Baycox overdose-HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is great he has pulled through the worst part of his reaction.
They usually do get stressed with forced feeding, etc & medications. At least he is taking some pureed squash. If he is not eating anything in a few days, you can puree some chicken or chicken baby food to help him out if he starts to lose weight.
Maybe he will eat some phoenix worms soon or some crickets, when he gets hungry enough.
How is his shedding coming along? I hope that he is doing better!

Tracie

 

[corrieor]

We're heading into Bend this afternoon to get the kid some clothes, I'm going to stop at our favorite reptile place and get some superworms. He just got big enough for them last month and loved them, so maybe a few will stimulate his appetite. He feels so empty when I pick him up! I'm so used to him chowing down everything we put in front of him...

 

[AHBD]

Most dragons love superworms. If he does go for them, you may want to just give 3 - 4 at a time to be sure he will keep them down. At times, even healthy beardies will gobble up large quantities as the happy owner beams, only to have the supers thrown up later because their beardie had too many and/or didn't chew enough. Just a precaution that would be good to be aware of.As his health improves, you can increase the number to twice a day.

 

[corrieor]

Yes-definitely. When I've given to him in the past, he's only gotten one three times a day. He practically inhales them. He's usually like that with his Phoenix Worms as well-I need to be sure he's eaten his greens before I put the Phoenix Worms in his tank or he won't even look at his greens. Hoping he still likes the super worms!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Did you find some superworms for him? Maybe he will eat some & it will help out his appetite.
How is his activity level doing now?
I am hoping that he feels better real soon!

Tracie

 

[ShannyBeard]

I have read that Serrapeptase has blood and liver cleansing properties. That is the natural enzyme in silkworms, which are also great and healthy feeders for dragons. Or you can get the Serrapeptase as a supplement.

 

[corrieor]

Thank you! I am planning on getting silkworms next time ordering food so I'm sure that will help.

He's continued to take the squash and has been pooping right on time every morning. His stool has become increasingly runny and watery-I'm wondering if it's because all he's getting is squash and he needs something more substantial mixed in? I'm going to hold off a bit today, but need to give him some so he's getting his probiotics which I mix in with it.

I **think** he ate two superworms this morning. I heard him scrambling around then looked and there was only one left in his dish. I put them in last night around an hour before his lights turned off and he showed more interest in them than he has in any food since all of this happened, but didn't eat any (if he had eaten any, I would have left the lights on for awhile so he could bask) . I left them in after his lights turned off and there were two this morning, but I found an escapee under his little piece of fleece. So, I'm hoping that he ate two and they didn't escape and evade my extensive searching.

He's not blackbearding nearly as much-he still flinches a bit when I reach into the cage, but doesn't run or puff up. He's also starting a small shed-I saw a bit coming off of his beard this morning. Poor guy!

 

[corrieor]

Another update...

He's still not showing much interest in any insects, but it is increasing a bit.

I didn't feed any squash yesterday because I wanted to see if he would get hungry enough to eat his supers. I thought he ate two supers in the morning, but then this morning I fed him some squash and a few minutes later, he pooped only squash. I'm wondering if it was squash from two days ago and the supers are working their way through, or if the supers somehow completely escaped his tank (I took everything out today and steam cleaned it today and there were none hiding), or...maybe I'm just overthinking.

He ate around 3 ccs of squash over the day, so I pureed some plain, unsalted, baked chicken breast with a small amount of cooked peas until it looked like baby food and he ate that very readily as well. I'm hoping he's not feeling spoiled from all of the treats in the syringe. For now, I want to keep getting the acidophilus into him, but really wish he would eat his insects.

At what point should I be adding calcium to his slurry? And at what point should I just quit giving the slurry so he will get hungry enough to eat his insects/worms? I currently have a "beardie buffet" to offer him: medium supers, Phoenix Worms, butter worms, and crickets, so he **should** eat something out of that when he decides he's hungry again.

