Symptoms vary according to age and the reptile. One of the biggest problems detecting this is at the present time is there is not a test for it on a live animal and that the symptoms can be varied, many or none!

*UPDATED 2004 There is now a test to detect this is live animals, this is not widely available due to cost of production, more information about this is below

The following is simply a collection of information we personally observed and that has been observed by others with infected animals. These are confirmed cases, or highly suspected cases(other animals in the same clutches tested positive) and most animals have died or are expected to as siblings have died and been verified. It is now known that there are animals surviving with it, some for years, but these will be carriers for their life as will any offspring that where infected, incubated and has the virus.

*UPDATED 11/2/02(there is newly reported info on this... it appears that there are clutches being hatched from infected mothers that are virus free, the eggs are surgically removed. This would lead to believe that the eggs being porous are being infected when passes through the cloaca. This would also explain why some babies seem fine at hatching when others in the clutch are so ill and die, and why there seems to be a second round of outbreak about 10 days to 2 weeks later, not all the eggs are infected, and the eggs that are infected pass to those babies prior/or at hatching who in turn once hatched- pass it to the healthily ones. Baby dragons have poor immune systems and it appears the virus is spread much more easier with them due to this and also the close contact they share with each other the first few months of life, plus the more frequent passing of fecal matter that contains shed viral cells

*UPDATED 7/12/05 Sibling clutches have been tested and some are positive, some are negative in the same clutch. This leads to the theory that some are infected when the eggs pass through the cloacal and pick up viral particles or some are infected before they are shelled when others are spared.

Many show symptoms that can only be likened to the HIV virus and AIDS, there is still so much to learn about the nature of this and other virus. This may also be tied to other problems, a fungus that also causes similar symptoms, animals with compromised immune systems can have a host of other problems and another virus called coronavirus and it can become confusing knowing which symptom goes with which illness. Corona virus is not as drastic as adenovirus and the dragons that do have coronavirus recover and do not continue to shed viral cells, which leads medical opinion that they are not carriers for life, the disease runs its course in a few weeks and they are fine after that. Small babies are known to have died with coronavirus, due to the nature of them being fragile when so young and poor immune systems early in life.

ONSET (these are some symptoms that can be seen, again, not all and some may never show any symptoms, but still have the active virus

BABIES: They appear healthy and the virus hits fast, usually the first signs are they lose interest in food, become inactive, some will(note:not all animals will have all symptoms) appear to be partially paralyzed, limb paresis, loss of appetite, lethargy, stargazing and poor coordination, rolling. Within a day they might appear to waste, darken in color or it may take several days. Some show respiratory problems, appearing like a cold or chest congestion. Some show a yellowing of the underside soft part of their belly or in their mouth. If they survive initially, they are poor doers. Again NOT all will show this, some appear ill and are dead within a day. Others may in time show small lesions if they survive the initial onset. MOST hatchlings infected show symptoms within two weeks of hatching, another round of it will occur within another ten days to two weeks with other hatchling in the same group or other animals they are exposed to. This leads us to think that it has an up to 2 week incubation period. These babies have to have been hatched with it, infected from EITHER parent at conception, from shell or other siblings. The majority of babies that have been infected, incubated and developed the "full blown virus" have died or are very ill and not expected to live long. Some will and that is where the real threat of spreading to others comes in. The majority of babies showing these symptoms are dying within 24 hours, often only the wasting away symptoms, but again, there can be many and varied too.

YOUNG (2mo to 6mo) These often have coccidia that you can never get rid of(this is a personal observation, and reports from others who's animals were confirmed with it and to the best of our knowledge never been mention by medical personnel).
**UPDATED 10/12/04 This fact is not being reported by vets and researchers.
They can have areas that never shed properly, flaking or appearing to be gummy. Small lesions can appear and again the yellow discoloration, PLEASE NOTE: this can also be a sign on another problem, like the "yellow fungus" that is being reported by many people. MANY of the animals that pathed positive for the virus also had fungal problems. They usually have a history of not thriving well and often have to be force fed or fed soft supplements with rallying times and appearing better. They may develop small cysts or inflammation of lymph glands in the neck or underarm. They may also show a hardening of the skin on effected areas. If they die at this stage it is usually slower than the babies and they show signs of pneumonia. A host of secondary infection can set in and cause them to die, but a necropsy should be done as that is the only way to know the virus was there at this time.

SEMI ADULTS: they can show any of the signs above, but the paralysis can show up in any or all legs or the animal will limp and act sensitive to touched. Encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) or other central nervous system signs may appear and worsen. Lesions and/or small cysts are usually also seen at this stage, but not in all. Some animals show NO symptoms but loss of appetite and die.
Acute illness usually last 1-2 weeks with the majority that show symptoms dying or needing to be put to sleep. None that we know have recovered at this stage if they are showing symptoms such as this.

ADULTS: Those exposed as babies carry the virus and have survived to adulthood, it may show up in their offspring, the offspring's infected will also be carriers and can start the whole cycle again. Often the first indicator in an adult female, that carry the virus, and lay infected eggs is a rapid decline in health due to the stress of the egg production/laying giving the virus a opportunity to attack a weaken system. Some will cycle over and over, laying several clutches and not be able to recover. They will not eat well, not appear to recover from the laying, dehydrate and may show neurological problems/ central nervous system dysfunctions and pneumonia. They could also simple seem to waste and die with no other symptom, bewildering the owner why an animal that appeared so healthy prior to the laying declined so rapidly.

