Beardie throwing up

[traceyb73]

I have a beardie who will be 3 in May. I've had her since she was 8 weeks old. She's had alot of issues as I got her from a not so great breeder and one of the major issues she had was she was laying eggs nonstop for months. She had to be spayed last March. Another issue she's had is an RI that we can't seem to get rid of. The vet and I were talking about doing a procedure to rinse out her lungs (I am in freak out mode and don't remember what it's called, please bear with me) and I was going to get this done either this week or next. What she does is she holds her breath just as long as she can then when she starts breathing (gasping) for air it sounds just like a human would if they had a URI. Rattling, her entire body tightens up, coughing, etc. It seems to be worse at night. We cuddle every night (I hold her for about an hour). By cuddling I mean I put her on top of my tee shirt with a blanket of hers over her (a light one), then I have a fleece on over that so she stays nice and warm. So tonight as I was putting her in her blankets to put her to bed, she did what she always does....holding her breath, gasping, etc. Then she started throwing up. At least 4 times before I frantically tried getting ahold of a reptile vet but they are on call only, not in the office and the people in the office is NOT allowed to call them after 10 PM. It was 10:14 when I called. What do I do? What came up was clear mucus. But there was alot of it. It was all over her face, down her chin, beard and the blanket under her was drenched....AND she went right backt to holding her breath and gasping, etc. WHAT DO I DO? I know when they throw up it's a bad sign. I love this little punkin like a child and I am completely panicked. I did e-mail my vet but so far no response. Anyone who can help, please tell me what I need to do.

fyi, she has been eating. Alot. This hasn't slowed her down and as long as she had a good appetite I never thought she couldn't wait until later this week or next to get the procedure done. She is a hair over 600 grams. Yes, her temps are right, yes her house is set up properly and I use paper towels for substrate. I also take her to the vet regularly to get her checked for parasites, etc. She has been to the vet so many times for all these things that they know my voice when I call. :?

 

[AHBD]

Hi Tracey....sorry that she's going through such a tough time. Is she coughing up all this mucous, or throwing it up or maybe a combination of both ? If you can't get to a vet, just watch her for an hour....she's probably done and will just fall asleep for the night. I don't think you can really do anything except let her rest tonight as usual and get to the vets first thing tomorrow. One of the mods. or someone else may have some input too.

 

[traceyb73]

Hi Tracey....sorry that she's going through such a tough time. Is she coughing up all this mucous, or throwing it up or maybe a combination of both ? If you can't get to a vet, just watch her for an hour....she's probably done and will just fall asleep for the night. I don't think you can really do anything except let her rest tonight as usual and get to the vets first thing tomorrow. One of the mods. or someone else may have some input too.

Thank you so much! Zoey is sound asleep (I made sure she was up, awake and responsive before I let her rest for the night), and I am a wreck. She has been doing this thing that looked just like she was trying to cough up a hair (or hairball) but there was no hair in there. I did have her lungs x-rayed a few months ago and there was really nothing then that they saw but I do wonder if fluid could have built up in there and that's what came out. I would think, since she eats for me each day that if it came from her stomach it would have at least been orange from the squash. Her poop is bright orange unless there are crickets mixed in with it. lol I am so paranoid I am freaking out that she's not going to be alive by morning. Ugh. I do have to say though, once I got back in there (I had my daughter watch her while I tried to contact a vet) she was calm and resting. She was doing the holding her breath thing occasionally, though not as bad but there was NO rattling anymore. She wasn't coughing anymore. She wasn't making anymore sick RI noises. She actually looked peaceful. She was even giving me, what I call "lovey eyes". When I coo to her and she gives me that sweet look. You have certainly put my mind at ease. I can't thank you enough for that. I did message Tracie.

 

[Esther19]

I'm sorry you both are going through this. It's very scary. Is it possible that she had been swallowing the mucous her mouth was producing and it was just time to come out? My girl has a mucous problem, too. She once threw up some mucous, but it was somewhat yellow, and not as great a quantity. It tends to bubble out the sides of her mouth and not be swallowed. In any event, it's probably a good thing your girl got that out of her.

I know when they vomit it is important to keep them hydrated. I would offer her water via plastic dropper/syringe in small doses.

When my Cissy seems to have more trouble breathing than usual, I fold a blanket and arrange her on it so that her head goes down in a gentle decline. Sometimes that will help bring some of the gunk up and she will breathe easier.

