At a loss of what to do

[aegillesp]

My guy has been sick off and on for this whole year I've had him. I don't know what to do anymore. All he does now is sleep and will only eat when I feed him baby food. He is on meds for RI. The second day of meds he was full of energy. He was running all over his tank, he was out of hiding and was even active enough to poo and get it everywhere on him and everything on the tank. Now, all he does is sleep in his hide. He has been black bearding this whole last week. He does still make clicking sounds and sounds like he's chomping when he closes his mouth. If he gets too eager to explore or fights me he starts breathing really hard and has to breathe out his mouth. When I feed him his baby food he gets liquid coming out of his nose. I give him the same amount as water and never saw this happen. My vet has me mixing reptile critical care with his baby food.

He is a year old, his temps are 100f basking and about 70-80 on his cool side where he has been sleeping. He is free of parasites finally but if anyone could help me figure out what's wrong with my baby boy I'd really appreciate it.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I know that is frustrating when they are sick & not really improving much.
What is the name of the medication he is on for his respiratory issue/infection?
How much is he taking & how long has he been on it for?
I would recommend getting some probiotics such as acidophiliz, or non dairy soy yogurt to help with his tummy. It sounds like it is making him tired & lethargic which is common.
Or maybe he is getting too much medication if it wasn't dosed properly.

Which UVB light do you use?
The baby food mixed with critical care is fine, it will help him keep his weight on. Are you using a syringe to drop it onto his nose so that he licks the food off?

Also, be sure to keep the tank around 80 over night to help with his immune system, also.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[Draycebaby2014]

Hey i'm not sure what to tell you as a first time bearded dragon but dont lose hope and keep doing what you need to keep him as healthy as you can Big hugs a i hope for a speedy recovery soon.

 

[aegillesp]

He is on Entofloxacin 20mg/ml. He gets .15cc every 24 hours. He is on his last day of taking it.

I use a syringe to drop food onto his nose and he licks it off. His favorite is green beans. He did 1 syringe of 3ml and for two days he did 2 of them. Yesterday he refused any of it so I let him be.

I use the reptisun 10 and I just changed it a month or two a go. He seems very aware when he is a wake, he looks around and will cuddle with me but I have to take him out of his hide.

Today he took a nap with me. He sleeps with his mouth slightly open and he keeps making these noises like a bubble popping? I know he has a lot of saliva in there, he gets crusties on the corners of his mouth.

 

[aegillesp]

Is there anyone that can help me?

 

[jarich]

It sounds like your antibiotics aren't working. If you trust your vet, then take him back and get him to run a culture. Looks like you'll need to find out what he is battling exactly so you can get more appropriate medication. Also do make sure to get a probiotic like Avipro or similar. This should help with the appetite.

 

[aegillesp]

So I took Simon to the vet. They scheduled me with the other doctor instead of my usual. I've never seen a doctor push their eyes in so they'll stop squirming so they could look inside their mouth. I felt so bad for him. My normal doctor tries a couple times and takes a peek and is like "ok yeah you don't like that" and stops. This doctor turned him upside down a couple of times and just seemed rough with an incredibly docile dragon that is perfectly fine with being handled by person after person and has rarely shown aggression and that was when he was outside. He recommended bloodwork, X-rays, surgery to biopsy a little larger than the other side fat gland and thinks it's MBD because his hands and limbs are slightly chubby. My guy is over a year old and ate calcium covered whatever til he got sick. He gave him a B6 injection and said he hated it but my other doctor every time says he just lays there and only black beards. My poor baby had a black beard for hours when usually it's only for 30 mins or til his mum hold him. I can't really afford to take him again for a little while but any advice on what to do?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Have you considered using a nebulizer to help with a stubborn respiratory infection?
They are very effective for helping it clear up a bit more than just oral medication.
What type of thermometer are you using, a digital probe or temp gun?

