Am I losing my beardie?

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Sorry if this is not the right topic, I'm new to this forum.

Anyway, a little bit of History: We got a female Cirtus bearded dragon in December of 2017, she is a rescue. She is severely underweight and was dehydrated. The guy who had her, had her on sand, with no lights for an entire year, and she was not fed since August. Me, being the animal lover I am, had to take her in. We do not know her age.

She has been doing good, except lately her appitite has decreased, she will only eat about 3 worms a week, and no Salad. She does drink water, and we give her baths regularly. She doesn't walk around much, except for when we take her outside. She has a rock inside her tank that she can climb up on, but lately it seems she has been falling off of it? Her feet are slightly puffy, and the other night she suddenly turned her beard black (which she has never done) and it seemed like she was gaping and trying to swallow something yet there was nothing stuck in her throat. Just today, she had pooped only Urates, but it was super wattery and there was a little bit of blood in it.

I'm really scared we are going to lose her, but I just don't have the money to take her to the vet right now. I know it makes me seem selfish, but I really cannot afford it right now.

I don't know if it matters, but last week our 1 year old, Male bearded dragon climbed on top of her and but the back of her head?? We don't let them near each other, and this was the only time it's happened.

Her tank is a small, open-front 40-gallon tank. Her head usually runs around 98-108 degrees, except at night when it drops to around 75-80. She has a reptisun UVB Bar, but the exact size is failing me right now. She is on Paper Towels, and fed Superworms and Dubia Roaches. (I know, I know Superworms are not the greatest for her, but that's all she'll eat mostly.) She only eats about twice a week, but is offered salad daily and food every other day.

Please help.
 

SydneyGaia

Hatchling Member
She is a mess - sorry!! :( :? From my experiences, I would say to keep offering her food, give daily soaks to better hydrate (always supervised, make sure that her nose is above water), and try to get her some natural rays. At this point, if you went to the vet she would probably just be put on herbivore care critical care formula with a syringe to force feed (Herbivore, as opposed to the usual carnivore care, because the higher protein dosage found in carnivore vs. herbivore care can be hard on them if they are dehydrated... so I have been told). They would probably run blood tests as well ($60 here, not sure about costs where you are) - my wild guess is her blood sugar levels are probably low, which also affect her energy.

Keep things as unstressful for her as possible.

Your description of decreased appetite, urates, watery stool, etc. sounds eerily similiar to my last dragon's final days. The puffy feet could indicate some MBD (granted, so could no lights for a year). How is her spine? Is it straight or bowed?
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
I think she is recoverable and can be rehabilated with some good high potency liquid foods / slurries and some TLC . At least she's not blackbearding because she's very sick or in great pain, and she seems pretty alert (another positive).

Unless she drinks when in the bath and enjoys the bath , I'd cut the bathing to only when it's absolutely necessary , in her frail condition it is a very high risk she will accidentially aspirated the bath water into her lungs and develope an RI , or even drown in the bath, and she doesn't need the extra stress of being bathed.

I'd get her onto VetaFarm CrittaCare Reptile : https://www.petology.com.au/vetafarm-reptile-crittacare-emergency-food-100ml , I highly recommend this food for critically ill lizards, my most recent success using it is my rescued wild water skink Fluffy (who came to me on death's door and in extremely bad shape in early November last year) , I fed her this using a feeding syringe and feeding nozzle for 2 months, she's made a full recovery and is now a thriving member of my reptile tribe..
Gear I used is shown here : viewtopic.php?f=45&t=232687

The goal is to get some nutrition and moisture into her , several times per day , so a lot of small feeds until she starts getting stronger and starts building back up.

I'd work through this check list
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=236150&p=1815390#p1815390
and make sure you have all bases covered too be sure her issues are not due organ failure of some kind.

Then I'd migrate her onto VetaFarm HerpaBoost : https://www.vetsupply.com.au/supplements/reptiles/vetafarm-herpaboost-supplement/p2058.aspx
& maybe Repashi GrubPie
https://www.store.repashy.com/by-product-name-en/grub-pie-reptile-en/
to build her up a bit more over a period a few months.
Wont hurt to do a mix of Repashi GrubPie & Repashi VeggieBurger
https://www.store.repashy.com/by-product-name-en/veggie-burger/
as she gets more active and stronger.

