Beardie fell on spine and can't use back legs help!!

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Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I am glad to hear you are getting him to a vet now. How is he doing today?
So you will be or are housing him alone, correct? He definitely needs his own tank
& space, especially with his injury right now so he can recover properly.
I hope you are able to get him into the vet in that area. Keep us posted on the
situation. I hope everything works out for you both & that he will be able to recover
to some degree.

Tracie
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
Any update on how he's doing? Did you call the Animal Hospital I gave you the info for? The woman I spoke to at the reptile rescue close to you was just raving about that place and how knowledgeable and experienced they are with reptile, specifically bearded dragons, so it sounded like a good gig.

To fully answer your question regarding "Can they have friends/do they just dislike certain other dragons or all dragon", no, they can't "have friends"...Here's the thing, they don't want "friends". They don't think like we do, or like other herd/flock animals do. That's the main difference between Bearded Dragons and other animals who live together with their own kind, Bearded Dragons are not "Herd" or "Flock" or "Pack" reptiles, they are "Solitary" reptiles, meaning that they live alone and basically only come together in their natural, wild environment to mate. That's it. They don't "parent" their offspring, as most reptiles that lay eggs and leave them don't. They are simply just solitary reptiles that live alone. And that doesn't mean they are lonely or unhappy, that's just how they are. They don't have any concept of what a "friend" is, nor will you be able to make them understand. It just doesn't work with Dragons.

Pet shops keep them together to save money. That's the bottom line. There's no way that any pet shop is going to set up individual tanks with their own lighting for every baby/juvenile/adult Dragon they have for sale, most of them can't be bothered to set up one single tank correctly for all of them. They house them all together to save money, make it easier to feed them all at the same time and to keep just the one tank clean, and to only need to have lighting set up for one tank. It's a temporary situation so I guess that's how they justify it, but when you see multiple dragons in one tank and they are all different sizes, like they have babies that look like they just hatched in with juveniles that are a couple of months old, this is not justifiable at all.

All you have to do to really understand why this is wrong for pet shops to do is ask yourself "Why do most all Bearded Dragons that come from pet shops have tail nips? Missing toenails/entire toes/entire feet? Missing multiple toes? Have bites all over them? Etc....That's why it's wrong, and that's why you can't house them together, because even cute, tiny, month-old babies dominate each other, attack each other, and often cause permanent damage to each other. So imagine what they can do to each other as they get larger and larger. There are some pretty horrific photos out there of what happens when people house dragons together. Certainly not worth the risk...

Right now just concentrate on getting your little guy the medical help that he needs, he's hurting and he doesn't understand why...

If we can help you in any way just let us know...
 

Sethdrak3

Member
Original Poster
Hello everyone, my beardie is doing just fine today he's just a little sedated from the medication. He has a collapsed disk. The only thing there is to do it give him the anti-inflammatory medication and pain medication. Both are delivered daily with a syringe. He's doing good taking his medication when I give it to him directly but it was suggested to put it on his food but after he ate he rejected anything else so now im giving it to him through the mouth. And she seems a lot more comfortable. But the pain medicine has him in a sedated state so he's not moving much and since I've just recently gotten to take a full dose through the mouth he hasn't eaten since probably bc of the sedation so I've talked to the office about it and the doctors are gonna a call me back about it later. I have another appointment on Saturday to check on him. Thank you guys for the information about this place they were very helpful and did a great job. Definitely my main vet now. They said he may or may not regain use of his legs it just up to how he heals. He still eating just not when he's sedated.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Bless him, I am so sorry that happened to him.
You have gotten him some care & medication right now so you just have to wait to see
how well his back heals up.
At least he is being very good about taking his medications, also. Be sure to keep him
hydrated as best you can. Do you have any probiotics to give to him right now, to help
while he is on meds? They usually do affect the appetite.
Keep us posted on him.

