My Beardie is very sick! Please Help

My beardie Larry is very sick. He's between 6 and 8 years old not sure as I am the 4th or so owner. He has never been very healthy and was in poor condition when I got him. He has always been underweight, very sluggish, and not a good eater. My vet told me when I got him that he seemed to be chronically ill due to the condition of his scales and his curved spine. I love Larry to death, he's a trooper, and I've struggled with trying to get his weight up as he just won't eat that much. A few days ago he took a turn for the worst. When I woke up I noticed that his eyes were sunken in, as were other parts of his head and his beard was really flat and black. He refuses to eat anything and started having diarrhea. He is extremely skinny and just doesn't look well at all.

I became extremely alarmed by these signs and took him to the vet immediately. She told me that he was very dehydrated and gave him a fluid injection and recommended that we begin to syringe feed him as he refuses to eat. We received a liquid calcium remedy and a powdered food to mix with water so he stays hydrated. I believe it's called critical care. I've been bathing him twice daily to try to get him re hydrated, and he sits on his log all day and basks. Most of the time he appears to be asleep. He has not been active at all. When I got him home from the vet he had more diarrhea that was a mostly clear liquid and later threw up superworms that he had eaten a few days ago. This is when I became even more worried. Later that night, he had a more solid poop that I planned to take in to the vet for a fecal, until I learned that it needed to be very fresh.

The vet isn't open until Monday so I won't know if he has any parasites until then but I suspect at this point that he definitely does. His eyes scare me the most and I hate to think that he's in a lot of pain and discomfort. He refuses to eat anything and force feeding him breaks my heart because I'm sure it's stressful for him. I wish there was something I could do for him. It's been two days since the vet and he pooped about 3 times today but a significantly less amount of liquid so I'm hoping he'll retain more of what I'm feeding him. I ordered acidophiliz to try to replace the good bacteria that I'm sure he lost from throwing up, but that won't come till at least Monday also. I'm so worried about my little guy and I'm really not sure at this point if hes going to make it, because he seems to be doing the same as he was when I took him to the vet. I was really hoping to see an improvement by now. Does anyone know how long it should take to see some sort of improvement? What I mean is, I've been giving him all the fluids I can and his eyes are still looking terrible. So I wonder if all the fluids somehow aren't getting to him?

At this point it's a waiting game. I can't do anything until Monday and he still seems the same besides not expelling as much liquid when he poops. If anyone can offer any advice or has had a similar experience I would appreciate more than anything to hear your advice.

He's in a 55 gallon tank with a repti sun 100w mercury vapor bulb. I'm not sure of the temps as my thermometer just started going wacky on me.
Before he got sick his diet included crickets, superworms, silkworms on occassion, all kinds of veggies, and fruit(he loves berries)


Please Help!

Hello,

Sorry Larry is having such a hard time. Poor guy.
How old is your Zoomed Powersun, that is the mercury vapor lamp you are referring to, correct? How far away is it from him?
Have you been supplementing with calcium BEFORE taking him to the vet? As with any dragons that have suffered from metabolic bone disease, it is imperative that they receive extra calcium on a regular basis as well as good UVB lighting.
The critical care powdered formula is excellent, so continue with that as well as oral fluids, daily.
Did they do blood tests on him? Too bad you were not able to get a fecal on him.
You can rehydrate him by using some pedialyte or gatorade which will be helpful in retaining lost electrolytes. Dilute it 1 part solution to 2 parts water several times per day. Good you have ordered some acidophiliz, that will hopefully help with his little tummy.
Can you post a picture of him?
Could he have possibly gotten hold of something that maybe made him sick?
Do you have a ceramic heat emitter that you could use to keep him a little warmer at night while he is not feeling well?
Do try to get a new thermometer though as improper temps can greatly affect digestion. Make sure you get either a digital probe or a temp gun.

Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie

Thanks for responding so quickly,

The powersun light is brand new. I got it yesterday to replace his old light. It was old and I was worried he wasn't getting his uv's. It's about 7 inches away from him. I have always tried to supplement his diet with calcium. He refuses to eat the crickets if they are dusted but I make sure to gut load them before I give them to him and am using a calcium spray for his veggies which he seems to like a lot more.
They didn't do a blood test but I'm going to bring a fecal in on Monday, I just hope that he gets a solid enough poop for that.

I can probably get a picture of him tomorrow. I'll try the pedialite. I never even thought of that. It makes a lot of sense though.
I don't think he got a hold of something, but it is a possibility. I hope not. I don't have a ceramic heater but that's definitely on my list for things to get right away.

When I gave him a bath last night he didn't even want to hold his head up. This morning he had his mouth slightly open and when I went over to him he vomited again. Pretty much all of the food that he had been given yesterday. It's like it's just sitting in his stomach. The other thing I found that was odd was that there were still more superworms in his vomit although at this point he had eaten them almost 5 days ago. Is it possible that the worms gave him something? Like maybe they had some sort of disease? Or maybe they are blocking off his stomach? Ugh, I don't know. He seems weaker. I wish I didn't have to wait until tomorrow for answers as to what he has.

