Khaesael has a bruised stomach...

[snazzyglasses]

why would you buy a bearded dragon if you know nothing about them?
no supplements?
really?
and your family wont pay 90$ for a vet visit?
I'm afraid you shouldnt own a pet
sorry for the rude honesty.
I really am praying for you.
and ur baby

I agree with what Vampy and Earthmarktwo said. Couldn't have said it any better myself. Benjirah I suggest you read and consider their replies to your insensitivity very carefully and with a mature, open mind. Also remember that not all families are made of money, and for someone without their own source of income it can be very difficult to convince parents to allow a vet visit. All of this is compounded by the fact that pet stores tend to lie and market beardies as an inexpensive pet, so extra costs are that much more unexpected.

And kudos to you, Dragonoob, for doing research and taking steps to help your baby! <3 I reallyreally hope she'll be okay! As for the dosing, the liquid calcium should have instructions on the package

 

[earthmarktwo]

I agree with what Vampy and Earthmarktwo said. Couldn't have said it any better myself. Benjirah I suggest you read and consider their replies to your insensitivity very carefully and with a mature, open mind. Also remember that not all families are made of money, and for someone without their own source of income it can be very difficult to convince parents to allow a vet visit. All of this is compounded by the fact that pet stores tend to lie and market beardies as an inexpensive pet, so extra costs are that much more unexpected.

And kudos to you, Dragonoob, for doing research and taking steps to help your baby! <3 I reallyreally hope she'll be okay! As for the dosing, the liquid calcium should have instructions on the package

Thanks You are definitely right about beardies being marketed as inexpensive. It's ridiculous. Anyone selling them needs to be realistic about their keeping costs, because it's unfair to the buyer and the animal when they get home and find out they're going to be spending hundreds of dollars to house, feed, heat, light and otherwise care for a pet they were told was cheap to look after. More people might be prepared then, thus reducing the amount of neglect via lack of knowledge.

 

[snazzyglasses]

Thanks You are definitely right about beardies being marketed as inexpensive. It's ridiculous. Anyone selling them needs to be realistic about their keeping costs, because it's unfair to the buyer and the animal when they get home and find out they're going to be spending hundreds of dollars to house, feed, heat, light and otherwise care for a pet they were told was cheap to look after. More people might be prepared then, thus reducing the amount of neglect via lack of knowledge.

You are quite welcome
And agreed, it's way too ridiculous. Also, there are soo many groups out there like PETA who claim they care about animals, yet they spend their time doing piddly things like protesting the Mario games because he steps on turtles?! (I read that somewhere a while ago). It baffles me. They seem to love the attention and enjoy going after big brands like KFC and McDonalds. So why not do things like crack down on the big chain pet stores for the outright lies and incorrect info that's given out on a daily basis?... haha, I'll step off my soapbox now.

 

[Dragonoob]

Thanks for sticking up for me guys, haha. I did do research but I didn't know coil was bad and I had no idea about gutloading crickets (i just feed then with $4 Fluker's stuff.) If she survives, I might wanna rehome her as she's already cost far more money than I can afford with savings from a part time job. And her cage is too small for an adult, the bigger one I have is chicken wire so turns out that doesn't work either... But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Right now she's still sick.

No liquid meds at Petsmart with vitamin D3, and she won't open her mouth to save her life (literally) I don't know how to force-feed without squirting it into her lungs, so I just bought calcium powder and bathed her in it 3 times today. (more concerned about her surviving than getting dry skin or whatever comes with over-bathing.)

After the first bath, she was no better but after the second bath she squirmed when I picked her up. Then later she tried to walk around, but that caused her to start shaking so she stopped. On the third bath, she licked like 2 drops of water off her nose, which she wouldn't do before. Now she's propping herself on her front legs like she did when she was healthy, although she still looks pretty miserable. Black beard, blinking a lot, stomach is still swollen and the lump is still there. The shaking when she moves is still a problem. But the fact that she's not lying completely flat anymore gives me a bit of hope.

I'm gonna keep with the calcium baths and see if she continues with the small improvements. Thank y'all so much for your help, I appreciate it a ton!

