Baby Beardie with Sepsis, please help!

[SoleSky]

Hello,

My friend got a baby bearded dragon about two and a half months ago and was eating great at first. Over time his appetite began to decrease and he hardly grew at all. He was about 14 grams the first week and is now only 11 grams and he's about 8" and he's about 4-5 months old!


She is really worried about him because he stopped eating a lot and his hip bones are noticeably visible. He was unable to produce stool and sometimes only the urate is present. She took him to the vet and the vet said that he has a sepsis infection. He was prescribed Biomox as an antibiotic but his prognosis is not good. Her setup is good and all of the necessities are there. What is sepsis? What can we do to help her beardie feel better and get better? Is it contagious (I have a beardie of my own)? How is it caused? Please help!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am sorry to hear your friend's dragon is having some trouble.
Sepsis is the presence of microorganisms or toxins in the blood & is an infection of the entire body/ The immune system response is elevated.
It can be due to a bacterial infection, organ dysfunction, viral or parasitic. It is most commonly caused by bacterial though. He is too small for a blood test, so that is not an option right now.
Be sure that there is extra fluids given while he is on the meds, also. Do they have probiotics to give while giving the meds?
Have them keep the tank around 80 over night to help boost the immune system.
Can you review the tank setup with us also?

Tracie

 

[SoleSky]

Tracie! I'm so glad that you replied to this, thank you. Okay...

He is in a 20 gallon long aquarium with a 100 watt basking bulb that measures 105-113 F. He has a repti-sun 10.0 tube UVB bulb mounted on the inside of the viv. He has tile substrate and a hide on one side. He is fed crickets from Ghann's cricket farm and a mix of collard greens/butternut squash everyday.

He was eating very well at first but things began to go downhill after about three weeks or so. He has not produced viable stool, only urates and they come out liquidy. The vet did not take a blood test because he was too small but he looked at his mouth and he said it was swollen. The vet did not prescribe pro-biotics however I have some acidophililuz that I used for BeeGee when he had pinworms so I could let my friend use that. Also, the vet said something that struck me as being very odd and he said to lower the temperatures to boost the immune system. He said that 105-110 was too hot and his temps should be in the 80's to boost his immune system and said that the temps probably made his situation worse? Very confused here.

My friend said that he ate willingly today and took well to the anti-biotics although I've never heard of BioMox? He is getting extra fluids and baths and has learned to drink out of the bath so that's good.

Also, this may sound silly but is sepsis contagious in anyway? We have another beardie in the house and just want to ensure his safety, although they've only come in contact one occasion ever and are generally not in sight of each other.

Thank you!

 

[Drache613]

Hello!

Sepsis is not contagious, no. Unless you are looking at fungal issues that have caused problems.
The Biomox isn't used very often, but it should be fine, given for short term. The acidophiliz will be fine to use for him, too.
The 20 gallon tank could be a little harder to regulate the temperatures. Though, I disagree that the temperatures have made things worse. I would try to keep the basking temperatures to as range of 95-102 or so, just so he doesn't get overheated. The Reptisun 10 tube is great, so his lighting should be up to par for him.
Continue to keep the tank around 80 overnight though to help with immune system boosting.
That is great he ate today & had a bath, too. I hope that he continues to improve. Keep us posted on him.


Tracie

 

[RedandWhite]

Thank you guys for all your help, but my little Beardie, Kilgharrah passed away last night

 

[Esther19]

I am so sorry to hear that he passed.