Beardie is gone!

[Jo]

I think my daughter's beardie is dying. He has not eating in about two weeks, poop is not good. Only a little bit. He is about 6 years old. His eyes are sunken in as well as the top of his head. Reptisun UVB on the cool side. On the warm side, 100 watt bulb. He has been very lethargic and just laying around. Won't really move at all. Not eating. I originally thought it was brumation the way he was acting but the last two days, he has just been sleeping and I noticed his eyes are sunken in. The cage size is unknow as my daughter's father made the cage 3 years ago. It is huge. Newspaper for the substance. We were given him baths and he just layed there and drank a little. I spay him every day. Any suggestions?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Could you tell us a bit more about your setup please? A 6 year old dragon should still have quite a few years left in him. Do you provide any UVB lighting for your dragon? If so, what type & brand is it, a flourescent tube light or a compact or coil light? How old is it?
What do you feed him?
Do you supplement calcium several times per week?
What type of substrate are you using? What are you measuring the temps with, a stick on type of thermometer, a digital probe or a temp gun?
What type of basking light are you using? A bright white light or a colored light?
If his eyes are sunken in & the fatpads on the top of his head are sunken in then he is very dehydrated & his fatstores are pretty depleted, too.
You will need to do is to get some nutrition in him, with making a greens slurry mixed with some protein such as some chicken or turkey babyfood if he is not eating.


Tracie

 

[Jo]

I just replaced the UVB light this past week with a Reptisun 10.0 (I think) tube bulb. I'm at work and I don't remember. He gets feed kale and squash every day with a calcium powder on top sprayed with water. Substrate is paper. Measuring is with a digital therometer which has a cord that is inside the set up and the actual part to read is on top of the cage. The warm side is always around 100 degrees and the cool side is in the 70's. Basking light is a bright light not colored. I am going tonight to buy baby food as I have syringes from work. I have had him for about 4 years. He is about 22 inches long. The set up was made by my daughter's father about 3 years ago. It is huge. I don't kn ow the exact measurements. I feel since the cage is 3 years old, then that is not the problem. I have done everything correct up to this point with lighting, temps, feeding, etc. Just worried about this. Thanks!

 

[ArdorAndZeal1]

sounds like you are doing a thoughtful job!

may want to try switching up the feeders? maybe throw some phoenix worms in there?!

keep us posted!

 

[beardie parents]

Have you had a recent fecal done on his poop? He could have parasites and that can cause problems if the count it to high.

 

[Jo]

I don't think a fecal sample is going to help as he isn't going. The last time he tried to go was 3 days ago and it was a little whitish color droplet.

What are phoenix warms? Never heard of them. I tried feeding him crickets last week and he usually goes hog wild. But he didn't want to be bothered.

When my daughter gets home from school, I'm going to have her soak him in the tub. We were doing this last week and it seemed to help a little.

Thanks to everybody for all their suggestions.

 

[ArdorAndZeal1]

try swapping the substrate to paper towel... newspaper generally is not a problem. but some dyes can be toxic.

and also paper towel will show feces better.
-
whats thhe model of uv B again?
how old is the bulb?

even top of the line bulbs need to be replaced, because they stop producing UV B.

whats the distance the beardie can get from the uv b? Min/max?

 

[ArdorAndZeal1]

phoenix worms are just a more nutritious type of worm, high in calcium they are slow moving but wiggle, and good for your beardies.

 

[Jo]

Just changed his UVB bulb and heat light this weekend. I think the UVB bulb is Reptisun 10.0 long type. I'm at work so the brain is not functioning. He can get about 10 inches away from the UVB but he is just remaining on the warm side. For the warm side, I just replaced the heat bulb with a 100 watt bulb. He can get 6 inches from the heat. He was up on his perch near the heat up until the last day. Now he is just laying on the heat side ground. His beard is black.

 

[ArdorAndZeal1]

i would try "Rept-Aid" as well... I would offer you a power slurry you can make.. but given your dragons age... i think this is a better idea.

 

[ArdorAndZeal1]

also, try to get that temperature range up to 80-110

 

[Jo]

My daughter put him in the tub to soak. He just layed there. When she took him out, he opened his eyes. I'm going to get babyfood and I have one question. How do you get him to eat? I have syringes that I will be bringing home from work. Do you force some food down his mouth or let him go? I don't want to hurt him but I want to get something in him.

 

[LJean]

Try dripping some on his nose and see if he will lick it off.

 

[Jiffy]

Try dripping some on his nose and see if he will lick it off.

I agree, I wouldnt try to force it unless you have to.
My beardie Waffle, who will not eat voluntarily, will lick baby food off of his nose. I take the syringe and put a little at a time. When he licks that off, I put more. Works good, (until he wants to nuzzle into your neck with baby food on his nose)

 

[ArdorAndZeal1]

you dont "force" it persay, even if your dragon wont lick it.

you slide open the corner of your BD's mouth, and lightly drop the food onto your BDS tongue.

there are great guides on the net. its really not that hard, especially if you do it at night when they are docile.