Bearded dragon lethargic, loss of appetite, swollen eyes

[pacita]

We adopted our little guy, Chico in October from a previous owner who seem to have loved and taken good care of him. When we brought Chico home, he had some relocation stress—but was alert, curious, and active. We think he is about 1.5 yrs old, male.

The winter months came and we thought he might be going through brumation since he ate very little. But it seemed like he never came out of brumation. We are in NYC and its summer now. It started about a month ago when Chico began to loose his appetite almost altogether—he would eat, but very little—only if a cricket crossed his way.

I was concerned because he wasn’t getting his calcium and vitamins, and at the time I had not known about syringe feeding or giving him liquid calcium. I’m very new to all this.

He still had some energy and alertness, but that turned slowing downward last Monday. The last live food he had was 3 superworms that day. Since then, he started burping or heaving or belching—not sure—what it is; there is no noise though. He has never done this before and it tends to occur more often after he has eaten or has been drinking water.

So with all this heaving, lack of appetite and lethargic behavior, I took him to the vet on Friday. I was basically told everything I had read from the Internet. He would not do anything else, without more test—starting at $145. It was a waste of my $90. He did say there seems to be nothing physically wrong with Chico so his guess was that it must be physiological.

He suggested I buy Carnivore Care and syringe feed Chico which I have been doing this since Friday.I have also been giving him warm pedialyte baths (ratio 1:3) also.

On Saturday, his eyes started swelling up and tearing a little. You can see in one of the pictures. This swollen eye characteristic is another first for Chico.

I’m in the process of ordering a probe thermometer, but the cheap one I currently have indicates his bask temps are at 90-110/115. I don’t measure the cool end because I don’t have an extra thermometer and he never hangs out on that end either way.

He has been defecting about every three days, which is normal for him. It seems to look ok—lots of white because of the baths I’ve been giving him I suspect, and brown color because of the only food he has been eating is Carnivore Care.

I’ve read all I can, and I’m not sure what else to do. If it is kidney or heart failure—I know I cannot afford those test and even then—I probably couldn’t afford the treatment.

Any suggestions would be great. Also, should I still be giving him Calcium Supplement with D3?

I forgot to mention that I ordered ReptaidXL, it will arrive on Weds.
Thanks!

These are pics of our little guy, Chico:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/geometricremix/9137286415/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/geometricremix/9139520106/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/geometricremix/9139523368/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/geometricremix/9137301057/

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am sorry Chico is not doing well.
The vet did not do a fecal or a blood test?

Which UVB light are you using right now & what type of basking light do you have for him?
Which liquid calcium do you use & how often do you use it for him? Are you using any vitamins regularly & if so, how often do you use them & what is the brand?
How often are you using calcium with D3?
He doesn't appear thin to me, either or at least based on the pictures. I can see that the eyes are a little swollen.
The carnivore care is fine for him right now, to help supplement his diet until he starts eating greens & insects again.
The only way to know if it is renal or liver issues would be through a blood test.
Are you using a digital probe or temp gun now or are you just now getting one ordered?
His beard doesn't look black in the pictures yet so that is good. If he appears to be having any breathing issues or having behavior like the hiccups, etc that could be a possible respiratory infection or overall stress to not feeling well. Are you giving him a couple of hours to digest before bedtime?
The Reptaid is a good product so maybe it will help out his appetite.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[pacita]

Hi Tracie,

Thanks for posting so quickly.

The vet did not do a fecal or a blood test? No, I hadn't realized I needed to bring a stool sample so he still charged the visit, and also asked me to bring in a stool sample for another fee. Should I get both done?

Which UVB light are you using right now & what type of basking light do you have for him?
It's Exo Terra UVB150 the coil--I read it's not good, but that's the one the previous owner was using and he said it was fine. I replaced it on Monday when Chico was lethargic thinking that was the culprit. I can't recall what type of basking light I have--it's round, and I mentioned to the sales person that I have a 40 gallon tank and he gave me something that would be right--or so he claims.

Which liquid calcium do you use & how often do you use it for him? Are you using any vitamins regularly & if so, how often do you use them & what is the brand?
I dusted his meals every time because he only ate every other day with ReptoCal (Calcium and D3)--it's was what the previous owner used. Does it go bad? I have not given him any vitamins or calcium since I started using Carnivore Care--I was afraid it might be too much. But I can start giving it to him again. I'm waiting on Reptaid also.

How often are you using calcium with D3? Every time he eats--but he hasn't eat much in the last month so I am afraid he has calcium and d3 deficiency.

He doesn't appear thin to me, either or at least based on the pictures. I can see that the eyes are a little swollen. Yes, that's what the vet said too.

The carnivore care is fine for him right now, to help supplement his diet until he starts eating greens & insects again. I wave Caliworms in front of him and he some uninterested. Any suggestions? He's never eaten his greens. I have to sneak them in with his worms.

The only way to know if it is renal or liver issues would be through a blood test. Ok, will inquire to see the costs.

Are you using a digital probe or temp gun now or are you just now getting one ordered? One is being order.

His beard doesn't look black in the pictures yet so that is good. If he appears to be having any breathing issues or having behavior like the hiccups, etc that could be a possible respiratory infection or overall stress to not feeling well. The vet didn't think it was RI , maybe it's just stress but he's never as black as he has been in the last weeks. In the pics, he seemed more calm because he was out of the cage near me.

Are you giving him a couple of hours to digest before bedtime? Yes, I usually don't feed him past 7 PM and his light goes out at 9:30/10

The Reptaid is a good product so maybe it will help out his appetite. I hope so!