 

[earthmarktwo]

Thanks for sticking up for me guys, haha. I did do research but I didn't know coil was bad and I had no idea about gutloading crickets (i just feed then with $4 Fluker's stuff.) If she survives, I might wanna rehome her as she's already cost far more money than I can afford with savings from a part time job. And her cage is too small for an adult, the bigger one I have is chicken wire so turns out that doesn't work either... But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Right now she's still sick.

No liquid meds at Petsmart with vitamin D3, and she won't open her mouth to save her life (literally) I don't know how to force-feed without squirting it into her lungs, so I just bought calcium powder and bathed her in it 3 times today. (more concerned about her surviving than getting dry skin or whatever comes with over-bathing.)

After the first bath, she was no better but after the second bath she squirmed when I picked her up. Then later she tried to walk around, but that caused her to start shaking so she stopped. On the third bath, she licked like 2 drops of water off her nose, which she wouldn't do before. Now she's propping herself on her front legs like she did when she was healthy, although she still looks pretty miserable. Black beard, blinking a lot, stomach is still swollen and the lump is still there. The shaking when she moves is still a problem. But the fact that she's not lying completely flat anymore gives me a bit of hope.

I'm gonna keep with the calcium baths and see if she continues with the small improvements. Thank y'all so much for your help, I appreciate it a ton!

No problem So much negativity on the internet, and you are here trying to help your beardie, so you're alright by me.

It's clear you know a bit about beardies, as you have most everything else right, your temps are good and you actually have lights. I've had people look at me like I'm nuts when I ask them if they've purchased lights for their reptiles.

Good to hear she's doing better (even if it's only a little bit of an improvement) and I hope the improvement continues.

Just a quick note, if she is impacted, rubbing her belly may help. Keep in mind that the lump could be something else, she might not be impacted at all.

My thoughts are with you, keep us updated on her progress

 

[Benjirah]

I said i wasn't trying to be mean.
but ok, they dont have money and now the beardy could die.
but I'm the bad guy.
I mean, even petco tells you they need calcium.
and I hate petco they suck.
so whats the excuse for no supplements?
that is horrible.
idk sounds messed up to me. lol
sorry though if i offended anyone.

 

[earthmarktwo]

I said i wasn't trying to be mean.
but ok, they dont have money and now the beardy could die.
but I'm the bad guy.
I mean, even petco tells you they need calcium.
and I hate petco they suck.
so whats the excuse for no supplements?
that is horrible.
idk sounds messed up to me. lol
sorry though if i offended anyone.

You don't know where they bought their beardie, and you have no idea what they were told when they did buy it. Criticising them for not doing something they had no idea to do isn't helping anyone. It is horrible, but that doesn't make it the owner's fault. If you aren't going to be helpful, why are you even here?

 

[Dragonoob]

I said i wasn't trying to be mean.
but ok, they dont have money and now the beardy could die.
but I'm the bad guy.
I mean, even petco tells you they need calcium.
and I hate petco they suck.
so whats the excuse for no supplements?
that is horrible.
idk sounds messed up to me. lol
sorry though if i offended anyone.

If you're concerned whether I care about my lizard or not, I assure you I do. The reason I didn't suppliment is that what I read was "Dusting the food with calcium does nothing, it will just rub off and your lizard won't get any of it and it will die." I was told to gut-load, although that obviously didn't work. My misinformation being called "Horrible" is an exaggeration, and I don't appreciate it. Her condition is what's horrible - I'm doing what I can to take care of her.

Anyways, this morning she was looking pretty dead so I gave her a calcium bath, which she didn't appreciate. I gave her another one when I got home from classes, but she seemed to be slipping away again so I turned her UVB back on. I know coil is bad, but she's holding her head up now and (very slightly) reacting to happenings around her cage. She's not as dark in color (her beard is still black.) She also reluctantly accepted a few drops of water. The thing is, after she drinks water (calcium-enhanced or not) she starts shaking again and that just sucks the life out of her. I'm getting worried but tomorrow is supposed to be hot again, so maybe I'll give her her calcium baths in the sunlight and that will help more.

 

[snazzyglasses]

If you're concerned whether I care about my lizard or not, I assure you I do. The reason I didn't suppliment is that what I read was "Dusting the food with calcium does nothing, it will just rub off and your lizard won't get any of it and it will die." I was told to gut-load, although that obviously didn't work. My misinformation being called "Horrible" is an exaggeration, and I don't appreciate it. Her condition is what's horrible - I'm doing what I can to take care of her.