It might take 4 or more months before she's eating properly according to this : viewtopic.php?f=18&t=236074

VERY IMPORTANT :
> if you decide to continue offering live insects (to build her up) chose slow moving soft bodied live insects for now : ie BSFL , silkworms (I'd give her small or medium sizes for now) , maybe butterworms and even the occasional waxworm (to help build her up and get he eating as treats).
> proper temperatures , and keeping her warm overnight , if she is weak/ frail DO NOT LET HER BRUMATE.
> keep her warmer than 24 degC overnight - will help boost her metabolism and immune system.
> MININUM 15 hours per day photoperiod.
> keep bathing to a minimum unless she actual drinks water or enjoys her baths - else it's a stressor.
> proper levels of UVB (aim for 200 microW / sq.cm at the basking spot and no less than 100 microW / sq.cm else where).And proper levels of UVA , aim for 1000 microW / sq.cm at the basking spot.
See this for working out lighting setup : viewtopic.php?f=34&t=235611
> if she's too frail to climb and tends to fall off high spots, because she very likely has severe MBD (no lights and likely no calcium for over a year !!!) , she risks breaking her weakened bones when she falls onto any hard surface . So remove any places she is likely to try to climb to and make sure the highest she can go is the top of her hide.
> VERY MUCH WORTH having a vet do blood work and Xrays to determine the severity of her MBD and the state of her liver, renal system and to check for systemic infections and GIT parasites.
 

jadabear17654

Member
Original Poster
We do know she has MBD, her spine is bowed.
She is almost always alert. Thank you for all of your replies! It's much appreciated
 

Beardeddtagonlover

Hatchling Member
Get you beardie to the vet as soon as you can the year that had bad care put lot of stress in the mean time you need to feed via syringe the repticare as mentioned is good but if you can't afford that get repta boost or blend some insects with veggies with some water of course and calcium and give like a shake get some liquid calcium if you can the thing is to get nutrient s into your beardie.when you do take her to the vet prepare for a expensive bill as the things you mentioned don't sound good
 

jadabear17654

Member
Original Poster
Unfortunately despite our best efforts, she passed away last night. We had tried so hard to get her into good condidition but most of the damage had already been done. She was with us since December and I'm so glad sh made it this long, and we will certainly miss her so much
 

Terry15

Sub-Adult Member
So sorry to hear she did not make it. She was a pretty looking Beardie. Thank you for rescuing her & giving her a nice home. They are so easy to get attached to. Again, sorry for your loss.
 

SydneyGaia

Hatchling Member
jadabear17654":roiwazbf said:
Unfortunately despite our best efforts, she passed away last night. We had tried so hard to get her into good condidition but most of the damage had already been done. She was with us since December and I'm so glad sh made it this long, and we will certainly miss her so much
Sorry to hear. These little animals are family - it is never easy to say goodbye. Thank you for giving her a good home over the past 9 months
 

jadabear17654

Member
Original Poster
Thanks again for your help. It's really hard to say goodbye to them, but we are great ful for the time we did have. I just wish I maybe tried harder or something
 

SydneyGaia

Hatchling Member
jadabear17654":q5jz0olv said:
Thanks again for your help. It's really hard to say goodbye to them, but we are great ful for the time we did have. I just wish I maybe tried harder or something
After losing my last beardie 3 weeks ago after 11 years, I truly do know EXACTLY how you feel. 5 hr emergency vet visit 7-midnight before her passing. We can always look back and wish there was more we did, but just know that you gave her the best life you could given her dire circumstances.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I am so sorry to hear you lost your girl, that is so devastating I know. :cry: She was well
loved & knew you were doing your best to help. I am sorry for your loss.

Tracie
 

jadabear17654

Member
Original Poster
SydneyGaia":3grdmq9f said:
jadabear17654":3grdmq9f said:
Thanks again for your help. It's really hard to say goodbye to them, but we are great ful for the time we did have. I just wish I maybe tried harder or something
After losing my last beardie 3 weeks ago after 11 years, I truly do know EXACTLY how you feel. 5 hr emergency vet visit 7-midnight before her passing. We can always look back and wish there was more we did, but just know that you gave her the best life you could given her dire circumstances.

That is so devasting, I'm so sorry to hear that!
 
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i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
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