bearded dragon wont move

[nikkisman69]

i have about a 3 yr old bearded dragon that we think is a female.......yesterday we noticed she wouldnt eat anything and she wont move.....she did drink some water yesterday afternoon.....and last night she wouldnt move and would gasp for air.....i dont know if she is maybe going dormant right now or if it is something serious....i dont wanna take her to the vet if it isnt serious.....she is in a 55 gallon aquarium that is 90+ degrees.....we have a reptisun 10 tube uv light that is a little over 6 mos old (we have ordered a new one).....she has playsand as her substrate

 

[Tigg]

If your beardie isn't eating or moving and is gasping for air... It sounds serious to me...

Most common problems related to PLAY sand as a substrate can be parasites, and impaction (although less likely than CalciSand)

Can you get a more accurate reading on your temps? They require a basking site around 100-110 (sometimes less for adult BD's)
Does she have a "Cool" side to her enclosure?
Do you know what your humidity levels are inside the enclosure? (High humidity can lead to respitory infections which could explain the "gasping" for air, but there are usually other signs of URI's that you did not mention...
Is she gaping her mouth?
Making a whistling/clicking sound when she breathes?
when was the last time she poo'd?
Was it solid? Runny? Excessivly smelly?
when was the last time to replaced your Reptisun 10.0?

 

[nikkisman69]

Can you get a more accurate reading on your temps? i only have the thermometer that sticks on and it only goes into the 90's....and it is higher than that
Does she have a "Cool" side to her enclosure? yes she does....dunno the temp but i only have the heat on one side
Do you know what your humidity levels are inside the enclosure? i dont know
Is she gaping her mouth? she would open and close it and puff out her beard
Making a whistling/clicking sound when she breathes? makes a clicking sound when she opens her mouth
when was the last time she poo'd? a couple days ago
Was it solid? Runny? Excessivly smelly? solid
when was the last time to replaced your Reptisun 10.0? its been around 10 months



i ordered repti carpet, a new reptisun 10.0, a humidity gauge+thermometer that goes to 140 and another thermometer that goes to 120

 

[Tigg]

Sounds like your BD could have an Upper Respitory Infection, This is serious, if left untreated could lead to a very sudden death... Vet visit is needed ASAP!

I am sure your vet is going to tell you a lot of the same things I am about to here, and I don't mean this as a personal attack so please do not take offense....
You need to make sure that your BD has basking temps of 100-110*, and you need to be sure the cool end of the tank is kept between 80-85* during the day. You also need to be certain that night time temps don't drop below 65* at night. and lastly you need to keep your humidity levels inside the enclosure in check... sustained humidity levels above 30% can lead to Upper Respitory Infections, which is what I believe your BD has now.

To do this you are going to need accurate thermometers. Best kind are digital with wired probes, or a temperature guns. available at your local pet store fairly cheap. The analog dial style thermometers are very innacurate

Also, your Reptisun 10.0 needs to be replaced every 6 months. The light may still be working, but it's probablly not emiting UVB any longer.

 

[nikkisman69]

i just took her to the vet and he gave her some fluids incase she was dehydrated, he gave her b vitamin shot and an antibiotic.....and he told me to try feeding her some baby food with a syringe

 

[Tigg]

What did they say she had?

Good way to keep her hydrated, and her noutrishion up is to mix up a slurry in a blender... pedilite, crickets, baby food, calium powder blend it fine and feed through a syringe.

Glad to hear she is ok!

 

[nikkisman69]

they didnt say what she had cuz he wasnt sure......he said those things were the only things he could really do for her and she is either gonna make it or not.......it does kinda sound like a respiratory infection cuz she wasnt impacted and if it is that bone disease there prolly isnt anything they can do......right now she is sleeping......im just gonna give her today and tonight to rest and see what happens......what is the best way to keep the humidity down? should i just take out her water dish and spray her with water a few times a day?

 

[Tigg]

Yes you should remove the water dish, and do not mist inside her enclosure... It's better for them, and probablly less stressful on them to just bath them a few times a week.

You should also run out and grab a digital thermometer... If it is a URI, you will need to bring the temps in her tank up to 110* basking, and 85-90* cool end to help her fight the infection.

The baby food diet, or that slurry I reccomended is also very important.

You might want to consider throwing out all of the sand from her enclosure, disinfecting the whole tank with a diluted bleach (1part bleach to 10 part water) rinse and let it completely dry before returning her to her cage. Use paper towels for substrate for now... this will help rule out parasites.

Metabolic bone disease can be corrected if caught in the early stages, you need to do your best to get her a new UVB light, if it's warm enough outside you may want to consider getting her out into the sunlight for a bit, this will raise her spirits a bit.

 

[nikkisman69]

alright......the new uv light should be on its way.......i dunno how long it will take to get here.......it isnt warm enough to take her out in the sun so ill prolly just move her aquarium in front of the window to help a lil

 

[Tigg]

Hmmm That might not work, the glass will filter out most of the UVB, and it may get too hot insider her tank from the sun.

Were you able to get her to eat from the syringe?

 

[nikkisman69]

she is dead now.......i appreciate all the info........i know some things now that i didnt know b4 and i wont make the same mistakes when i get another

 

[LJean]

I'm sorry that you lost her.

 

[Tigg]

Wow... That is awful... I'm very sorry for your loss.