Beardie inhaled carnivorecare?!

[massconfusion149]

My beardie has been acting strange. hadn't shed in like 6 months and stopped eating anything. I took him to the vet and she took a decal and stays and gave me carnivore care and told me to bathe him twice a day. I had just fed him and went to bathe him and after about 30 sec in the tub he started thrashing and hissing so I picked him up and he continued to thrash over the tib and ended up puking up while bugs which hadn't been given to him in at least a week. Now he has kind of a raspy breath with a stethoscope al im worried I may have injected the carnivore care too quickly or something because idk why he puked.

He popped a tiny bit last Sunday then a tiny bit Friday at the vet. Please help if you can!

I have read some on here so have him at a tilt downward and am putting his che on now.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Get him to a vet , he needs urgent attention if he has aspirated vomit or you overloaded his stomach or some of slurry ended up in his lungs....

 

[AHBD]

Poor beardie, so sorry this has happened ! Is your beardie an adult ? If so, him not eating for a few days or weeks this time of year is not at all uncommon. Your vet does not know anything about beardies, unless he was getting very thin he did not need extra food and bathing, bathing twice a day is never a good answer to anything . It can chill them as well as cause the problem you have now. Sorry to say this vet took your money for nothing. To top it off, your beardie was probably going in to brumation. Do you have a more experienced vet to take him to ?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I agree, if he has a raspy sound when you listened to him breathe with a stethoscope, I would
definitely get him to another vet because he probably did aspirate some.
So many times, vets miss the telltale signs of them going into brumation & try to medicate them,
etc which complicates things & makes them worse.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

 

[massconfusion149]

Hello,

I agree, if he has a raspy sound when you listened to him breathe with a stethoscope, I would
definitely get him to another vet because he probably did aspirate some.
So many times, vets miss the telltale signs of them going into brumation & try to medicate them,
etc which complicates things & makes them worse.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

Hi Tracie,

First off, he is still alive. I can't be sure if it was raspy - I was in a panic. But I am having more problems than that. First, his legs are very swollen and he hasn't shed in probably 6 months. I had taken him to the vet and she did a fecal and xray. She had to send the xray off to have it evaluated which tell me that she does not have that much experience with bearded dragons, but she did have carnivore care on site so I'm guessing she does see some reptiles.

I got a call today from her and she said that it looks like he has septic arthritis and he has some changes in his rib cage and changes to the bones in feet. She also mentioned osteomyelitis.

After reading more today, I'm worried he might have gout on top of that because while I usually feed him mainly veggies, she told me to feed him carnivore care so that is all I have been feeding but he is almost 2 so he likely is now getting too much protein. I am going to get Black Cherry Juice and some Serrapeptase after reading today. I don't know how to do the Serrapeptase though because all I can find is the tablet version at the vitamin store.

I'm at a loss for what to do because I have already spent close to $400 for the appointment, carnivore care, fecal & xrays. I live in Tomball, TX area and not sure what vet would be better to take him to. But I'm wondering if he will even live. I have had a rough past 2 weeks as far as him seemingly on his death bed, dog getting a sore then a rash, kid coming home with lice, running out of gas just because I forgot to fill up, late for work, even forgot my Mom's birthday.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is he doing tonight?
I am sorry he has had such a rough time. Do you have any pictures of
him? Have they done any blood work on him to determine gout, etc?
If he has swelling in the extremities that could indicate gout, or maybe
an infection of some type.
Definitely get him started on the black cherry. If you do get serrapeptase
in tablet form, I can help with dosing. It can really help out his joints.

The carnivore care is high protein for sure, so I wouldn't overfeed it. Let
us know how things are going.

Tracie

 

[massconfusion149]

Hello,

How is he doing tonight?
I am sorry he has had such a rough time. Do you have any pictures of
him? Have they done any blood work on him to determine gout, etc?
If he has swelling in the extremities that could indicate gout, or maybe
an infection of some type.
Definitely get him started on the black cherry. If you do get serrapeptase
in tablet form, I can help with dosing. It can really help out his joints.

The carnivore care is high protein for sure, so I wouldn't overfeed it. Let
us know how things are going.

Tracie

He is still alive but I told his Mommy (my 6 year old) he might die, just to prep her. I picked up baby food sweet potatoes and fed him 1 ml black cherry concentrate half water, half concentrate. Then mixed the serrapeptase with baby food sweet potatoes. He want interested in either but got him to do the cherry juice ok. When it came to the sweet potatoes, I put it on his tongue and he seemed to lap it so put some kind of on the inside of his lips on a side. It started coming out of his nose. I'm at a loss and scared he is suffering alot. My sister has an older beardie and thinks he could be brumating but from everything I have read, that's not it. Black beard, darker than usual body. Will post a pic if I can figure out how.

 

[massconfusion149]

His lights right now are mercury vapor 100 & reptisun. Reptisun is 6 months old or so but it illuminates well so I left it.

I had a foam background but removed today for thorough sanitizing. It had a few holes dug in the back from rogue feeders.. living in there.

I had reptile carpet but it is being cleaned and have q new kind coming in so for now its back to the uhaul packing paper.

The pink thing on top is a baby blanket that I wrap him in after bath. I have been covering the tank so the heat doesnt escape when the ceiling fan goes on.

The xray also noted the rib cage deformity but I was in a daze because I dont know how to proceed that I dont remember wording.

He had a swelling issue with his "hands" about a year ago but was fine after a few weeks. This started out the same but has declined rapidly this time.

 

[massconfusion149]

And one more with him in one of his favorite spots!

 

[massconfusion149]

Also, while on my chest, he keeps opening and closing his mouth. Never done that before. I have a video but cant upload.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Also, while on my chest, he keeps opening and closing his mouth. Never done that before. I have a video but cant upload.

Opening and closing mouth may just be due to his nostrils being blocked from an incomplete nasal shed.

Did the vet indicate fluid in his lungs ?

Any suggestion of using a nebulizer to get the meds deep into his lungs so they have a chance of clear out any infection / mucus in there ?

 

[massconfusion149]

Also, while on my chest, he keeps opening and closing his mouth. Never done that before. I have a video but cant upload.

Opening and closing mouth may just be due to his nostrils being blocked from an incomplete nasal shed.

Did the vet indicate fluid in his lungs ?

Any suggestion of using a nebulizer to get the meds deep into his lungs so they have a chance of clear out any infection / mucus in there ?

Nope

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your dragon doing this evening?
I agree, ask the vet about possible nebulization if he is showing signs of respiratory distress
from that incident. It helps a lot, & is more effective than oral medications.
How often does he open/close his mouth?

Tracie

 

[massconfusion149]

Hello,

How is your dragon doing this evening?
I agree, ask the vet about possible nebulization if he is showing signs of respiratory distress
from that incident. It helps a lot, & is more effective than oral medications.
How often does he open/close his mouth?

Tracie

He pretty much does it repeatedly. A few times last night I thought he had passed but ended up moving. The is a pic of him right now. Every few minutes he will open wider and then go back to this. I'm thinking this is not good at all and feel terrible.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He is looking distressed with that black beard. So I wouldn't treat it as brumation right now.
I highly recommend trying to do some nebulization treatments on him. That helps tremendously
when they have respiratory issues. He will need to start them immediately, can you get one from
your vet? If not, check with the local drug store to see if you can find a nebulizer. You can use
a sterile saline solution z for treatment if you don't have anymore medication.
Also, can you place him on a slight decline overnight, to help any fluids drain from his lungs,
in case some have been aspirated.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie