New Baby Bearded Dragon is Sick! I need help!

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I purchased a baby bearded dragon from petsmart on August 14th (over 3 weeks ago). He seemed very alert at the petstore and would run up to the glass. I also witnessed him eat a cricket in the cage while there. When I got him home he was and is very skitish and fearful. He would pick at his food (maybe eat 1-3 bugs a day) and would constantly wave at his reflection. For over a week he has not eaten anything by himself and began to have diarrhea. He begam noticeably weaker and looks miserable. I took him to the vet and they gave me critical care and carnivore care to syringe feed him. That was Tuesday and he still hasn't eaten anything by himself. he diarrheas pretty soon after a force feed him. He also passes a lot of pee. I mist his mouth and soak him daily to prevent dehydration. I managed to get a fecal sample and it came back negative for parasites. I also have a seperate tank which houses a 8 year old bearded dragon. She also went through the same thing when younger and wouldn't eat. After researching I am not afraid that maybe my adult bearded dragon is a carrier of adenovirus. That would explain her sickly behavior ever since she was a baby. The thing is I have also learned that you should wash your hands before touching the other bearded dragon and not use the same tweezers. Well I wasn't doing that so I think I may have transferred the virus to my new baby bearded dragon! This is just my theory. I don't know what else it could be. He went from alert and jumpy to not eating and looking horrible. Any advice would be helpful.

His Set up:
-40 gallon breeder
-100 watt basking bulb, Long UVB reptisun 10, and nothing night
-small water dish on cool side, 2 caves, rock ledge to bask, stick
-food dish with baby dubia roaches, calcium worms, and wax worms (since he is not eating I havent been offering him crickets anymore because they just bite him)
- salad dish ground arugula, sprinkled with calcium powder and pellets
- paper towel for substrate poop is spot cleaned as soon as a see it. tank is clean
- 12 hour daytime and 12 hours of nighttime
- since I bought him the fake rock ledge (Put in the tank yesterday so not the cause of any sickness) his basking spot read 115 F! Before I bought it it stayed around 103-106 f
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
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Hi there,

Your setup sounds fine. What are you measuring your temps with? What is your cool end temp?

115 is too hot, but the 103-106 is fine.

If your other dragon is ADV+ it's very possible that your baby has been infected too if you weren't careful with sanitizing. It affects all dragons differently it seems. Some do well or ok with it, others really don't. It's also possible that your dragon was already infected from the petstore. That's one of the negatives of chain stores, you have no clue on the health of them really.

Could you perhaps post a picture of your baby and the setup?

How much of the CC has he eaten? It's good that he is pooing. When you say pee, do you mean liquid or urates?

-Brandon
 

Valerie876

Member
Original Poster
Is there a way to test if a dragon is ADV positive while being alive? He has not been diagnosed.

I have two bulbs I can use a "normal" 100 watt and a "intense" 100 watt. An hour ago a put in the "normal" 100 watt and now the temp say 94! I think it may be inaccurate. It is a exoterra digital prob thermometer. The prob is resting on his basking spot ledge. I had a stick on thermometer on the cold side that also read the humidity. But my bearded dragon when I first got him when he was energetic he would jump on the thermometer and then try to jump on the lid and fall. So I took it down. I also have a Zoo med lazer thermometer. I just checked it now. The top of the cave on the cool side reads 75 f and the rock ledge basking spot reads 90- 103 (its a big area). I think I may put the more powerful bulb back in. He didnt act like it was too hot.

Also I havent really been keeping track of how much he has been eating. Tomorrow I will start keeping better track and dosing better. The vet said to give 0.15 ml of carnivore care and 0.05 ml of critical care 3 times daily. He is only 10 grams so the syringe is too big for his mouth. What I have been doing is mixing critical care and carnivore care together, adding water, and estimating how much he should eat twice a day. That's not good, I know. The problem is I cannot accurately measure it because he shakes and wipes at least 50% off. So I just stop when I am happy with the amount he has licked. I soak him very breifly every day. He usually drinks the water and then pees, so i have to take him out of it

Also I mean both pee and urates. It is white mixed with clear. But the urates are not solid or normal.
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Your setup looks great.

