David

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repp0

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Hi everyone,

My name is Mal and my reptile friend is David. I've been talking to the people over on /r/BeardedDragons, but figured I'd make a post here since there seems to be more discussion of rescue and rehab.

I got Dave from CL about 10 days ago, the previous owners had him in a fairly small viv with another beardie and a couple tegus and fed him chicken and kale which I thought was normal. They recommended walnut substrate and gave me a 29 gal tank.

SO I got him home and right away realized he was very sick and emaciated and started doing a lot of research. I started upgrading his viv and trying to get his rehabilitation in order.

A vet confirmed that he has some MBD and pinworms, so we are treating the pinworms with panacure and hoping the MBD is mild enough that if he gets healthy it won't effect him much. His main problem, imo, is being dangerously thin and dehydrated.

He is now in a 50 gallon with tiles. We're working on getting the basking temperatures perfect, they've been around 92 lately but I'm rearranging things until they get up to 95-100. I leave pureed butternut squash and collard greens and whatever else I have around in his viv every day... He doesn't really eat it, but I keep trying. Some days he'll eat 5-8 crickets and a couple superworms. Some days I can't really get him to eat or drink. Today he had a couple sips of water from a syringe and let me force his panacure pretty calmly. He is alert but he did not take the crickets I offered him in a cardboard box, or a superworm.

This process has been really hard and stressful for both of us, but I'm doing my best. I really hope he has a good day tomorrow-- eats a bunch of crickets, sips some water, maybe even goes over to his bowl of greens and stays alert. Still working on getting the perfect temperature in his viv so I'm hoping to get that sorted within the next couple days. He has a UVB aquarium hood right now, but within the next couple days I'm going to install a fixture inside his viv for extra access.

I've included pictures of him from over the last week. Would love any advice, success stories, contacts, or just well wishes for a sick lil guy and an overwhelmed first-time reptile owner. I'm trying to make the decision of whether I should force feed, I'm hoping it doesn't come to that.

Z44LAkn.jpg

sad little hip bones
aZYPwrN.jpg

a look at how damn skinny the guy is
o5tp6jq.jpg

viv in progress
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there....it's nice that you rescued this poor guy. The MBD hasn't deformed him much so that should not be a big problem. Just keep offering food, insects are O.K, but you don't want to give him a whole bunch at a time even if he wants that much. Just 5-6 crickets a day and maybe about 2-3 superworms on the other days. Too much protein can shock the system + be hard on the kidneys. Keep offering water via syringe and give him a soak 1-2X a week for 10 minutes in lukewarm water. That gives him a chance to drink. You can also try a bit of baby food chicken/squash/green beans with a pinch of calcium powder mixed in. You might also ask the vet for Oxbow Critical Care, it's a highly nutritious supplement. A probiotic like Benebac, Acidophiliz + or soy yogurt may help his appetite + keep his gut flora while he's on the meds.

For his set up, be careful of stacking rocks. Beardies love to dig under things and the rocks could collapse on him. Try to find a nice thick stick outside [ not pine or anything sappy ] bake in a preheated oven at 250 for an hour and give him a nice slanted stick to climb on. There are a few suggestions....I hope he does well for you. :)
 

repp0

Member
Original Poster
Yeah, he only had stacked rocks for a day while I figured out the elevation he would need to get to that 95 degree range... Now he has tile and "stairs" up to his rocks, which aren't stacked. For some reason they are not getting as warm as the wooden half dome I got him from Petland... I did bake it, but it is still kinda sappy, any reason I should worry about that?

I would love to get him to eat critical care or baby food, but because I'd have to force it, my vet and I discussed that as a last resort option.

Thank you so much for the tips and let me know if you think of anything else!

Best,
Mal
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Yeah, it's never good to force feed but sometimes if you drip it on their snout they start licking it up and taking it from the syringe. If you add a bit of unseeetened applejuice or other juice [ few drops] that sometimes gets them to eat. But if he's eating crickets + superworms on his own then he's getting some nutrition, but just be sure to go slowly with those and keep offering greens at least 2X a week hoping to peak his interest. Greens such as turnip, mustard, collard, arugula, bok choy, endive, dandelion.
 

repp0

Member
Original Poster
Sadly, David has been on panacur for 2 days and hasn't accepted anything more than a couple sips of water. He is very lethargic and turning dark all the time. I think tomorrow if he won't take a bug, I'm going to have to force feed him some babyfood mixed with pedialyte and calcium powder. If anyone has any advice about what to feel and how much, please feel free to share.
 

Esther19

BD.org Addict
I'm not an expert, but the panacur may be inhibiting his appetite. Hopefully someone will advise. Try giving the poor dear the pureed mixture through a syringe dropped on his nose. Good luck! he is so fortunate that you took him in.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
I agree with Esther, the Panacur probably killed his appetite. It's sometimes best actually to let the animal settle in, eat + gain a little wait before giving the dewormers. If he was eating 5-6 bugs a day [ or every other ] then that was O.K for an underweight beardie. Keep offering the insects though. Try smashing a cricket until the guts come out the back end and rub that lightly on his nose.

One way to get food in without too much trauma is to get a thin piece of cardboard [ like a cereal box top ] cut in to 2 X 2 sections and use that to slip in his mouth, wiggle it a bit. They usually start opening their mouth a bit when this foreign object slides in, then you can quickly pop a syringe [ plastic, not glass which they can get cut on if they bite it ] and pop some food in . Then lightly stroke his throat to be sure it goes down.
 

SDragons

Juvie Member
Poor little guy. I really hope that he starts eating and feeling better soon. Keep up the great work.
 

repp0

Member
Original Poster
SDragons":3br7va84 said:
Poor little guy. I really hope that he starts eating and feeling better soon. Keep up the great work.

I actually have some pretty good news. I ended up taking Dave to foster care in MA with a very experienced rescuer (who I believe is on these forums too) to get a more intensive level of care. And with her expert husbandry he is doing amazingly well with her, eating and drinking on his own every day including salad, and becoming more active. Her vet actually caught some things the 3 vets who I took him to missed, including a bone infection caused by his snout rub. And she sends me pictures of him every few days :) Here's a the most recent one of the sweet guy, starting to put on a teeny bit of chub:

i1tP7sJ.jpg


It's too soon to know, but I'm hoping he'll be able to come home in a couple months.
 
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