Rescued baby yesterday now impacted, need advice

I rescued two babies yesterday who are very dehydrated and under nourished. They are extremely skinny with no fat stores and stained badly from calci-sand. I have bathed them twice since last night for 20 to 30 minutes in warm water. I was also told they had only had greens for the past week so I gave them 3/8" to 1/2" crickets. Today my daughter called me at work and said it looked like one threw up crickets in the water dish and acted like he had to poo but couldn't and seemed to be weak and shaky. When I got home he was basking limply with dark beard and eyes half closed. I can feel a hard lump in his belly and realized it is probably calci-sand which is probably causing the crickets I gave him to block him completely. I have since soaked him for 20 or so minutes and tried to give a few drops of olive oil. If someone could please give me a run down of what I should be doing and how often I should be doing it until I can get to a vet tomorrow, I would really appreciate the help. Thank you so much! Cheryl

Cheryl,
I'll try to help a little bit, but I'm not familiar with how to deal with this severe of a case of impaction.
When you give him a bath, gently, rub his belly on the left side from the armpit down to the vent. I mean VERY gently. Can you measure the water temp? Also, I've read a lot about being careful when introducing protein to a beardie who didn't have any in its diet for awhile. I believe it's their liver or kidneys, but their bodies can't process too much too fast, which could have caused the vomit. BUT, the impaction needs to be "fixed" very quickly. So, definitely take him to the vet tomorrow.
No solids, though (I'm sure you knew that). That Calci-Sand!
You are doing such a great thing for these two babies, I hope he gets better soon. Sorry I couldn't help anymore (and I may be wrong, I don't know for sure if you are supposed to rub their bellies if they have a lump). I'd recommend PMing Tracie, do you need her screen name? Or any moderator for that matter.
Abi

Tracie's screen name is drache613.

Thank you Abi. When I calmed down I finally found the article here on impaction and followed the link to ReptileRooms.com
http://www.reptilerooms.com/Sections+index-req-viewarticle-artid-87-page-1.html
I have been soaking him on and off all night and managed to get him to drink a couple drops of oil and gatorade. That article also mentions to keep them warm over night so I filled one of my socks with rice and put it in the microwave and now he is sleeping on it. He tries to go but only small amounts of urates come out. I wish I would have posted asking what to do when I first got them, I never thought this could happen so easily. (I never thought they would be this bad either) Maybe I'll haul all 5 of them to the vet tomorrow if I can figure out how to transport the bunch. We'll see what tomorrow brings. Cheryl

Here is a pic. I sure hope I can compare this to something a million times better in a few weeks.

She/He is beautiful, I hope he gets to feeling better quickly...

Did you get him to the vet? How's he doing?
He is beautiful
Abi

Hey,
First, you are awesome for taking those two on!!
Maybe you could try a little bit of applesauce and see how that works out for you. Its supposed to work as kind of a laxative. Good luck!! Keep us posted on both of them!
Mel
P.S. He/she is a beauty!

My little refugee is pooping again. What a good sport he has been. I guess the soaks, oil and constant liquids were the key. When the vet examined him he thought he had passed whatever was causing the blockage and there wasn't an obvious amount of sand. Keep him on the slurry until his energy returns then slowly return to normal foods. Yesterday was watered down Repta Aid and today it is mixed with butternut squash baby food. His appetite is returning because he readily takes it and is basking more and sleeping less.

Oh, that's GREAT! Glad to hear he's doing better. Post more pics when you get the beardie belly on him!
Abi

His smaller sister already is getting a belly after only 6 days, her tail bones aren't even protruding anymore so he is going to have to catch up. I promised him he would get fat too. They make my other baby look like she's on steroids.

He had an awesome poo today, perfect in every way. He has lost weight and still sleeps quite a bit. Does anyone know how long it usually takes for them to regain energy levels and want to eat on their own again? Should I start giving more protien yet? Or stick with the Repta-Aid & butternut squash baby food? Is turkey and squash baby food okay? The vet said about 2 weeks, does this seem about right?

Glad he is feeling better! You must be so relieved!

Its funny you say they make your other one look like she is on steroids. Thats how I feel. I just got my new beardy this morning (she was shipped to me) and she is 6 months old (turbo is 4 months) and she is WAY skinnier than him. He looks like a plump little beast compared to her.

It makes you feel good to see them healthy like that, especially when you get a new one, even from a good breeder, that is skinnier. Now they won't have to fight for their food with their clutch mates. I just got a new one today too, he actually came fairly plump but boy is he way more hyper than my other ones. Yikes.

WOW, you are taking in a lot of babies! I'm glad he is feeling so much better and look forward to those "fat beardie" pics . I love hearing stories about people who rescue beardies, you're amazing!
Abi

No, I'm freaking out and worried to death. I'm so insecure and feel like I don't know what I'm doing or if its right or wrong. My retard is still losing weight although I feed him 1/2 to 1 cc at a time. He gains a gram after feeding and goes between looking better and worse. He seems like he is basking too much and I'm really worried about dehydration although he drinks from a dropper several times daily and I soak him a couple times a day too. I guess patience is the most important. I'm also lucky a friend works for a vet and she does the fecals for free. It's weird that the doctors rotate and there isn't always a reptile vet on staff and we have to wait sometimes. I didn't plan on keeping him but you know how that will probably end up. No big deal, we have lots of room. Just keep your fingers crossed for me.

Definitely keeping my fingers crossed .
I can't help with the feeding/weight loss or anything, though.
You'll end up keeping him, I bet :wink: .
I hope it gets better for you both!
Abi