HELP baby bearded very sick!

Hi I have 2-3 month old bearded dragon that I bought from petco 1 month ago, all seemed led fine and normal the first week he struggled to eat very much but was very energetic, a week later appetite shot through the roof and all was good, even went through a pretty crazy shed, on Christmas morning I woke up and when the lights came on I noticed a big green blob with bits in pieces of brown stuff inside it, that’s when I realized he was now very lethargic, sunken eyes and would only sleep in his basking spot, took him to the vet that day and payed 240 dollars for abolsutlet no help or answers! They said he’s too small to really do anything or to determine what’s really wrong with him, they gave me carnivore and herbivore mix to force feed with a syringe and an antibiotic to administer as well, that same day my bear die threw up anytime I have him water to drink or any of the force fed mix, he threw up once saturday, and spent most of the time basking and sleeping occasionally moving to cooler spots when needed, i have no idea what to do, I called the vet back because his condition has gotten no better and they said I can hospitalize him with them which is 400$ a night and I can’t afford, or I can drive an hour and a half to Boston to a large scale hospital who can handle him, I can’t afford either of those at this moment. Today I was able to force feed him twice very small amounts of the mix, along with the antibiotic and he has not thrown up at all today, still lethargic very sunken eyes and has many stress marks all over him,I have a 20 gallon long tank with a 75w basking lamp with reprising 10.0uvb bulb, basking temp is 99-107 with the warm side around 95 degrees and the colder side 80-85 degrees, can post pictures if needed but I believe set up and heating to be all good but of course I’m no expert need serious help, I don’t believe it to be impacting I’m pretty strict with the size of the insects I’m feeding and he pushed out a little bit of normal poop on Friday and some urate on Saturday, has not pooped since that urate on Saturday and does not appear to have any lumps in the spine or tail or any impairment in the back legs, since being sick I’ve definitely notice the body of the poor bearded being altered, looks puffy and sometimes almost As if he’s stretched. Please help!

Please post pics and this needs to get flagged to Tracie ---- the UVB is a T 8 ? basking temps are being taken w/ a digital probe thermometer? basking temps need to be 105-110 for a baby--- he sounds sick of course but from what ? Another disgrace of vets --- here is a website for you to see if there any other vets around you www.arav.org -- this is for reptile vets -- if nothing pops call around your area and ask if they see bearded dragons and ask about experience ---- sometimes you can find them by doing this I happen to find one in my area by doing this and she is wonderful --- she did pop on this site I gave you -- the CC food they gave you to feed her is good stuff --
Karrie

And the uvb bulb is a reptisun 10.0 uvb 13 watt bulb

Also a local pet store that actually helped me force feed told me all of their beardies have heat lamps on 24-7 and they have learned from a lot of trial and error and that theirs sleep just fine, I only ask bc I have mine on timers and I have a heating pad on the side that comes on that heats the tank to like 70 degrees sometimes 68ish durring the night and I saw some videos saying it’s good to keep them well heated and warmer at night when they are sick

So should I be leaving his heating lamp on at night bc of how sick he is? Or stick to the heating pad and turning the lights off

Please place a towel around the heating pad so he does not get burned- it's good to have temp at nite around 80- if they are healthy 65-75 at nite and dark-- please replace the coil--- you need a 24" fixture w a reflector--and a Reptisun 10.0 bulb T 5 for 40+ gallon-- please get this ASAP--please shut the lights off
Karrie

He’s only in a 20 gallon right now, and there is a plastic plant that blocks the heating pad and I’m a bit confused on what you mean about the fixture, isn’t that bulb too powerful for a 20 gallon right now?

The fixture will come w/ a 5.0 bulb that would be perfect for the 20 gallon-- the 10.0 bulb will go into the fixture when you upgrade to a larger tank which won't be too long a few months-- so replacing it now is best-- the coils are totally inadequate and cause all kinds of health issues
Karrie

I will get on that immidiatley tomorrow, since the vet was really no help do you know of anything this could be ? Respiratory infection ? Or parasites? I can try to get a stool sample I know those aren’t too expensive but since he hasn’t been eating and just finally took in a little bit of the mix today I will have to wait and see if he poops again, I talked to petco since I’ve only had him for a month and he’s this sick and they said they would take him back, but I’m concerned about treatment I jsut want him to get proper care and they said they are suppose to take them back and get them treated at the vet and that I could buy him back once he’s cleared but I don’t trust them at all and I have a feeling if I give him back they will put him in an isolated tank to die

Yep you are right- it's possible a RI but we need to see what Tracie thinks- she's the vet tech mod-- how are you taking basking temps? No stick ons they are inaccurate-- you need a digital probe thermometer to get actual basking temps- why do they have him on a antibiotic? I would not give him that w/ no proof of infection-- I am thinking it could be the UVB- keep him hydrated -- really water the cc down so he's getting water- the urate should be white formed and moist- do not take him back to the petstore please--- it looks like your humidity is around 20%? That is fine--

Hello,

Sorry that your dragon is so ill! It is possible that he could be developing a respiratory issue.
Does he have any symptoms such as coughing/wheezing, mucous in the mouth or nose, etc?
Can you take a look at his gums to see if they are a light pink or a pale/white shade?
Which antibiotic was given & how much was administered?
Since he has thrown up, I would focus on rehydration to get his electrolytes in balance. To
try & settle his tummy, you can get some non dairy organic soy yogurt (plain or flavored), or
some non dairy acidophiliz.
If you are able to find a vet I would have them do a fecal to determine whether or not he has
worms or parasites.
Keeping him around 75 to 80 overnight is helpful also. You can use a heating pad, set on low,
with a towel in between him & the pad.

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Thank you all for the help and input! I’m currently at work so my girlfriend is watching him right now, I have stick on thermometers yes but I also have that digital one that I can move around the tank and take the temp that way, it also covers the humidity, humid varies from 20-35% it’s been lower recently because I took out the water bowl in hopes that it might be a respiratory issue, he has been getting a warm bath, multiple mists, and every couple of hours if I drip it on his nose he will he drink from that as well, when I get home at 4pm I will check on his gums and let eveyone in here know, also the vet paperwork with the antibiotic name is at my house so I can check that out and update you as well.

Your thermometer needs a probe on it to get actual basking temps please-- I would lay off the baths and misting him and try giving water by syringe but very slowly incase in he developing a RI-- is he eating his salads? If he is rinse them before serving and he will a lot of moisture thru that and gut loaded insects ---
Karrie

I’ll get that thermometer today as well as the new uvb set up, and now he won’t take anything, he won’t eat insects, or greens, strictly what I force feed him with the syringe, and again he’s so small and the syringe they gave me is big so he only take in little bits, the local pet store by my house had me bring him in and they force fed him a tiny wax worm on saturday in hopes that if he threw it up (which he did 3 hours later whole ) that he at least absorbed some of that’s fats from it, but yeah he’s too lethargic, won’t eat anything I give him, when I take him out of his enclosure he sometimes perks up for a little but is still very sick

If you haft to go by the vets again and get a smaller syringe-- I would feed multiple times per day small amounts - if you can get a .5 ml into him a couple times a day that would be good --but make sure your feeding very slow thru that syringe -- you dont want him aspirating -- get his basking temps up to par and that UVB -- he needs those ASAP- please keep us posted
Karrie