Very Sick Beardie Baby

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Hello. I have a very sick baby who is about 4.5 months old. Up until Tuesday morning, he was normal, active, eating well, pooping normally, climbing on his tree thing, basking about half the day, etc. He eats either crickets or superworms in the evening and a bowl of salad in the morning. Basking temps are 100ish and the cool side is about 85 degrees.

Monday night, he was especially hungry and ate 5 superworms, which is a lot for him. Normally he would eat 3 or 4.

Tuesday morning, he ate his salad and then at some point in the morning threw it up. It was a big glob of wet salad. He was also quieter than normal. By late afternoon, he was just laying limp and I brought him to the emergency vet (regular vets were not able to get him in). They gave him a calcium injection, fluids under the skin and put him on an antibiotic and an antiparasitic. He had pooped twice that day, one of hte times runny, so they felt his stomach and said he wasn't impacted.

Wednesday, he just laid around all day, refused to eat. He still pooped a couple times though. He basked all day. I moved him off of his basking log once and he climbed back up there.

Yesterday (Thursday) we went to a reptile vet. That vet gave him more fluids and said to keep on giving the oral medications. He also suggested giving him banana baby food, .3cc four times per day. So I started doing that. At one point yesterday, he got up and walked around the cage but for the rest of the day, he literally just laid there limply. I moved him off of his basking spot a couple times to give him a break and both times, he cooled off a bit and then climbed back up on his own. He also had a tiny bit of runny poo.

Today (Friday), he's still mostly limp and needing to be force-fed the bananas. He has had two poos, both runny. The last one was off-white, sort of like urate but a lot (like a nickel-sized pile of goo with a pretty big puddle of liquid).

A local reptile breeder suggested soaking him in a half gatorade, half water bath for a while a few times per week. I was going to do that today but I'm concerned that he might be over-hydrated.

I don't know if we are just prolonging the inevitable or if this is a typical thing when they're sick. The vet had no idea what was wrong with him. He's in a large 40-gallon tank, has the right temps, and I can't imagine how he could have gotten a parasite (but he's being treated for that regardless, which is fine). All of his insects are feeder insects from the pet store. The salad he eats is organic bok choy, romaine, and/or swiss chard, so there are no pesticides or anything that could be an issue. Nobody in the house smokes or anything like that. No other pets go into the room he is in and we have no other lizards. He has a Zilla UVB light (I've been advised to switch out the bulb with a better one). And his tank is up on a bureau off of the floor.

Can anyone think of anything we can do to help him? I'm afraid to let him continue suffering if he's not going to get well but I also don't want to say he's doomed. The vet said that he's not super-optimistic mainly because he went downhill incredibly fast and for no clear reason. He agreed with the first vet that if he's pooping, he's not impacted.

In this pic, he actually has his head up a little, but he's been just laying flat with his head down 95% of the time. Also, he normally has a log to bask on but he pooped/peed on it and it needs to dry after being washed off, so he has a folded stack of washcloths/newspapers at the moment.

110193-2321665855.jpg
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, so sorry about your sick beardie. They are often lethargic after vomiting but usually only lasts for a day. I think there are 2 problems here, the meds. need to stop [ there's NO evidence that he needed them at all ] and you need to attach the uvb fixture under the screen. This is how to do it, use picture hanging wire or fishing wire or strong twine. Check to see if the Zilla fixture has a plastic shield, if it does it needs to be removed , it blocks all the uvb.

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/30028/full

Keep up the hydration but stop the baths, they do nothing at all unless he's drinking, and sugar sports drink is not good. Plain water is all he needs.
 

MichelleBeardieMom

Member
Original Poster
Thank you! I'm a bit afraid to stop the meds because there's no real indication of what could have caused this sudden decline from perfectly healthy and happy to looking like he's on death's doorstep (and if he does have an infection or parasites, we want to treat that).

We've had him since October... would poor lighting cause a very quick crash like this? The lights are off for the night but we will certainly move it under the mesh top first thing in the morning. Also, I had no idea about the plastic, which yes, it does have. We will remove that!
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Well he was fine until he vomited which was possibly because of too many superworms, since he's not a large dragon. When any creature vomits, they need fluids due to dehydration. Then you give them 2 types of meds. that also cause dehydration on top of that that are bad for the kidneys. So that's the likely problem now. There is no diagnosis so giving meds. was a huge mistake made by vets that we see here often. So he needs fluids . not medicine and sugar. It's possible that it coincided with his body being out of whack, calcium deficient because the uvb light is what beardies need to help absorb their calcium. So those are the 2 problems I see.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I am sorry he is so ill. Did he possibly eat too large of superworms? Since he is so small,
I would avoid superworms right now, they may have been too much for him to handle.
Do you know what the name of the medication is by chance & how much he is getting daily?
You could consider getting a probiotic for him, such as a non dairy acidophiluz or a non dairy
organic soy yogurt to help out too.

Let us know how he is doing. Be sure to keep him around 75-80 in his tank overnight to hlp
boost his system.

Tracie
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Aweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee I am so sorry ---- :cry: sometimes they can hang on but sometimes its just too much ----- we have too many here on the forum that come and sometimes we can help and sometimes its well heartbreaking -- please ask Tracie if you have more questions she can possibly answer them
Karrie
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Oh no! I am very sorry that he did not make it, I know how heartbreaking to lose a precious
dragon. I know you did everything you could for him. :cry:
My sincere condolences to you.

Tracie
 

Kellytrotter

New member
MichelleBeardieMom":28fsguwx said:
Thank you for your help. He died overnight. Poor little guy.

I am so sorry to hear that Michelle. That is heartbreaking to hear. You did everything possible to help your baby. It just happens sometimes that we can’t fix whatever the issue is fast enough. It can be very challenging to determine what is wrong with any reptile when they’re ill. And by the time they manifest outward signs of illness this severe, you’re so far behind the 8 ball it’s impossible to catch. I hope when your heart has had time to heal you’ll be willing again. My heart goes out to you!
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Oh no, I just saw this and I'm so so sorry about your little guy. :( They can be delicate and if over medicated it can take a toll . You tried your best and it's obvious you loved him. My heart really goes out to you at this very sad time. :(
 
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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:
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