How do his eyes look today, are they bright or sunken in any at all?
I am sorry the vet handled him a little rough, I hope he didn't hurt him.
Were you able to get any bee pollen to help with immune system?
Where did you initially get him from? Since you have had health issues with him for the entire time you have had him, it may be that he was a little weaker when he was born with genetic problems.
There is Tylan that is given sometimes for respiratory issues also. Are you keeping him around 80 over night in the tank to help with his immune system?
If he has a touch of metabolic bone disease, I would recommend trying some liquid calcium instead. They have a tendency to absorb it better than the powder.

Tracie

 

[jarich]

Ya, its unfortunate that vets can be a little rough sometimes. He was using whats called the vasovagal response, which is a peculiar thing with lizards. Basically a gentle pressure on the eyes puts them into a kind of stupor for awhile. The same thing is often accomplished, for a different reason, by putting them on their backs. It doesnt really seem necessary with dragons though as most of them are so docile anyway. You see it with iguanas a lot as they can be much more aggressive of course. Sorry that the vet wasnt more careful.

So he didnt take a culture at all? Thats silly. Given the history of the animal, that would seem obvious. And why didnt he take blood while you were there? If he is suggesting MBD that seems like something he wouldve done right away. It could have given you other evidence on whats going on with the RI too.

 

[aegillesp]

Still made me feel bad. He's never been handled like that before. He didn't take blood because 1. My vet usually gives me deals because I bring in so many critters, 2. After seeing him with him already I didn't really want him doing it, 3. I couldn't afford it. It's $92 for the blood draw and tests. I did manage to get him to eat one super yesterday which is much more than what he's eaten in a long time. I'll give my vet a call next week to see what he thinks if he recommends the bloodwork then I'll have him do it. Simon had it back in September and I don't like putting him through a lot of needle poking.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I can't blame you for not wanting to have another blood draw done on him, it is painful for them. Not to mention the size of the needle isn't exactly small! There really wasn't any reason to turn him on his back, most fight it & twist around as they can't breathe well on their backs.
Try increasing the basking temperatures a little bit to 102-105 range if he doesn't mind it. Maybe that will help a little bit also.
You can switch up medications also, to either Tylan or Ceftz is sometimes used also for a broad spectrum infection. Instead of a biopsy, they could do a lung lavage or a simple mouth culture to see if there is any other type of bacteria there that needs a different med.
At least he ate a superworm for you. Is he interested in greens at all?
Can you find some bee pollen powder at the local health food store to try for him?

Let us know how Simon is doing.
Tracie

 

[jarich]

Still made me feel bad. He's never been handled like that before. He didn't take blood because 1. My vet usually gives me deals because I bring in so many critters, 2. After seeing him with him already I didn't really want him doing it, 3. I couldn't afford it. It's $92 for the blood draw and tests. I did manage to get him to eat one super yesterday which is much more than what he's eaten in a long time. I'll give my vet a call next week to see what he thinks if he recommends the bloodwork then I'll have him do it. Simon had it back in September and I don't like putting him through a lot of needle poking.

Oh I see, sorry I thought that the vet was the one who decided against it. Ya, sounds like its a good idea to wait for your normal vet. When he does, maybe ask him how much it would cost to do the culture to determine the actual bug its got.

 

[aegillesp]

Great day today. Simon ate 9 supers. Started with one then refused the rest then I put them in a baggy for calcium and as soon as he heard that bag shake he just couldn't eat them up fast enough! So I will have to try that. As far as veggies go, he thinks of them as a litter box and doesn't really eat them... Only dried up ones so leave those in there in another bowl. He like arugula but my health food store is having issues getting those, mustard greens and dandelion greens. He used to eat a lot of mustard greens as a juvenile but not so much as an adult.

My vet called to follow up. They said if he still isn't eating to bring him back in in a couple of days so I'll give him til Monday to see if he keeps eating. Thanks for your suppose everyone! I've never seen him this bad before.