baby with broken hand, looks to be dying-- vet trip

[NightmareDisco]

Ok, so my friend got a baby beardie yesterday and when I saw him, he was bright and ate a few worms. My friend said that he came outta the box with his hand bent. Today, he is laying around, won't eat and he threw up.

What can we do? We are waiting to hear back from the breeder, my friend wants to send him back but I don't know how that is possible on a weekend. My friend is pretty convinced that he is dying, but I don't know what to do or say. Not my dragon, I told him to wait for a response from the breeder, but he is pretty frantic.

 

[athenacp]

Oh geez...maybe keep him warm??? I never had a baby so dont know. Hope someone comes on that can help better!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

In his condition, I don't think I would ship him back, he may not make it in once piece at this point.
How is she keeping him, in a tank I presume under a light?
It looks painful though so I would try to keep the dragon from moving much at all if at all possible.
Do you know what temperatures she is keeping him at right now?


Tracie

 

[NightmareDisco]

He is keeping him at 105 F and leaving him alone

 

[SoleSky]

Try bumping up the temps to around 110 degrees. Also does he have a UVB bulb and if so what kind? What is the substrate he is being kept on? And who was the breeder your friend got him from?

 

[NightmareDisco]

I helped him with his set up. He has a reptisun 10.0 and paper towel substrate. I won't put out the name of the breeder because I know him and I know it was an accident. He is refunding his money. I just wanna know how to help the baby

 

[SoleSky]

Oh I see. I hope he gets better for your friend. Has he/she tried a slurry or some critical care? It may help, although you seem to know your stuff, I'm not sure how I could help you more but certainly keep us updated.

 

[NightmareDisco]

Well, he got some squash step 1 baby food and I am gonna give him a small syringe and some critical care. IF he can't get him to the vet, is there anything we can do for his poor hand? Should we wrap it up? He says it now has a purple bruise around it.

 

[NightmareDisco]

Here is another angle of his hand.

He says he has been laying with his eyes closed all day

 

[beardie parents]

aww poor little guy. I hope he gets better.

 

[SoleSky]

I personally wouldn't mess with the hand until you can get him to the vet, I wouldn't want to add any additional stress or harm. I'm sure they'll make him a little splint or something though. I can't believe he broke his hand through shipping. That poor little guy. How long has he had the little guy now? Maybe he is still going through relocation stress and the broken hand isn't making it any easier on him. I would get him to the vet if your friend can.

 

[cody110]

the poor thing looks dehydrated and half dead?? hope you can help it

 

[TheKrysis]

Same thing happened with my bearded dragon. My friend got him and his leg was broken the next day. I adopted him because she was going to return him and I didn't want that.
However, with my baby beardie the part beneath the broken leg was already dead and could not be fixed, so he will have a stub leg.
I took him to the vet and the vet said to feed him stage 1 carrot baby food with a syringe (although I switched him over to squash). The dosage was .3 cc's twice a day. You have to force his mouth open with your thumb and feed it to him slowly and let him close his mouth to swallow. After a week I began giving him .2 cc's of water mixed with calcium powder.
If the leg is an open wound, just like my baby did, it will need antibiotics. The vet gave me liquid Baytril to apply to his leg twice a day to avoid infection.
Eventually when mine became a little more alert I killed some crickets, dusted them with calcium and put them in front of him. He'd eat them, slowly but surely. He is doing a lot better now, much thanks to these board members..
I also bought some Calci-blast from Tracie to help him build stronger bones and because I'm 99.9% sure mine has MBD
Convince your friend to keep it. It may not seem like it but your friend will become really attached. Out of my three beardies, the one I had to nurse is probably the most special and precious one to me.
I hope this helps and he gets better.

 

[TheKrysis]

Oh, also I forgot to ask what the red streak is on his hind leg??

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is his hand doing? Poor thing, he must be in pain.
Has she tried getting any food into him at all yet? He needs some type of nutrition if possible, but he is also very stressed too.
I would let the vet set the hand unless you feel that she could somehow straighten the hand without causing any undue pain. She could use a piece of gauge to try & support the hand a little bit.
Is he attempting to move at all right now?


Tracie