My bearded dragon, Sylvain, is 3 years old and has always had some issues. When I got him he was a year old, covered in his own poop and already had a stiff/bent tail due to metabolic bone disease. He has always had some issue going on with his stomach that makes his poop irregular, but the vet has never been able to figure it out so that’s become a normal thing with him. (I tried changing his diet, substrate, nothing ever fixed that.)
He’s dehydrated because he refuses to drink water despite having a water bowl so I have to get him to drink water myself. It’s not enough though, because he’s still dehydrated and I’m unsure how to fix that. The vet gave him fluids when we went in.
I just took him to the vet for an annual check-up and was told Sylvain is anemic (low blood cell count), has low blood sugar and low protein. He has never had these problems show up in the past times he’s had blood work done.
He’s been lethargic and resting/sleeping more recently, as well as eating less. A big concern of mine is that there’s an underlying issue we haven’t caught which is what’s causing his poop to be irregular and now this with the anemia, etc.
I did some research and saw that having their enclosure changed can cause stress and anemia, so I wanted to note that he did just get a new enclosure almost a month ago. It’s a 4’2’2 PVC enclosure with bioactive substrate, some beardie safe succulents, his water bowl, and branches. I’ll attach pictures at the end.
The vet tested my UVB bulb and it’s barely going at this point and apparently the brand hasn’t been doing good for a while now, so I wonder if the light has been bad for a while now and that is part of the issue? (I now have 2 new UVB lights ordered and on the way.)
Sylvain’s staple foods are collard greens, kale, dubia roaches, and butternut squash with occasional green beans and orange bell pepper. I’m planning on adjusting to collard greens, dandelion leaves, endive, dubia roaches, and butternut squash for staple foods, with the same occasional veggies and crickets.
The vet wants me to come in tomorrow to get antibiotics for Sylvain but he didn’t specify what kind, so I’m going to call before the appointment to ask.
I’m extremely worried and don’t know what the best course of action is or if I’m doing something wrong regarding Sylvain’s care, so I wanted to post here for input.
He’s dehydrated because he refuses to drink water despite having a water bowl so I have to get him to drink water myself. It’s not enough though, because he’s still dehydrated and I’m unsure how to fix that. The vet gave him fluids when we went in.
I just took him to the vet for an annual check-up and was told Sylvain is anemic (low blood cell count), has low blood sugar and low protein. He has never had these problems show up in the past times he’s had blood work done.
He’s been lethargic and resting/sleeping more recently, as well as eating less. A big concern of mine is that there’s an underlying issue we haven’t caught which is what’s causing his poop to be irregular and now this with the anemia, etc.
I did some research and saw that having their enclosure changed can cause stress and anemia, so I wanted to note that he did just get a new enclosure almost a month ago. It’s a 4’2’2 PVC enclosure with bioactive substrate, some beardie safe succulents, his water bowl, and branches. I’ll attach pictures at the end.
The vet tested my UVB bulb and it’s barely going at this point and apparently the brand hasn’t been doing good for a while now, so I wonder if the light has been bad for a while now and that is part of the issue? (I now have 2 new UVB lights ordered and on the way.)
Sylvain’s staple foods are collard greens, kale, dubia roaches, and butternut squash with occasional green beans and orange bell pepper. I’m planning on adjusting to collard greens, dandelion leaves, endive, dubia roaches, and butternut squash for staple foods, with the same occasional veggies and crickets.
The vet wants me to come in tomorrow to get antibiotics for Sylvain but he didn’t specify what kind, so I’m going to call before the appointment to ask.
I’m extremely worried and don’t know what the best course of action is or if I’m doing something wrong regarding Sylvain’s care, so I wanted to post here for input.