Hi, I'm so sorry to hear that your beardie isn't doing well.

I noticed that the MVB is only 7" from him and that's a little to close. It should be a minimum of 12" away. And since your thermometer isn't working, the temps may be way off. Can you get to Walmart and look for this digital thermometer with probe end? It's extremely important to find out what the actual temps are because it sounds like he hasn't been digesting his food for a while which will make him extremely sick. I would stay away from solid foods until you can get him straightened out and be sure to keep him very well hydrated, that is also a must.


What type of thermometer were you using before that just broke? Had he been avoiding basking lately or had he been laying right under the light? Please move the bulb at least 12" away from him right now as the ultra violet rays and heat are probably too strong for him.

Hello,

How is Larry doing today?
Ok, the Powersun is new that is good. However, it is TOO close to Larry! Please move it to 12 inches from him. If you need additional heating then use a household lightbulb to help with the basking temps, if needed.
I hope they can get a fecal on him. If you have the money a bloodtest would be helpful, but if you can't, that is understandable. A fecal is definitely important.
The supers could have been bad. Where did you get them?
Also, what are his temps? You really need to know what the temps are. If he is not warm enough, he could be having some trouble digesting which is what I am thinking some of the problem could be. How many superworms did he have in one sitting?
I would not give him anymore solid foods right now. Focus on rehydrating him as quickly as you can with the pedialyte & water mixture. You can mix calcium & vitamins in with it too. If you have time you can also go get some chicken or turkey babyfood & some squash babyfood to feed to him through a plastic dropper to help him out. Maybe he can keep that down.
Please try to check your temps for him. They need to be at least 95-105.
Sorry Diane, I posted right after you!

Tracie

It's ok Tracie, reiterating the info is always good. :wink:

I moved the light, I feel bad that I didn't know it should be farther away. I have been staying away from solid foods. He refuses to eat them anyway. I was just shocked that the worms were still in his stomach from days ago. The thermometer was similar to the one in your photo, but I can't go out and get one today because my car just broke down and I had to take it to get fixed. I'm having a pretty bad week I guess. He hasn't avoided basking at all. He wants to stay under the light most of the day. He sits under the light and goes to sleep. I've been checking him often to make sure he's still breathing.
About how much does a blood test cost? I'm running out of money fast as seeing as my car is broken, but I really want to find out what's wrong with him. I got the supers at my local pet store, but they were a different kind than he usually gets, like from a different place.
I'm definitely going to get some pedialyte. Maybe I can get someone to give me a ride down the street to the store. I'm just wondering if he's getting anything out of the liquid food I've been feeding him, because when he threw up it seemed to be everything that I had fed him yesterday, plus a few more of the worms. If food is just sitting in his stomach is it doing anything at all to rehydrate him? I'm worried that the pedialyte will just sit there and he won't benefit from it at all. I did give him a nice long bath after he vomited this morning.

Also, it's so hard to feed him because he really doesn't want anything. He'll only take half of the syringe at a time and then just sits there with the food in his mouth not wanting to swallow. I'm giving that to him twice a day but since it's so difficult I've had to break it up into several mini feedings, which a feel bad about because he seems to really hate it. But he absolutely won't take all of the food at once and this is proving very difficult. I'm also giving him the calcium once a day and I should be getting the acidophiliz by monday, but along with the pedialyte solution that sounds like it's going to be impossible to get him to take it all. I know it's extremely important to rehydrate him but he's so resistant to eating and now I need to add two more different things to what he's already barely taking. Is there any advice on how to make this any easier for him? Because I definitely want him to get rehydrated fast.

Here he is. He looks so awful.

i cant see the pictures, could you post them again please?

Hello,

Please try to get him to a vet as soon as you can. He needs subcutaneous fluids badly, if he is even going to have a chance to make it.
No he does not look very good at all, I am sorry. He is severely dehydrated.
Are you sure that you got him superworms & not some other type of strange worm that was not good for him possibly to have made im sick? The main objective at the moment is to get him rehydrated & stablized. Then, you can see about a bloodtest, but, not at the moment.
Please try to get him in ASAP. I hope that he will make it.

Tracie

Hey everyone, thanks for all your help, but Larry passed away today. He had a lot of trouble breathing, and after trying to keep him breathing for about 2 hours we lost him. I'm just glad he's not suffering anymore as he has had a hard life. Like I had said earlier, we are his 4th owner and he has never been healthy. I have been trying to get his weight and health up since getting him without success. It makes me sad that his other owners had not cared for him properly. I am extremely grateful for all of your help, and it's great to know that a website like this exists, with such wonderful knowledgeable people. Again, thank you all for everything.

Hello,

I am sorry that Larry did not make it. He had a rough life. He is not in any pain anymore & is chasing crickets at the Rainbow Bridge now. Let us know if you need anything at all.

Tracie

aww bless im so sorry to hear that larry didnt make it
im glad hes no longer suffering now and he'll be having the time of his life at Rainbow Bridge.