Injured stray beardie feeding help!

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109556-1731670215.jpg
Hi I hope someone can help.

I have taken into my care a stray beardie who was found by being struck by a strimmer. There are no open wounds just bruising.he does have 2 broken toes, either dislocated or broken tail and general bruises on his body.

I work in a vets and he was brought in freezing - I took over his care as there ar no exotic staff members where I work and I own them myself.
I got him wanted up and bathing, he is in antibiotics and pain relief etc. But he really seems to hate his syringe feeds!

He has been having oxbow care which he initially took ok, but now is pushing it out of his mouth :( his eyes are almost always shut.
Now when I feed him it just sits in his mouth or he pushes it out.

Overall he has improved massively, he has brighter colour and alot more energy. He's also pooping now which took a few days. Any help at all would be appreciated! Its upsetting to see him hate the food so much even though its helping him :(
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Poor guy, he does look a bit stressed. Are you located in Australia or the US?
How much of the critical care are you giving him? Perhaps it is too thick, how are you
mixing it up for him? Have you tried hand feeding him any bugs or greens, to see if he
would try eating that way?
Are you keeping him at home, or at the vets?
Maybe try some chicken or turkey baby food, mixed with sweet potato or squash baby food
for him. Usually that is well tolerated. When did you start caring for him?

Tracie
 

Rachypoo123

Member
Original Poster
Hi,

I am in the UK, he is having 5ml 2x a day
He is not interested in bugs or veg
He is kept with me at home and at work, but I am happy enough with his progress that I am going to leave him at home in a setup rather then taking him with me
I started caring for him on 12th. They wanted to euthanize him because they didn't really know what to do

Thanks ?
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
I'm glad you are able to give him care. Poor guy. They are tough little ones an can bounce back from quite a lot. Keeping him warm and comfortable, providing high quality lighting, and keeping him hydrated and fed should go a long way. Please keep us updated on his progress =)
 

Rachypoo123

Member
Original Poster
Its just the force feeding he seems to really hate it and I feel awful doing it :(

109556-2883684901.jpg

He may need to have surgery for his toes and eye unfortunately.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

How is your little one doing today?
Has he started showing any interest in food?
Most of them don't really enjoy the feeding in that manner. Will he not willingly lick any food
off of his nose at all?
I hope that he is improving for you. Keep us posted on him.

Tracie
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Rachypoo123":23qwmx4m said:
109556-1731670215.jpg
Hi I hope someone can help.

I have taken into my care a stray beardie who was found by being struck by a strimmer. There are no open wounds just bruising.he does have 2 broken toes, either dislocated or broken tail and general bruises on his body.

I work in a vets and he was brought in freezing - I took over his care as there ar no exotic staff members where I work and I own them myself.
I got him wanted up and bathing, he is in antibiotics and pain relief etc. But he really seems to hate his syringe feeds!

He has been having oxbow care which he initially took ok, but now is pushing it out of his mouth :( his eyes are almost always shut.
Now when I feed him it just sits in his mouth or he pushes it out.

Overall he has improved massively, he has brighter colour and alot more energy. He's also pooping now which took a few days. Any help at all would be appreciated! Its upsetting to see him hate the food so much even though its helping him :(

Try adding a few drops of honey to get him licking the food, perhaps mix a little with the Oxbow.

Do you have access to VetaFarm HerpaBOOST ? This is very good and I've had success with near dead injured skinks with it given orally dropwise by syringe .
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Rachypoo123":s6u2bwh6 said:
109556-1731670215.jpg
Hi I hope someone can help.

I have taken into my care a stray beardie who was found by being struck by a strimmer. There are no open wounds just bruising.he does have 2 broken toes, either dislocated or broken tail and general bruises on his body.

I work in a vets and he was brought in freezing - I took over his care as there ar no exotic staff members where I work and I own them myself.
I got him wanted up and bathing, he is in antibiotics and pain relief etc. But he really seems to hate his syringe feeds!

He has been having oxbow care which he initially took ok, but now is pushing it out of his mouth :( his eyes are almost always shut.
Now when I feed him it just sits in his mouth or he pushes it out.

Overall he has improved massively, he has brighter colour and alot more energy. He's also pooping now which took a few days. Any help at all would be appreciated! Its upsetting to see him hate the food so much even though its helping him :(

https://www.petcircle.com.au/product/vetafarm-reptile-herpaboost/rhv0122?&iv_=__iv_p_1_a_6562212917_g_81304796089_w_pla-385478955093_h_9071758_ii__d_c_v__n_u_c_385671958520_k__m__l__t__e__r__x__y_9484867_f_online_o_RHV0122_z_AU_i_en_j_385478955093_s__vi__&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1O77mP3A7AIVUA4rCh3byQmrEAYYAiABEgLubvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Wow, that is very good news then, I am happy to hear he has improved so much now!
So his colors are looking nice & bright also? Is he keeping his eyes open more as well?
Bless him, I'm sure he doesn't feel the greatest after his ordeal but it does sound like he is
getting better now. It doesn't sound like he has any internal injuries either.
Keep us posted on his progress.

