This is my first post so I'll start with a little bit of a backstory and I'll go ahead and apologize because I will ramble. I started dating my boyfriend and he had a bearded dragon named Spike who I instantly fell in love with and he was my best friend. I knew nothing about them so I started researching and noticed things didn't seem right (lighting, diet, temps) so after a vet visit we learned he had SEVERE MBD, like the vet wasn't sure how he was even alive since he was 3 years old. My boyfriend felt horrible as he just took advice from Petsmart, but our vet gave us a crash course in all things bearded dragon related and even though it was so advanced, after a few weeks he started to thrive and after a few months he was doing so so much better. The vet was so amazed that he turned around the way he did. He was doing so good and then in November 2017 he started to get sick and he had a tumor in his head that erupted through the skin almost overnight so we got an emergency vet visit and had him put to sleep to end his suffering. It was horrible to lose him, but it was so nice that he had a solid year of being healthy and thriving despite his deformities.
After Spikey passed we accidentally broke his UVB fixture and had to get a new one. We got an off brand UVB fixture similar to the Zilla slimline, you know, the one with the plastic covering over the UVB bulb. The off brand one didn't mention to remove the covering though so when we purchased our new baby, Sami, in February at 1.5 months old he had the plastic covering from early February until the beginning of April when I stumbled upon the fact that glass/plastic/ect filters out almost all the UVB. I broke the plastic off a few days before his vet visit and we explained what happened and knew right then he has MBD. Fecal exam came back negative for any parasites and we got him immediatley on a critical care diet, daily baths, pretty much everything we were doing for Spikey. That was two weeks ago. He weighed 23g at his appointment and since then we've been doing everything to try to nurse him back to health. He had some pretty good days right after his visit, but the last week has been hard. We got him to a solid 30g, but the last few days he dropped all his weight and he's back down to 23g. He's not eating, even force feeding he barely swallows. He won't keep his eyes open. It just seems like he's on his death bed. His two week follow up appointment is tomorrow and I am terrified. He's just not doing well at all and I'm so scared she's going to suggest putting him to sleep and I don't want him suffering, but I don't want to put him down if all he needs is a little bit more time to get a little better. Does anyone have any advice on what to do? The vet seemed hopeful that he would perk up, but it just doesn't seem like he is, but then again, I don't know the time frame. Is 2 weeks enough to perk up? Does he need more time? I just don't want to see the vet tomorrow and have to make a decision right then and there so that's why I'm posting.
Cage Setup:
50 gallon tank
Reptile carpet (I don't mind to clean frequently)
Digital probe for temps
Basking temp 108-115 depending on house temps
Hot Side around 92ish
Cool side around 85
CHE for night time so his cage never drops below 80 since his health is crap
Reptisun 10.0 tube
Before he got sick he was eating dusted dubias and ate a few bites of collard greens dusted each day
He hasn't had a single dubia or greens in about 2.5 weeks, only his critical care and then he gets his calcium baths daily
Poops once a day, sometimes two if he's had a good day and has eaten extra critical care food
After Spikey passed we accidentally broke his UVB fixture and had to get a new one. We got an off brand UVB fixture similar to the Zilla slimline, you know, the one with the plastic covering over the UVB bulb. The off brand one didn't mention to remove the covering though so when we purchased our new baby, Sami, in February at 1.5 months old he had the plastic covering from early February until the beginning of April when I stumbled upon the fact that glass/plastic/ect filters out almost all the UVB. I broke the plastic off a few days before his vet visit and we explained what happened and knew right then he has MBD. Fecal exam came back negative for any parasites and we got him immediatley on a critical care diet, daily baths, pretty much everything we were doing for Spikey. That was two weeks ago. He weighed 23g at his appointment and since then we've been doing everything to try to nurse him back to health. He had some pretty good days right after his visit, but the last week has been hard. We got him to a solid 30g, but the last few days he dropped all his weight and he's back down to 23g. He's not eating, even force feeding he barely swallows. He won't keep his eyes open. It just seems like he's on his death bed. His two week follow up appointment is tomorrow and I am terrified. He's just not doing well at all and I'm so scared she's going to suggest putting him to sleep and I don't want him suffering, but I don't want to put him down if all he needs is a little bit more time to get a little better. Does anyone have any advice on what to do? The vet seemed hopeful that he would perk up, but it just doesn't seem like he is, but then again, I don't know the time frame. Is 2 weeks enough to perk up? Does he need more time? I just don't want to see the vet tomorrow and have to make a decision right then and there so that's why I'm posting.
Cage Setup:
50 gallon tank
Reptile carpet (I don't mind to clean frequently)
Digital probe for temps
Basking temp 108-115 depending on house temps
Hot Side around 92ish
Cool side around 85
CHE for night time so his cage never drops below 80 since his health is crap
Reptisun 10.0 tube
Before he got sick he was eating dusted dubias and ate a few bites of collard greens dusted each day
He hasn't had a single dubia or greens in about 2.5 weeks, only his critical care and then he gets his calcium baths daily
Poops once a day, sometimes two if he's had a good day and has eaten extra critical care food