Tracie
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
Awe, poor little guy, what a freak thing to have happen. Well, at least you got him some pain medication and something to help get the swelling down, hopefully he will eventually start to recover once the swelling goes down, right now he just needs to heal and stay comfortable. The pain meds he's on are probably pretty strong so yes, he'll be sedated, but he needs them right now while the swelling is bad. As Tracie already mentioned to you, giving him a probiotic along with his medications can help to keep his stomach settled and his bowels moving, because if they gave him any type of opiate pain med they can cause constipation as well, so the probiotic is a must to keep his bowels moving.

You may want to speak to the reptile vet about getting some Oxbow Critical Care, it's a powder that they give to reptiles that are sick/injured and not eating on their own, and you mix it with water and feed it to him with an oral syringe, it will keep him getting the protein, calories, fat, vitamins, minerals, etc. that he needs so he won't lose any weight while he's going through this, and it will also help him to better heal. They'll definitely know what "Critical Care Food" is, just ask them about it, because I doubt he's going to have much of an appetite for a while until the swelling goes down and his nerves are decompressed.

I'm glad that the information I gave you was good information, lol, the lady I spoke to at the rescue in St. Augustine just raved about that place, she kept saying that they were the most knowledgeable place she had ever had a reptile to, so I got a good feeling.
 

Sethdrak3

Member
Original Poster
A little confused about what you mean. He's not having trouble eating? He's eating fine. He just to medicated to eat right after i give him the pain meds. But he eats fine. And the vets said he wasn't small or anything hes regular size still. I can look into a probiotic but he hasn't had any constipation or anything. As far as I know but I've been trying to stay in contact with the vet on a lot of this. But hell be back sooner than anything for a check up so. He's doing fine right now i don't want to add anything else especially anything oral. I already have been giving him two oral syringes of medication a day and he absolutely hates it so I'm not adding anything unless it's absolutely necessary. I'll keep in contact with the vet and see what they say.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Sethdrak3":3po17q4j said:
Hello everyone, my beardie is doing just fine today he's just a little sedated from the medication. He has a collapsed disk. The only thing there is to do it give him the anti-inflammatory medication and pain medication. Both are delivered daily with a syringe. He's doing good taking his medication when I give it to him directly but it was suggested to put it on his food but after he ate he rejected anything else so now im giving it to him through the mouth. And she seems a lot more comfortable. But the pain medicine has him in a sedated state so he's not moving much and since I've just recently gotten to take a full dose through the mouth he hasn't eaten since probably bc of the sedation so I've talked to the office about it and the doctors are gonna a call me back about it later. I have another appointment on Saturday to check on him. Thank you guys for the information about this place they were very helpful and did a great job. Definitely my main vet now. They said he may or may not regain use of his legs it just up to how he heals. He still eating just not when he's sedated.

So I take it the vet took xrays and gave you copies of them (either as a print or sent them to you by email) ....

I'm surprised he's getting the meds for an injured back orally
.... I would have thought the anti-inflammatory and pain relief would be given using a needle and give just under the skin in the back above the kidneys. This is that I had to do for Lucky the juvenile water skink and then for George my (juvenile at the time) blue tongue skink.
 

Sethdrak3

Member
Original Poster
kingofnobbys":2z6in7ar said:
Sethdrak3":2z6in7ar said:
Hello everyone, my beardie is doing just fine today he's just a little sedated from the medication. He has a collapsed disk. The only thing there is to do it give him the anti-inflammatory medication and pain medication. Both are delivered daily with a syringe. He's doing good taking his medication when I give it to him directly but it was suggested to put it on his food but after he ate he rejected anything else so now im giving it to him through the mouth. And she seems a lot more comfortable. But the pain medicine has him in a sedated state so he's not moving much and since I've just recently gotten to take a full dose through the mouth he hasn't eaten since probably bc of the sedation so I've talked to the office about it and the doctors are gonna a call me back about it later. I have another appointment on Saturday to check on him. Thank you guys for the information about this place they were very helpful and did a great job. Definitely my main vet now. They said he may or may not regain use of his legs it just up to how he heals. He still eating just not when he's sedated.

