Adult Beardie with bloody (I think) diarrhea, pale

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Anamasha1

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Everything was alright this morning, I turned on my lamp for him and left him some kale and crickets and he was alright. So about a few hours ago I noticed that his stomach looked a bit puffy so I put him under his basking lamp (he went to the other side of the tank). About 2 hours later or so he pooped and (I think vomited because I saw undigested leaves, some liquid and other weird stuff just around his whole tank). I feed him kale, apples, carrots, crickets, superworms (sometimes) and so on. I give him a bath twice a week for 15 mins each time. His basking temperature I want to say is 95 degrees or so. He is also in a 55 gallon tank. I don't know whats wrong with him and no overnight emergency vet will see him. His beard is completely black, so is the bottom of his tail. He is much paler in color as well. Is there anything I should do or avoid doing before I can get him to a vet because that may take a few days.
 

Drache613

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Hello,

Poor guy, it sounds like he has a very upset tummy.
What are the basking temperatures in his tank? Did you feed too late at night for him to digest or did he eat earlier in the day?
Where did you get your crickets, could they possibly have been bad?
Try to keep him warm overnight in his tank, around 80 or so to help boost his immune system. If possible, get some oral fluids into him since he is probably going to be dehydrated if he vomited or had diarrhea also.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie
 

Anamasha1

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Yeah he seems to have a bad tummy upset. He got a bit less pale but his beard is still pitch black. I gave him bath which seemed to make him less angry. A bit of liquid white urate came out as well just now while he was basking. His basking temp is 95, and I don't think so! I left him a salad and I gave him some of his worms yesterday during the day and he ate that and then today I gave him a new salad in the morning but he didn't touch it. He usually eats once a day or every other day depending on the meal I guess. I usually keep my crickets in a cricket pen I have and they are from a pet store nearby. Should I just leave the light on for him for the night then because it is 2 am right now and I don't have a night heater for him. I have an electric blanket but I heard thats dangerous.
 

CooperDragon

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How is he doing today? If you don't have a ceramic heat emitter I'd just try to keep the room warm with the lights out. I agree that it's a good idea to offer him some water by dripping it on his nose as he may be dehydrated. I wouldn't offer any food for now until he starts to feel a bit better as that may upset his stomach further.
 

Drache613

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Hello,

How is your dragon doing?
Maybe for some reason he wasn't warm enough & didn't digest very well. I agree, I wouldn't feed him right now until he starts feeling better.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

Anamasha1

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Original Poster
Yeah I really don't know what happened. I thought he was gone this morning he was completely lethargic and pale and cold to the touch so I thought he passed but when I came back out his eyes opened and I gave him a bath and gave him some water and he had some, he was licking it off his nose slowly. I got him the zoomed night light thing and its red which is probably annoying to him but I just need him to hang on until Monday when we have our vet appointment. He's also been passing like random small amounts of urate which is white and yellow. But he seems to have perked up a tiny bit tonight so maybe it's not as bad as I think.
Ive also been bathing him twice a day for 10 mins just to hydrate him a bit. His tummy is a bit bloated and liquidy so Im suspicious of parasites because he's had them before. He hasn't like fallen or anything to cause anything serious like internal bleeding. He does have a tendency to leave his basking spot a lot so maybe it's just a mix of things. He's still pretty pale with a dark beard and a dark tail and he refuses worms which isn't like him but I'm hoping the vet will be able to help out. He's sleeping now so Ill just keep him comfy until Monday as much as I can anyways! He might also be in the process of shedding or starting to shed so I feel like it's a mix of things at this point. But thank you for all your replies! I'll know more on Monday!
 

Drache613

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Hello,

Oh my, so he is starting to do better now? Wow poor thing, something definitely didn't sit right with him but it sounds like he is feeling better now.
I hope he can hang on until monday to get to the vet. Maybe they can get some extra fluids into him & a calcium booster too.
How do his eyes look, are they bright or sunken in somewhat?
Keep getting oral fluids into him as best you can to help out. You could make him a greens slurry also, for some nutrition. Let us know how he is doing!

Tracie
 

Anamasha1

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Original Poster
Hey Tracie!