His activity level increases after he eats his baby food-he runs around, does some glass dancing, rubs his head on things, then goes to chill in his favorite basking corner. He's only lost four grams, but he looks so skinny...I'm worried!!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

You can put the calcium into his food once a day, 5 days a week right now.
How long have you been giving the squash slurry now? You can back down on it some to see if his appetite picks up. It normally takes a few days but decreasing his food /slurry that should help.
Hopefully he ate the superworms. What did you put them in?
You have plenty of food to offer him so hopefully he will start to get hungry!

Keep us posted on him.
Tracie

 

[corrieor]

I started to give him the squash slurry a week ago. I put the superworms in the little bowl that I put his Phoenix Worms/super worms, etc in when I give them to him. It's a little bowl with aprox 1" high sides. I'm thinking that they managed to escape as I haven't seen any evidence of them in his poop.

He has given his food "the look" when I show it to him, but doesn't move on to eat anything. When I get the syringe and put some slurry on his nose, he sits then opens his mouth and gets really excited. He'll take some, do a lap around his tank, then go back to the top of his basking spot and look up at me with an expectant look on his face. When I present a worm to him with feeding tongs, he gives them the same look then turns up his nose when he realized it's not a syringe. I think he may just be a very spoiled beardie. He's still doing some blackbearding during the day, but not nearly as much.

I only gave him the chicken/pea slurry first thing this morning and left him with his superworms all day today. I was gone from 11-6:30 for a rural community leadership class and he hadn't eaten any-tomorrow I'll be in the class all day so I'll leave some worms and see if he thinks they're going to be good. It's so hard to not give him the slurry because he seems to love it, but I know he's not getting what he needs from it. He was 127 grams when this started-today, he was 123.2 grams, so he's losing some weight.

Worry worry worry!!!

Thanks for all of your advice.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He does you sound very spoiled, just liking the baby food. A lot of them do get like that so it is good you are still attempting to give him some insects. Maybe he will start eating them soon!
I am sorry he is losing weight, it is because he isn't eating on his own yet. Supplement what you need to in order for him to maintain his weight though, right now.
I hope he starts doing better soon. At least he is not black bearding much now.

Tracie

 

[corrieor]

Yesterday he finally ate a few superworms and crickets! Woo hoo! Nothing like he did before he had this incident, but it's a start.

He's refusing butterworms and his Phoenix Worms.

He's become increasingly feisty. I think puberty may have set in? He was born Labor Day weekend. His blackbearding had stopped, but over the last day, it's back and he's been sitting on his basking spot with his head high and his beard flared. He isn't interested in being fed crickets on his hammock, he just runs over and gets mad at his reflection in the glass. I never knew there was such a thing with beardies...but he really is acting like a pre-teen boy. Bad timing, because he's more interested in being big and tough than he is in eating and he really needs to gain some of this weight back and get his calcium and supplements. He was small for his age prior to this (his mom is a little girl and his dad is more thick than he is big), so he really needs to catch up. His energy level is definitely up there-he ran all over the living room yesterday and he's currently dancing at the corner of his cage closest to me looking at me like he either wants out to attack the cats (not gonna happen) or for me to go hand feed him (not gonna happen either). I can't believe how spoiled he has become.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Corrie,

It sounds like he is feeling pretty good & proud of himself now!
Once they learn how to puff their beards & act tough, it is very entertaining for us & fulfilling for them. LOL
Hopefully he will start eating soon so he can gain some weight back.
If his reflection is bothering him that much you can put some paper over a side or two of his tank so it doesn't reflect for him. Maybe he will calm down eventually & not want to attack the cats.
Oh he surely isn't spoiled now is he? How could that be? :mrgreen:


Tracie

 

[corrieor]

Thought I'd take a minute and jump on here to update on Comet.

He's fully recovered, but more spoiled than ever.

Won't touch crickets or Phoenix worms. He will only eat supers and hornworms. I guess we could have worse problems!

He's gone from 122 grams to 175 since our little incident and is definitely 98% back to his old self. I did another fecal screen and the coccidia is definitely completely gone-it looks like we have some kind of flagellate when I look at a direct smear, but need to do it a few more times to make sure it's not just the solution drifting on the slide.

Thanks again for all of the support and advice. Next time he needs medicated, I'm going return to the medication principles I learned in nursing school!

Corrie

 

[Esther19]

Thanks for the great news, Corrie. So good to hear that he is better!