Dino's YF... Rest Easy my Lil' Friend :'(

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diamc

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You could also get Benebac gel for birds/reptiles from a pet store if you don't want to wait for an order to arrive. They really like the taste of the Benebac, you just put a small amount on their nose and they willingly lick it right off. Or, you could even mix it in baby food, etc.
 

SpikesAgirl

Juvie Member
Original Poster
You guys ROCK! Don't know what I'd do without ya's. Not.even.kidding. I had no idea Tracie had a website!! Another example of what a great person she is... She could've pointed me in that direction to get a "sale" but no, she takes the time to answer my questions, look at the bloodwork, without ever even mentioning it. Heart of gold, like so many others on this site!!
So betadine in the bath AFTER she drinks up. I've been showering her mostly in the sink lately, so I'll do that first until she drinks & poops, then I'll fill it a little to soak her in that.
I saw BeneBac mentioned on a couple diffent threads. Ready for your laugh: Thought maybe I would find it at CVS near the BeneFiber! LMAO! Guess I'll be ordering that! LOL!
I thought I learned a lot when we got Spike! She stopped eating and was "twitching" not too long after we got her. I did a lot of reading & research to educate myself & my son. Turns out, the sales "kid" neglected to tell me she needed to be SUPPLEMENTED as well as being fed crix & veggies. I fed her a mix of babyfood greenbeans, chicken, pedialyte and calcium powder via eye dropper every day 2 or 3 times a day. Nursed her back to health and she really was my little baby! Then, she stopped eating again at about 1.5 years old. Intestinal parasite. Got that taken care of at the vet.
I thought I knew a lot... until Dino showed up! LOL! Now I'm gettin' a whole new education: pneumonia and fungus-among-us! I'm pretty sure the info I got back then was on this site. I had some other site I used to frequent too, but I forget which one it was, mighta been Reptile Rooms? Anyway, wouldn't go to another site now if someone PAID me to! Way too many people here with so much knowledge and so willing to help each other out, any way they can... An amazing bunch, you are! Thanks for all of your quick responses!
Hugs,

Sue
 

SpikesAgirl

Juvie Member
Original Poster
DSCN0755.jpg

This shows you how she lets me "blast" the crud off her with the sprayer... Her pretty color is showing on her head a little now. The cream is helping I guess. =)

DSCN0764.jpg

She's still very crusty though. x( I wish it would go away FASTER!
 

SpikesAgirl

Juvie Member
Original Poster
Well, Dino isn't doing so great. She hasn't eaten a full meal since Saturday. (The 8 crickets.) She ate a few small meal worms this a.m. She's been pooping daily though. Although today she went on her perch. I think she didn't have enough energy to get down to go like she usually does. She looks so skinny to me. :( Drinking daily, not as much as before. Tonight I get home to my son nebbing her (I had to go to the rehab hospital tonight after work and deliver clean clothes to Auntie). I take her out and she's totally 'blah'. It was a little on the late side for her but she's at least a little perky. Gave her oral meds. Hardly a fight. Lubed her up with the cream. No fight. Her vent isn't looking so great. I've seen pics of another beardie with yellow fungus, nasty pics of the vent. WHY didn't my vet know this was yellow fungus and not a frikkin' "shedding problem"? That's what I'd like to know!!! Her breathing appears somewhat normal. She's not filling her beard when she breathes, but it is a little rapid. Calling the vet tomorrow. I had some ReptaAid in the house. I got about 1ml out of the syringe. Probably half of that dribbled down her chin. I was alternating that and water to get her to take some in. I dunno guys... I'm feeling defeated. So mad right now that I can't even react. :angry5: I have lots of choice words right now, but not going to use them. This is an all ages show, right?! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! :banghead:
 

SpikesAgirl

Juvie Member
Original Poster
I really need to NOT read other threads right now... The ending never seems to be a good one and I end up crying, feeling like no matter what I do, Dino is not going to get better. O.M.G. This sucks! Calling the vet tomorrow morning, will try to get an appt for the evening, after work. Hopefully, she might have something good to tell me or something insightful or intelligent or helpful or ANYTHING. UGH. Not feeling real positive right now guys, sorry. I'll keep you posted.

Hugs (filled with frustration),

Sue
 

dragonlover3

Sub-Adult Member
Hi
I'm so sorry to hear she seems to have taken a step back. I hope it is only temporary and that she will rally back again.

