Baby Not Eating, Acting Funny

[aussiefreak101]

So, this baby is a customer return, was returned in horrible condition. He hasn't been eating and has been really lethargic. He went into iso for observation and on his second day of not eating went to the vet there at work. From what I can tell on the notes the Dr gave fluids or something. Two more days of not eating and having to be semi-force fed my work gave him to me to give him more focused care. He's under Repti-sun 10, basking of 105, tile flooring...the works.

I got him last night, gave him a bath, got him to eat .1ml of baby food squash and 4 xsmall dusted roaches. It was funny, I tickled the side of his mouth until he opened and then stuck half the roach in and stopped tickling so he'd close his mouth and then he'd munch away. He tolerated that for only so long. At least he's gotten more nutrition last night than in the past two weeks. I believe his appetite will come with time, I have the baby food squash and green beans, I tried finding turkey but couldn't at the store I was at so will try a different store after work. My main concern is he acts like he's been dropped. My worry is that the owners that returned him dropped him or something and that is where this behavior is stemming from. He seems to be having a hard time with his balance; fell haphazardly to the side when he tried to move off the branch and just froze there on his side where the vine had caught him. I've piled a shirt of mine under all even small drop areas under the basking spot. Could the balance and such just be from lack of nutrition effecting the brain and will go away with time or is this a likely permanent damage from an injury?

So this is my little foster now.

Thank you all for your input, I've dealt with beardies before but never one so small or sick.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, poor little struggling baby. The things you mentioned are all possibilities as to how he ended up in his condition, as well as over heating and dehydration. Only time will tell how he responds to your care. You might put him in a smaller tank, with a shorter basking platform so he doesn't need to climb so high, and if you put in something soft for him to perch on, a small flat stuffed toy or a piece of cloth that is not the kind that he would snag his nails in. Others will chime in , but those are a few things to consider. I hope he improves for you !

 

[aussiefreak101]

I forgot to mention that I have rearranged, the basking spot is now shorter and easier for him to get up and down. I just put a dish of roaches in there with him and he ate 2 on his own then seemed to get startled and ran for his basking spot. About to do a bath and get some veggies in there to see if anything might entice him.

 

[diamc]

Do you know if the vet checked a fecal for parasites? Parasites can certainly cause all sorts of symptoms. Good that he ate 2 small roaches on his own, that's a start.

The UVB looks a little too far away, what is the distance of it to the basking spot?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The balance issues could stem from nutritional issues, dehydration, or calcium issues, too.
What type of calcium are you using for him? Chances are they did not use any UVB or calcium for him. If he was dropped, then he definitely could have injured himself.
Dehydration can cause balance issues as well as nutritional factors, too. Make sure he gets a daily bath & some oral fluids per day along with calcium too. The baby food is always very helpful to boost his system while his appetite is low right now.

He is very tiny but so cute.

Tracie

 

[aussiefreak101]

It's at 8", I'm trying to find a way to raise it a bit more without making it too hot for a basking area. I have Repcal calcium and Repcal multivitamins. I don't think they were able to do a parasite check. Is there a way to do one that isn't fecal? Since he isn't eating there's no poop.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is a hard call, a fecal is impossible to get really when they are not eating. You will need to start feeding some chicken & or turkey baby food mixed with squash to help get some nutrition into him right now. You can use a plastic syringe or dropper & drip it onto the end of his nose to see if he will start licking it off of the end of his nose.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[aussiefreak101]

I've been force feeding him the turkey baby food, got a poop during feeding time last night, wet and soft but had form with a light trace of white urate at the end. I got some wax worms today which I'll mash up into it tonight. Giving unflavored pedialyte baths. So, I turned off his UVB for like the last hour and his balance has gotten better..he's more active moving up and down the basking area and hiding spot. He still isn't interested in food but this is the most activity I've seen from him. Input?

 

[diamc]

Are you sure that the UVB tube is a Repti-SUN and not a Repti-GLO?

That's good that you got some baby food into him and that he is a little more active. What are the basking & cool side temps?

 

[aussiefreak101]

Yes, it's a reptisun 10, had to drive to next town to get it from a store. Basking is 105 and cool is 80.

 

[diamc]

Good that it's the Repti-Sun bulb. How often are you dusting with calcium?

 

[AHBD]

He may be starting to improve a bit because he is getting a little nutrition and hydration, so hopefully he'll start perking up more.

 

[Esther19]

Did you get the poopers to the vet for a fecal?

 

[aussiefreak101]

No vet would do just a fecal, they wanted a $133 exam first...so I'm sending out to Rio reptiles a sample Friday when I get paid. Since he's only eating baby food should I mix the calcium into that along with some mashed waxworms? The only two roaches he ate had multivitamin on them, tried roaches again and back leg maimed pinhead crickets with just calcium on then with no luck. He spit them out when I got them in his mouth.

 

[aussiefreak101]

Started to look better today, active and wriggling around not wanting to be handled to be fed. 15 minutes after I fed him he threw it up though and it contained some of the roach he ate on his own two mornings ago and a waxworm. I haven't fed him whole waxworms, I've squished out their guts and taken out any of the cartilage looking stuff, could that have been causing this issue? Could impaction have caused this? Looks like some weight gain though hard to tell...this picture was before being fed breakfast and before he threw up.