Try to keep her overnight temps around 80F to boost her immune system. Try to be calm, since they can sense your upset. Hang in there. It won't be long until the vet opens again. Give her extra snuggles to comfort her. Let us know how you both are doing.

 

[traceyb73]

I'm sorry you both are going through this. It's very scary. Is it possible that she had been swallowing the mucous her mouth was producing and it was just time to come out? My girl has a mucous problem, too. She once threw up some mucous, but it was somewhat yellow, and not as great a quantity. It tends to bubble out the sides of her mouth and not be swallowed. In any event, it's probably a good thing your girl got that out of her.

I know when they vomit it is important to keep them hydrated. I would offer her water via plastic dropper/syringe in small doses.

When my Cissy seems to have more trouble breathing than usual, I fold a blanket and arrange her on it so that her head goes down in a gentle decline. Sometimes that will help bring some of the gunk up and she will breathe easier.

Try to keep her overnight temps around 80F to boost her immune system. Try to be calm, since they can sense your upset. Hang in there. It won't be long until the vet opens again. Give her extra snuggles to comfort her. Let us know how you both are doing.

Thank you so much for your kind and caring response. These guys sure can make us worry, can't they? I always keep her blanket on an incline and try to get her situated so her head is down but she won't have any of that. She turns herself around every night! lol I have been using a CHE that keeps her right around the 80-82 degree mark since this started....which has been a while. I got my daughter over to Zoey when it happened as I stress like I would with a child and she does pick up on that. My daughter (she's 21) is very patient and calming. By the time I called the vet and tried to contact her online, Mariah had Zoey so calm that even her black beard was completely gone and she was almost asleep! That was why I did a quick check to make sure she was still responsive. She is just so precious. If anything happened to her because of this I would never forgive myself. I had it in my head that because she threw up (or more like coughed up) it was really really bad and I was afraid she wasn't going to make the night. She is still sleeping though and I don't hear her wheezing or coughing like she tends to do alot of times even while she is in bed. I'm staying in the same room for a while, even though her house is all covered up except for the CHEs just to make sure she's not making any sounds over there. So far, so good. I left a message on the vet's office giving them a head's up and asking them to all me first thing, though I know the phone will be ringing when they walk in and I will be on the other line. Thank GOD they are patient people. lol I can be a bit neurotic when it comes to my 4 legged babies.

 

[AHBD]

That's good, I figured she would sleep through the night . Hopefully you can get this R.I treated and then she'll improve. And a good appetite is always a good sign.

 

[traceyb73]

I just wanted to update everyone on Zoey. She did great through the night, I was up until almost 2 AM just making sure she wasn't making any more noise. This morning when we got her up she was calm as could be, still holding her breath occasionally but she is not wheezing AT ALL. I can't remember the last time that happened. PLUS we offered her squash and she actually ate like a champ!! I am so thrilled. I did talk to the vet just now and she agrees that the liquid came from her lungs. I mean if you think about it, around a tablespoon (NOT teaspoon) of fluid in the lungs meant that they had to be pretty much full...my poor little punkin could have drown on her own fluids. Thank is a scary thought. She is a little fighter. I am so thankful she got it up or it could have potentially killed her. The vet said it sounds like all is better with her so she is going to see what we can figure out as far as medications, but she said I could give her IV fluid but between the water she got from her veggies and orally, she said that will be enough and IV isn't really necessary. I do know what to watch for as far as dehydration, but so far so good.

I want to thank all of you for the help you offered last night when I was a nervous wreck. You helped put my mind at ease and I couldn't be more grateful.

 

[AHBD]

That's really great Tracey, you couldn't have hoped for a better outcome! I'm really happy for you !

 

[Esther19]

What great news, Tracey! Better out than in, like Shrek says. :mrgreen:

 

[traceyb73]

LOL, you're right, Shrek got it right. :lol:

My little punkin has been great all day. No stress, no issues at all and the vet is content with how it worked out. As long as she doesn't do that to me again we will be good. lol It's almost cuddle time so it will be interesting to see how it plays out again tonight. She was rattling so much when she let her breath out that her entire body vibrated against me. I hope to feel nothing but snuggles from now on!

 

[Drache613]

Hello Tracey,

That is great news Zoey is doing much better & slept through the night after that.
I am glad she was so calm though. Hopefully she got all of that up! That was quite a bit.
Did they do a lung lavage/wash or not, just listened to her lungs?
Poor girl, she has had a time hasn't she?
Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie