragon then it will probably be able to clear the obstruction itself in many cases, especially if it is drinking lots of water.
As we mentioned though, a respiratory infection in your pet bearded dragon is a very serious problem that many people often overlook until it is unfortunately too late.
You can often get an idea if the problem is some type of respiratory infection in your bearded dragon as it will often wheeze as it breathes in addition to the clicking sound while;e also being lethargic and often off its food while rarely drinking.
How Do You Treat A Bearded Dragon That Is Making A Clicking Noise?
No matter the cause of the clicking in your bearded dragon, you will usually have to get a veterinarian involved to correct the issues.
Out of the three more common problems that cause clicking, two will definitely require a vet to fix ask they will usually require medication to fix with the third potentially needing a vet to remove a blockage in the bearded dragons throat.
If you suspect that the problem causing your bearded dragon to make clicking sounds is due to something being blocked or stuck in the throat of your pet then it may clear itself but this can take time and is a bit of a gamble as the situation can get worse.
If it does end up getting worse then this can make it difficult for the veterinarian to fix it when it would probably have been an easy fix back at the start of the problem.
If you suspect that your bearded dragon is making a clicking sound due to having respiratory issues, you really do need to get your pet to a vet as soon as possible to get the correct medication to treat the issue.
It is unlikely that your bearded dragon will be able to recover from even a mild respiratory infection by itself and the condition can often just develop until it becomes fatal.
Conclusion
That brings our article going over your bearded dragon making a clicking noise to an end and we hope that we have been able to help you better understand that in most cases, this is a serious issue that will require the attention from a professional. We have seen too many bearded dragon owners not take action only to realize just how serious problems such as respiratory infections actually are when it is just too late for them to be able to treat the issue.
