Beardie with possible respiratory infection is biting tongue

[McBumblenuts]

My 3 year old beardie recently(past 3 weeks) started showing symptoms of a respiratory infection( Stringy saliva in mouth, lethargy/unwilling to eat, and breathing through mouth)

I took him to the vet and they gave him: fluid therapy, an oxytetracycline injection and a meloxicam oral. and gave me: 100mg one-time dosage of Panacur, and was told to give him .24 ml of Albon every day for the next 6 days, and a pack of Oxbow Critical Care carnivore powder that I syringe feed him.

They told me he was a little dehydrated and they were deworming him. But that was literally all they told me, they said they didn’t do xrays or blood tests on small animals, but they’ll treat for worms and dehydration(even though they didn’t take a fecal) but nothing else.

Anyway 200 dollars and 5 days later and not a whole lot of improvement has happened. I syringe feed him the powder/water mix and his medication(separate syringes) every day as prescribed. He pooped twice, once on the way back from the vet and once again today. First one was small and formless(probably cause it was his first time at a vet) but nothing inherently wrong with it and didn’t smell particularly strong.The second one had a really long urate, and the stool was more formed but congealed in what I believe was that powder mix and also didn’t smell strongly.

But my main concern is his possible respiratory infection from who knows where, my room isn’t humid and his tank is open top. And his temps are around 90-100 hot, and 70-80 cool. Perhaps from the day I took him outside about a week before the mouth breathing but that’s about it. I believe he was showing early signs of MBD beforehand because his UVB bulb had been bad and I hadn’t even known for several months.

He’s started biting his tongue and it’s starting to become compressed, and this morning found dried blood on his outer and inner lips.

Any help is appreciated.

Edit: It seems the bleeding wasn’t from the tongue biting but rather the syringe cutting his lip after biting it every time I used it. He’s developed a small scab in his lip, no blood has come back after a day of not using a syringe. I still would like advice about how to go about this.

 

[KarrieRee]

Wow we need to have Tracie Drache613 look at your post and AHBD
Karrie

 

[AHBD]

Oh wow, poor dragon and the vet was absolutely useless and pretty much robbed you. They did no fecal test to verify parasites but put him on Albon, a harsh dewormer ? They should have at least went with Baytril [ enrofloxacin ] which is usually the go -to for respiratory infections. Can you find another vet and also call this vet and ask why they prescribed anti coccidial medicine when your dragon has an R.I. ? Wow, I wish you could get your money back. I would not give another drop of the Albon, there's no indication that your poor dragon needs it. I really would call back and ask them why they did not prescribe a med. for the R.I.
You can use a little raw honey on his lip 2-3 X a day to help heal. Can you post pics of him as well as his entire set up ? Here's how :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them

 

[KarrieRee]

Here's a website to find a vet
www.arav.org
Karrie

 

[McBumblenuts]

Current custom tank setup:

-4ftx2ftx1.5ft/90 gallons
-Open top w/ sliding doors
-Rough linoleum tile
-100w basking bulb
-T8 UVB Bulb 18”
I have the uvb put on top tissue boxes because I found that T8’s aren’t as effective from more than 8” away, but can’t spare the cash for both vet and a better uvb so I’m gonna have to stick with it. He doesn’t move around much as of late, so I doubt he can knock it over. He barely moves at all, and doesn’t even go after crickets. I’ve been syringe feeding him that powder mix, and hand feeding him pre-killed dusted crickets.
I have him set on the bottom because he tends to fall off the bask now and can’t right himself.
I cleaned the tank with a Clorox/water solution after he pooped to keep it sanitary in case it was worms.

Here’s a photo I got of his mouth while he had it open.

And here’s that powder stuff and the Albon

And finally, I have an imgur link of all the photos, along with a video of his jaw clicking, he doesn’t do it anymore however.
https://imgur.com/gallery/3wgnJuo

Edit: this tank has only been put in for about a month, but previously he was in a 20 gallon tank because I didn’t have the money/time to make one.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Poor guy, he has definitely been through the mill as well as had too many medications through into
him, also!
The tank setup looks really nice though, great job! The T8 tube, is that a Reptisun 10 or an Arcadia
D3 12%?
I am not sure if it is the angle on the pictures or not, but are his hands swollen or are they getting ready
to shed? How long has he had trouble moving around?
Since he is 3 years old, how many insects does he get weekly, estimated?

Tracie

 

[AHBD]

So you have a t8 uvb and a 100 watt basking bulb ? Your tank looks great, huge + spacious so nice job on that! I have high doubts that the 100 watt basking bulb is heating the tank properly though. How are you measuring the temps ? My guess is that you need at least another 100 watt bulb in that giant tank. Low temps. may have brought on the R.I. And no need to clean with bleach, he's already having trouble breathing poor thing and the vet gave him terribly harsh meds. meant for coccidia with no actual diagnosis. I'd personally ask for a refund and/or write a review so other people can be warned that the vet just guesses and gives meds. without even a fecal test.

 

[McBumblenuts]

AHBD: I have a zoomed digital probe thermometer that reads 90-100 on the floor next to him depending on whether the AC is on. A small circular zoomed thermometer is set in the corner and reads 70-80 throughout the day. Its probably too late to ask for a refund, but I’ll write a review. Should I continue syringe feeding with that powder stuff? I’m scared he’ll aspirate since when he opens his mouth it’s to breath.

Drache613: The UVB is a ReptSun 10.0 placed on tissue boxes about 7” above him. Comparing his front to his back feet, yes they are swollen, it may be the onset of MBD since he was basically without UVB from November to June because of it being too far away. He’s had trouble moving since June. I’ve been handfeeding him 10-15 prekilled crickets coated in calcium powder every two days and multivit once every week. He doesn’t even bother with any food, I have to put it his mouth for him to chew when he opens it. And I syringe feed him that powder/water mix, 1 part mix 1 part water in separate feedings throughout the day. Should I start feeding him salad the same way I feed him crickets?

 

[AHBD]

If he's willingly eating the calcium coated crickets once you put them in his mouth that's a good thing ! He doesn't need the food supplement then, maybe 1-2 X a week for a nutritional boost. You can try it with greens as well, just watch that he actually chews + swallows. BTW, can you post a good full body shot and also pics of his front legs ? Are you able to look for a reptile vet with good reviews ?

 

[McBumblenuts]

Here’s the full body shot. He’s about 18inches, and at the vet he weighed 270 grams, but that was before he got put on that powder mix so I’m sure he’s more plump right now.

And here’s his front legs, they’re both about the same amount of swollen.

 

[McBumblenuts]

Update: Here’s his second poop from after the vet, he struggles to walk so I had to support him. He’s had like a half Bock beard the whole time.

 

[McBumblenuts]

It looks like he’s still trying so I put him on a towel to give him traction

 

[KarrieRee]

How's your dragon doing?
Karrie

 

[McBumblenuts]

Sorry for the really late response it’s been pretty hectic for me lately. He died earlier this month, I made a little wooden box for him and buried him in the backyard, I made sure he was dead beforehand(totally unresponsive, half open unblinking eyes) just in case too but I think he just couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t get the money to take him to a proper vet in time to save him. I thank you all for helping me and for all the advice. I don’t think I’ll be able to fix the issues with my current setup(not enough uvb, humidity issues in the summer) for a while, but since I’ve collected so much already I’ll just store what I have until I’m ready for another. Once again I thank you all for your help, I greatly appreciate it.