Beardie not eating, blackbearding, sudden weight loss

Status
Not open for further replies.

Gickel

Member
Hey all, so i'm at my wit's end. I have no idea what is plaguing my beardie Felix. He is a family pet, about 3 years old now. About a month ago we noticed that he was eating less and blackbearding, so we took him to the vet. They tested his fecal and didnt find any parasites and said the issue was he wasnt getting enough calcium on his crickets, so we were given liquid calc to give him. His temps are good, and he uses a Reptisun 10.0 tube that was changed three weeks ago. He also gave an antiprotozoan just in case to give for five days. At first, he was getting better and eating more. It lasted only a few weeks, and now he has lost weight extremely suddenly, I can see his hip bones. In the past two days he's started to blackbeard constantly again and just lays still in the bottom of the tank. I thought he had passed away until i picked up up and he moved.

I am hoping to get him to the vet asap, its just very frustrating because the only herp vet around is very expensive and they didnt bother testing him much the first time. It just hurts me to see him in unnecessary pain.

I wanted to post here to see if anyone could have any idea of the causes for this?

Thank you all.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, sorry to hear this. The vet assuming low calcium was probably wrong, this does not cause black bearding. Liquid calcium should only be used very sparingly, it is very high potency and not necessary in most instances. Giving an anti parasitic with no parasites in the fecal test was also not good practice.

Something else is going on, ask for blood tests right away, and post a copy of them here. It may reveal something right away. An Xray can help as well to see if there are any masses, but you might just go with blood test for now. Could be kidney or liver trouble or even cancer. BTW, please post pics of Felix and also of his tank, including lights.
 

Gickel

Member
Original Poster
Here are some pictures. We use tile for the bottom since its easier to clean. He's kicked around some greens which makes me wonder if hes eating them?

IMG-6983.jpg


IMG-6982.jpg


IMG-6981.jpg


He used to be much more plump. Sorry for the bad pictures, old phone camera used.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
He looks very ill, poor guy. This is not a calcium issue, unless he never had calcium in a long, long time and then it still would not cause this condition. He really needs bloodwork ASAP. Will he drink if you dribble water on his snout ? He's dehydrated as well so that can help.
 

Gickel

Member
Original Poster
I tried, but he wont open his mouth or act interested in any movement at all around him. Only when i pick him up will he move. :( I will definitely be asking for bloodwork, i just hope they can get me in quick...
 

Gickel

Member
Original Poster
Felix passed away around two hours after my last post. His eyes sunk deep into his head and he went completely stiff, and i tested by flipping him and no movement.


Honestly im just furious that the good help came too late, it could have been avoided if the vet had known what he was talking about.

I do really appreciate you responding and trying to help, though.
 

Beardeddtagonlover

Hatchling Member
Gickel IAM sorry about your Dragon unfortunately they are many situations where there is no treatmeant for also I don't know if it would of made a difference but when an animal is not eating you need to feed it before starts losing weight and weaken the animal further.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I am very sorry to hear that you lost your dragon. :cry: That is never easy to have to endure.
It sounds like he was very ill & the vet definitely misdiagnosed him. I am sorry for your loss.


Tracie
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

No members online now.

Still Needs Help

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,897
Messages
1,255,656
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom