Stink Again- Giving up

Hey guys. For a while Stink looked to be recovering from his GI but a recent accident (A.K.A a massive, sloppy stool on mommy's leg at Repticon) signaled a turning point in his recovery, for the worse. Stink's appetite is mostly gone again, and he hasn't pooped since the con- a little over a week ago. He's still very much active, and is getting warm baths and tummy rubs, but I couldn't even tempt him to eat with strawberries or mangoes. Today we force-fed him crickets out of desperation (followed by a bath to aid in digestion, of course.) There is absolutely no way we can take him back to the vet; I'm still $400 in debt due to his last visit. I really don't understand how two rounds of vet visits, $700 and multiple months of medication can't bite this GI in the butt. We're waiting to see what his next stool looks like, and worst case scenario, I'll have to find my baby boy a new home with someone with someone that's able to provide for him more than I have. Until then, I'd like to try a few things at home. Oxbow Crit. Care is a given when I can afford it, but I had a few ideas I'd like a second opinion on;

Organic, raw honey is a good antibacterial salve for beardie wounds and human sore throats, but I've read it's too sugary for beardie consumption. What effects would a little bit dissolved in water and syringe-fed have, if any?

Would a dairy-free yogurt or kefir help at all?

And lastly, is there anything I can use in place of the $200 worth of medications (something cheaper, preferably) that I can order online?

So sorry to hear this, your boy just can't get a break. It's always worse when you've spent a ton of money and see no results. Raw honey would be perfectly fine, it's not the same as other sugary foods because it stabilizes blood sugar. You might try adding a bit of raw fresh oregano to a smoothie made of other greens, since it's a mild anti- parasitic and is a healthy food item.

I remember he was going through some health issues but what exactly was his diagnosis and what meds. was he on for his G.I. problem ?

AHBD":2lzhcmj9 said:

So sorry to hear this, your boy just can't get a break. It's always worse when you've spent a ton of money and see no results. Raw honey would be perfectly fine, it's not the same as other sugary foods because it stabilizes blood sugar. You might try adding a bit of raw fresh oregano to a smoothie made of other greens, since it's a mild anti- parasitic and is a healthy food item.

I remember he was going through some health issues but what exactly was his diagnosis ?

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Hiya! Oh, thank you so much! This is a really rough time. Raw honey and oregano are do-able, though!
Stink had pinworms for a month, and when we returned to the vet, those had been mostly eradicated but his flagellate levels were soaring- up to 5x more than you'd usually see in a beardie. I'm hoping that some kick-butt foods will bring down the levels like they would any other parasitic organism.

Did the vet prescribe an anti-flagellate medicine for him on the last visit?

CooperDragon":eu2hlkfc said:

Did the vet prescribe an anti-flagellate medicine for him on the last visit?

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Stink was given both Panacur for the leftover pinworms and Metronidazole for the flagellates simultaneously (though the Metro doses were spread out over 2~ months.) His last dose of one of the two medicines (I believe Metro...) was supposed to be last Monday but by the time I'd come home he was sleeping so I administered it the next night. Besides that, we never missed a dose and Stink slurped up every drop of each ?. I have a feeling the meds might've wiped out his good gut flora which would explain the lack of appetite but not the nasty accident he had at Repticon.

Today was a little better. He's no less active than usual and even had a few bites of a cucumber I was eating! Still no poos yet...his little sister has gone at least 3 times since his last poo.

I would expect the meds to wipe out the gut flora so a round of probiotics may be helpful. Has a test been done after the treatment to ensure it was successful?

CooperDragon":12tbc1mf said:

I would expect the meds to wipe out the gut flora so a round of probiotics may be helpful. Has a test been done after the treatment to ensure it was successful?

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We can't afford another test because that would mean another $70 checkup... to put our financial situation into perspective, I've had to borrow shampoo from my class (cosmetology school) in order to put every spare dollar towards his previous vet bill :lol:. So we're just sort of crossing our fingers. I bought him a soy yogurt from Whole Foods the other day. Some of the ingredients are questionable but at this point, if I give him a little at a time, I believe it'll do more good than harm. Here's a (terrible panoramic) picture of the ingredients.


We got the fresh oregano as well, but neither he nor our girl like it much... it's a work in progress :lol: . Sorry if I'm bothering you, but we're having a bit of a scare right now. He shed recently, and there's a patch of skin under a part that'd shed that's darker than the skin around it. I'm praying it's nothing serious like YF but here's a picture of that as well (although the patch isn't as evident in the photo as it was in real life... or maybe that's just me, panicking.)


I don't know what to do. It seems like no matter what I try, something new always pops up. I didn't think I was taking bad care of these guys but all of his health problems have me second guessing myself.

The yogurt should do the trick. It's the acidophilus that is needed to replenish the gut flora. Give it a try in small bits and see how it goes. The dark patch doesn't look like YF to me, just an uneven shed which is fairly normal.