So I take it the vet took xrays and gave you copies of them (either as a print or sent them to you by email) ....

I'm surprised he's getting the meds for an injured back orally
.... I would have thought the anti-inflammatory and pain relief would be given using a needle and give just under the skin in the back above the kidneys. This is that I had to do for Lucky the juvenile water skink and then for George my (juvenile at the time) blue tongue skink.

Oh darn. Sounds a little painful. Nah they give me liquid oral medicine and it's such a small amount they suggest to give it to him on a worm which didn't work out well so they said through the mouth. Although he doesn't like it, it been very effective. And it's fairly easy to do and even figure out how to do you just gotta be gentle just like always. It's honestly like .03mg in each syringe just gotta slip it under his lip until he bites onto the plastic and squirt it in. I guess in larger amounts it would be easier to expel the juice out of his mouth but since it's so small he has almost no choice but to swallow it so it works very well.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
EllenD":14fp3x8s said:
Awe, poor little guy, what a freak thing to have happen. Well, at least you got him some pain medication and something to help get the swelling down, hopefully he will eventually start to recover once the swelling goes down, right now he just needs to heal and stay comfortable. The pain meds he's on are probably pretty strong so yes, he'll be sedated, but he needs them right now while the swelling is bad. As Tracie already mentioned to you, giving him a probiotic along with his medications can help to keep his stomach settled and his bowels moving, because if they gave him any type of opiate pain med they can cause constipation as well, so the probiotic is a must to keep his bowels moving.

<<<< I'm confused .... do the meds the dragon is getting include antibiotics ?
if so why is he getting antibiotics ?

If no antibiotics - I can not see the need for probiotics.



You may want to speak to the reptile vet about getting some Oxbow Critical Care, it's a powder that they give to reptiles that are sick/injured and not eating on their own, and you mix it with water and feed it to him with an oral syringe, it will keep him getting the protein, calories, fat, vitamins, minerals, etc. that he needs so he won't lose any weight while he's going through this, and it will also help him to better heal. They'll definitely know what "Critical Care Food" is, just ask them about it, because I doubt he's going to have much of an appetite for a while until the swelling goes down and his nerves are decompressed.

<<< I concur .... or http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/vetafarm_critta_care_reptile?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1KuuvZHo2AIVHAQqCh1QmwGbEAQYASABEgKnzfD_BwE&gdfms=0FACE03B71074D1E943C7E5665E213C7&gdffi=10600f223f474e1c9ae213f32fb3a662.... this is great stuff and I have had great outcomes using it for very sick lizards (ie Lucky , and then Fluffy).
Another option is http://www.repashy.com.au/index.php?route=product/category&path=59_63

I'm glad that the information I gave you was good information, lol, the lady I spoke to at the rescue in St. Augustine just raved about that place, she kept saying that they were the most knowledgeable place she had ever had a reptile to, so I got a good feeling.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Sethdrak3":3g4mbbbh said:
kingofnobbys":3g4mbbbh said:
Sethdrak3":3g4mbbbh said:
Hello everyone, my beardie is doing just fine today he's just a little sedated from the medication. He has a collapsed disk. The only thing there is to do it give him the anti-inflammatory medication and pain medication. Both are delivered daily with a syringe. He's doing good taking his medication when I give it to him directly but it was suggested to put it on his food but after he ate he rejected anything else so now im giving it to him through the mouth. And she seems a lot more comfortable. But the pain medicine has him in a sedated state so he's not moving much and since I've just recently gotten to take a full dose through the mouth he hasn't eaten since probably bc of the sedation so I've talked to the office about it and the doctors are gonna a call me back about it later. I have another appointment on Saturday to check on him. Thank you guys for the information about this place they were very helpful and did a great job. Definitely my main vet now. They said he may or may not regain use of his legs it just up to how he heals. He still eating just not when he's sedated.

