domandnick
Member
We bought a beardie form the local pet franchise store for my son last fall. The beardie (male) was in good health and should be around 7 months by now. The environment include a 20 gallon tank 75 Watts Sunglo eat lamp & 60 Watt UVB lamp (stay between 100-105 degrees), night lamp, log and sand.
The beardie started having problem with his vision having hard time eating his food (could aim right the food in his bowl and he began having hard time aiming at the crickets). By mid December 2017, he stop eating and pooping. Also, his eyes stayed closed and it looks like there were swelling.
I went to the local pet store and called a local vet. None of them could be of much help unfortunately. After reading a few thread on this web site, we did the following to see if it would help the beardie’s getting back into health:
1) We replaced the sand with reptile carpet (allegedly the sand may caused digestion problem)
2) We attempted to feed him green apples with olive oil (allegedly may help promoting pooping)
3) We have been bathing the beardie with half electrolyte and half warm water for 15 minutes, 3 to 4 times a week.
4) We are applying mineral oil gently on his eyes with Q-tips a few times a week.
As of today, the beardie barely open his eyes, still don’t eat, pooped once since mid-December, lost considerable amount of weight (the side of his belly show some loose skin), still keeps his head up while we give him a bath (but keep his eyes closed), and moved from the top of his log down and back up once a day.
Looking at some threads, it is my understanding that, while very rare, there is a possibility for a 7 months bearded dragon to go into brumation. Which, at the beginning of this lack of eating and pooping I thought that was what he was experiencing. However, at this point, I am wondering how long should we keep him like this and what would be the next thing to do.
I would greatly appreciated any suggestions, recommendations and please keep in mind that there aren’t any reptile specialist veterinary within my local area.
Cheers ,
DomAndNick
The beardie started having problem with his vision having hard time eating his food (could aim right the food in his bowl and he began having hard time aiming at the crickets). By mid December 2017, he stop eating and pooping. Also, his eyes stayed closed and it looks like there were swelling.
I went to the local pet store and called a local vet. None of them could be of much help unfortunately. After reading a few thread on this web site, we did the following to see if it would help the beardie’s getting back into health:
1) We replaced the sand with reptile carpet (allegedly the sand may caused digestion problem)
2) We attempted to feed him green apples with olive oil (allegedly may help promoting pooping)
3) We have been bathing the beardie with half electrolyte and half warm water for 15 minutes, 3 to 4 times a week.
4) We are applying mineral oil gently on his eyes with Q-tips a few times a week.
As of today, the beardie barely open his eyes, still don’t eat, pooped once since mid-December, lost considerable amount of weight (the side of his belly show some loose skin), still keeps his head up while we give him a bath (but keep his eyes closed), and moved from the top of his log down and back up once a day.
Looking at some threads, it is my understanding that, while very rare, there is a possibility for a 7 months bearded dragon to go into brumation. Which, at the beginning of this lack of eating and pooping I thought that was what he was experiencing. However, at this point, I am wondering how long should we keep him like this and what would be the next thing to do.
I would greatly appreciated any suggestions, recommendations and please keep in mind that there aren’t any reptile specialist veterinary within my local area.
Cheers ,
DomAndNick