Hi all,
As some of you may know, I have a small beardie, by the name of Perry, who has been facing a lot of struggles over the past two months. I have another thread about his struggles in this section titled "I AM SO MAD!" For those who are reading about Perry for the first time I will provide a short recap. Perry came to me from an online breeder Nov 14th. Not knowing much about beardies, I thought he looked quite well. At that time he was 4 months old and just under 7 inches in length. He was bright and alert, but it didn't last long. Shortly after settling in, Perry stopped eating and slowly went down hill; we almost lost him twice. After a few trips to a well known reptile vet he was diagnosed with MBD, coccidia, and kidney failure. It was a struggle but Perry was a survivor and made a miraculous recovery. We had just finished all the treatments and antibiotics, he was starting to become interested again in live food and was growing and gaining weight, 4 grams in three weeks over 1/4 of his body weight. Then one night while feeding him, Perry jerked and bit down on the syringe and broke his jaw in two places. That night we rushed him to the emergency vets and followed up with our regular vet a few days later. Both vets said that there was not much that could be done and that it would have to heal on its own. The break in the chin is sticking through the skin, very ragged and very unstable. Our regular vet added that there was a fairly good chance that it would not fuse together and said that if it did not heal it would be best to put him down. This was about 5 days ago. So far I have been struggling to get Perry's food and meds down him without him opening his mouth too much, I have not been very successful.
So now onto the dilemma. Today, Perry seems like he is going downhill; He is dark and a lot more listless. He is not swallowing his food and at times tries to spit it out. I am wondering if he is giving up his will to live. Up to this point there has never been an issue, he has always shown signs that he wanted to fight. I am worried that I am pushing him beyond the point he wants to go and that I am being selfish by keeping him alive.
As far as I can see I have a few options
1) Find some way to fix Perry's mouth so that I can feed him while keeping his mouth immobile. We have been tossing around ideas and trying to brainstorm for a good solution. We have thought about somehow tape his mouth with a piece of gauze to maintain a small gap so I am able to pass a small feeding tube and then wrap his head to immobilize his jaw.
Using a medical grade adhesive (doctors use to close a laceration) to try and stabilize the fracture so he is able to move his mouth without disrupting the fracture.
Use a small piece of dental filling (the stuff used for temporary filling) to help stabilize the fracture and maintain a small gap for feeding.
Any other suggestions would be most appreciated!!
2) Surrender Perry to a rescue or find someone who would be better able to care for him. Someone who knows how to feed Perry without disrupting the break so it has time to heal.
3) Put him to sleep.
I only want what's best for this poor little guy. He has touched my heart so deeply and I care for him so much but I don't want him to needlessly suffer. I would like to find some way to get his jaw healed but do not want to make him suffer if he is not wanting to go through all of this. I need help figuring out the right thing to do. If I decide to help him heal, I need to figure out how to give him the best chance of healing.
Please, let me hear your honest and frank opinions. If you think it's best to put him down or that I am making him suffer, I need to know. The more responses the better. Thanks for your help.
As some of you may know, I have a small beardie, by the name of Perry, who has been facing a lot of struggles over the past two months. I have another thread about his struggles in this section titled "I AM SO MAD!" For those who are reading about Perry for the first time I will provide a short recap. Perry came to me from an online breeder Nov 14th. Not knowing much about beardies, I thought he looked quite well. At that time he was 4 months old and just under 7 inches in length. He was bright and alert, but it didn't last long. Shortly after settling in, Perry stopped eating and slowly went down hill; we almost lost him twice. After a few trips to a well known reptile vet he was diagnosed with MBD, coccidia, and kidney failure. It was a struggle but Perry was a survivor and made a miraculous recovery. We had just finished all the treatments and antibiotics, he was starting to become interested again in live food and was growing and gaining weight, 4 grams in three weeks over 1/4 of his body weight. Then one night while feeding him, Perry jerked and bit down on the syringe and broke his jaw in two places. That night we rushed him to the emergency vets and followed up with our regular vet a few days later. Both vets said that there was not much that could be done and that it would have to heal on its own. The break in the chin is sticking through the skin, very ragged and very unstable. Our regular vet added that there was a fairly good chance that it would not fuse together and said that if it did not heal it would be best to put him down. This was about 5 days ago. So far I have been struggling to get Perry's food and meds down him without him opening his mouth too much, I have not been very successful.
So now onto the dilemma. Today, Perry seems like he is going downhill; He is dark and a lot more listless. He is not swallowing his food and at times tries to spit it out. I am wondering if he is giving up his will to live. Up to this point there has never been an issue, he has always shown signs that he wanted to fight. I am worried that I am pushing him beyond the point he wants to go and that I am being selfish by keeping him alive.
As far as I can see I have a few options
1) Find some way to fix Perry's mouth so that I can feed him while keeping his mouth immobile. We have been tossing around ideas and trying to brainstorm for a good solution. We have thought about somehow tape his mouth with a piece of gauze to maintain a small gap so I am able to pass a small feeding tube and then wrap his head to immobilize his jaw.
Using a medical grade adhesive (doctors use to close a laceration) to try and stabilize the fracture so he is able to move his mouth without disrupting the fracture.
Use a small piece of dental filling (the stuff used for temporary filling) to help stabilize the fracture and maintain a small gap for feeding.
Any other suggestions would be most appreciated!!
2) Surrender Perry to a rescue or find someone who would be better able to care for him. Someone who knows how to feed Perry without disrupting the break so it has time to heal.
3) Put him to sleep.
I only want what's best for this poor little guy. He has touched my heart so deeply and I care for him so much but I don't want him to needlessly suffer. I would like to find some way to get his jaw healed but do not want to make him suffer if he is not wanting to go through all of this. I need help figuring out the right thing to do. If I decide to help him heal, I need to figure out how to give him the best chance of healing.
Please, let me hear your honest and frank opinions. If you think it's best to put him down or that I am making him suffer, I need to know. The more responses the better. Thanks for your help.
