Beardie vomiting? Please help.

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I have to run off to work really quickly so I am going to try to make this short.

My beardie vomited today. Does anyone know possible reasons that a beadie may throw up and how serious this is? I'd give more info but there's a lot of variables right now and I don't have time to list them. I will go into more detail after I get home from work tonight, but I would appreciate as much input from as many people as possible between now and then so I can read it in the car and at work so maybe I don't worry as much or can do what I need to do if it is that serious.

THANK YOU!
 

vickson420

BD.org Addict
Retired Moderator
Topic moved to ER
Hello
I am sorry to hear about your beardie unfortunately it is going to be very hard to give a possible diagnosis without more information.There are many possible causes but the most likely is either impaction,dehydration or an issue with gut flora usually caused by parasites.When you get the chance please answer some questions for me and maybe we can narrow the possiblities down:
How long have you had him?
How old is he?
What type of UVB are you using(be very specific)?
How close can he get to it?
What are the tank temps?
Where and with what are you measuring them?
What has he been eating?
How often?
Are you using calcium and vitamin supplements and if yes which brands?
What type of substrate are you using?
When was he last bathed?
Misted?
Do you have standing water inside the tank?
Do you notice any gaping or issues breathing?
How are his energy levels?
Any shaking or trembling?
Is he moving all limbs normally?
Any mucous around eye,nose or mouth?
I know its alot but I would hate to lead you in the wrong direction.
EDIT:One last but very important question,when did he poop last?
 

adamrich1013

Member
Original Poster
How long have you had him?
2 months
How old is he?
7-8 months
What type of UVB are you using(be very specific)?
ExoTerra SolarGlo 160W Professional Series
How close can he get to it?
About 20" (I'm told closer than that is harmful)
What are the tank temps?
Basking side 90. Cool side around 80. I know these are low, but I'm still toying with it.
Where and with what are you measuring them?
A digital thermomster with a probe at the end of a long wire.
What has he been eating?
Crickets and greens. I DID just get home from work and found some more vomit, this time with pieces of roach in it, which I fed to her for the first time on Saturday. No poo since then, and now there was also a large poo in the tank, so maybe the roaches caused an impaction, and now it's cleared?
How often?
I feed her crickets in the morning, and greens in the morning and in the afternoon.
Are you using calcium and vitamin supplements and if yes which brands?
I'm using a Rep-Cal Herpitivite w/ Beta Carotene mulitvitimin
What type of substrate are you using?
Just paper towels
When was he last bathed?
Earlier this afternoon. I wanted to rub her belly to try to dislodge any impaction...looks like it might have worked from the size of that poo.
Misted?
SInce I bathe her daily, I don't usually mist her. I'm scared of leaving too much humidity in the tank and giving her a respiratory infection.
Do you have standing water inside the tank?
No.
Do you notice any gaping or issues breathing?
She will occasioanlly gape in the late afternoon, but not much, and for a very short period.
How are his energy levels?
She is sleeping right now, but this afternoon when I noticed the first vomit, she was still alert and energetic like normal. I didn't notice her being lethargic at all. Even tonight when I got home, she opened her eyes and raised her head to greet me.
Any shaking or trembling?
No.
Is he moving all limbs normally?
Yes.
Any mucous around eye,nose or mouth?
No.
I know its alot but I would hate to lead you in the wrong direction.
EDIT:One last but very important question,when did he poop last?
As said above, I arrived home to find a very large poo, full or white urates, indicating hydration, right?



All in all, it looks like I might have found the culprit in her poo...there were large pieces of roach in her vomit. I think they might have been a little big for her. I wondered at first, but they were pretty close to the size between her eyes, so I went ahead. I guess lesson learned. Let's just hope that poo and the roach pieces mark the end of all this.

Still, any input is appreciated.
 

Nasubi77

Sub-Adult Member
I'd say your culprit is your temps. They can't digest if their temps aren't high enough, and 90 is not high enough. Use a higher watt bulb or move the bulb closer to the basking spot to get your temps up to 100-110.
 

vickson420

BD.org Addict
Retired Moderator
Yes I have to agree this sounds like a case of impaction.Since you are using the digital with a probe(correct one) then I am going to advise you to boost those temps because he is obviously having issues digesting food.At his age he should be able to easily digest roaches although if the temps are correct.Make sure that probe is laying directly on the basking surface and aim for 105F if possible.You can just add an ordinary household bulb to that to boost them temp although I am suprised that a 160 MVB isnt doing the trick.You must have a pretty large tank.They were correct to watn you about the distance so that is good although you go take it to 18 or 19 inches safely but no closer then that.Just out of curiosity how large is your tank?Since he had an impaction I would increase the baths daily to keep him hydrated and continue with the massages just to ensure that it has passed completely as it is possible for them to poop with a partial obstruction.
 

adamrich1013

Member
Original Poster
Ok...so it's been about 2 days since she pooped and threw up everything. Her color has gone back to bright and beautiful. She also seems back to normal as far as activity. Well, at least most of the way. She still kind of sits around a little more than before, but not a huge difference. She still seems attentive while she basks and responds to stimuli around her (ie: me).

