Black beard...now VOMITING!

[imderanged]

I wrote yesterday about my dragon's beard going darker than I have seen it before, and was told it was probably hormones (he's 9-10 months old) but his beard is black again today and when I turned on his light he had pooped where he was sitting (he always moves away from it once he poops) and an hour later when i checked on him he had vomited in 2 different places! NOW I AM WORRIED!

 

[imderanged]

OMG I put him in a warm bath to help rehydrate him after the vomiting. He immediately did the tail up, I'm gonna poop posture. but just a tiny amount of white stuff came out. I started rubbing his belly and stuff to help him go if he was having trouble, and his vent area seemed "squishier" than normal, so I picked him up to look and his vent area look dark and extended !!! Then he kind of pulled it back in! When i look at it now it looks normal but then he kind of WINKS his vent, if that makes any sense...I'm trying to explain this as best I can because I am not sure what I am looking at!!!! My reptile vet is not open on sunday, I can't get to the vet until at least tomorrow, what should I do????

 

[AHBD]

Can you list his entire set up, what type of lights, temps., and what he has eaten lately ? Do you keep any fake plants in the cage? The vent thing is just him trying to expel more waste.

 

[imderanged]

Ok he is in a 40 breeder tank, shelf liner substrate, he has piece of twisty wood (from the pet shop, not outside) and a log for basking, a resin rock like cave, a reptile hammock, a water dish with a reservoir and a ceramic food dish. His warm side temps are 93F his cool side is 83F and his basking spot is 110F. I use a MVB. He does not have fake plants. He had arugula (his favorite) and crickets yesterday, the day before he had crickets and spring mix.

 

[AHBD]

If you can think of anything at all that he may have eaten ? Do you let him roam ouside of the cage ? Are his little suction cups from the hammock all accounted for ? Nothing that you fed him is different than usual ? The crickets weren't bigger ? I wonder if maybe a spider would possibly have been in with the crix ? I'm just throwing things out there. Did he vomit up what he ate, was it digested or looking like just a wet mass of what went in ?

 

[imderanged]

He was out sitting on the dinning room table entertaining some house guest yesterday before he started acting strange. They were eating donuts and wanted to give him a piece, but luckily they asked first and I told them no, I would give them some of his food to feed him. Everyone was feeding him arugula, which is he FAVORITE. 6 people were all staring right at him so I don't think he could have eaten anything else without someone seeing, but maybe it is possible he ate too much arugula, because they kept feeding him until he wouldn't take any more. It's kind of a peppery tasting green, maybe it upset his stomach? Back in October he vomited a few times and I took him right to the vet. He was diagnosed with Hook worms and Coccidia and treated. But I remember that day he had had arugula the night before too.

I don't let him roam around on the floor and all the suction cups are there. Nothing in his cage is missing, I took everything out & checked when I was cleaning up after he vomited. I can't think of what he could have gotten into unless there was something wrong with his arugula or the crickets.

His vomit was just a mass of partially digested arugula and crickets. I think more arugula. It was defiantly all chewed up and beginning to digest but you could still make out particular items. It was in 2 big dense balls that made me think, "that must not have been pleasant, bringing that up" Sorry to be so graphic, but I don't know how else to describe it.

I gave him a warm bath, gave him some of the Pet Authority AcidophiLiz+ Digestive Tract Conditioner and Leaping Lizards Electrolytes W/ Vitamins & Minerals. I cleaned up his tank and put him back so he could keep nice and warm and rest. But he climbed off his basking platform and he's sitting with his face in the corner and his beard is all black again (it had gone back to normal for a little while while I held & comforted him, he's such a momma's boy) I haven't tried to feed him again, because the last time he vomited (back in October) the vet told me to let his stomach settle and give him a small meal the next day. So I was thinking I would try a small meal tomorrow and if he vomits that up, straight to the vet. I don't know if there is anything else I should be doing.

 

[AHBD]

Well, a couple of scenarios for you. He had too much to eat and was not given enough basking time to digest it ? If he was outside the cage hanging out with you, he may not have had enough time under the lights to digest his food. Always allow 2-3 hours basking after a heavy meal for time to digest.It's best not to give a big meal late in the evening, either. The other scenario, someone SNUCK him a piece of donut....OR he grabbed something else off the table while no one was looking or noticing. I would give him turnip, mustard+collard + dandelion greens as a staple, less arugala. How is he doing now ? He may be off his food for a few days, but if it was just an upset stomach, he should bounce right back, like we do. Hope fully that was the problem, he was just partying too hard !

 

[imderanged]

Yeah I try and use the dandelion greens and collard greens more often, especially since I have a Russian tort and he does NOT like the arugula. I just get it occasionally because Vlad likes it SO much. But for some reason I haven't been able to find dandelion in any of the supermarkets for a little while, I guess it's out of season or something. Same thing with escarole, impossible to find all of a sudden. I've been relying heavily on collards, red and green leaf lettuces with some yellow and green squash...and spring mixes mixed in, if I can find it without the spinach. I'll try to look for the turnip greens. I think someone didn't like the mustad greens and that's why I stopped using it as much, but tastes change, I'll try again. I give him calcium & multi vitamins too. His bugs consist almost entirely of crickets. I give him occasional waxmorms as a treat. Never mealies. None of the petshops around me carry Dubias or phoenix worms

It IS possible I fed him too late. Thinking about it, I think he got his crickets pretty late because of the company being here. on top of that, when my husband went to clean up his tank before bedtime he turned out the light a half an hour early, and the MVB won't come back until it cools down, so he lost that 1/2 of basking just before bed.

As for how he is doing? He's been sitting in the same spot with his head stuck in a corner and a black beard all day. No more vomiting, just looking depressed. I picked him up and let him sit on my lap as I wrote this and his beard is already a lot lighter. I guess he wants mommy to baby him while he isn't feeling well!

 

[AHBD]

I hope he perks up over the next day or two. Hope fully it was just too much food a little too late in the day, with not enough heat to digest.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your dragon this evening?
Do you have any probiotics like acidophiliz on hand that you could give him to help settle his tummy?
How is his beard now? Is it still black?

Tracie

 

[imderanged]

I gave him some of the Pet Authority AcidophiLiz+ Digestive Tract Conditioner and Leaping Lizards Electrolytes W/ Vitamins & Minerals yesterday. I didn't feed him yesterday because the last time he vomited back in October, that is what the reptile vet I took him to had me do. This morning I let him warm up under the light a bit and then I gave him just a few crickets. A little later I gave him just a little collard greens. He is acting more like himself today. His beard is back to normal. I was ripping little piece of collard green off a big leaf for him and and he ran and grabbed the Big leaf...I didn't let him keep it, I don't want him eating all that so quickly after a tummy ache, but I see it as a good sign that he has a strong appetite! A little later I plan on giving him a warm bath and more of the supplements.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great to hear that he is doing better now! Poor guy, he just must have had an upset tummy & system from eating too much!
I am glad to hear that he is starting to get back to normal now.

Let us know if you need anything!

Tracie