Very sic

Hi there guys been a while since last post but pheonix is very I'll, she is small for her age and is9mnths old give or take! Her husbandry is spot on as I have had it refined on here till I have the best of everything, she is sleeping a lot and not eating or pooping in the last two weeks at all really she just ate 4 wax worms this week and one locust enough to get her vits what do I do? Help I don't want her to die!!

Hi, sorry to hear that Phoenix isn't doing well. What UVB are you using, how close is it to her and how old is the bulb? What are your temps and what type of thermometer are you using? How often are you using calcium & vitamins? Are you bathing her, if so, how often? Have you had a fecal checked for parasites and a vet check-up? I noticed in some of your older posts that she was very tired then too, so just wondering if a vet did any bloodwork on her?

im using reptisun 10 uvb, she is any where between 15inch to 6inch away from it depending on where she wants to go, but she is hiding a lot so she isnt getting any! its about 6months old or so and due to be replaced in the new year. her temps are 41'c in the basking spot and about 27'c ambient around her log. then over in the cool side its just over 23'c im using a digital probe to measure and two small fans to help keep the temps right. She has not eaten for ages but i am bathing her, once to twice a week. she doesnt really like it that much so its hard to keep her in there for too long. I will take her along to the vet in a day or two once i can get an apointment with them. she has not had any checks done on her as vet said she doesnt need it unless she is ill when i last spoke to them, maybe its time to get a better vet. but in the mean time for the next two days untill i can get her to the vet what shall i do? do i leave her to hide and sleep? she wont eat so getting vits and calcium into her is a nightmare! i got a vit paste to put on wax worms so i managed to get a very big dose of that in to her last week, but no calcium or vits for about 5days now because she hasnt opened her mouth. but other wise i give her vits 2-3 times a week and calcium every time she eats and doesnt have vits.

you think she will survive the next couple days?
Tez

Sorry to hear about your little one.
But please try not to panic. Beardies are quite hardy creatures and can go longer without food. I know its scary though, my girl is infamous for her hungerstrikes and is currently trying to lay the rest of her clutch so she hasnt eaten anything herself for a month.

Have you tried the simple things like offering her different foods? Superworms? Crickets etc? Dragons can become very fussy. Dex went through a phase of only eating crickets, but now she wouldnt touch them with a bargepole.

Before Dex laid the first time and was refusing food I was offering her fresh food every day, but every 3 days that passed that she still hadnt eaten I would syringe her around 5mls of babyfood laced with vits. That way her body has what it needs, and in theory it should help stimulate their apetite.
I used a baby medicine syringe (you can get at any pharmacy) and chicken and squash babyfood with vitamins mixed in.
(babyfood wise you can use chicken/turkey + veg or pure veg babyfoods)
If your lucky you can dab a little on her nose and she will lap it off.
If not you would have open her mouth, which isnt fun. I apply pressure either side of Dex's jaw (about a cm away from the middle of her mouth) for her to open her mouth and then i pop the syringe in and give it a squeeze. I give no more than half a ml at a time, allow her to eat it and rest for a few moments and then repeat until I have got about 5mls into her.

If you cant get her to the vet for a few days giving her a dose of babyfood might help to put your mind at ease.
But Diamc is the authority here ^_^ and it does sound like a faecal might be in order if she's had low energy issues in the past.

Hope everything works out for you.

Holly.

thank you!!! I got her in tomorow or a check il try what you suggest she will take a little bit of vit paste from me but a tiny bit I was told by vet to give her solar drops with d vits in to stimulate her hunger untill she will eat on her own and she won't poo if she won't eat... I guessed as much! I will mix in some vits with baby food to but when you touch her mouth she kicks me and her claws are getting a fair lengh and new to be cut so it is a wee bit painfull LOL. Il try solar drops and baby food tonight and keep all up to date, she is small for her age too so I'm a little worried! She won't even eat wax worms at the mo, Tez

Sorry to hear that you haven't seen any improvement at all. Is she losing weight? I'm glad you got her a vet appt tomorrow to get her checked out. Hopefully she'll have a fresh poop for you to take. Massaging her right side from armpit to vent area will hopefully give you a poo sample. Also, putting a drop or 2 of vegetable on her nose for her to lick off may help with a sample too.

I noticed that you're using a Repti-Sun 10.0, is it a strip fluorescent or coil/compact bulb? If it is a coil or compact bulb, those are very dangerous and can cause all sorts of health problems. If it's the strip fluorescent, then that's good as well as a distance of 6 to 8 inches. But, if it's over 6 months old, then it should be changed as the fluorescents need changing every 5 to 6 months because that's when the output declines. There is a chance that she is semi-brumating even though she is under a yr old but if she has lost any weight, then something else must be going on so if brumation is ruled out by the vet, it would probably be a good idea to remove the hide and encourage her to bask.

The basking temp is fine but the cool side is a little too cool at 23 celcius (73.4 degrees). It should be closer to 27 celcius (about 80 degrees) so you could put a low wattage household bulb on the cool side, like a 25 watt and see if that helps bring the temp up a little. Would probably be a good idea to increase the baths to 3 to 4 times a wk and even offer drinks by mouth to see if she will lick it off. How is her color, any darkness to the beard or tip of tail? Is she alert or lethargic?

You can mix a couple of drops of calcium in with the vegetable babyfood as well as a little bit of chicken babyfood and hopefully she will lick it off her nose to prevent having to forcefeed.

Please keep us updated on her & let us know how the vet visit goes.