*UPDATED 08/24/06 Adults mated with infected dragons, weeks and months later test clear, this had also been reported to be the case in a breeders colony in Arizona, but not confirmed by medical personnel. It appears that some adults can fight of the virus incubating and not actually coming down with it. Repeat tests are suggested after period of 2 months.

The end for any that survive past hatchling is very hard, they usually have a history of not thriving well, coccidia is present in most we have observed, been reported by others and impossible to get rid of. In fact, several have died during treatment, with owners thinking it is the treatment that killed the animal or the coccidia when actually it is the weakened system that is allowing the virus to take hold and thrive. The animal may get pneumonia, have strokes, roll, thrashing to the point of having to remove all tank equipment to avoid further damage, stargazing and poor coordination. Some simply being listless, hide and die. Owners, if they have animal that reach this stage, need to discuss with their Vet putting the animal down, some adults no matter how bad they get, the heart/respiratory system MAY not be affected and continue to live while the animal is suffering.

SUMMARY: ANY animal that is suspected of having this virus should be isolated, NEVER breed and great care taken when handling between animals. All animals in contact with another that is suspected of having it or confirmed should be isolated from each other, NEVER bred, certainly never sold to others that may unknowingly start the cycle again with other animals. One confirmed case had a couple with an ill animal that brought it to a breeder to look at and he followed all safety precautions, only to find the couple handling some of his babies while he was looking at theirs, 10 days later his entire clutch was ill and dying, it passes that easily! Another breeder at a show in NY, returned from the show and had babies dying that tested positive within 2 weeks (since that time, 2 other breeders that attend the same show have also lost their colony of dragons to the virus)

Source: CheriS ReptileRooms

Adenovirus in Reptiles

Per Juergen Schumacher, DVM, author of Viral Diseases, in Mader's Reptile Medicine & Surgery:

"Adenovirus has been reported in a bearded dragon (Pogona barbatus), Rankin's dragons (Pogona henrylawsonii), and a Savannah monitor (Varanus exanthematicus). The actual route of transmission was not known, but suspected to be direct (fecal-oral).

The bearded dragon exhibited recurring loss of appetite before dying. The Rankin's died soon after exhibiting limb paresis, loss of appetite, and lethargy. The monitor died suddenly with no prior signs of illness."

'The post mortems found no gross abnormalities in the monitor and bearded; in the Rankin's, the lungs were congested and liver swollen and pale. Microscopic exam found multiple spots of necrotic tissue in the livers of all three species. Eosinophilic intranuclear bodies were found in the bearded's liver cells (hepatocytes). Basophilic inclusion bodies were found in the monitor's and Rankin's, and inclusion bodies were also found in the endothelial cells of the monitor. EM exam the viral particles were found in all the animals examined.

'Diagnosis is made post mortem.

'There is no treatment for the adenovirus; antimicrobials can be given for secondary bacterial infections."

In the following section, under general guidelines for the collection and handling of specimens, Dr. Schumacher goes on to say:

"In living reptiles, biopsies of skin, liver, oral mucosa, etc., can be collected and stored in formalin for histologic and electron microscopy exam. For direct viral detection, samples of urine, saliva or vesicular fluid (as from cysts or blisters) can be processed for negative staining EM. If the virus particles are present in sufficient number, these methods will work."

There have been reports of adenovirus in some bearded dragon breeders' collections. There has also recently been some discussion on the Pogona email list, with some members concerned about hatchlings who thrash and flail about when put in water for a bath or soak. Neurologic signs (loss of coordination, spasms, tremors, intention tremors, falling down, etc.) are generally not signs of adenovirus infection. In the lizards behaving this way in the bath, it is most likely that they are simply freaked out by the water. This is a common occurrence when green iguanas are introduced to baths for the first time, and it may take weeks or months for them to be completely comfortable in a bath. In the case of desert lizards such as bearded dragons, such a fear-related response is understandable.

The most common cause of neuromotor problems in young bearded dragons can be caused by feeding them prey that is too large.

For more information, see the following excerpt from the Feeding section in my Dragons Down Under: Inland Bearded Dragons article:

You must feed very small prey to baby bearded dragons. While the rule-of-thumb for feeding lizards says that it is generally safe to feed prey that is 2/3 the size of the lizard's head, this is not advisable with baby beardeds (0-4 months). When fed prey that is too large for them, serious physical problems often result: partial paralysis, seizures, ataxia (loss of motor control), inability to self-feed, gut impaction, even death. Start with feeding pin-head crickets and tiny, freshly molted worms, moving only slowly and gradually to larger sizes, phasing in day-old pinks when they are ready for them. Despite the fact that most stores sell animals that need them, most don't sell pin-heads, so you will have to order them directly from a cricket breeder; you can order meal worms from them at the same time.

Gut impactions, as from retained insect chitin, can cause loss of appetite, rapid weight loss, dehydration, lethargy, and ambulatory problems as the gut tries to move the mass along, food cannot be digested, the gut becomes infected and gassy from the food rotting, and pain and cramping set in. Loss of appetite, lethargy, dehydration are also the most common signs of a wide range of bacterial, parasitic, fungal, mycoplasmal, and viral illnesses. All avenues should be explored, and in the case of young bearded dragons (most of the survivors of which outgrow the neuromotor symptoms as they get older), great care must be taken when selecting the insects being fed out, making sure to feed small, newly molted ones.

Note that some viruses, such as the boid inclusion body disease, cause ataxia and stargazing, two neuromotor signs.

Source: Melissa Kaplan anapsid.org