The poor thing does look a bit sickly. But the picture of him holding himself up is a good sign.

Yes they can test for adv while still living. I'd call your vet and ask about it if you're concerned.

That being said, sometimes the genetic lines are just sickly at the chain stores and there's nothing you can do.
Hopefully he pulls through for you though. I'd keep offering him his salad and live feeders though just in hopes that he'll eat on his own.

-Brandon
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

He looks pretty good with holding himself up right now. How long did he hold himself up
afterwards? Your setup looks good for him.
How many times per day are you feeding him right now? Keep up the great work, by getting
food into him so he can keep his strength up. Definitely try to entice him into eating live bugs
on his own & hopefully he will recover.
If you need help with testing, you can sign up on my site at:
www.thepats.info

I help support the PCR testing through a lab here in Texas. It is only $20 per test sample, too.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie
 

Valerie876

Member
Original Poster
He still hasn't eaten on his own, but he licks the critical care and carnivore care off of his mouth fine. He holds himself up most of the time. He lays down when he sees me or after I hold and feed him because he is scared of me. He is still having diarrhea. No solid poops. He doesnt move unless I hold him or place him away from his basking spot. He basks all day. I have another vet appointment for him tomorrow. I'll ask the vet about ADV testing. Thanks.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
What is the UVB bulb you are using? I am surprised no one has asked---- If its a T 8 bulb it needs to go inside the tank and 6-8 inches from basking area -- it its the T 5 bulb it can stay on top of tank but needs to be 10-12 inches from basking ---
Karrie
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Did you end up replacing the basking bulb with the bigger one you had? It's good that hes wanting to bask, but doing it all day might indicate it's not quite warm enough for him.
That's good that hes getting some nutrients in.

-Brandon
 

Valerie876

Member
Original Poster
I did end up putting back the 100 wat "intense" bulb to make it hotter. I took the surface temp of the hottest spot of his basking spot and it read 115. I cant tell you the prob temp right now because he knocked the prob down to the ground, so it read 80. He is not gaping and is still basking all day. The uvb bulb I use is a repitsun 10 long bulb. The vet said she did not think he had ADV virus because he was not emaciated and appeared to have energy. The vet gave me metronidazole antibiotic to give 0.04 ml every 48 hours for 8 days. She said it can help to kill any bad bacteria that is causing his diarrhea and increase his apetite as a side effect. She said he looked good and to bring another poop sample in to double check since I was worried the first one mightve been inaccurate. Hopefully he starts eating on his own soon.
 

Valerie876

Member
Original Poster
I believe is a t8 after some research.I put the prob back on his basking spot and just went to check and it said 121. That cannot be right. He is not gaping or anything. I dont think the probe is supposed to be resting on the basking spot. Maybe the air temp is too cold? Idk. I read some where that if they are not mouth gaping then they are probably not hot enough. I just raised his magnetic ledge just a little bit.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Valerie876":3j0cuhsu said:
I believe is a t8 after some research.I put the prob back on his basking spot and just went to check and it said 121. That cannot be right. He is not gaping or anything. I dont think the probe is supposed to be resting on the basking spot. Maybe the air temp is too cold? Idk. I read some where that if they are not mouth gaping then they are probably not hot enough. I just raised his magnetic ledge just a little bit.
If the basking spot is 121 its too hot you need to lower the basking spot or raise the bulb or lower the wattage - the T 8 needs to go into the tank - 6-8 inches from basking area but you need to make sure its the T 8 cuz if its a T 5 its gonna be too close -- the T 5 should be 10-12 inches from basking- --- lower that magnetic ledge if that is where the heat is - take the probe set it on the spot where he sits to bask and leave for 10 minutes -- that will give you the temp---
Karrie
 

Valerie876

Member
Original Poster
Into the tank????? Is it not okay sitting on top of a screen? and its the surface temperature not the air temp. He isnt showing any signs of overheating. He stays there all day like he is too cold. I believe the probe thermometer is supposed to be suction cupped on the glass and that is why it is reading so high. Because the end of the probe is touching the surface
 
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