Bearded dragon is very sick

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Jkav33

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We've had Oscar now for almost 5 years. She has always been relatively healthy until recently. A couple of months back she started throwing up her food. We assumed it was because she was over fed.

A little over a month ago Oscar's eye began to gloss over with a sticky puss like substance so we took her to our local reptile vet who prescribed drops. The drops seemed to work at first but in the last week or so things seem to have taken a turn for the worse. She is no longer eating. She keeps trying to poo and a thick yellow liquid comes out. Her bottom eyelid is completely crusted over now and she seems lethargic.

We changed her UVB to the Med Zoo tubular reptisun as recommended on numerous sites but we fear it is too late. Any idea what this may be? Her tail has recently began to look very skinny as well. Are we past the point of treating her with the vet? They couldn't quite seem to pinpoint the issue although they have been reputable in the Toronto area for being great with reptiles. Please help. We want to save little Oscar but are very frustrated to see no results.

We have another beardie named Bacon who seems perfectly healthy with no issues. And his set up is very similar to hers so we are really frustrated in trying to figure all this out. She does not look good.
 

Jkav33

Member
Original Poster
Jkav33":20ov5xr0 said:
We've had Oscar now for almost 5 years. She has always been relatively healthy until recently. A couple of months back she started throwing up her food. We assumed it was because she was over fed.

A little over a month ago Oscar's eye began to gloss over with a sticky puss like substance so we took her to our local reptile vet who prescribed drops. The drops seemed to work at first but in the last week or so things seem to have taken a turn for the worse. She is no longer eating. She keeps trying to poo and a thick yellow liquid comes out. Her bottom eyelid is completely crusted over now and she seems lethargic.

We changed her UVB to the Med Zoo tubular reptisun as recommended on numerous sites but we fear it is too late. Any idea what this may be? Her tail has recently began to look very skinny as well. Are we past the point of treating her with the vet? They couldn't quite seem to pinpoint the issue although they have been reputable in the Toronto area for being great with reptiles. Please help. We want to save little Oscar but are very frustrated to see no results.

We have another beardie named Bacon who seems perfectly healthy with no issues. And his set up is very similar to hers so we are really frustrated in trying to figure all this out. She does not look good.

To add to this we use a crushed walnut substrate with a branch and bricks that were all washed extensively and allowed to dry before use. We were using one of the coil type uvb lights prior. We are no longer and we use a white 100w light 8-10 inches above her normal perching spot.
 
Hi, I'm sure someone will be along who can help you with this. In the mean time I'd suggest removing that substrate and just using newspaper or kitchen towel.

Have you got any saline for her eye to help it from crusting over? Is she eating? What are the temps in both the basking area and cool area? If you could show us some photos that would be helpful.
 

Jkav33

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GeoffreyDragon":276phx1y said:
Hi, I'm sure someone will be along who can help you with this. In the mean time I'd suggest removing that substrate and just using newspaper or kitchen towel.

Have you got any saline for her eye to help it from crusting over? Is she eating? What are the temps in both the basking area and cool area? If you could show us some photos that would be helpful.

Okay so she at one horn worm yesterday but nothing else. We have bathed her a couple of times and we do have Tobrex which was provided for her eye by the reptile vet. Her eye has since crusted over substrate has been changed to an Eco carpet bottom. Basking area is 102 f and cool area is 80f. How do I attach pics?
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
So did the vet take blood to check her liver , kidneys, white cells etc. ? That would have been very important. She probably has kidney or liver trouble if she was vomiting . It's also possible that she may have eggs burst inside.

Ask the vet for Critical Care supplement, it's very nutritious. Good that she ate 1 hornworm, keep offering live food but try to get her to eat something from a syringe as well. If you can make smoothies for her, blend up greens like turnip, mustard, collard, dandelion, arugula, squash and blueberries + strawberries and a bit of raw honey with water for extra hydration. Pull on her beard a bit to open her mouth if she won't willingly take any. She really needs nutrition, but it really will be touch + go. She does look very ill. For her eye, get some raw honey from a health store/beekeeper [ unpaseurized it is a natural antibiotic ] mix a few drops with 3 parts warm water + dab directly on her eye. Sometimes honey will clear eye infection better than the prescription. Best wishes for your poor girl !
 