Hooray for Dragonoob! <3

 

[earthmarktwo]

Anyways, this morning she was looking pretty dead so I gave her a calcium bath, which she didn't appreciate. I gave her another one when I got home from classes, but she seemed to be slipping away again so I turned her UVB back on. I know coil is bad, but she's holding her head up now and (very slightly) reacting to happenings around her cage. She's not as dark in color (her beard is still black.) She also reluctantly accepted a few drops of water. The thing is, after she drinks water (calcium-enhanced or not) she starts shaking again and that just sucks the life out of her. I'm getting worried but tomorrow is supposed to be hot again, so maybe I'll give her her calcium baths in the sunlight and that will help more.

You're doing what you can for her, that's what matters. It's not your fault that you were told the wrong thing. I hope she feels better soon, sounds as though she's hanging in there. Any chance you could post some pictures of her so we can have a look at what you're dealing with? Someone with more expertise than me might be able to pick up something you can't, and help you to fix it.

 

[Dragonoob]

Oh, sure. Sorry for the lack of quality, I took them with my phone.

(the white spot on her foot is a blob of calcium I accidentally got on her)

(Her tail looks pail here because of her calcium bath but it's actually quite dark)

Is she too small? She seems to be smaller every time I look at her - the shaking hasn't stopped, although she drank a bit more water.

 

[earthmarktwo]

She is tiny, but no smaller than most are when they're purchased. Her colours are actually surprisingly bright, I've seen my boy go much darker when he's grumpy. But she doesn't look well Did you try rubbing her tummy? And how is the lump on her stomach? Is it any more or less pronounced?

 

[Dragonoob]

Really? You don't think she's too small? She seems so little now, and her legs are all long and scrawny looking :s

The lump hasn't changed; it feels like a part of her intestine... I can't explain it. But it's still there. My mom said Khasi drank a bit of water when I was at school today but I gave her a bath and she was totally refusing to drink anything. At one point she started walking around but then she seized up.

This is so frustrating! She won't drink any water, whether calcium or not. She's not eating or walking, but she's not worsening in condition either. I'm scared that she's just going to linger in this miserable condition forever D:

 

[Tonja]

I have a couple of suggestions for you. First make a slurry for her..try blending up some chicken baby food with some squash and baby food prunes in it..put her calcium and water in it to make it kind of thin... Use a feeding syringe by gently pulling down the bottom of her lip at the back of her mouth, and slip the syringe in and bring it to the front..she should open her mouth. Gently squirt the slurry to the side of her mouth and let her swallow it. Keep doing this till the sryinge is empty..id use a 1 ml and try to get that much into her 3-5 times a day. The prunes will help her go potty easier, this way shes not expending energy to try to go potty. You can also go to petco or petsmart to the vet part of the store and purchase some critical or carnivore care, mix it with warm water and syringe feed her that..its for sick or recovering animals. Its not real expensive to get the critical care or carnivore care. After she eats, take her out in natural sunlight for 20 mins, this will help her immensely with uvb and will help her utilize the calcium she is getting. Syringe feeding her a slurry or carnivore/critical care is a twofold solution..it will get water into her for hydration and nutrients into her. I sure hope this helps. Needleless syringes can be gotten at any vet, sometimes for free and sometimes a dollar or two for one.

 

[carlisv]

Another thing you might try is lowering her temps just a smidge. You mentioned in one of the earliest posts that she was scratching at the glass. Frequently they do that when they're overheating. My 2-year-old Richard absolutely loathes having the temps as high as they're supposed to be - if his basking spot gets over 102 he turns into a pouty baby. If her basking spot was lowered to 105-7 instead of 110 it might make a difference. Dehydrated/overheated dragons get all droopy and lifeless and it's hard to tell that from an actual illness. And dehydration can certainly make impaction worse. She'll learn to love her baths, believe me!

And I don't know where you live, but farm stores sell plastic needle-less syringes for 15-25 cents. They have all different sizes, plenty small enough for your baby.

Her name is very pretty. Where did it come from?