Bearded dragon diagnosed with fatty liver, about 2 years old

[NorbertLizard]

So about 4 or days ago, my bearded dragon, Norbert, was diagnosed with Fatty Liver disease, and the vet prescribed him 1 tablespoon of carnivore care a day, spreading it out to about 4 to 5 feedings a day, for a "few" days.
Before this all happened, I never noticed anything strange about his poop, but recently with him only getting syringe fed watered-down carni-care, his poop has gotten super watery and somewhat misshapen. (It seems like mostly normal poop with a lot of liquid around it)
The vet said he was in good body condition, weight, etc
Is the poop only watery because of the extra water he's ingesting or is something wrong?
He is in a 75-gallon tank, with 2 150 watt spot lamp bulbs, he has a reptisun 10.0 fluorescent bulb across the inside of his tank, the hot part of his tank is normally in the high 90's to 100 (although late at night it seems to be getting too hot, so I've started to turn off one which helps), he gets a plate of turnip or mustard greens a day normally (but not recently since I've only been supposed to feed him carnivore care).
I think he got fatty liver because we used to buy him these Flukers red reptile pellets that were all he would eat. he would pick them out of his salad on purpose. I think it may also be from him getting too overheated at night with his blanket over his heating pad.
What are some signs I can look for his recovery?

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, the poo would definitely be watery from the new diet. Can you post pics of Norbert as well as his tank ? BTW, what is your house temp. at night, because if it's above 65 you don't need any heat . A better choice for night heat if it gets below 63 at night is a ceramic heater [ CHE ] that produces heat but no light. A heat pad probably was too hot but would not have caused the fatty liver. Some dragons just develop it. I do think that some greens are fine along with the C.C, greens are good for the liver. Some vets also prescribe lactulose for fatty liver or milk thistle. Dandelion is also supposed to be good.

Is Norbert active ? The blood tests will show when there's improvement.

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Beardie ER

 

[NorbertLizard]

Norbert, isn't terribly active inside his tank, but he does enjoy, going around outside outside of his tank. He also fights us when we give him his medicine.
I'm not sure how to post pictures though :/

 

[AHBD]

Here's how to post pics :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload

 

[NorbertLizard]

Thanks,
I don't think they ever did a blood test though.

 

[AHBD]

He looks good. Question though, how did the vet determine fatty liver if no blood test was done ?

 

[NorbertLizard]

My guess is that he saw how yellow the inside of his mouth was. I think it was kind of odd though too.

 

[Claudiusx]

Hi there,

That really isn't a good indicator, bloods would need to be drawn for a good diagnosis.

What brought you into the vet in the first place? Was your dragon acting sick or showing any signs of having fatty liver disease?

-Brandon

 

[NorbertLizard]

I actually thought that he had a respiratory infection at first because he was lethargic for a few days, and then super active the next. He wasn't very willing to eat much, an did a lot of open mouth breathing with that popping noise.
They checked his lungs and airs sacs and couldn't find a problem. The vet just noticed how yellow he was and recognized it as his liver having problems.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your dragon doing today? A lot of dragons have had fatty liver issues & the liver is
regenerative so hopefully you will be able to get your dragon's health improved!
Do you have a copy of his blood test you could post for us?
I would recommend getting him on some milk thistle to help out his liver for awhile.
Let us know how he is doing. I hope he starts feeling better soon.

Tracie

 

[ReptileHouse906]

Hi! A yellow mouth can be a huge indicator for mouth rot, but not really a fatty liver... maybe you could ask for a blood test? I think the watery poo, though, is normal due to the diet change.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I just noticed you had mentioned the vet hadn't done a blood test? How did the vet
diagnose him, just based on color of his body or in his mouth?
A lot of bearded dragons have yellow pigmentation in their mouths, which is a residual
genetic trait for defense in the wild.

Let us know how your dragon is doing.
Tracie

 

[NorbertLizard]

He seems to be doing alright (although when we feed him he looks like a water balloon :lol: )
I'm really starting to get concerned that the vet didn't do any blood testing on him though (that I know of).
Should I take him back and get him blood tested?

 

[Claudiusx]

That's up to you. For me personally, I wouldn't accept that diagnosis without an actual test to come to that conclusion. Like Tracie said, many dragons have yellow in their mouths just from previous generations like their wild ancestors, it was a defense trait.

I wouldn't go back for bloodwork to this vet unless he/she was an actual reptile vet.

-Brandon