Baby beardie very sick, not eating and loosing weight

hi i am looking for some help. my baby beardie, Ike ( bout 3 months old) isn't eating and has lost weight over the last day, he looks very emaciated and frail, you can easily see his pelvic bone and hip bones he has lost so much weight since yesterday. i took him to the vet today and he gave him some fluids subcutaneously adn vit B supplements and steroids to help him but he said th prognosis is not good. i am syringe feeding him pureed veg and water. Any suggestions, i fear i may loose him!!!!

[Moved from General Discussion to here to get the attention it needs]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear that your baby isn't doing well. It's good that you took him to the vet and they gave him some fluids and a B12 injection. How long has he not been doing well and how long have you had him? What did he last eat? Is he housed by himself? Could you fill us in on your tank setup? Specifics of size of tank, wattage of basking bulb, is it a white bulb, what brand of UVB are you using, is it a strip fluorescent, coil, compact or mercury vapor bulb? What are the tank temps and what type of thermometer are you using to check them? What substrate are you using on the bottom of the tank? What did he last eat? Has he had a poop recently? Are you keeping him well hydrated by bathing, misting, giving drinks and how often?

These answers would be very helpful so that we can help you rule things out.

Also, what type of veggies are you feeding him? I also heard baby food works well, especially some of the chicken varieties. How long have you had your baby? When did these problems begin?

hi, thanks so much for your reply. Ike has been off sorts for the last 4 days ( 3 days before i brought him to the vet
). he last ate crickets ( no bigger than space btwn his eyes) and raw carrott, this would be usual feed for him. he is housed alone in his tank, the substrate is repti grass adn paper towel, he has stone in basking area and rock and bark to climb on, the temp is 36 -38 in basking area and 28 -- 30 in cool spot, i use a thermometer used in hospital to measure temps for medications. the bulb in heat lamp is 150w and the UV light is a repti glo, flourescent strip 10.0 UVB, 14w ( only got 2 months ago) . he usually eats carrotts (favourite), dandelions ( also a fav), lettuce and kale sometimes. hope this helps a little. the good news is that he is a little brighter today but is still not eating at all. i am syringe feeding him water and veg pureed, took 3 mls today and also had a bath to help hydrate him! Thanks again!

Hi, thanks for answering the questions. I do see a few things that could be tributing to her symptoms. You mentioned that you're using a thermometer like they use in hospitals but that way of checking temps wouldn't be accurate so the temps could be quite a bit off. The only 2 ways to get an accurate reading are with either a temperature gun or a digital thermometer with a long wire & probe on the end like this:

You can find one of these digitals at Walmart for about $12.00 and would be in the area where the outdoor plastic thermometers are sold. They are well worth the investment and it's very important that you find out what the temps really are because babies won't do well with incorrect temps. Babies tend to like temps quite warm so a little over 100 (38 celcius)and up to 110 (43 celcius) would be good temps for him but please don't make any adjustments until we find out the size of the tank and you get an accurate thermometer.

That's good that you're using reptile carpet on the bottom. Could you tell us what size tank you're using the 150 watt basking bulb in because that is a high wattage bulb and just want to make sure that it isn't a 10 or 20 gallon tank as that would cause overheating and dehydration.

Unfortunately, there have been some health issues associated with the Repti-Glo 10.0 fluorescent bulb causing lethargy, eye problems and others. The safest way to use that bulb until you replace it in about 5 to 6 months is to have it 10" from your beardie and alongside a bright white basking bulb. How close has that bulb been to your beardie? I think this bulb is another problem as well as the temps.

Dandelion greens are a good staple food but kale shouldn't be fed daily and carrots shouldn't either. Lettuce really doesn't have any nutritional value for a baby and is mostly water. Here's a site that most of us refer to: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html The daily staple foods are printed in green ink and it also tells what foods to avoid.

Are you using calcium and vitamin supplements, if so, how often and what brand? That's good that you've been syringe feeding him, has he been licking it off his nose or have you had to forcefeed it?
What veggies are you using? Keeping him well hydrated is a good idea.

Please fill us in on the other answers and we can go further, we need to help get him improving.

hi thanks again, i will invest in a new thermometer and check the temps but i think the one i am using is quite accurate. the tank Ike is in is a 40 gallon tank and the flourescent bulb is about 14 inches away from him (should i move it, and can you recommend a better one?). i use Nutrobal calcium and vitamin supplement daily on his food. he has not been a great veg eater since i got him so we are still trying to find stuff that he likes. today he was feeding from the syringe, drinking from it and licking drops from his nose but wont take solid food, in the syringe today i put carrott , kale , peas , Ca supplement and water. thanks again for your help/

That's great that you will be getting a good thermometer, that should make a difference. The UVB that you're using should be 10" away from him, the fluorescents need to be changed every 5 to 6 months as that's when they decline. If you live in the U.S. the best fluorescent you can get is this one and this company is a great place to deal with, have the best prices too: http://www.petmountain.com/product/bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-high-output-uvb-bulb.html With this Repti-Sun, it should be 6 to 8" from your beardie and all fluorescents should be right alongside a white basking bulb. But, if you live in the UK, the Arcadia D3 is a great UVB and even a little stronger than the Repti-Sun 10.0 but make sure to get a fluorescent, not a compact or coil bulb.

The nutrabol is ok. It should only be used 5 days a wk though and only 1 feeding a day. However, one problem is that alot of times, when using a supplement that has vitamins & calcium in it, they don't get enough calcium & too much on the vitamins. So, can you get calypso calcium or miner-all? Either one is fine.

Since he is young, it really isn't too much of a concern that he really isn't interested in veggies/greens yet as he needs lots of protein to help him grow right now. That's good that he is licking food off of his nose, but since he needs protein, you can pick up chicken or turkey babyfood and mix a little of that with the veggies and that will help give him a boost. Let us know how it goes.

dreshany, I think repti-grass is the same as reptile carpet. Anyone correct me if I'm wrong please.

Hi thanks for all your advise and suggestions, unfortunately poor Ike died early this morning. he did well for 2 last few weeks and gained weight and was back in good form but unfortunately he took ill last night and passed away at around 05.30 this am. very sad really!!

Oh, I'm so sorry. That's a shame that he was gaining wt and everything then took a turn for the worse. Poor Ike, you tried to help him.