Something is really wrong

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Jtara

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I noticed yesterday my female beardie was on the floor of her cage, flattened and didn't look right. Normally she is on her perch. I took her out and her stomach was very big to the point where her belly skin felt tight. She is also not moving a lot. She is also kind of hunched over, I work at a vet and we see this when the abdomen hurts. Any time I touch her belly she twitches away.

I put her in a warm bath and the first thing she did was start pushing to poop. Her urinates had what looked like red tissue in them, almost like she ate something like a tomatoe, only she hasn't.

She swam and perked up in the bath a little but she is not eating, which is not like her. Normally I put her greenies in her cage with her and I have to make sure i don't get nipped by accident, she's that enthusiastic. She is also not putting her tongue out to taste anything.

She has a reptisun 10 bulb and heat lamp on her perch, tile substrate, I've had her 5 years and nothing has changed in her environment. She had crickets last Saturday and eats a blend of collard greens, squash and turnip greens daily. I had surgery Thursday and am not sure what day she became sick.

I work at a vet as a vet assistant but my boss does not see exotics. She may consult with one of her friends but I was wondering if anyone has any clues? She is about 5 and never had any health issues. Just she'd last week.
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
I'm sorry your beardie is sick, it does sound like she has a serious issue going on, especially if it just suddenly appeared like this. You said that YOU had surgery on Thursday, correct, not her? Just making sure...Who was taking care of her while you were down? It is a good idea to check with that person to see if she had any kind of accident like a fa while they were with her. Or do you know if she had a fall or any type of physical accident? When she pooped you said that she was straining a lot? Did she have a black beard while doing so? Has she had a black beard since? When she pooped did she have a full bowel movement, or was it only urates? Were the urates at all dry looking or hard? If she did have a full bowel movement, was the fecal matter normal looking/smelling?

It sounds to me like she's possibly impacted, or she has parasites/worms/bacteria in her poop. The pink/red coloring you saw in her urates is either a sign of dehydration, which could result in hard urates and a bit of impaction, or it could also be blood from either her straining or a hard urates/poop passing through, or from parasites. Also, she's 5 years old, what is her history with laying infertile eggs? Has she laid clutches before, and if so, when did she last lay them? You also have to worry quite a bit about her being egg-bound, especially if she's bloated up and in pain (a black beard is also a sign of a lot of pain and discomfort which could be eggs).

Can you post a photo of her and also of her enclosure and lighting? And also I'd take the temperature of her basking spot, Hot Side, and Cool Side and list them as well. Hopefully you have a digital probe thermometer or a gun to take accurate temps with...She may need a fecal test (fresh poop sample needed) and an x-ray ASAP to rule out parasites/worms/bacterial or Protozoan infection like coccidia, and the x-ray will rule out egg-binding as well as impaction or a growth..


It sounds to me like she
 

Jtara

Member
Original Poster
She's never laid eggs before. I didn't even know they did that without being bred. My bf took care of her after I had surgery. Yes I had jaw surgery. He said she was totally normal. No fall. Her last 2 bowels were normal, her urates are normal large and hard. What do I do for impactions? I thought they only got that from sand? She's on tile. She's refusing crickets today which she's never done. I am syringe feeding baby food and water.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there....in case it's impaction continue the baby food, get some squash + sweet potao and get some applesauce. Those are all natural laxatives. You can add a few drops of raw honey and/or veg. oil as well.

How is she doing tonight ?
 

Jtara

Member
Original Poster
We euthanized her at work. She begs gasping and gator rolling and vomiting and I couldn't watch her suffer anymore. The exotic vet said it sounded like an aneurysm which is common in beardies.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Aw, I'm so sorry that she passed. :( Poor girl, you did the best thing, it sounds like nothing could have saved her. My condolences to you + your family.
 
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