Malnourished or dying dragon please help

I just adopted a rescue senior dragon. He's 11 and so he's on a mostly veggie diet. One of his eyes won't open and I can't figure out why I've tried to use a q tip to clean the outside but he still won't open it. His hips are fully visible and he refuses to eat from his dish or be hand fed. His stomach is concave and you can see the bones in his tail. This is my first dragon and I was told he was in good shape but he's clearly not. It looks like he has diarrhea caked on his rectum and all along his tail. I'm trying to find an exotic animal doc but because I'm in a small rural town it's very difficult. I don't know if he's just dying naturally and stopped eatting or if he's very sick. Please help!

This does not sound good ---- you can try and PM TracieDrache613 shes our vet moderator or AHBD who is very knowledgeable w/ dragons for a quicker response--- can you post pics of the tank and lighting please------ the sooner the better ---- go to user image uploader at the top of this page- down load pics -- click on reply at top of message box click in XIMG and pics should post---- to PM click on the names from one of the discussion forums --- on the right side of page under email and send PM --
Karrie

Aw, poor dragon. I'm sorry that you're in this situation. First thing to do is give him a 10 minute soak in warm water, keep his head stable and allow him to drink. Not too much though, they sometimes drink so much that they vomit it up. Use a toothbrush or a hand towel to gently stroke his soiled underside to try to clean him up [ don't let him drink after you've done that ] . Pat him dry afterwards + set him back in the tank where the heat lamp is. Get some all natural baby food sweet potato, chicken, green bean. See if a local pet store sells jumpstart and/or Repashy grub pie. These are nutritional supplements that can help out until he [ hopefully ] eats on his own. Use an eyedropper or feeding syringe. It's important to get him hydrated and after a few days offer medium insects like dubia, silkworms, crickets, hornworms and just a very few superworms. All should be lightly dusted with calcium powder. Can you post pics of him without disturbing him too much ? Here's how to post them :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them

My brother has finally agreed to pay for a vet visit. And I'll try another bath today. One of my bigger concerns is his eye that he won't open. The only time he will open his mouth to eat is when he can see and his two previous baths haven't helped. Thank you for your responses

He is thin but I've seen much worse. Has he eaten already ? If so, that's a great sign. Is it just one eye that won't open ? Or both ? You can use raw unpasteurized honey as an eye ointment, dilute it with 2 parts warm water + apply it 2-3 X a day. It worked very well when my dragon had eye infection.

Also, be sure the vet is experienced with bearded dragons. Be aware that even a vet that is labelled " exotics " may have very little experience with lizards and they often prescribe antibiotics + other harsh meds. that can do more harm than good. Some vets are O.K but look up reviews on any + call ahead to see if they have experience.

You may have to syringe feed him with Reptiboost for a little while if he's not eating at all, though in rescue cases, I've seen in forum posts here that slow & easy is better for them than shocking their system with an aggressive regimen right out of the gate. I'm glad to hear a vet visit is in the cards, though!

Thank you all so much for the response. My friend who raises leopard gekos recommended me to his vet. The vet prescribed carnivore care, reptivite, benebac, aviGLO, and baytril antibiotic. He says once we can get a solid stool sample we can do a stool test and a blood test. It sounds like a long road to get his muscle strength back up. Thank you guys so much for helping.

Hello,

Poor thing, but hopefully you will be able to help him. I am happy to hear you were able to
get him to a vet. The supplements that he gave for him sound very good also. Be sure to
keep him well hydrated while he is on the Baytril antibiotic.
Did the vet address his eye issue at all?
Has his beard been dark in color?
He is a lucky boy to have a new home. So many older dragons never find a home at that
age, so be gentle with him.
I agree, try to get a fecal exam done in a couple of weeks first. Be careful with overmedicating him
in his condition, if he does have worms or parasites.
As suggested, daily baths are good for him & let him drink slowly. They do recover slowly so go
slow with him to be careful with his kidneys. I hope he will be with you for awhile.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie