beardie going downhill after vet visit

[Fortunate]

hi all - let me cut to the chase:

My beardie, Dylan, was not his bright ususal colour and wasnt eating as much as he usually does, his water intake increased however his urates remained hard, his eyes are bulging and he was not as active as normal so I took him to the exotic vet and explained the symptoms, was asked about husbandry etc and was told its all fine (except that Dylan doesnt eat enough greens - fair enough i knew this already) the vet felt his kindneys and said they felt fine a fecal was done and it came back clear, Dylan as given flagyl and a vit A injection (vet thinks it may be a vit A deficency) and suggested i monitor temps all night to prevent them dropping to low and change the vitamins he is on and then wait it out (a week he said) and if no improvment is shown or he is worse to bring him back - is it too soon to say he is worse?
Dylan is much worse - hiding in his tank, almost black in colour and his eyes are bulging more (this is the day after the vet) he is cold to the touch despite being under a CHE - thermometer shows 30.
Should I take him to the vet now? i really want to but its a long drive and dont want to stress dylan out more than he needs to be, should i bath him? make the tank warmer? move him right under the basking spot? HELP!
Im so upset right now, i should have insisted on a blood profile before settling on the 1st thing that came up, i may be killing him!

 

[DTRM30]

I wish I had an answer for you So sorry he's not feeling well ...

Hopefully someone will have an answer for you soon.

 

[Fortunate]

Thank you,
I gave him a bath and he had a poop with little urates, what urates came out were hard and orange, hopefully thats from the vitA injection, he ate a nice meal of 10 mealworms and i put him right under the basking spot, where he stayed, so i was feeling good about him, now he has lauboured breathing and is weezing ever so slightly so tomorrow as soon as the vet opens i will be on their door step.

Im just so worried about m poor boy! i feel so helpless

 

[kittenmaster1234]

A vitamin A overdose has many of the symptoms of a vitamin A deficiency. It is possible that your beardie is suffering from a overdose, and the shot made it even worse.

It sounds as if you are using a vitamin supplement, so I highly doubt it's a deficiency as they all contain vitamin A, yet some brands use a synthetic version of vitamin A which can lead to overdose.

How often did you give him the supplement, what brand was it, and what was his diet?


I would also suggest doing a blood test, as the puffy eyes can possibly be from heart and renal issues.

 

[AHBD]

So sorry to hear about poor Dylan. Can you post a picture , especially of his face ? The vet visit itself , like any traumatic experience, will cause him to hide + go black. Like Blinksmama mentioned, though, the shot may have not only stressed him but possibly be oversupplementing him. A blood panel would be of great value, and I wonder if any vet that is very close to you could draw the blood and send results to the other vet since it's a long distance away ? Just a thought to save you time + extra stress on Dylan. Otherwise, maybe go ahead + take him in. On a good note, it's GREAT that he actually had an appetite ! It means he's still not too critical.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

It could also be the Flagyl that was given, if his kidneys are not functioning optimally. Feeling them wont necessarily determine if they are at 100% but a blood test would help tremendously.
Is he still bulging his eyes? Is his beard black, too?
I would keep him around 80 overnight though to help his metabolism out right now.
The vitamin A shot along with the shot of Flagyl could have really stressed him out though.

Try to get some oral fluids into him if you can. Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[Fortunate]

Hi all,

He is eating, not as much as he usually does and i have stopped the vitamins completely (only gave him 3times a week before all this started) he is no longer black but is still hiding, I gave him a bath and he was licking his snout so i dropped some on his nose and he lapped it up, however after the bath his breathing bacame ragged and lauboured (obviously this all happens when no vets are open) so i watched him and rubbed his chest and by the next morning his breathing returned to normal, i am going to give him another bath and if he is still not right i am taking him to the vet again.

As for your questions:
He was on dragon dust 3 times a week and the vet suggessted i change to Exo-terra, which i am trying to source
I am going to demand a blood test this time - i need to make sure my baby gets the help he needs
Will post pictures after his bath
His eyes are still bulging and his beard is darker but not black, he is shedding at the moment (his last shed was in feb so im worried its too soon)
I have upped his night time temps but he doesnt like it and hides away from the heat (which in itself is worriying to me as he adores his basking spot)
he is reluctant to drink on his own so am adding lettuce and cucumber (only small amounts) to his salad as well as syringing it into his mouth.

He gets salad twice a day (which he rarely eats) made up of beetroot leaves, collard greens, mint, fennel, rocket, romaine lettuce and others - every week i make up a new salad.
He gets rocahes or mealworms every second day which are gut loaded and dusted.
He used to get a weekly bath but i have upped it to almost evry day to help him shed and hydrate.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am sorry his eyes are still bulging & that he still has a black beard.
What type of substrate is he on, could he be impacted possibly?
Are you needing a straight calcium supplement? You may find Calypso calcium or Miner-All which are both calcium powders.
Is he basking at all right now?
How old is Dylan?
I would definitely get a blood test if you can. It would help determine if his organs were functioning properly, as well as calcium levels.
Is he eating anything right now for you or refusing food? Bathing him should help with hydration. He may have had water go down the wrong way also which could cause breathing trouble too.
I would keep his tank around 80 overnight to help his immune system. When were you getting him to the vets?
My thoughts were that if he was/is having renal issues, giving an antibiotic such as Flagyl would do more harm than good. It needs to be confirmed whether he is having kidney trouble or not.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[Fortunate]

I went back to the vet and was told they do not do lizard blood tests in south africa, i am going to research this and find out for sure, but we had xrays done and it shows dylans bones are weak and is therefore not absorbing calcium (we went through my husbandry yet again and all is fine) so he is now getting a calcium injection as well as vitA i am going to0 change is diet and have been told to give him calcium 5times a week now.
Is this due to old age? (5yrs) anything i can do? is he in pain?

He is on tiles, so no impaction (xray confirmed this) there are no other abnormalites in the xray besides the weakend skeleton.
I have him now on exo-terra calcium and D3 and exo-terra multi vitamin, he gets mealworms (he refuses crix) he used to love roaches but has now turned his nose up a them.
His stool was very loose and fell apart today when i picked it up.

I am going to redo his cage to dicourage hiding (vet says he must spend most his time basking under her uv bulb) and I will be adding and extra heater as winter is fast approaching, anything else i should consider?

Oh and I have ordered him "stempets" this encourgaes the growth and reproductiion of stem cells, i will also be using a deep light therapy device (used to relieve pain) on him very second day ( manufacturer doesnt not recommend i use it every day)
Is this over kill? am i missing something?
I dont want him on painkillers as i am worried about his kidneys so would rather try natural remedies for pain first, also is milk thistle ok to give them?

 

[Fortunate]

Just wanted to update everyone on Dylan's progress:
I did some research and found a vet that will do exotic blood tests to check kidney function and Dylan is booked in next week.
I dont know what it is but im convinced its kidney issues that has him feeling so ill, after the calcium and vitA injection he went downhill again and now wont eat a thing, i have to go away for a few days at the end of the week and have booked him into boarding but i am worried sick that he will pass away while im not there.

If this is Kindney issues what can I do? what are the treatments? is it kinder to put him down? (crying just thinking about it so i really dont think i can) but i have hada dog and bird that both died from kindey failure and the end was horrendous for them and i dont want Dylan to go through that - i dont want him to be in pain and suffering and there is nothing I can do, what woulf the right choice here be?
I am a bit strapped for cash (have spent over R10000 on vet bills in the last 2 months) but i can beg, borrow and steal it to save my baby boy - i have no shame when it comes to my pets lol, but will it be worth it? how much time will i be buying him?

I want to go to this vet with all my info and ducks in a row so i dont panic and make the wrong choice (like before), advice or similar stories will be much appriciated!

 

[Bwalter]

Sorry to hear your beardie isn't feeling good. Hope all goes well for both of you and its something simple to fix.

 

[dragontamer13]

Please keep us updated!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Which UVB light are you using again? He needs a good one in order to absorb his calcium.
Renal issues are a possibility. If he does have gout or pseudo gout (nutritional/supplemental causes) then he may need allopurinol for awhile to help with uric acid levels. Are there any vets who can do a blood draw?
If they do suspect renal issues, do not let them administer anymore antibiotics, that will worsen the problem. He needs fluid therapy to help with his kidneys.
Do you have pictures of him?

Tracie

 

[Fortunate]

Hi guys, sorry was out of the country for a while - Dylan went to boarding and apparently was fine but ate very little, I have found a vet who will do the blood work for me - its just a long drive, so i need take the whole day off work to get him there, so will take abit of co-ordinating as they also want to see him in the early morning.
He is on Repti-sol 10.0 UVB (zoo-med) i will put pictures up when i get home from work today, any specific postures? I will give you a picture from each week so you can see if he is getting better or worse, i think he is getting worse but i dont know if im imagining it.
I am still trying to get liquid calcium (vet wants Exo-terra) and he wont eat crickets or roaches so i have to give him meal worms.

 

[jingles]

Who is the vet you tracked down?