Will keep you guys updated!

Thanks again,

 

[destiny1998]

Hi there I see your using a coil uvb that's no good he needs a reptisun 10.0 tube. The coil are known for causing eye problems in beardies.If its nice out you can take him outside for some natural sun. I would turn off that coil bulb and you can order a reptisun at pet mountain.com for 25.00 and then you mount it in the tank with a under the cabinet fixture from Walmart and that's 10.00 or so. You can use command hooks to put up your fixture. Hope he gets better.

 

[KristineM]

I'm so sorry!! I recently went through a lot if what you are describing though, my guy is only a little over 3 months. I have been using Benebac Gel 2-3x a day for 4 days to help increase his appetite. It has improved considerably. After adjusting his lighting and temps there was a big change. The Benebac Gel should be for reptiles and birds. We started 2-3 times a day for 4 days and are moving down to 1-2 times a day (about 2 drops). Also, if his eyes are itritated you can use turtle eye drops to help sooth them.

I've been trying to take queues from him and when he is tired I allow him to go to bed as long as he has had time to digest food properly.

I've seen a lot of improvement following these suggestions. I hope he feels better soon! Please keep us updated!

We did at one point supplement with stage one chicken baby food and stage one squash as well.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Ah, yes the terrible coil bulbs. As suggested, go ahead & turn off the light & just use the basking light for now until his eyes are healed up. The Reptisun 10 tube or the Arcadia D3 12% tube bulb either one are great lights.
Getting a fecal done could be a good idea just to see if he has parasites. You could probably hold off on the blood tests for now, to see if his eye swelling will come down.
Is your basking light a bright white light or a colored/coated light? Is it mounted at one end of the tank & not in the middle of the tank?

In addition to the turtle eye drops or sterile saline solution for the eyes, you can use warm, moistened chamomile tea bags at night to help soothe the eyes & reduce inflammation/swelling.
The calcium powder keeps quite awhile as long as it is not exposed to extreme heat, or moisture, etc.
At 1-2 years of age, you can give calcium 3 or so times per week being if he is eating then you can give a good dusting for one of the meals on those days. You can continue to give the D3 & calcium several days per week. The reptaid will hopefully help him out also, to boost his immune system, too. For now though, you could bump it up to 4 times per week if you feel he could be a little deficient in calcium right now. Since you are using carnivore care right now, you don't have to use vitamins since it could be overload with the two at the moment.
He may start eating greens once he starts feeling better. You can try putting some of the worms in with the greens or some small bite sized pieces of squash or apple to entice him.
I would keep his tank around 80 overnight to help with his immune system also. You can use a heating pad on low with a towel in between him & the heating pad or a ceramic heat emitter either one.

Let us know how he is doing. You could wrap him in a blankie at night for comfort to let him go to sleep. That goes a long way to make them feel better.

Tracie

 

[pacita]

Thank you for all the feedback and suggestions. It's great to know there is such a caring community. Chico really appreciates too I'm sure. I've never heard of Benecade and will try to get some asap.

I received the Reptaid XL yesterday and began administering the recommended dosage, and have continued with the Carnivore Care. The new infrared thermometer came too, and it's registering the correcting basking--115-119 in basking area, 85 on the other end.

Not much improvement, but I'm posting a picture of the heaving, swallowing I was describing earlier. Sorry the video is a little slow. Basically he does this almost always when he is awake now, and more often after eating. It's usually accompanied by a black beard. It's like he is gulping a some air and releasing it--but it doesn't look easy for him. Like I said before, he's never done this before until last Monday. He's also always curling to the left these days. Not sure why.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3z3MWoQkmYw

 

[Esther19]

The basking temp is way too high. At 18 months, 100-105 should be good. 95 is the minimum to digest.
Make this change asap and see how he does. The cool end should be a maximum of 80.
That's great you got the Reptaid! How is it coming with a different UVB? Did you turn off the coil bulb? Keep up the good work!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is Chico doing?
I agree, I would lower the basking to around 95-105 as 115 to 120 is a little too high.
Did he eat today?
How often is he turning to the side?
I hope that the Reptaid helps him out. It should boost his immune system right now.
The odd breathing could be simply from stress. Can you wrap him up in a blanket for sleeping overnight?

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[pacita]

Thanks for all your support.

It is with bad news, that I have to say my little guy Chico passed away on June 27

I feel really terrible, I know it must have been something I did. Right after I posted the last video on his heaving --he got very black. He defecated after the shower, this time--more watery. I also noticed he got suddenly very pale, except there was some color (or rather gray color) on the end of his tip. Of course I got scared, and googled it--but nothing came up. He didn't look happy so I wrapped him up in blanket and he laid on my chest while falling asleep. I kept him in the blanket and put him in his cage for the night.

In the morning I thought he passed, he looked so still. But as I rubbed him, he shook his head. Before heading to work, I gave him one last Carnivore Care and his shot of Reptaid. (He'd been on it for 2 days so far). Said goodbye to him.

When I returned he was in the same spot. Very still. But I noticed he had thrown up--it looked like the Carnivore Care. I realized this must be it. Picked him up and he was cold. Gone. Another blow to know he passed away alone.

I only cared for him shortly, but I loved him. I can't even imagine the lost of someone having a beardie for ages and losing them. He was such a good reptile.

I will miss him very much.

Thanks again for all your help and concern and making his last days a little better.

 

[Esther19]

I am so sorry for your loss. He was fortunate to have your loving care in his last days.