Looking for a user named Tracie if shes still around

I was a member of this site about 10 years ago when I first got my beardie. We've hit a point where I've been told shes old and dying and I would like a second opinion from Tracy before I take the steps to have her put down.

Hi there, yes Tracie is still around and will prob. see this later. Can you post pics of your dragon and your concerns ? Other experienced owners can be helpful here as well if you provide the info. Sorry to hear that your dragon is not well, hopefully there is still some chance of a few more months or even years.

Hello,

I got your PM & will message you back.
Definitely post some pictures of her & of her tank setup just so we can see her condition.

Thanks,
Tracie

Hello everyone, im going to try and make this as informative as possible since Thil has had an adventurous last year or so and I want to make sure things that have been resolved aren't mistaken for current issues or factor.

Backstory : Thil is a petstore beardie I bought 10 years ago. She'll be 10 this december. Shes had a 4x4 viv with reptisun 10 bulbs for her entire live, minus a few of the starting months when I first got her and was new.

She has NEVER eaten veggies or fruits, I've tried all manner of ways and she just wont. Her diet prior to this starting 2-3 weeks ago was super worms gut loaded with bug burger.

Previous issues/injuries : She had a joint infection in 2015 that was resolved but she ended up with some arthritis build up in her elbows. They haven't changed since we did the round of antibiotics for that.

Back in December she has a tail infection and needed surgery to remove some tail. She had had a nip from when I got her at the store that was also sort of a pain when shedding, more so as she got older and started shedding in pieces. My fault I missed the shed before it became to late. We also found out during that time she was resistant to baytril so the progress of healing was slow due to using the baytril during the beginning which was ineffective.

So that's basically caught up to where we are now. 4 weeks ago I noticed she was losing mass in her tail. Now this is hard for me to admit but I ignored it to a degree as I am currently waiting to hear from a specialist on a $1600 oral laser surgery for my cat ( my vet jokes that the animals with the most needs seem to know to come to me). She was still eating so part of me just hoped it was due to her not moving it as much after the surgery. Within this week she started to stop eating. About a week to a week and a half later I noticed the fat pads on her head were starting to sink so I made an appointment. From here on ill try to point form the steps we went through.

- Initial vet visit for weight lose. Notice slight mucous in mouth, lethargy, she was very 'pancakey' and the signs of fat loss. She fought like hell when they tried to look in her mouth which was a good sign for me. They took a blood sample and recommend baby food since she wasn't eating and also gave me liquid calcium.

The Blood test came back normal with no signs of issues with liver or kidneys or anything else. So we went to xray. The xray was monday, she also happened to have pooped that morning which I took in to get a fecal. On Monday I also picked up some crit care to switch for the baby food. I asked if she was dying then, I was worried. The tech said they werent sure, to keep with the food and that she still fight strongly when you do stuff she doesn't like so I knew she wasn't giving up completely.

Tuesday night I noticed her eyes were starting to sink. I called about this yesterday afternoon. Late yesterday afternoon I get a call. Xray is fine, fecal is fine. Their conclusion is shes slowly passing away. Told me to talk with my SO and decide when to go through with it.

Shes 10, and I know ten is a fair age. And part of me is okay that if this is her time and its age then Im okay with that rather then turning out she had cancer or some other awful thing. But shes still there, yeah sometimes shes a bit more sleepy or out of it but she also has her moments of alert, looking and everything, listening and being goofy.

Shes weird, no veggies, no fruits, shes spoil from when I had her as a baby so she doesn't move a whole lot as thats my job. She's never had eggs. My plan was to give her till Saturday. If she got any worse then we'd make the appointment. I say saturday because I realized two days on crit care might not have been enough if she was going to bounce back. I realized she had been pooping a lot and a lot of it was liquid so the sunken eyes might have been my bad for not upping her water intake. I was worried about her poop consistency but her diet has been all basically liquid so it shouldn't be a solid poop?

I'm not sure im just grasping. If she wants to go ill let her go but I want to make sure im not being hasty. I've included some pictures of her as she is now. She has a spot on my desk shes been chilling with me mainly on for the last 4 weeks which has a hot spot of 105-110 and a reptisun 10.0.

Thank you for reading all of this, im sorry it was so long.

https://imgur.com/gtYkeBw
https://imgur.com/miwmLAH
https://imgur.com/5kyLM6s
https://imgur.com/zw911k8
https://imgur.com/F8rs1KX
https://imgur.com/S63ZFT1

When I looked at the photos after reading your post I was surprised to see how good she looks. We've seen our fair share of sick or neglected dragons and it's clear you are giving her good care. Her colors are still nice and bright and she is still a good size. I would keep offering her water and critical care or baby food as long as she'll take it and keep her going as long as she has some fight left in her. It's a good sign that her blood test came back showing normal kidney and liver function. It doesn't necessarily rule out an underlying condition but it helps show that this isn't likely painful organ failure. I think you've been with her long enough to get a good general idea about how she's feeling or if something is really off. Probably best to follow your gut and experience with her on that.

Thank you Cooper, however she's never been one to be moody so my trust in her not showing discomfort is thin.

I do just want to add that she isn't eating or drinking on her own, I am feeding her by syringe. She has also been passing very small amount of urate and 'poop' in short time frames. I'm starting to think this is just going to be to hard on her, to big of a hump to get over. Its not really a way to live if she doesn't want to eat, to have me to keep forcing her.

Hello,

These types of cases are never easy! I did pm you.
Do you have a copy of the blood tests you could email me? Just so I can look over them. It
is a good sign she still has some fighting spirit to her. Her eyes are sunken so she is having a
hard time holding hydration. Has she had a black beard at all?
How long has she not been eating on her own? How much of the critical care are you able to
get into her daily? Will she lick it willingly off of her nose?
She has never laid infertile eggs at all? Wow, some don't lay infertile eggs but others lay a lot.
It doesn't seem like she is suffering right now, correct? I don't always like to recommend to just
put them down if they are not suffering. It's good to let them pass on their own, with you. It is
a personal decision though, I realize. It is sometimes hard to determine pain levels on them.
I guess I just don't like giving up. We are all here for you & have all been through similar type
of circumstances.

Tracie

Just restating stuff that I put in my reply

No black bearded
No eating on her own at all
Also i've been trying to get 4ml of Crit Care into her a day
Never any eggs ever, even with a laying/digging option in her set up.

Update for today, She had a sorta normal poop for once. Her last few BMs have been like, if you can imagine an egg, with the white being liquid and then the yolk being a bit of crit care and some stringy urate. TODAY however i don't believe there was much for liquid (she pooped on paper towel this time) BUT her urate was a solid shape, not strings and her poop was poop colored.

=======

Second update since as I was typing this she pooped again (twice pretty close in the morning as been the normal the last few days) This poop was all liquid but it wasn't just water with a bit of stuff (like the egg) this was all brown, normal poop colored but liquid.

Now im just not sure if the color change means shes actually processing the food now versus just passing it and having it look the same. I don't know if this is a good sign or worse. The poop isn't black, no blood or anything.

Hello,

How is your girl doing today?
Were you able to get some food into her I hope?
I guess we can rule out eggs then.
That would be good news if her stool was improving. Hopefully her body is starting to try
& absorb the food better. It's a good sign there is no blood or anything odd like that.
Were you able to get a copy of the blood tests from the vet?

Keep us posted on her.
Tracie