Very sick dragon

Status
Not open for further replies.

Ozziesmom7917

Member
Original Poster
I haven't been giving him anything ....just leaving him alone and his black beard has gone away....it comes back when Ipick him up or try to give him food. He hasn't brumated since we got him January 2017 so maybe that is what is going on...he doesn't want to bask...he goes to the cooler side of his enclosure when I put him under his basking light.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
It's good that his black beard isn't constant. Keep checking in on him but it's certainly possible that he is brumating. My guy has been very sluggish over the past few weeks too. Take him out to check his weight and offer some water but if brumation is the case I'd let him be.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
His condition is at least partly from the stress + meds. An enema, if not done carefully, can kill or really mess up a beardie. Then there's still the remote possibility that the vet DID see something [ gas bubble, tumor ? ] but they really don't know what they are doing.


If the beardie is brumating, it's best to just leave him at home, not take him to an unfamiliar place. I highly doubt it's brumation, I still believe it's the mess that the vet did to him. Hopefully with some rest and letting his body get past the over medicating he may pull through.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I am sorry he has been having such a hard time, that is too bad. I agree, I think that there
was very little to nothing wrong with him when you initially took him into the vet. He was
most likely trying to bromate. They often do brumate during the summertime. Both of ours
do.
So many times vets don't recognize brumation behavior & automatically medicate them which
makes everything worse.
Try to just let him rest, especially if he is looking better when he just rests. If his beard isn't
black then that is a good sign. Are his eyes sunken in at all, or do they look normal?

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

Ozziesmom7917

Member
Original Poster
He never did have an enema. Only warm water baths, applesauce, and olive oil to poop. His eyes look good... he's alert and looks around when he's awake...I scared him pretty bad waking him up yesterday so from now on I'm just going to keep checking he's breathing and have fruits and vegetables available to him and hope he's brumating! He hasn't since we got him so maybe it is his time to do so?! The vet thought she saw a gas bubble ( or a blockage, or cancer) on his x-ray but couldn't tell me specifically what it was.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Ozziesmom7917":1due2eoo said:
The vet thought she saw a gas bubble ( or a blockage, or cancer) on his x-ray but couldn't tell me specifically what it was.

That's quite a range of options... Do you have a copy of the x-ray you can post? They seem to tend to be mostly gas bubbles and lungs (also gas bubbles I suppose) and skeleton so gas bubble is probably the most likely out of those three. I suppose it depends on where it was located though.
 

Ozziesmom7917

Member
Original Poster
Hi everyone, so I've just been leaving Ozzie to sleep and he seems ok. I took him out today to weigh him... he's down 10grams since August 7th and I noticed one of his nostrils is crusted over with white stuff. I don't know if he's having trouble breathing. I'm going to bathe him today and use a wet qtip to see if I can clear the white stuff from his nostrils. Any ideas what that might be?
 

Ozziesmom7917

Member
Original Poster
100812-7045735139.jpg
100812-5675496752.jpg

The first picture is of how his nostrils usually look...the second is how that one looks today... yesterday it was completely covered and I used a warm, wet qtip to get rid of the white stuff, which looked like snot when it got wet. He hasn't been gapping his mouth, breathing heavy, or making any weird noises though. He has been awake today and I tried to feed him a horned worm and a super worm, which he seemed interested in but then ran away from and started licking his carpet? I feel like he's hungry but just won't or can't eat?
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

His beard is a little dark right there. How long had he been up?
He may be getting ready to shed his nostrils perhaps. Does he seem to be having any
breathing issues, like if he were to have a respiratory infection?
Is he losing weight that you can tell?
It doesn't sound like the vet was real sure what could be going on with him. Did they not
do any blood work?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Yes he may be brumating and it's probably best to let him be. They can go for long periods without food + water [ mine sometimes for 3 months ] so it's normal. The thing I'd be most concerned about is actually the way he went downhill after the vet treatments. Hopefully some rest will do him good. Just check to see if his eyes are open during the day, after 7-10 days offer water dripped on his snout. Tuck a wad of paper towels under his neck to catch the excess.


If you think there's a slim chance that he has a tumor [ as per the vet's unknown object on the xray ] you might try to find a specialist to do an ultrasound but it's more likely not. Thee have been a few threads here where a vet saw a " gas bubble " and turned out to be nothing.
 

Ozziesmom7917

Member
Original Poster
The vet I went to looked around for someone to do an ultrasound but couldn't find anyone. His beard got darker because I picked him ap and he pretty much hates me now. His beard is a normal colour when just resting! He has lost 10 g since August 8. If he did aquire a respiratory infection, it's from me shoving stuff down his throat. But he's not making any weird noises, gapping his mouth or breathing heavily. My concern is that he seems to want to eat when he's awake but doesn't.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Yes, he just wants to be left alone for a while. Once the stress is gone and he realizes that you're not messing with him anymore he should settle down again though. BTW, 10 grams is not much because they can lose twice as much after a large poo.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

No members online now.

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank
Taking my beardie for a walk

Forum statistics

Threads
155,854
Messages
1,255,181
Members
75,936
Latest member
KarmaChild99
Top Bottom