6 Deaths...I just need help.

[Pippyelle]

I work for a local pet store and within the last 3 weeks we have had 6 dragon deaths and there are 2 more that are very sick and going downhill quickly. I don't work in the reptile department but the people back there have given up and are saying it's a neurological issue that happens with the breeder. We have contacted the breeder and he's trying to figure it out on his end. But I don't want to give up on these babies, so I'm looking for anything that can help them. There has been no diagnosis.

They are young. 4 - 6 inches long.
They come in looking fine but quickly go downhill.
They lay there with their eyes closes.
They are dehydrated and don't care about food at all.
I've heard that they have had head twitches, though I personally haven't seen this.

What I've done:
We stopped feeding meal worms (I hear they can cause digestive issues)
Warm baths in pedialyt and rubbed bellies.
Fed baby food mixed with pedialyt.
They have been to the vet and be dewormed and given fluids.

Where they are:
Our two sick ones are in smaller tanks in a quiet room. They are on reptile carpet.
15"W 12"H 13"D
100 deg basking
82 deg ambient
40 humidity
40watt light
10.0 UCB fluorescent

Any advice is welcome. I just hate seeing them suffer!

 

[mazais]

That's really really sad! I hope they get better!

What's the tank setup? Do you have a UVB bulb? You need one or the beardies will get metabolic bone disease. (And it kind of sounds like they have it because of the twitching, which is a symptom of MBD). The only recommended UVB bulbs in the U.S. are repti-sun 10.0 TUBE bulbs. NOT compacts or coils. They are BAD, BAD, BAD. The temps in the tanks should be 95-105 on the hot side, during the day, and 80-90 on the cool side during the day. At night the temps should be 80-90 on the hot side, and about 10 degrees less on the cool side. It should NEVER get less than 65 degrees in the tank! If it gets cold at night in the store you can use a ceramic heat emitter. I hope your even allowed to add lights and change the setup! It would be sad if you couldn't.

 

[Pippyelle]

I'm pretty sure the lights are coil lights.

 

[mazais]

Well, do you mean that the ALL the bulbs are coil? So there are coil bulbs and no basking/heat bulbs? B/c you also need heat bulbs so the beardies could digest their food.

 

[Pippyelle]

There's one coil (I'm assuming the UVB) and then a large white one. I'm sorry if my information is a bit lacking. I know nothing about them I just hate seeing them like this.

 

[mazais]

Oh, the large white one is prob the heat bulb. But you also need to get a repti sun 10.0. ASAP! I just read that coil bulbs cause eye problems, and don't give out enough UVB to prevent MBD.

 

[Pippyelle]

Ok, I'll see if we can change the bulbs out. I'm just concerned because this has only started in the last 3 weeks. We've housed healthy dragons before this.

 

[mazais]

That's weird, and I hope somebody more knowledgeable chimes in. Because I've only had dragons for a year now, so I'm not an expert... :?

 

[mazais]

But of course parasites are a possibility too. Mine most likely have parasites too, (I'm waiting for the results of the fecal exam), but they aren't lethargic or acting weird or anything... They just have smelly and kinda loose stools. And one of them isn't eating as much as usual.

 

[mazais]

Or there is some kind of viruse/disease going around.

 

[Pippyelle]

That's what the guys who work with them think. I just hate knowing they are just going to die.

 

[saiyan25]

It may be adenovirus. MBD is not likely at such a young age.

 

[Pippyelle]

That actually sounds very likely! Thank you! I'll bring it up and hopefully we can get word back to the breeder. Another dragon fell ill and I told them to isolate any new arrivals to our store.

The only good thing coming from this, is my new found love of these wonderful little guys.

 

[chastityx]

" Neurological signs (loss of coordination, spasms, tremors, intention tremors, falling down, etc.) are generally not signs of adenovirus infection".
i was doing some research for you but to me it definitely sounds like bad parasites or a virus. the cages are going to have to be cleaned extremely well before you put new reptiles in there. i wish i could help more but i haven't had to deal with anything like that. good luck with the babies.

 

[Pippyelle]

I read this...
"In some cases the virus spreads to the brain and spinal column and can cause twitching in the toes and tail tip, arching of the head and tail (stargazing), seizures, uncontrolled rolling in the enclosure and death"
At http://www.everythingreptile.org/adenovirus--atadenovirus-in-bearded-dragons.html

It sounds almost identical to the issue we are having. I don't know if I can get the funding for a necropsy. But I'm going to look into the budget. This is really tearing me up to see these poor babies wither away.