Jkav33

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":16xuihcz said:
So did the vet take blood to check her liver , kidneys, white cells etc. ? That would have been very important. She probably has kidney or liver trouble if she was vomiting . It's also possible that she may have eggs burst inside.

Ask the vet for Critical Care supplement, it's very nutritious. Good that she ate 1 hornworm, keep offering live food but try to get her to eat something from a syringe as well. If you can make smoothies for her, blend up greens like turnip, mustard, collard, dandelion, arugula, squash and blueberries + strawberries and a bit of raw honey with water for extra hydration. Pull on her beard a bit to open her mouth if she won't willingly take any. She really needs nutrition, but it really will be touch + go. She does look very ill. For her eye, get some raw honey from a health store/beekeeper [ unpaseurized it is a natural antibiotic ] mix a few drops with 3 parts warm water + dab directly on her eye. Sometimes honey will clear eye infection better than the prescription. Best wishes for your poor girl !

Thank you very much for your advice and concern. We already had unpasteurized honey available so we mixed that up. Hopefully it works. The vet did not take any blood because up until a few days ago it was only an eye issue. We are blending up the "smoothie" as we speak. Hopefully that works for her as well. We have improved her uvb light and have checked temps to ensure they are in the right range. We have also given her multiple baths for hydration. The one eye unfortunately is crusted shut. The second is okay although we're finding she is not opening it very often. Our other beardie Bacon is very healthy, active and his usual animated self, so it is tough to raise them from babies and to now see Oscar like this. ☹️
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
I know, it's very stressful to see our little family members so sick. :( Hoping things can turn around for her. All you can do is try. The greens are all good for liver function, but she needs protein as well, so Critical Care would be good if she ends up not eating live food.
 

Jkav33

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":2e4ks6fz said:
I know, it's very stressful to see our little family members so sick. :( Hoping things can turn around for her. All you can do is try. The greens are all good for liver function, but she needs protein as well, so Critical Care would be good if she ends up not eating live food.

She reacted fairly well to the smoothie and was lapping it up. We had to lightly pry her mouth open though. It's starting to look as if she is not really moving her back legs at all. Front legs seem okay but back seem oddly skinny and like she doesn't move them much.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

So sorry your girl isn't feeling well. :cry: That is so stressful when they are sick.
The eye issues could be respiratory related possibly, but her overall condition is definitely critical. I agree, egg problems, kidney or liver issues, too.
Hopefully the honey will help out the eye. Is the other eye not affected at all?
I would however, remove the walnut substrate in case a piece of it has gotten inside of her eye & started an infection. I would use paper towel or non adhesive shelf liner, it is easier to take care of.
The bricks are perfect though, no problem at all.
Which brand of UVB are you using for the tube bulb?
I hope she enjoys the food & that you are able to get enough into her. Let us know how she is doing.
Keep her a little warmer overnight to boost her immune system, around 80 or so.

Tracie
 

Jkav33

Member
Original Poster
Drache613":3c0cwnzk said:
Hello,

So sorry your girl isn't feeling well. :cry: That is so stressful when they are sick.
The eye issues could be respiratory related possibly, but her overall condition is definitely critical. I agree, egg problems, kidney or liver issues, too.
Hopefully the honey will help out the eye. Is the other eye not affected at all?
I would however, remove the walnut substrate in case a piece of it has gotten inside of her eye & started an infection. I would use paper towel or non adhesive shelf liner, it is easier to take care of.
The bricks are perfect though, no problem at all.
Which brand of UVB are you using for the tube bulb?
I hope she enjoys the food & that you are able to get enough into her. Let us know how she is doing.
Keep her a little warmer overnight to boost her immune system, around 80 or so.

Tracie

Hi all,

Just wanted to let you know poor Oscar passed in the middle of the night last night. We just discovered that she didn't make it. ? Thank you for your advice and your attention to the matter. Our other beardie is healthy but should we need any further advice I will be in touch. We are going to give her a tiny burial now.

Thank you.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
I'm so, so sorry about your girl Oscar. :( I know its a very sad time for you, and my heart goes out to you.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I am so sorry to hear that Oscar passed last night. :cry: She was well loved & happy for a long time. It is a devastating loss & hard to get through.

Tracie
 
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