Reptiles heal very slowly...very slowly. I want to give you some encouragement with a positive outcome, they do happen!
It took literally months for my 2 rescues that were very neglected and sick with severe respiratory infections to even get near the word "health". So many vet visits, meds, ups and downs! Sometimes it seemed like they were on such a positive rebound to health, less mucus, wheezing and popping, they were some better, a bit stronger, eating a few bites on their own, , pooping, holding their heads up, moving around, all good stuff, then a day or few days later I'd cry thinking they aren't going to make it thru the night because so much mucus, wheezing like a locomotive, mouth gaping open to breath and being so limp. This happened several times thru the months of their recovery. The emotional and physical roller coaster ride was horrible. It was frustrating to see them fall what seemed 2 steps backward after an extremely hard up hill battle to go a tiny step forward!
Today after having them for 7 months, Moya my female is better and doing well, Talon still has chronic respiratory issues and probably will for life but he's not had a respiratory infection since March and doing better now and has a great quality of life! So, even though it seemed like they were sick forever, they finally did recover. I had read this forum for all the info I could find but went thru the rescue and illnesses for quite a while without posting til I realized I could. I would have loved the support and encouragement this forum gives as I sat feeling just like you are feeling right now!

I absolutely believe our beardies know when we are trying to help them. I think it helps them to keep fighting to get well knowing how much we love them! Though I don't know the outcome for Dino I know you are doing everything you can for her....and so does she! Sometimes they fight thru it and win!
Hugs Sue!
Amanda
 

SpikesAgirl

Juvie Member
Original Poster
Me & my son took Dino to the vet last night expecting the worst but HOPING there was something she could do. Dino was completely unresponsive when I got home from work. (I was crying all the way home from work expecting to have to put her down.) When I got home I saw she had pooped where she was laying on her perch again. Clearly no energy at all. At the vets, Dino was given some fluids and critical care by syringe. They did a scraping of her skin and the dead skin is not fungul. She thinks it's delayed shed. I showed her Dino's vent and she didn't seem too concerned. She's not really sure what else we can do if she doesn't turn around. We are stopping the Intraconazole & the cream. She thinks that may be making her lose her appetite (Intraconazole). I will still nebulize her at night. (I skipped it last night though, she was tortured at the vets, they were picking and scraping at her, she has a couple little raw spots, one near her eye. She was fighting (<--good thing) and trying to hiss, she was just exhausted.) I gave her a bath when we got home and she drank a lot. She did seem to perk up a little after getting the critical care. I put a couple crickets in her bowl last night with some mealies. I pulled the legs off the cricks -eeewwww- hoping the movement would catch her eye. When I got up this a.m. the crickets WERE GONE. I think she ATE them! Good sign. My problem today is that I have to go to see Auntie again with her clean clothes. She's being moved to the nursing home today. Hopefully I can get home earlier to tend to my Lil' Girl. I should be able to get home earlier now, she's a little closer to where I live. I really don't want to have to start force feeding Dino. :( Where she ate her cricks, I may not have to. I'll let you know later how she's doing.

Amanda, thanks for your encouragement! It is SO HARD to watch her go through this. It's heartbreaking. Poor little creature! My son was just devastated last night when he thought we were going to lose her (so was I!). I can't stand to see him cry! :(

Hugs to all,
Sue
 

diamc

BD.org Sicko
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Hi Sue, I feel so badly for you, your son and your special girl. You sure have all gone through so much! She must have been exhausted from the vet visit and I know it was hard on you watching that. Hopefully the extra fluids and critical care will make a difference and give her a boost.

Thanks for the update and try to hang in there, she has to be very strong to have come this far.
 

dragonlover3

Sub-Adult Member
HI Sue,
I'm so sorry Dino is having such a rough time again! But I want to jump and shout in happiness for the positive news that her scale/skin issue isn't fungal....that is just awesome great news and such a great thing for her! It's one less thing her little body has to fight right now! Being able to stop the oral anti-fungal is great too since it is so hard on their system. That is the second positive I see. I'm hoping what you are seeing is her exhaustion from the stress and physical insult of the vet visit. It couldn't have felt good to be handled, picked and scraped when not feeling good at all, and by a stranger. Vet visits are so necessary but so tramatic for them in addition to being ill. Unfortunately force feeding her for a bit so she has the nutrition to give her energy to fight this may be necessary....but you will know best for her! I hope she starts to feel better! I know it is so hard to watch them struggle with illness while doing everything you can to help and yet feel useless! I know you are doing amazing job with her! I'm keeping you and Dino in my thoughts and prayers and in my heart!
Hugs
Amanda
 

