Beardie Virus?

[jmcoghla]

My dragon Weezy started to look like she had somewhat distressed/deep breathing while eating. I took her to the vet after a couple weeks of this because she began to do a deep exhalation and get really skinny after running around eating and he said she was really healthy and it was probably just the movement/excersing while eating. The next day, she made a deep exhalation noise while she did this. He gave me some oral antibiotics to give her for 2 weeks and told me to raise the temp to above 90 at all times, even night. I did all of this and nothing changed. I took her to another vet who took an x-ray and said that it looked pretty normal but there was a little bit of repiratory noise when she layed her on the stethascope to hear her breathing. She changed her antibiotics to Bactryl. I did this for a week and nothing got better, in fact, it seems like she may even be doing this breathing thing even more, but it's only when she's eating. The vet wanted me to bring her in for injections of a new antibiotic, and i'd have to do this every 72 hours. Since I live far from there, I called the first vet I went to. He will show me how to give the injections so I can do it at home. He said that sometimes beardies get viruses, which mean that she won't respond to the antibiotics. I asked her if she would die and he said "it depends on if it's a virus she can live with" . The vets said that I'm doing everything correctly when it comes to temps, food, lighting, etc. Besides the exhalation that is forced and looks almost a little painful and is accompanied with a blowing out noise, she is healthy, active, alert (besides zoning out every now and then) and eats a ton. I'm really scared that they won't know what's happening and that she will continue to get worse and this breathing may happen when she's not eating. Has anyone heard of this or seen this? Is it maybe just a behavioral thing? It looks like it hurts and like its involuntary. I'm just hoping that someone here maybe has seen this same thing and know that it's not a big deal. let me know... thanks!

 

[vickson420]

They said its a virus? Adeno virus can do some nasty things but they can test for it.Did they rule out Respiratory infection that would have been my first thought?So how long was your beardie on the baytril?What is the next med they wont to use?Please make sure its not Ivermectin, this is for cattle but is often incorrectly used for reptiles and your beardie could die from it.Have they run blood work?Is this a herp vet?

 

[ArdorAndZeal1]

i have lost 2 beardies to AV... and that was not any of my dragons symptoms.... But, than again.. AV is a immune inhibiter so I guess it could contribute to anything.

I dont know about a diagnosis.... BUT I noticed that probiotics seem to have been absent from your Vets' treatments, and this could be part of the problem, as I know all anti-biotics should at least have a follow up, sometimes simultaneous, treatment.

Someone with more experience in this area may perhaps give further advice-- but this I believe is flaw in your vets treatment.

BUT I am not a vet.... but its something to consider. Hopefully, someone else can come in and confirm my thinking here.

Its a lead anyway.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

What is the humidity in your tank? It should be lower than 30% to help with the immune system & respiratory infection.
Adeno virus coupled with Corona virus, which is the helper virus, is the cause of many stubborn & recurrent respiratory infections.
If the respiratory infection is not getting any better then you should try to find another vet.
What are the temperatures in the tank during the day & what do you measure the temps with? The basking temps need to be 95-110 on the basking end & 78-82 on the cooler end.
If you would like to test for adeno virus, let me know & I will direct you to where you can get a test done. It would at least give you some answers anyway as to why she is having so much trouble.
What type of substrate are you using?
You should probably get a bloodtest, as well. It can help determine if there is an infection going on & what type possibly. Be very careful with allowing the vet to overmedicate for something he cannot diagnose at the moment. You need to know what she is being medicated for. Baytril is a harsh drug & if given in excess it can cause organ trouble. Keep her well hydrated & use a probiotic such as acidophiliz, benebac or nutribac.
What is the dosage the vet gave you?

Tracie

 

[ArdorAndZeal1]

Hello,

What is the humidity in your tank? It should be lower than 30% to help with the immune system & respiratory infection.
Adeno virus coupled with Corona virus, which is the helper virus, is the cause of many stubborn & recurrent respiratory infections.
If the respiratory infection is not getting any better then you should try to find another vet.
{shortened by ArdorAndZeal1}
Baytril is a harsh drug & if given in excess it can cause organ trouble. Keep her well hydrated & use a probiotic such as acidophiliz, benebac or nutribac.
What is the dosage the vet gave you?

Tracie

I am glad Tracie is here to provide details on this important matter.
-
Just to be clear, Tracie, is the op poster supposed to used acidophiliz DURING this medication, and even at a general sign of weakness?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

It is normally a good idea to use acidophiliz or another probiotic while on the medication yes. Alot of people will use probiotics off & on. It isn't a good idea to use it all of the time as it could throw their normal gut flora off balance if it is not imbalanced at the time.
How are things going with your dragon?

Tracie

 

[pscaulkins]

If your dragon has the corona virus, Baytril will not help it. Magick had it and she had respiratory issues and has gotten over it on her own and she is adeno positive. My vet said it takes months and sometimes a year for them to get completely over the corona virus and stop shedding the virus.

 

[jmcoghla]

Thanks for all the posts. Sorry it has taken so long to reply but I didn't have a computer all weekend. I took her to the vet and he put a scope down her throat to look around. Although she pooped on him and was so scared that she played dead, he said that she seems to be prefectly healthy. She has put on 60 grams since the last time I was there (about 3 weeks ago). He did do a stool sample, but I don't know what he checked for. I thought he said he checked for a virus, but he didn't draw blood. I'm not sure you can check for viruses through stool samples. Since he didn't want to overmedicate her, we didn't do the injection. He said that this could be a behavioral thing that she is doing. Perhaps she's overly excited when eating? The humidity is around 25-30%, I think. I did have the temps in her cage raised to over 90 degress at all times but he instructed me to lower them down to a more normal range. Since she is otherwise healthy, active, and has no other symptoms of anything serious, not even a respiratory infection, he just had me take her home and keep an eye on her. He said that if she starts doing this all the time, or when she's not eating, then I should take her back in. I'm glad that it it's hopefully just something weird that she's doing and not anything threatening, but I am still worried that it will continue to get worse, as the frequency and amount of times she does this has increased (but still only while eating). Supposedly, this is one of the best herp vets around, so I can only hope that he knows what he is talking about. Thanks for all the feedback! And if anyone out there has ever had their beardie do this, I would love to hear from you.