Baby bearded dragon with an array of health problems!

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beth094

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I have an approximately 2 and a half month old bearded dragon I've had from an egg.
She's never been a spectacular eater but about a month ago she stopped eating all together, maybe having eaten a few crickets/locusts over that time.
She hasn't grown since about 8 weeks old, so is about 6inches old and is now at the point where she is skeletal. She is beyond lethargic, and can't even hold herself up due to weakness and lack of energy.
I had been keeping her holding on by feeding her mashed up butternut squash which I encouraged her to lick from her nose and have only been force feeding baby food as the very last resort for about a week. I have been bathing her almost everyday to prevent dehydration and to encourage pooing as last thing she needs is impaction as well.
This morning I went to carry out my normally daily care duties with her an noticed one of her nostrils was bleeding and the skin around her mouth had literally started rotting away, however there are no other symptoms of mouth rotso am unsure as to whether this is it.
She must be in extreme discomfort and pain but have been trying to ease this as much as possible but with the latest health development I have no other ideas.
I have been keeping beardies for over a year now an have brought up 2 clutches which produced healthy babies which I succesfully raised to suitable ages to pass on and have also kept some past that age. She's housed on her own and is in a perfectly suitable enclosure, so please refrain from any set up questions I see many times on bearded dragon forums unless the question is relevant.
Please help me decipher what is causing her symptoms, what I can do to help her or if there is anyway I can ease her pain if you see her having no future, it's terrible seeing the poor little thing suffer like this :(
Thank you so much in advance
Also, if your suggestion is "take her to the vets" please understand this has already happened and all they had to say is that shes to small for them to deal with
 

Buddysfam

Member
I wonder if the most humane thing would be to get her put down... :( Especially if she isn't eating and can't hold herself up. It's sad, but maybe the best thing you can do for her...
 

beth094

Member
Original Poster
I've been thinking the same thing but no vey will do it unless I give them an extortionate amount of money
 

BeardedDragonCo

Hatchling Member
Unfortunately, from a breeders perspective, this is not unusual in any way. On the rare occasion you may get one or two babies from a clutch that fail to thrive for unknown reasons. One way to look at it is that it could be a blessing that it's happening sooner than later, and you have to take suffering into consideration. I believe this baby is at the point of no return and should be humanely put down. If it is that skinny now, I'm sure it's organs are already failing and it's just a matter of time. If you have any lidocaine, it works quickly and painlessly on smaller beardies. Feel free to email me as I don't feel it's right to go into details on your options. Anyone who breeds should always try to be prepared for mother nature's oopsies.
 
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