SpikesAgirl

Juvie Member
Original Poster
10:30...I finally just sat down. Thanks for your support and kind words Amanda & "diamc". I'm so glad I remembered this board was here. I was posting on FB about Dino's drama at first but my friends all thought I was nuts. LOL! Peeps at work do too. It's nice to have people that understand and share information because most everyone here has gone through (or is going through) a difficult situation with their pet, especially the same kind of pet. I guess only cats & dogs qualify as "pets" to most people. *sigh* They don't get it. You guys here: You get it. Thank you for "getting it" and making me feel a little more sane in my decisions to continue on fighting for Dino... and my son, who loves her so much. I do too... she's so sweet. Can't help but love that little critter!! Thanks again guys... :love5:
So, I didn't get home until around 8pm. Started Dino a bath/shower right away. She eagerly drank and took a pewp. Then I filled the sink a little and put some betadine in the water with her. Let her swim around in that for a few minutes. Used a spoon to drizzle some over the back of her head and near her ears where she got picked at last night. Kept it away from her face & eyes. Rinsed her. My son got home around that time. Tried to get her to take a cricket on her own. Nope. So, I prepared her critical care. She initially started to lap it up on her own then she slammed her mouth shut. *sigh* Ended up getting about 2ml into her with my sons help. I opened her mouth and he put some in her mouth. We did it a little at a time. She kept trying to run away. I guess that's a good thing, at least she had enough pep to try to escape! :wink: Put her in her cage while I got the neb box set up. Did that for 30 minutes. Now it's 10pm. Poor girl fell asleep in there! Way passed her bedtime which is usually about 8:30! Got her out, let her warm up a bit before lights out. I'm setting her lights to come on a little later in the morning. She needs her rest! I thoroughly checked her tank, she definitely ate those legless crickets this morning! So, I did it again. EWWW EWWW EWWW. Ripping legs off crickets is NOT my idea of a fun time, lemme tell ya! But, if their movement entices her then that's what we'll do! She doesn't have enough energy to be chasing her food anyway. (This post is taking a really long time to finish because I keep watching the news, 5 police officers have been shot in NH tonight, (the Chief has been killed) about 30 minutes from where I live. Sad, awful, terrible news.) So, all in all, I feel much better about her condition tonight than I have the last 2 nights!
I'm still skeptical about her skin. Her vent looks suspicious now. I don't know if it's from pooping so much or the oral antifungal passing through her system aggravating her. She did pewp quite a bit while taking it. Dunno. Vet seems indifferent about it. Maybe tomorrow I'll try to get a picture of it and post it. She's patchy on her belly and it looks yellowy to me. Vet did say the scrapings of skin weren't fungul. But what she looked at was grayish/black. I wonder if she took it from a yellow place what she would've seen... Next visit I guess. I know there'll be another. In the mean time, I'll just soak her daily in betadine for a little while.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
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Hello Sue!

I am sorry she has been having such a hard time.
Did the make sure she didn't have a respiratory infection, correct?
I haven't seen retained shed like that before, especially around the eye & nostril area but I guess that is possible. Respiratory infections cause eye & nostril discharge but not retained looking shed like that.
She does need her rest though so I am glad you are letting her go to bed earlier.
Hang in there. It sounds like she still has fight left in her right now.

Tracie
 

SpikesAgirl

Juvie Member
Original Poster
She ate her legless crix again this morning!!! Yaaay! That must be a yummy breakfast! :) She NEEDS to eat. She was down 30 grams her last weigh in at the vet! That's SCARY. Her highest weight was 184. Her last weigh in was 130!! Poor thing! :( Gotta go get some wax worms today. See if she'll take a few for me...

Tracie,
We knew it was a RI from the Xrays taken in January. Her breathing is better, her nasal passages are still clear, haven't done anything to confirm that it is totally cleared up though. She's been having so many things going on at once, I think the vet was just concentrating on getting the RI under control first. So, I don't know what's next really. I'm going to put a call into her today. Ask her if another xray needs to be done to view her lungs. Ask her about checking the yellowed skin that isn't "dead". Right now, I'm glad she can breathe, she's responding and she's eating. A better beardie today than I had two days ago... Just gotta wait & see what happens next. I'll keep you posted. Thanks for caring & sharing as always!

Hugs,

Sue
 

SpikesAgirl

Juvie Member
Original Poster
Dino ate 6 wax worms and 4 calci worms this morning THEN I gave her 2 crippled crickets with Bene-Bac on their backs. YAY! She's pretty mad today though... She keeps fluffing up at me and opening her mouth a little every time one of us walks into the room. She keeps that up and I'm gonna change her name to Fluffy! I was gonna give her a soak but I think I'll let her relax til later. I didn't get a chance to call the vet yesterday, so slammed at work. Then, so busy around here this morning that I finally looked at the clock and they're closed now. I found this article on yellow fungus... Thought you might find it educational:

http://vetherppath.hubpages.com/hub/Yellow-Flesh-Eating-Fungus-Nannizziopsiosis-in-Bearded-Dragons

I wish I knew my vets e-mail, I'd sent it to her! I might print it and send it to her in the mail. I'm just not buying the "delayed shed" theory she's trying to sell me.

Hugs,

Sue
 

dragonlover3

Sub-Adult Member
Hi Sue,
That is a great article. I had read that quite a while ago when 2 of my rescues developed fungus. I really hope it isn't a fungus after all!
It is just wonderful news on her eating :blob5: ....and fighting too! :blob8:
Time to take her out of the tank for a few minutes at a time for no care at all....just to cuddle. That will help her trust again!
You are doing an amazing job with her. :D
Amanda
 

SpikesAgirl

Juvie Member
Original Poster
Thanks again for the encouragement Amanda, I really appreciate it!

Question: Does anyone know if there is a test to confirm if the skin problem is yellow fungus or not???

Hugs,

Sue
 
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