lauranthalas
New member
Hey everyone,
It quite literally breaks my heart to even have to be asking this question but I need some advice. I have a 10-year-old beardie named Dracul. He was my first beardie and I honestly didn't realize how much you could love a lizard until I set eyes on him. We have had him since he was about 3-6 months old and he has been an incredibly healthy, happy beardie. The biggest issue he has is that he has been a constant shedder his entire life. He never got to the once-a-year adult phase, he has just always gone through multiple sheds every year. More of a nuisance than an actual health issue and probably irrelevant to this post.
He usually brumates in the winter and it has been a long, cold one here. His brumation isn't full-on sleeping, just laying around and being a bit less active. I thought that was initially what was going on a month or two ago but he started dropping weight which he hasn't really ever done before during winter. He wouldn't eat on his own so we took him to the vet to ensure there wasn't some other issue. The vet couldn't find anything wrong, other than pointing out that he was a senior beardie and that it could just be his time. Nothing abnormal test/parasite wise.
I wasn't willing to just accept that so I had been and continue to try more aggressive action to help bring him around. His tank conditions/lighting are the same as they have been his entire life so I know that is not the issue. He gets regular baths anyway, but now they are in pedialyte. I have been syringe feeding him a variety of Repta-Boost, Oxbow Carnivore Care/Critical care, baby food, and Zilla appetite jump-start. None of it seems to be helping and I just get the sense that I am sort of forcing him to stick around. I desperately want him to turn-around but I don't think a life of me force-feeding him is very fair to him. He just looks miserable.
My question is what can I do to try and keep him as comfortable as possible(if anything)? I don't want to give up on him but I also don't want to make him miserable for my benefit. I lost a rescue beardie a couple years ago but it was a totally different situation. I knew it was an uphill battle but one day he was just gone. Dracul hasn't been like that. He is still moving around his tank a little but he is clearly not himself. Any advice on how to keep him comfortable would be greatly appreciated. I don't know if I should keep up the force feeding and whatnot, so anyone who has any input on what to do would be super helpful. Thanks in advance.
It quite literally breaks my heart to even have to be asking this question but I need some advice. I have a 10-year-old beardie named Dracul. He was my first beardie and I honestly didn't realize how much you could love a lizard until I set eyes on him. We have had him since he was about 3-6 months old and he has been an incredibly healthy, happy beardie. The biggest issue he has is that he has been a constant shedder his entire life. He never got to the once-a-year adult phase, he has just always gone through multiple sheds every year. More of a nuisance than an actual health issue and probably irrelevant to this post.
He usually brumates in the winter and it has been a long, cold one here. His brumation isn't full-on sleeping, just laying around and being a bit less active. I thought that was initially what was going on a month or two ago but he started dropping weight which he hasn't really ever done before during winter. He wouldn't eat on his own so we took him to the vet to ensure there wasn't some other issue. The vet couldn't find anything wrong, other than pointing out that he was a senior beardie and that it could just be his time. Nothing abnormal test/parasite wise.
I wasn't willing to just accept that so I had been and continue to try more aggressive action to help bring him around. His tank conditions/lighting are the same as they have been his entire life so I know that is not the issue. He gets regular baths anyway, but now they are in pedialyte. I have been syringe feeding him a variety of Repta-Boost, Oxbow Carnivore Care/Critical care, baby food, and Zilla appetite jump-start. None of it seems to be helping and I just get the sense that I am sort of forcing him to stick around. I desperately want him to turn-around but I don't think a life of me force-feeding him is very fair to him. He just looks miserable.
My question is what can I do to try and keep him as comfortable as possible(if anything)? I don't want to give up on him but I also don't want to make him miserable for my benefit. I lost a rescue beardie a couple years ago but it was a totally different situation. I knew it was an uphill battle but one day he was just gone. Dracul hasn't been like that. He is still moving around his tank a little but he is clearly not himself. Any advice on how to keep him comfortable would be greatly appreciated. I don't know if I should keep up the force feeding and whatnot, so anyone who has any input on what to do would be super helpful. Thanks in advance.