URGENT - black beard and limp

I just got home from work and my sick girl Simon has a black beard for the first time in her 2 year life and is extremely lethargic. She wants to keep her eyes closed, will not hold her head or weight up, and is generally unresponsive.

She has been sick about two months, not eating and passing yellow urates but has appeared healthy until now. I have been working with TracIe for help. She is scheduled a vet visit tomorrow morning at 11am.

I gave her a bath as she was covered in her own waste from this morning and she did not react in the water. I dripped water on her mouth and she drank a bit. I tried turning her on her back and she did not react.

I took her outside as it is sunny and warm enough and she has kept her eyes open the whole time but is still clearly very weak.

Please help me, I don't want to lose her

So she's been sick for 2 months, as apparent by her not eating and being lethargic, but you really have no idea what's been wrong with her this whole time? Tomorrow morning is her first vet appointment? I hope it's a certified Herp vet?

You can up the temps in her enclosure for tonight, that's always a good idea when they're sick. However, a black beardie a clear sign of pain and/or distress and discomfort, so something is very wrong. They hide their illnesses so well that by the time they are black bearding, meaning they are in physical distress, they are really, really sick. Do you have an emergency animal hospital anywhere near you? If so I suggest getting her there, she may not make it until tomorrow morning for her appointment. I know the 24 hour animal hospital in my town has a reptile vet on call at all times, as well as an avian vet, etc. An exotics vet would be better than nothing at this point, not only because she needs help immediately, but because you don't want her to be in pain.

If you've been working with Tracy then I assume your setup, lights, temps, etc. are not the problem. Without a fecal for parasites, blood work, an x-ray, etc. I'm not sure what anyone but a vet can do...

Please don't assume I've done nothing for her in these two months. This will be her third vet visit and was given a clear fecal and xray.

Enclosure setup is fine, she has been given tart cherry juice as Tracie believes it may be kidneys or liver issue.

I am reaching out for whatever help I can get, I have not stopped crying since seeing her like this. Any help is appreciated but do not make assumptions about her care

Poor girl definitely doesn't look too happy. Good move bringing her out for some sunlight although I wish it were a bit warmer and a bit sunnier for her =/. Work with what you have in that department especially I suppose. Will she lick up any water if you offer it? That may bring some relief if the issue is kidney related. I wish I had more to offer than well wishes on this one. I hope the vet is able to make some progress tomorrow.

Sorry if that came off as lashing out, but I am under a significant amount of stress right now.

This is my third ER post seeking help for her and the general responses I've gotten were if she's not losing weight and is active she's likely fine. Regardless I had a fecal and X-ray done that came back clear. It wasn't until this weekend that she began to lose weight and I immediately scheduled the vet appointment for blood work. It was not until I got home today that she had ever been like this, even when I came home on lunch she was fine. Up until this point I have been doing everything in my power to help her, I just don't know what to do.

I'm looking for emergency vets in the area

Poor girl, is there a chance it's related to follicular stasis or egg binding ? Was an X-ray or ultrasound done at any point ? Sorry if I missed that. Best wishes for an answer + for an effective intervention. There's also a chance that there's a growth inside somewhere.

She did accept some water, and has shown bursts of energy (tried to get out of the bath and then calmed down, and puffed a bit in reaction to my hand when outside) but then immediately back to being limp and lethargic

AHBD":29514udu said:

Poor girl, is there a chance it's related to follicular stasis or egg binding ? Was an X-ray or ultrasound done at any point ? Sorry if I missed that. Best wishes for an answer + for an effective intervention.

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She didn't show any eggs on an X-ray but no ultrasound was done. Tracie had also mentioned this, and one of the vets first concerns was possibly carrying eggs when first seen about a month or so ago.

She has been passing very small yellow urates as her main symptom, and cherry juice and water hasn't changed the color

I apologize, I think you took what I said the wrong way. What I meant was in two months you still have no diagnosis and really don't know what the problem is, I didn't mean that you haven't done anything. Sometimes writing on the internet misrepresents what is actually being said. I understand you're stressed, I would be too.

I was going to say egg binding as well since she's female, but if 2 months had gone past egg binding would have killed her by now, and an x-ray would have certainly shown them.

I wish I had something better to offer other than she's in distress and needs a vet ASAP. I'd hate to see you lose her after trying all this time to help her and having another appointment tomorrow morning...Any luck on an emergency vet? Where do you live? We might be able to help you find one, as getting her to a vet tonight is the best advice I can give you.

Her black beard is fading and she'll open an eye and look at me while basking but is still very lethargic.

I live in green bay, Wisconsin. There is an animal hospital in Appleton WI about 30 mins away with a reptile specialist. I called and left a voicemail. Their website also seems to provide an emergency after hour line but it's not after hours for them yet

I am so sorry to hear this about your little girl Simon! I have been following her progress over the last month or so and, as far as I can tell, you have done everything humanly possible to help her. Please don't blame yourself!

No, please don't think this is your fault, again I didn't mean what I said the way you took it. These things happen, they hide illness so well sometimes there really isn't any indication that they are very sick. And sometimes when you do everything you can it doesn't help, and that's the toughest situation.

It looks like there is a 24 hour animal hospital called Green Bay Animal Hospital on Lime Kiln Rd. in Green Bay, phone number is (920) 494-9400

There website doesn't say anything about reptiles specialists but they have a state of the art treatment center and a lab on site, so if you can't get her to the other place with the reptile specialist I'd try to get her to this place, they can do blood work, fecal, etc. and hopefully get to the bottom of what is going on and start treatment.

Her black beard is almost all but gone now but I know I'm not out of the woods.

Thank you for the info, Ellen, and I again apologize for lashing out. This illness she has had has been extremely stressful as I haven't gotten a diagnosis and has been worrying me since she lost her appetite back in March.

I will see if that location is able to help

Alright I've spoken with a few hospitals without any real good news.

The clinic in Appleton, WI with the experienced vet has no appointments available and close in an hour.

The emergency center that Ellen mentioned has no one on staff with bearded dragon experience. They're willing to see her, but can't do more than just a basic examination and run some tests, but don't have the experience to know what to look for.

Same situation with the emergency clinic in Appleton. They are willing to look but don't know what to look for.

She is definitely pained trying to pass urates and I believe this is the source of the black bearding. She is holding her head up now, and just breathing steadily. She will actively pull herself into her basking area frantically after I pick her up, and then sit and close her eyes and breathe. I will try to just let her rest for now.