Still sick or past the point of no return?

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EllenD

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spinyheliantheae":1l9lsjst said:
That's what I said! No tests have been run and she wants to put him on injections. I'll stick to the critical care diet and bring in a stool sample when I get one, only when it's been tested will I buy meds

EXACTLY!!!! GOOD JOB!!! Antibiotics will only help for a bacterial infection, and usually when they do this what happens is the antibiotics make them sick, do nothing to help, then a week or two later they then do a fecal test and diagnose parasites, and then you have to pay for the fecal test and the correct Antiparasitic medication, and the antibiotics you already paid for did absolutely nothing but make him sick and stop him from eating anything. They can actually kill them if they have any kidney issues, and why any DOCTOR would prescribe antibiotics by just looking at a dragon is beyond me, to make money I guess, or they have no familiarity with Bearded Dragons and how commonly they get parasites...

Just get out of there, and bag up the very next poop he does, drop it off, and wait for the test results.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Can you post a picture of his tank set up to show how far he is from his uvb bulb ?

I also wanted to mention that it's only been about a week since he nearly died from overheating so it can be expected that he will take some time to recover and may even have irreversible neurological damage which may be slight or may be significant. It may be that and/or nor absorbing calcium from too low levels of uvb. So please post pics of his lighting + set up.

And no, it's not time to give up necessarily he may still improve with time.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
That's a good set up....does he climb up there himself though or did you put him there ? And what wattage are the 2 basking bulbs there ? Be sure there is a cool side.
 

spinyheliantheae

Member
Original Poster
AHBD":183nw3fd said:
That's a good set up....does he climb up there himself though or did you put him there ? And what wattage are the 2 basking bulbs there ? Be sure there is a cool side.

I have to place him there, he has never been able to climb all the way up on his own. The basking light is a 75 watt (I went back to the hotter one, I live in Oklahoma and my apartment is starting to get very cold, but I take temps with a temp gun frequently to make sure they don't go above 108), and I just have a CHE on the other side not visible in the photo for nighttime. He seemed more active and alert when he got some unfiltered sun this afternoon but once I put him back in his viv he closed his eyes and is resting pretty limply. I fed him the Critical Care diet and he took it okay, only got about 3/4 of the dose in. The force feeding method that Ellen suggested doesn't seem to be working and he has a little bruise (?) under his ear on his jaw from my feeble attempts to force feed.
 

spinyheliantheae

Member
Original Poster
Well, my UVB fixture just started sparking and burned out my Reptisun bulb. It was an "All Living Things" fixture that was the right length and all that, i have no clue what happened. Already ordered a new one.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Poor little guy....it is easy to hurt a baby when force/assist feeding. I can't remember your concoction but try adding a few drops of raw honey to it, many beardies like it. You can also try smashing a small insect until the guts come out + rub it litly on his snout.

Definitely get a different brand light + fixture than the All living things. Now's your chance to upgrade to a Reptisun 10.0 t5
 

spinyheliantheae

Member
Original Poster
CooperDragon":1nexcr8d said:
Was it still under warranty? If not you might want to go with a different brand.

I wasn't offered a warranty when I bought it and I couldn't return it to the PetSmart I bought it from since I didn't have the receipt (which is fair, the PetSmart I live closest too has a bad problem with shoplifters). I'm not sure if I should go with a "herp" brand tube fixture or just get something from Home Depot?? I don't know too much about UVB bulb compatibility with fixtures, what would work best with a T5HO?
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
I can definitely help with that. I suggest either picking up this combination (bulb & fixture) http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/22-t-5-ho-fixture-high-output-with-arcadia-d3-12-ho-bulb/

Or a combination of this bulb https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-26061-Reptisun-Fluorescent/dp/B00AQU8HAO/

With this fixture if you want it to hang from a ceiling (the bulb will stick out a little from under the reflector https://www.amazon.com/Sunblaster-904296-NanoTech-Fixture-Reflector/dp/B00AKKUBDQ/

Or this fixture if you want it to sit flush on the top of a tank https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-26053-Reptisun-Terrarium/dp/B00AQU8F2O This comes with a 5.0 bulb but should be replaced with either a 10.0 bulb that I linked to earlier or a 22'' Arcadia 12% bulb. (the bulb brands are interchangeable as long as it's the same size)
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
Wow, you're really going through a bunch of bad luck, my...I didn't realize that he overheated last week or so ago, that will definitely slow him down a lot, and it's very important to try to get fluids in him throughout the day since I'm sure he dehydrated when that happened.

Yes, choose a different brand fixture, All Living Things doesn't seem to be very good for much of anything reptile related.

Sorry my force feeding method didn't help you any, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Babies are definitely harder to get a syringe in because of how small their mouths are. Persistence is best I guess, hopefully he'll start eating on his own once you get a new tube fixture for the UVB tube. Your setup looks very good, and if you can get him outside for natural sunlight, even for just a little bit during the day, it will help until the new fixture gets shipped to you.
 

spinyheliantheae

Member
Original Poster
It's alright! I live in the south so we're still pretty temperate (as of right now). I'll make sure he gets plenty of sunlight until my new lights come in.

After giving him the critical care diet (he eats .75ml three times a day, he's a hungry baby), he seems to be a tad more active and his legs have regained some grip and climbing strength.

Also as a side question, the tub I have him in has some weird divets at the bottom, so the middle is raised slightly and there is a bit of a "trench" around the sides, should I fill this out with sand and put the reptile carpet on top to make it even so crix and junk don't hide/build up where I can't easily get to them?
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
spinyheliantheae":3d81gzwi said:
Well, my UVB fixture just started sparking and burned out my Reptisun bulb. It was an "All Living Things" fixture that was the right length and all that, i have no clue what happened. Already ordered a new one.

I think you are better off hanging the UVB tube closer to the floor and many getting a fake rock grotto for him climb and bask ontop of.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
You can actually leave the bottom bare, it's no prob. with such a little dragon. Just wipe up any poo spots with a dab of red wine vinegar + then a clean wet cloth. RWV is a great disinfectant, much stronger than white vinegar and bleach.
 
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