Tracie
 

Rachypoo123

Member
Original Poster
So I have been caring for him almost 2 weeks, I think the tissue around his right eye is dead. It is hard and dry.

He has a swollen foot because of his broken metatarsal bones.

I have been giving baths once a day now not to keep upsetting him too much and he is on tramadol and meloxicam for pain relief which seems to be helping.
My vet wants to amputate the toes/foot and possibly remove the eye. Has anyone got experience nursing a beardie like this?

Do you think he can live a normal life minus a foot and eye??

The vet wants to sort ASAP or put him to sleep but its proving difficult to find someone to do the op.

How long would you think it takes to recover a cold malnourished beardie? Hes brighter i think and he will eat crickets from forceps but he doesn't have his eyes open so won't eat by himself.
109556-2744219662.jpg
I'm just really unsure as to what to do.
I dont want him to suffer if he won't get better ?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Poor guy, it sounds like he is trying though, things take time when they are injured to this
extent.
Can you tell whether or not he can actually see out of that eye? Or is it just the tissue that
is damaged? You can try to soften up the skin or tissue over his eye to see if that helps
before just automatically removing the eye in case he can still see out of the eye. You can
use some aloe vera gel, or coconut oil on the skin to see if that helps out.
As far as his hand, the bones can heal but again, that takes some time also. They aren't
going to heal in 2 weeks. Did the vet discuss trying to mobilize the hand at all, to try & set
the bones? I hate to see the vet butcher him up when it may still be viable.
Since he is eating, he is still fighting so I say keep fighting for him unless he seems to be
really suffering. His colors are bright which is a great indicator right now.

Tracie
 

Cuttlefishh

Juvie Member
Beardie name(s)
Charlie
Hello, i agree with Tracie, these are physical injuries and reptiles are just very slow to heal. I think with time he will get better and so long as he is eating and thriving he should be able to recover, though i would expect it to be a slow process (many months at least.)

Im pretty sure he can live a good quality of life with three legs and one eye, he may just need some tank modifications and extra tlc with catching his food but other than that i think its definitely worth nursing him back to health either way. Eating solid foods from forceps is a very good sign that he's got the will and ability to thrive.
 

Rachypoo123

Member
Original Poster
Thank you everyone.

He is still doing well and is moving around abit more in his vivarium. I am happy to leave him through the day and do his meds/bath etc when I come back from work.

His eye is bothering him the most, to me the skin looks dead and he reacts when its touched even with lain relief on board. But is still eating and pooping (though not a fan of his baths lol) he is booked in Monday with our top vet surgeon and head nurse to monitor. I think they are looking at removing the eye, left foot and maybe the end of the tail. Its getting darker and darker from the tip ?.

Which brings me to the next question - should he survive the op how is best to go about his nursing care over recovery? Do I still need to bathe him? Does it matter about wetting the amputated parts?

Obviously if what they find is bad, he will be euthanized on the table to prevent further suffering ? hopefully it will not come to that. They are aware that he will take alot longer to recover then a standard cat or dog.

Thanks for all your help ?
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Make sure there are no hard surfaces with sharp ridges or edges on theM in his tank if his injured eye is bothering him, he can easily do more damage to the injured eye when thrashing his head about in frustration / pain , this is similar to what happened to my Puff's right eye, in his cases his eye was very swollen due to a misdiagnosed aneurysm on his jugular causing severe fluid build up in the eye socket and under the skin on the back of his head.
One day I discovered blood everywhere and his eye black and bloody , he's given it a mighty wack on the edge of the acrylic grotto. Destroyed the eye.

The eye is the biggest issue it seems to me . The eyeball will need to be removed and the eyesocket debrided and packed surgically , major surgery under a general , wont be cheap and will likely require an overnight stay at the vets .

I'd hold off on the toes , antibiotics will perhaps fix them, of cause if he's under a general , the vet will likely take the toes too .

Keep him warmer than 30 degC 24hr per day , bearded dragon metabolism and healing requires warmth. The warmth will help .

I'd be looking at dilute betadiene bathing of the surgical injuries ( the vet will discuss all this post surgical healing and care needs I expect ).

Good luck.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

When are you planning on getting the surgery?
The tail is very important to get taken care of to keep infection from spreading if there is
any. The eye shouldn't affect him if he has to have it removed, there are several cases on
the board with success. I hope that there aren't any health complications.
When they have amputations, the healing process takes time. Usually baths are not needed
for awhile after amputations, to allow for healing.
How is he doing right now, is his appetite? Please keep us posted on him, I hope that he is
able to turn a corner & continue to improve.

Tracie
 
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