So I take it the vet took xrays and gave you copies of them (either as a print or sent them to you by email) ....

I'm surprised he's getting the meds for an injured back orally
.... I would have thought the anti-inflammatory and pain relief would be given using a needle and give just under the skin in the back above the kidneys. This is that I had to do for Lucky the juvenile water skink and then for George my (juvenile at the time) blue tongue skink.

Oh darn. Sounds a little painful. Nah they give me liquid oral medicine and it's such a small amount they suggest to give it to him on a worm which didn't work out well so they said through the mouth. Although he doesn't like it, it been very effective. And it's fairly easy to do and even figure out how to do you just gotta be gentle just like always. It's honestly like .03mg in each syringe just gotta slip it under his lip until he bites onto the plastic and squirt it in. I guess in larger amounts it would be easier to expel the juice out of his mouth but since it's so small he has almost no choice but to swallow it so it works very well.

Gets it directly into the bloodstream which means no effect on appetite and a very fast relief of pain.
The needle essentially goes between a couple of scales and only about 2-3mm in .... is all over in few seconds.
I was doing the for the first time with little injured water skink who was juvenile under 1 year old and only weighed 4g .... I was terrified I'd impale him if he wriggled when I was giving him his injections (every day).
 

Sethdrak3

Member
Original Poster
kingofnobbys":vczl4z7o said:
Sethdrak3":vczl4z7o said:
kingofnobbys":vczl4z7o said:
Sethdrak3":vczl4z7o said:
Hello everyone, my beardie is doing just fine today he's just a little sedated from the medication. He has a collapsed disk. The only thing there is to do it give him the anti-inflammatory medication and pain medication. Both are delivered daily with a syringe. He's doing good taking his medication when I give it to him directly but it was suggested to put it on his food but after he ate he rejected anything else so now im giving it to him through the mouth. And she seems a lot more comfortable. But the pain medicine has him in a sedated state so he's not moving much and since I've just recently gotten to take a full dose through the mouth he hasn't eaten since probably bc of the sedation so I've talked to the office about it and the doctors are gonna a call me back about it later. I have another appointment on Saturday to check on him. Thank you guys for the information about this place they were very helpful and did a great job. Definitely my main vet now. They said he may or may not regain use of his legs it just up to how he heals. He still eating just not when he's sedated.

So I take it the vet took xrays and gave you copies of them (either as a print or sent them to you by email) ....

I'm surprised he's getting the meds for an injured back orally
.... I would have thought the anti-inflammatory and pain relief would be given using a needle and give just under the skin in the back above the kidneys. This is that I had to do for Lucky the juvenile water skink and then for George my (juvenile at the time) blue tongue skink.

Oh darn. Sounds a little painful. Nah they give me liquid oral medicine and it's such a small amount they suggest to give it to him on a worm which didn't work out well so they said through the mouth. Although he doesn't like it, it been very effective. And it's fairly easy to do and even figure out how to do you just gotta be gentle just like always. It's honestly like .03mg in each syringe just gotta slip it under his lip until he bites onto the plastic and squirt it in. I guess in larger amounts it would be easier to expel the juice out of his mouth but since it's so small he has almost no choice but to swallow it so it works very well.

Gets it directly into the bloodstream which means no effect on appetite and a very fast relief of pain.
The needle essentially goes between a couple scales and only about 2-3mm in .... is all over in few seconds.

Well yea, sounds like an average shot xD but liquid is fairly quick to the blood stream also. And still painless and i can give him more when it wears off while with a shot I doubt I'd be able to give him one of those so... That's probably why..
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

How is your boy doing today?
I know, it is very rough to get meds into them, so just be gentle with him & hopefully he wont
have to be on meds for too long. I hope he gets his mobility back, or at least a little bit of it so
his quality of life will improve some.
If he is happy & content, then, that is all that matters if you can get his pain levels down to a
manageable realm.
Keep us posted on him.

Tracie
 
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