Looking after a sick Beardie

Hello

I am looking after my sister's beardie while they are away for 3 weeks.

He has been diagnosed by a vet (not an exotics vet) with a mouth ulcer before they went away, but from reading the forum it sounds like it could be mouth rot or that he has a respiratory infection. At the moment he isn't eating voluntarily and I'm having to syringe feed him a pureed mix of kale and butternut squash with some calcium powder mixed in (this isn't what they were giving him but I read this somewhere on the forim). He will eat some wax worms but only if you open his mouth and pop them in. He was prescribed enrobactin (enroflaxin) which he is having 0.1ml of watered down to 0.4ml once a day. I've read the leaflet and it states that they should only take this for 6 days and I think his condition has improved slightly, but his mouth still seems sore and he has some mucus but it is clear. He opens his mouth quite a lot, and when he breathes like this i can only describe it as it seems like he has a mucusy cold. He ate quite a few wax worms yesterday and definitely seems more active today.

I have no experience of beardies and was just wondering if there is any other advice you could give? I also struggle to syringe feed him and can tell he is getting stressed out as he puffs up. Are there any tips you can give on this? I've read about crop needles but I don't have any of those. I just want to make sure I am doing the best for him!

My Dad will be taking over looking after him in a few days and I want to leave him clear instructions. I will be checking in from time to time and can demonstrate how to do it.

I should also mention thst he is a really healthy colour compared to some of the pictures I have seen of sick beardies on here, so hopefully he will continue to improve.

Many Thanks!!!!!

Hopefully the antibiotics and veges will help. Can you post some photos of him and the sore area of his mouth? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.

Hello,

Thanks for your reply. Here are some pictures of him. I don't know how I would take one of the sore in his mouth because I think it's quite far back. If you have any suggestions I'd be happy to try.

His beard is black most of the time at the moment which I know can be a sign of ill health/stress. I just fed him some wax worms and he took them himself today, but he struggled to eat a larger one and it ended up coming back up. Good that he was eating voluntarily though.

He does look distressed. He looks to be a pretty good weight though so that's encouraging. You might dry dripping some water on his nose to see if he licks it up. That will help provide some hydration. If you can't get his mouth open to take a photo, don't force it - not worth the extra stress right now. For the sore, you might want to use a topical cleanser on it like MaxiGuard gel. You can try to apply some over the area using a q-tip. That has come recommended by my vet at times. Hopefully the combination of antibiotics and keeping the affected area clean will help. If not, then a vet may need to take a culture to see what might be causing the infection and target it with appropriate meds. I would go easy on him for now though and see how he does with some good care. Hitting them with lots of meds can cause more problems than it solves in some cases.

Thank you for your advice.

I think it's the force feeding that's stressing him out. He won't take water dripped on his nose so I'm going give him a bath later and see if he drinks any.

I'll keep you updated!