Now the problem arrises about her apetite. I just dropped some crickets in her tank, and she showed no interest in them. I know she ate a little bit of greens yesterday, but not much at all.

I was just curious if this is normal after being sick like she was to lose her apetite for a little bit? I gave her a bath and another massage to make sure no other impactions were blocking the way as part of that continuing effort. But what is the general concensus? Should I be worried that she isn't interested in the crickets? Or will she eat when she feels hungry?
 

vickson420

BD.org Addict
Retired Moderator
Her gut flora is most likely off because of the vomitting not to mention having the unfamiliar memory of vomitting and nausea so I am not at all suprised.The best thing to do is to get her some probiotics like acidophilliz or benebac.You can even give SOY yogurt of any flavor.I alos recommend getting her some babyfood to lick off a spoon or syringe to keep her energy up and you can put her calcium supplement in.Another good idea would be to get her some soft bodied feeders to eat like silkworms,butterworms,phoenix worms,wax(as a treat only),or goliath worms.I will warn you however some beardies do get turned off crickets for one reason or anther and never go back so you may indeed have to switch feeders eventually but that is probably not the case here.
 

Leo123

Member
I had the same problem with Leo twice in the one week, i always travelled 30-40 miles for my crickets to get the best deal, but i tried livefoods.com as they were cheap and Leo was costing me a fortune in petrol and feeders going 80 miles to the pet shop and back, after the first couple of days he was fine, on the third day i came home from work to find lumps of undigested crickets in his tank, it also happened the day after aswel so i put it down to the feeders from livefoods.com im not that im trying to name and shame them as im sure all suppliers have dodgy batches back and forth, i travelled the 80 miles again and touch wood he hasn't vomited since.

It may have been a bad batch, although i was up also up your basking spot between 100-110f
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

How is your dragon doing? It sounds like it was a mixture of impaction & improper temperatures.
I would also try to increase oral fluids for a few days also, just to help rehydrate her after losing hydration from vomiting, etc. I hope that she is doing much better for you.

Tracie
 

adamrich1013

Member
Original Poster
UPDATE: So it's been a few days since all the scare. I believe the night after my last post, I found another poo, and the continued massages were the right thing to do, because it knocked loose another large impaction. It was definately the roaches. I completely agree that my temps had to have played a hand in this. As far as temps go, I've moved some things around in her 55-gallon tank, so now she can get within 4" of her basking lamp (not the powerful UVB, just a house bulb), and that puts the basking temp at about 95-98 degrees. I know it needs to be a little higher, but it's better at least for now until I have the time to play with it a little more.

As far as Phoenix herself, she just finished climbing back into her basking spot from this morning's crickets. She ate a TON of them, and ran as fast as she could for all of them, so her activity and personality is definitely back in full swing, as is her apetite. I'm still continuing the extra efforts with the baths and massages just to make sure and to keep her hydration up, but it looks like we've survived our first crisis together. I'm so relieved and happy she's still with me. Now I'm focused on putting back on some of that weight we lost during the whole ordeal. It looks weird seeing her belly just AVERAGE sized and not a big ole round ball.

But to sum it all up, she seems to be very happy and content with life again, and I owe it all to the friendly helpful people right here on this board. Thank you SO MUCH for the advice, information, and support. I really appreciate it!
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

That is good news Phoenix is doing so much better & is eating now too. Hopefully he has passed all of the impaction now.
Those basking temperatures of 95-98 are perfectly fine, no problem. You can safely have the temps anywhere from 95-110 range.
Let us know if you need anything at all.
I hope that she continues to improve for you & is back to her happy little self now. :blob5:

Tracie
 

diamc

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hi, that's great that Phoenix is doing better now, you must feel relieved. I'm surprised that you only got a basking temp of 90 degrees with a 160 watt Solar Glo in a 55 gallon tank. Make sure that the probe end is actually touching the basking log and that you wait about 45 min for the temp to stop rising before getting the final reading. What wattage basking bulb are you using now? Are you going to try using the Solar Glo again with another bulb alongside it or are you going to get the Repti-Sun 10.0 fluorescent instead along with the basking bulb?

I noticed that you said "I'm using a Rep-Cal Herpitivite w/ Beta Carotene mulitvitimin" but you didn't mention anything about calcium. You are dusting with calcium too, right? How often are you using each supplement?
 
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