Sick beardie. Really worried.

I checked on my beardie this morning and found that he had a head tilt and was having trouble moving around. I brought him to the vet and he said he may not survive. He said he was a little underweight. He was given fluid and vitamins. I was sent home with some special food to give him. I’m so scared that he will die and it will be my fault. I’ve had for 2 years. I thought I was doing ok until now. I was told he might have parasites but I won’t know unless a fecal test is done. Has anyone experienced this before?

Hello, I am sorry to hear about your beardie. Was the vet a reptile specific vet? This is VERY important, regular vets won't be much help at all.

Can you give us as much info about your setup as possible? Lighting, heating, UV, cage size, food, supplements, calcium, etc. This will help us help you

I have a T5 uv bulb. One of the long, tube ones. Reptisun heat bulbs. 2 100 Watts. It’s currently 92 on the hot side. I’m open to suggestions on getting more heat in there. I should maybe mention that I live in New England so it’s tough just keeping the house heated right now. He has a 70 gallon( I think) glass terrarium tank. I believe the vet is a reptile vet. He told me about the calcium supplements so he could be calcium deficient. He also said it could be parasites. He didn’t give him a very good prognosis and I can’t help feeling that this is my fault. He also told me I should be submerging him in water a few times a week to keep him hydrated which I didn’t know.

Hello,

Did he not do a fecal exam on him to test for parasites, or a blood test to see what his calcium
& other levels were? Without doing a test or two, it's virtually impossible to know what could
be wrong just by looking at him.
Your Reptsun 10 T5 is a high output UVB lamp, so, it should be adequate. Since you have a 70
gallon tank, how far away is the tube bulb placed from him & it is on top of or underneath of
the screen top?
Do you know what the humidity is in his tank? Dehydration "can" cause off balance problems
so do try getting some oral fluids into him for hydration. Baths can help if they don't mind being
in water but some get stressed. A lot of people argue the point of baths, etc. I happen to believe
they do benefit them, but that is an individual opinion I suppose. Does your dragon drink from a
bath, a lot of them do.

Tracie

I agree that this sounds like a calcium deficiency and/or a neurological issue caused by bad or inadequate lighting...if you have a large, 70-gallon glass tank with a mesh lid, then you need to be sure that the T5 UVB tube is not on top of a mesh lid to the tank, and also that it's at least within 11" of his Basking Spot/Platform, and that the tube fixture that the UVB tube is in doesn't have any type of clear, plastic cover on it that goes over the UVB tube, as any type of plastic or glass blocks 100% of the UVB light emitted by the tube, and the mesh lid blocks about 40% of the UVB light. So if you have it on top of a mesh lid, and it's a very tall tank and it's further away from him than 11", then he's got a severe Calcium deficiency due to a lack of UVB light.

Also, do you mean that you had not been giving him any calcium or multivitamin powders prior to this vet visit? Ever? That will also do it, you need to dust his live insects in a calcium powder 5 days a week and a multivitamin powder 3 days a week as an adult, and this along with an adequate, strong UVB tube that is mounted correctly will ensure that he will grow properly and not have a calcium deficiency or a Vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency...

What brand and length of T5 UVB tube do you have? I'm just asking because you didn't mention a brand, but you mentioned that you use "Reptisun" basking bulbs...also, what color Reptisun basking bulbs are you using? Are they white/yellow, or are they a color, like red, blue, etc.? And are they just regular, compact basking bulbs, or are they coiled/spiral basking bulbs?

Sadly he passed away this afternoon. I’ll miss him but I’m glad he isn’t suffering anymore.

I'm so sorry to hear about his passing - it is always hard to lose a beloved pet

Hello,


Oh no, I am so sorry that he passed away, how awful! I am sorry for your loss.
Poor little one, at least he is not suffering & wasn't alone.

Tracie