I can't be too sure but I think he's feeling quite a bit better. The pale coloring and the darkened beard are still there but he looks a bit more colorful and his eyes are pretty bright! Yesterday he was barely opening them half the day but today he's on his branch and relatively alert. He refused kale or crickets so I offered him a superworm and he had a small bite. He didn't finish the work but at least it's progress! He's also been drinking tons of water, every time I offer him some he gulps it down. I'll probably give him another short bath tonight.
Overall it's looking up! The vet it only a day away now so I think he will make it for sure. I measured his basking spot temperature and its at around 100 degrees so he sits there then goes to the other side to cool off. When I was giving him water he reached out for my fingers and almost jumped on my hand so I think he's quite a bit better. My poor baby! I hope he will be alright!
 

Anamasha1

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Original Poster
Mon Feb 13th UPDATE

So I went to the vet and it's actually a lot worse than I thought. The vet did some blood work on him and a number called hectocirm or something of the sort (I'm not sure what the name was) is at 3 and it's supposed to be at 25. So that is a horrible sign. He is also having a lot of internal bleeding and the vet thinks there might be something lodged in his stomach but he can't perform a surgery due to the horribly low CBC test result. So I have four antibiotics to give him for a month and then I can come back and check in if he makes it through the treatment to see the blood work then. Hopefully it's just an infection that will be resolved but he has about a 25% - 30% chance of survival but I'll go through with the treatment. Putting him down was an option but I decided to give it a try and see if he will make it. I hope that he will :(
 

CooperDragon

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That's sad news =(. I hope the meds help and he's able to fight through it. Try to keep him as comfortable as possible and keep him well hydrated to protect his systems from the meds as well.
 

Anamasha1

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Original Poster
Yeah I hope so too! I mean he looks very ill but the vet said normally at this point the beardie would be dead but I think that he is slowly improving. He's still pale with a black beard but his color is a tiny bit better and he is drinking a lot of water. I'm remaining optimistic but I'm not going to get my hopes up it just makes me so sad to see him suffer. He's relatively alert, but very weak and very ill so I'm keeping him as comfy as I can.
 

diamc

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Glad you were able to get him to the vet. Poor thing sure is going through a lot. I agree about keeping him well hydrated, so very important. Would also be a good idea to give a probiotic to help restore the good gut flora that the antibiotics kill off. Do you have any probiotics on hand now?

Could you fill us in on the type of thermometer you're using to check the temps? There are some that are very inaccurate so want to make sure you are getting good readings.

Superworms can be hard to digest especially when the beardie isn't feeling well or basking long enough. You might want to think about sticking to either soft & easily digested worms or feeding chicken or turkey babyfood mixed with some squash or sweet potato baby food. You can even add a small pinch of calcium to that mixture.

Good luck, hope he can improve & get stronger daily. We're routing for him.
 

Drache613

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Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Oh no, poor thing, his hematocrit was way too low meaning he was anemic. Being anemic he can't get enough O2 through his system & they can die simply from that.
I hope the antibiotics work for him, bless him. Which ones did they put him on?
I wonder what they think was lodged or blocking something in his tummy?
Hopefully it is just an infection that will get cleared up!
Keep him warm overnight, around 80 or so, to help with his immune system.
Let us know how he is doing!

Tracie
 

Anamasha1

Member
Original Poster
Hi!

I have a thermometer from I think it's Zoomed but I don't know for sure I will go look at the box tomorrow but the vet said it's a good one. And yeah :/ I tried giving him some salad but he didn't take it so the vet said to give it another week or so and if he doesn't start eating he will put him on like some form of a special super diet to keep him fed for now. And yes that was the word! His blood level was at 3 and it should be at 25 so the vet says this infection has been slowly happening over time, which is a good and a bad thing. It's good cause there's more chance of him surviving than it just happening overnight. He just never showed any signs. He's drinking plenty of water and I bathe him for 15 mins every day right now. He put him on 4 different types of meds. One is a shot you give in the leg, and 3 are oral. 2 of the oral are antibiotics and one is an anti parasite.
The vet took a stool sample and he said that what came out is basically digested blood which *could* be one of the signs of a bad infection or theres something causing him to bleed out. The only things I can think of are tiny wood chips from his wooden branch that he sits on but I mean, I don't know for sure. He did an x-ray and didn't find anything. As of now he said that the best bet is to just get his blood levels normal if he makes it. He might require a transfusion from my other beardie if he does start getting better and if whatever is possibly lodged there hasn't passed. Because of the anemia he can't get the surgery so it's kind of in a cycle right now. He seems to be better than he was 3 days ago because I thought he was gone when I turned his light on. He was completely unresponsive but now he perks up when I give him water so, maybe it'll be okay. He said the prognosis is "guarded" so, there isn't much of a chance but he could recover. Im hoping that he will!
 
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Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

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