Beardie not doing well..

[QuinnM131]

She has been to the vet twice now, once a scheduled appointment and now a trip to the emergency room last night. She is now unresponsive to most things. She is hiding from the light and if I put her in her basking spot she will jump off and that's about all the moves she will make. She is terribly small for her age and the vet last night says she was probably sick when I got her 3 months ago and it just takes a long time for beardies to show because they are stubborn. I really need help. I want to save my girl so much but I'm not sure what else I can do. She hasn't eaten in about 5 days and I can see almost all of her bones. Should I be force feeding her baby food? Her cage stays at 100 on the warm side and 85 on the cool side. Her light is an all encompassing, uva uvb and heat in one. It's 125 watts and she's about 7 inches away when she will actually bask. He coloring is getting darker and she really looks bad.. I'm so scared for her and the vets have not helped me at all. I'm about -$300 down in vet bills and my baby still isn't okay. I need help. Please..

 

[QuinnM131]

 

[QuinnM131]

She is also only moving to hide. When she's out with me she is much more active than she is in her tank. She will still only move when she's trying to nestle into my hand to hide. She isn't breathing as much as usual, her poop is much smaller, and her nostrils are almost always blocked.

 

[CooperDragon]

She doesn't look well. Did the vet test for atadenovirus? I would focus on the basics at the moment. Try dripping water on her snout and see if she licks it up. If she does, that's good. I'd then try dripping some baby food the same way. I've had good luck with green beans, chicken, turkey, squash, and sweet potato in the past. She may prefer one flavor to the other. The vet may also have some Critical Care or Carnivore Care as well which is good. Start with the water and go from there though.

Which brand is your mecury vapor bulb? Have you tried taking her outside to see if she perks up in real sunlight? What are the surface temps along her log?

 

[QuinnM131]

We went back to the vet, she got fluids, calcium, dewormer, and force fed... it still looks like she won't be making it to the end of the week.

 

[AHBD]

Aw, poor Quinn....I'm so sorry you're going through this. I agree with Cooper, just drip some nutrition on her snout several times a day. The vets giving injections + deworming was certainly a waste....very stressful and with no fecal test done they have been more harm than help.

But just keep trying .....she is critical + may have the atadenovirus but even some who have it survive.
Her prognosis is very poor but just try anyway. Get her out in the sun [ set her in the grass since she's not very mobile ] when it's nice + warm out for 45 minute or so.

Although force feeding can be tricky, you might have to try it anyway if she won't lick anything. The vet should have given you some carnivore care supplement but you can make your own smoothie with greens and insects . Or just use chicken, turkey, green bean baby food with no added ingredients or gravy. Experiment and add a bit of fruit juice [ non citrus ] to see if she'll take the food if you flavor it. Use a playing card or just a tiny piece of cardboard [ like from a cereal box top, cut in to a 2 X 2 square] Use that to gently slip it in her mouth + wiggle slightly to get her mouth open. Then give her a very small amount of food from the side of her mouth. Be very careful and see that she swallows it before pushing in any more. You can gently stroke her throat to get her to swallow.

You can try this as well, I don't know how it would work on a baby.
viewtopic.php?f=45&t=232687

I hope there's a sliver of a chance for her. Best wishes !