eyes pop out on new beardie

[xerioc]

My baby beardie i just got today seems dehydrated his eyes are somewhat sunk in also. I was holding him in my hand and he started coughing or something his whole body moved like that and i looked down at him and his eyes were bulging out tremendously and his lids were still over them. It scared me and i watched him to see if he was ok n his eyes went back in. Please help me ive never heard of this and im worried sick hell die. He has his moments when hes very active n looks healthy besides the dehydrated part. Hes alert and holds his body off the ground. Then at other times he closes his eyes n goes still n seems sick. Im confused and worried im going to take him to the vet asap.

 

[Duzell]

GET TO VET NOW !
this sounds like a case of dehydration, my eldest dragon died of this at puberty due to it shutting down his liver
method till you can get to a vet
1.soak in bathtub with lukewarm water very shallow but enough so the dragon can lay in and NOT drown
this allows it to become hydrated, as well as moisturize the skin

if the dragons vent ( were it poops) is caked with white substance thats discharge from live meaning dragon is DYING
3: i suggest rushing to emergency room at an exotic pet center NOW the quicker the better

as a rule when the dragon appears unhealthy and was healthy looking earlier that means was sick when looked healthy because in wild sick animals are killed off quick so reptiles fake it for a while till they get to sick to do anything

check cage temp puffy eyes/sunk means they are to cold need more heat
dragons heat preference is 95-105 degrees Fahrenheit

i hope this dragon is healthy and im just sounding over paranoid but defiantly go to the exotic pet vet

also this may sound cruel but if the price to save new beardy outweighs the cost of getting a newer beardy you may want to think about letting it go, because there may not be anything you can do and it will become a money pit with dragon dyeing anyway when you could get a new dragon and make their life a better one.
this is a hard decision im just making sure you understand your options and available plans

if dragon becomes stable pm me and ill give you a help on tank arrangement , lights, foods, bathing , treatments

has had 16 years or reptile experience
my pride and joy is my first pet a blood red cornsnake i got at age 5 and hes 16 yrs old and over 6 ft long i have 3 other snakes whom are exotics and 1 is poisonous, have rescued an iguana , and a red eared slider turtle from abuse so trust me when i say go to vet it can be a life saver
i dont pray but i strongly hope your baby makes it through this no one should lose a beardy they just got its just to sad

 

[xerioc]

This is my second beardie, my first, dragora died october 6 of this year. Im still really upset about it. I have a 40gal tank with orange calcium sand and a few hides and a branch that reaches close to the basking light to get him warm. I use digital thermometers and the basking spot is always around 90 i havent been able to get it higher. I have another post about my husbandry when dragora was alive all that has changed is the bedding and decorations. He ate 1 cricket out of 4 i offered him when i got him home.

 

[Roguebaby]

I'd take out the calcium sand, that is bad for them.

 

[xerioc]

I was told by an experienced fried of mine that it was the best if i wanted to use sand, which i wanted to try so i got it. How is it bad for them?

 

[Roguebaby]

It can cause them to get impacted, as the sand tends to clump inside when they accidentally swallow it. The cal-sand is much worse than just regular playsand, but both are not so good to use. It is especially bad for small beardies. I wanted to use sand too, but then I did some research and decided it was a very bad idea

 

[Duzell]

hmmm

crickets can be an issue with dragons as a prey food
they leech bone calcium even if you gutload and dust them

i suggest mealworms , feed these worms oatmeal, and carrot shavings
this helps them get nutrition thats transferred to the dragon
get about 100 for about 4 $

these come in a container and will last about a month

how old is the dragon exactly ? at a few weeks old they are ravenous eaters i have 2 new ones as well so i can relate issue i had with my newest male i had to feed him 15 worms a week to get his protein lvl up

feed dragon once a week these worms
90 is about the medium range for heat a new light at a higher wattage or a heat emitter could solve that issue for you i can give you a site that sells them direct from the factory so cost is lower

a 40 gallon is a great tank for a young Solo dragon

i have a 55 gallon for my 2 german giant dragons and its fine for them ( they like to climb as well so good job with the branches)

the sand can be an issue i recommend the green astro turf (green carpet) , its easy to clean and they wont digest it (some sand can be dangerous to to silica content being thorny)
also feeding primarily bugs is a bad idea dragons are omnivores so they need a variety of foods
and feeding them more than once a week bugs can cause constipation

bathing them in warm water and allowing dragon to soak will help them .. go to the bathroom and helps shedding to

recommended:

1: dark greens like mustard greens, kale, calara , spinach, these are really high in calcium so you wont need to dust worms (or "crickets".....bleh) and dragons love them

2: fruit (dont give them any seeds) give strawberry, kiwi, apples, pears[NEVER feed animals GUACAMOLE]
also a daily dose of dragon bites can help with this as its made of concentrated fruits and is nutritious and they love it

my dragons are fed in morning cause i get home late
they have a ceramic full spectrum UVA/UVB bulb on hot side and it turns off and turns on a heat emitter so constant temp in cage is 95 hot side

the middle consists of a log, a heat emitter below and a big flat piece of slate rock that the log sits on , this emits heat not dangerous and is pleasant area to sleep (mine sleep in tree branches oddly enough)

my cold side has a pool and a feeding area so food doesn't get dried out during the day , and a heat pad


if your dragon gets around 500 grams when older you can introduce to other house pets (mine sleep with dogs, cats, snakes and are never in danger ) scary huh the snake part , anyway its about how you interact the animal together. also at 3 yrs old you can feed pinkies (baby mice) as a treat
pics of my eldest dragon with snake , my growth rate of my 2 giant dragons in 3 pics in 3 months this can help you monitor the dragons growth and its good to have memories
definatly get that beardy to vet ASAP
(jade and hiss)

(jade and me going to cut down a tree)

(present day rex & cera)

(sept rex cera)

july rex & cera

 

[my1stBD]

Xerioc,

The eye bulging is fairly normal, they do it to stretch the skin on their eye lids. It is definately scary, i almost had heart failure the 1st time mine did it and it STILL kreeps me out today. But unless it is a permanent thing i wouldnt worry about that issue.

As for the "coughing" you mentioned, it may (or may not) be a sign of a RI. Has it happened again? Keep an eye out for recurrances of the coughs and if it happens again i would consult a vet for diagnosis and treatment. What you can do in the mean time is get the temps a bit higher and keep the viv warm at night by using a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) for a week or so to help incase it is a RI.

Your warm side/basking at 90 is a little too cold, i read you are having issues getting the temps higher. You can either try a higher watt basking bulb or you can raise the basking platform to get the temps up.

As for feeders, good nutritional ones are roaches, crickets and silkworms. Supers can be fed but make sure they are appropriately sized. Also hornworms are a favourite among beardies and they contain a lot of moisture which could help as you mentioed your beardie seemed dehydrated.

Mealworms are really not the best feeder, nutrition wise they do not contribute much and their shells digest difficultly, it is very hard.

Hope your Beardie is doing better

 

[xerioc]

He seems to be doing better, ive decided to call him Jumper for now since hes so athletic. ive only seen him pop his eyes one more time since my last post. Ive bathed him daily since ive gotten him and he usually drinks from his tub. He loves his greens and eats then much much more than Dragora did. Im wondering what color he is/will be, and if he is actually a she. Last night i was holding him in my hand after i had taken a shower and he saw a strand of my hair hanging down n i guess he was hungry n thought it was a cricket. He leaped towards it and clamped down on my hair with his mouth n was dangling for a moment till i finally got him off, lol :lol: he was chewing on it poor baby, he didnt manage to eat any. Shoud i divide his tank so that he has less room to roam? Anyways i think hell be fine, im still going to take him to the vet soon as i can get a ride to the vets office.