No bother at all, that's what these forums are for. I agree with Cooper, that's just uneven shed, no worries. Try getting the oregano chopped up small + add it to something he likes....does he like the honey ? And I wanted to mention that the big wet poo could actually be caused by all the weeks/months being on meds., his entire system is thrown off , his good gut flora needs replenished. Some vets keep people coming + going with too many meds. for the pets. Being on antibiotics for long periods of time will always cause problems with humans as well as our pets. Hopefully you'll get him back to health. He's slim but still looks good.

Hey guys, sorry for the MIA. I've left school to get a job so I can afford to care for these guys, and it's been a crazy transition.
A few updates on the beardies; neither of them are eating. I thought it may have something to do with my recent move to a new home, and they did start to eat ( only arugula lol) again after the first week, but it petered off. Stink still eats berries, mango and superworms. Bean (who never touched anything besides her greens in the past to begin with) hasn't eaten more than three times since I last wrote.
Stink continues to poo almost weekly, somehow. None of them are as well-formed as I'd like but the smell is gone for the most part. There's always brown liquid with it. Bean has only gone once or twice in the last month, and only small amounts. They both drink in their baths, and we've moved them near the windows so they're getting plenty of Florida sunshine. I haven't been able to afford the Acidophiliz+ yet, but that's coming soon. On a side note, Stink isn't as thin as he looks in that photo, thank goodness :lol: . I'm not sure why he looked like that. Here's a very recent photo of him dragging his stomach across the poolside :lol:


I don't know what forum I should slip this into, but I actually made a somewhat disturbing discovery while fetching Bean out of her little rock cave today. This thing was lying under her, and accidentally dropped the cave on it and squished it because I was so shocked lol. Do either of you have any idea what this nasty bugger is? It almost looks like a grasshopper because of the head, but it's bottom is fat and spiny and it doesn't seem to have the giant, 'hoppy' legs. I know I'm thinking irrationally, but could this thing have anything to do with her recent poor appetite?

Do you have mealworms or superworms in the house for other lizards ? looks like either a mealworm or superworm pupa , quite good lizard treats . all mine love them.

Or perhaps a worm found its way into the tank and that's it pupa.

stinkysmommy":25o251hx said:

CooperDragon":25o251hx said:

I would expect the meds to wipe out the gut flora so a round of probiotics may be helpful. Has a test been done after the treatment to ensure it was successful?

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We can't afford another test because that would mean another $70 checkup... to put our financial situation into perspective, I've had to borrow shampoo from my class (cosmetology school) in order to put every spare dollar towards his previous vet bill :lol:. So we're just sort of crossing our fingers. I bought him a soy yogurt from Whole Foods the other day. Some of the ingredients are questionable but at this point, if I give him a little at a time, I believe it'll do more good than harm. Here's a (terrible panoramic) picture of the ingredients.

We got the fresh oregano as well, but neither he nor our girl like it much... it's a work in progress :lol: . Sorry if I'm bothering you, but we're having a bit of a scare right now. He shed recently, and there's a patch of skin under a part that'd shed that's darker than the skin around it. I'm praying it's nothing serious like YF but here's a picture of that as well (although the patch isn't as evident in the photo as it was in real life... or maybe that's just me, panicking.)

I don't know what to do. It seems like no matter what I try, something new always pops up. I didn't think I was taking bad care of these guys but all of his health problems have me second guessing myself.

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Maybe you can raise some funds for Stink via a limited cloud funding page .... I'm sure there are some here who will be happy to contribute towards such a good cause .

Lol, that is an ever- so - alien looking superworm pupae as was mentioned.
Do you have pics of Bean ? The dragons are probably still goung through relocation stress. Do they see each other ? That can cause some stress, too.

kingofnobbys":3kwvw72o said:

Do you have mealworms or superworms in the house for other lizards ? looks like either a mealworm or superworm pupa , quite good lizard treats . all mine love them.

Or perhaps a worm found its way into the tank and that's it pupa.

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Phew... that makes sense, then :lol: . Thank you so much! Yes, we keep superworms for the beardies :lol: Although we haven't left any in her tank for quite some time (she used to only accept them handfed- now she won't have them at all) so I'm not sure how that little guy got in there...

And about raising money- we've actually finally payed off the vet bill! Now it just comes down to follow up care, and saving money for a vet visit should either of them decline more/again. I do appreciate the idea, though! Thank you .

AHBD":3ndbelme said:

Lol, that is an ever- so - alien looking superworm pupae as was mentioned.
Do you have pics of Bean ? The dragons are probably still goung through relocation stress. Do they see each other ? That can cause some stress, too.

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For some reason I was banned from posting :shock: Whatever.
I don't have any recent photos of her but I did upload this video. I'd usually be a little wary to let her drink from the tap, considering the chlorine and whatnot, but because she isn't eating and only drinks running water, better tap water than nothing at all. You can't tell in the video but her skin looks very wrinkly and dehydrated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJAVP7qhJaw

I thought it might be the relocation stress too but I realized that she hasn't eaten since before we moved, and he'll eat- just not greens :lol: .
And they only see each other in passing, such as when we're moving them from room to room. We made the mistake of bringing them out together once and he crossed the entire backyard in a split second to mount her. Never again :lol: