One very poorly beardie - advice please? Very long - sorry..

Hi All, I'm hoping that some of you more experienced beardie owners out there can offer me some advice on Stumps, my one year old beardie... I'm really at my wits end and don't know what else to try.

Stumps hasn't eaten a thing for nearly 5 weeks - it doesn't matter what I offer him, he has absolutely no interest. I have struggled to get anything into him by hand feeding him, so for the moment he is being fed twice a week via tube at the vet. He does poo a couple of days after a vet feed, but he has to sit in the bath for 40 minutes or so before anything comes out, and then its a pretty poor effort. He has always had a brilliant appetite, to the point where before all this started he was probably a bit porky (which is probably a good thing, given the amount of weight he's lost now).

I took a faecal sample into the vet at the beginning of last week, and this showed pinworms ++++ and 3 snake mites seen, I have absolutely no idea where these have come from? The vet gave him an initial dose of Panacur last Thursday, and I have to do another one in a weeks time. I took all the sand out of his viv at the end of last week and thoroughly cleaned it all out, and put kitchen towel down. I've only seen one mite on the kitchen towel, and when I bathed him in a Betadine solution last night (can you tell I've been searching the forums for advice?) I didn't see any, so I'm not really sure how to go on with the mite situation.

I took him to the vet again tonight for another feed, and he suggested that he try a dose of Metronidazole. He's not my regular vet, and says that he's not really too experienced with beardies. He thought that blood tests would be the next step, but wants to wait until my regular vet returns next week, as "he's the man with the plan" apparently...

So he's had his antibiotics, and now after reading the posts here I'm thinking I should probably try and get some acidophilus down him - only problem is you can't seem to buy it in pet shops over here, so can anyone advise me on how to get some?

The main problem is that he is getting so skinny and is totally lethargic - he sleeps all day, and has no interest in anything. I can feel all his organs when I pick him up and his skin is just hanging off him. I'm starting to worry that I'll wake up one morning and he'll be gone... I'd really appreciate any advice you can give me on helping him.

I know you'll ask questions about my set up, so thought I'd answer now!

How old is your beardie? 1 year old
How long have you had him? Since he was about 4-6 weeks old I think
How big is her cage? Not sure in gallons (in UK), but it is 5ft by 2ft
What substrate do you have her on? Was on play sand, now on kitchen towel
What UVB light do you have? (brand, %, and is it a tube, coil or compact?) ReptiSun 10 - he's always had these, replaced it a couple of months ago as previous one was getting old
What are her temps (cool and basking) and how do you measure them? (stick on gauge, digital with probe or temp gun?) 100ish basking side, 85ish cool side, checked with digital probe
What were you feeding her before she stopped eating? (try to be as specific as possible) Locusts, curly kale, spring greens, and the odd waxworm as a treat
When did she last poo? Other than when the vet has tube fed him, he hasn't pooed for 4 weeks or so, as hasn't eaten anything
Do you normally bath her? If so how often? Baths 2-3 times a week, more often at the moment
Do you mist or offer any other source of water? One mist daily, but he won't drink from a bowl, only in the bath
What supplementation are you using? And how often? Calci-something, it's a UK brand and I can't remember its exact name at the minute!

Thanks everyone, and I hope this isn't too much of a ramble, I'm just not sure if I'm doing everything right and am really worried about him.

Hey there! Sorry to hear your little guy isnt doing too well. I cant offer much advice except to point you in the direction of pro-biotics (acidophilus type products) - you can order acidophilis online but it would have a lot of shipping charges and could take a while to get here! We can, however, get a product called Avipro - my local reptile shop stocks it and I know that http://www.livefoods.co.uk also have it. You could also use some plain, soy yoghurt, available in most health food stores as that also acts as a probiotic.

Sorry I cant be of more help! Hope he starts feeling better soon!

T

Thanks MissT, thats really helpful! Was just heading off to bed, and then realised I forgot to say that if I don't reply to anyone's posts tomorrow, it's cause I have to go into the hospital for a minor op - but I will make sure that I get on the forum tomorrow evening!

Will send hubby to try and find either the Avipro or some soy yoghurt tomorrow - thanks again!

Hello,

Sorry about Stumps, he is having a rough time.
The Reptisun 10, is it a flourescent tube bulb or a compact or coil light? How far away do you keep it?
What type of basking light are you using?
He could have gotten the mites from the sand, unfortunately. That has been known to happen. Hopefully you can get rid of them, & it was a good idea that you got rid of the sand & put a towel down instead.
How often do you use the calcium? Does the calcium have phosphorus in it?
Why did the vet give metronadizole? For an appetite stimulant? I do not recommend giving medications without doing another fecal. It is not a treatment for pinworms, but the Panacur was. That should have knocked them out. The metronadizole is for amoebas, flagellates, giardia & other parasites, but not worms. So personally I do not think that he needs that. Plus, it is a harsh medication on their organs too.
The Avipro should help out his GI tract, for sure. You shouldn't have any problems finding it either. Make sure to give extra oral fluids as well, as the medications do dry them out.
You are most likely going to have to syringe feed him if he is not eating on his own so he doesn't continue to lose weight.
Otherwise he will just waste away. Try getting some chicken or turkey babyfood, peas or greens beans babyfood & butternut squash babyfood. Mix some pedialyte in with it & give 2-3 cc's to him, with a plastic dropper or syringe. Or, you can use some feeders that you have at home, along with some fresh greens, & mix them up in a blender for a nutritious slurry.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

Hi Tracie, thanks for replying...

The Reptisun 10 is a flourescent tube bulb, and the basking light is an Exo Terra 75 watt Sun Glo Spot Lamp. The tube is approx 8 or 9" away from him?

The calcium is this one:

http://www.everythingforpets.com/vetark_nutrobal.pet/use.id.5.item_id.2432.dept.666/ and it does look to have phosphorous in it - says the Ca ratio is 46:1; but having said that because he hasn't been eating any live food or salad, he hasn't really been getting any of this for a while. Can I add this into any feed I make up for him?

Yep, the vet gave Metronidazole because he said it might stimulate his appetite... do you think he should carry on with it? I'm taking another faecal in tomorrow evening, that is, if he poos tomorrow afternoon following his feed yesterday. This is so that they can check the worm egg levels apparently and see if they've gone down any after his first dose of Panacur.

I will get some baby food tomorrow, and also some Diarolyte, which I think is the same thing as pedialyte, and try him on that. To be honest, after seeing the state of the vets fingers every time he tries to feed him, I'm a little nervous about trying to get a syringe in his mouth, but at least it shows he still has some energy!

Do you have any idea where the worms may have come from? I'm assuming its either the locusts or the salad, because he's eaten like a pig for most of the last year, so he can't have had them since I got him last November.

When I got back from the hospital this evening, he was still in the same place as when I left him at 7am, with eyes half shut. I misted him and he perked up a bit, and went over to his bed on the cool side of the tank - he sleeps up against the back wall of the tank, it's very cute! He went straight back to sleep though.

I will let you know how we get on tomorrow with feeding and vets... thanks again.