Both Back Legs Dislocated.

[RelentlessChaos]

Well I give up, it is clear nobody has an answer. I can't get her to eat, she is extremely skinny unless I force feed 3x a day. She didn't even get out of bed until 2pm today, 8am lights on. I had to bug her to get her to move.. she is sitting in her cricket container with 4 crickets sitting on her head... if she dies she dies.

She'll just be replaced.
Whatever, I am done with the stress.

hm... wonder what kind of stress beardie is feeling, sitting still with 4 crickets on her head. DUH.
yes, please, ship her to Lenewen.

You don't understand she has not eaten on her own in months, that is what she does every single time... I have to force feed her to keep her alive and healthy. I've decided to stop the force feeding.. she needs to eat on her own & do everything on her own..

4th day of no eating.

 

[daner923]

I really think you should consider shipping her out as was so graciously offered. Giving up on her is likely a death sentence, and when there is another strategy available, I don't see why you wouldn't take it.

 

[Lenewen]

I really think you should consider shipping her out as was so graciously offered. Giving up on her is likely a death sentence, and when there is another strategy available, I don't see why you wouldn't take it.

Agreed. It's a beautiful dragon, no sense killing it. I handfeed my herps to this day even though they are not sick. When an animal falls ill, it is a huge responsibility on the owner. Bearded dragons are not for those who are not willing to work for them when things aren't peachy-keen. I'm here to offer any advice I can but you need to feed her or ship her to me so I can make sure she gets fed.

 

[dragontamer13]

If you're ready to give up, please ship her. I know this isn't what you want to hear but saying "she'll just be replaced" just ticks me off. Sorry for the rudeness.

 

[chastityx]

where are you at in california?

 

[chastityx]

honestly if you are close i will definitely take her in if you don't have the time to do all of that.i have multiple rescue reptiles & i definitely have the time to take care of her if needed. don't give up on her.

 

[Lenewen]

I recommend you consider chastity's offer as its much safer tan shipping her to me. If you give up you may as well let someone else try.

 

[morphmom]

I know chastityx and believe with all my heart that this babe will be given the most dedicated of care. Please consider this offer.

 

[RelentlessChaos]

Oh now you guys want to reply & help....... It's fine, I'm taking care of her the best I can. I just said that just to see what it takes to get people to talk to me on here. Today she had a full outside day in her outside enclosure and plenty of water and a bath yesterday since it's nice & warm out here in the desert. Although she is still on a "won't eat on her own" streak. I am still trying not to force feed her anymore... which is why she is about to hit 5 days of no eating. I think I might cave in first before she does & just force feed her but I feel that it's just not the right thing to do...... since it's tough to force feed and probably causes more stress shoving stuff down her face all day and forcing her mouth open. She needs to do this on her own, it's not like she is weak. Cause she is healthy enough to move around and eat at will.. but she doesn't.

Her legs are still dislocated.
Anything tossed into the viv, (greens, crickets, phoenix worms etc) she does not eat.

I am done checking up on this topic and replying, there is no help here. I first made it in late Feb.
I've mad pics, videos, updates, etc.
So don't act like I don't dedicate my time to this.

 

[herpgirl2510]

You are definitely trying I can see how frustrating this must be. This has been going on for a long time and it seems like the eating issue is not improving. I can see people are trying to help but there seems to be no clear way to fix this problem. I would be extremely frustrated at this point. I would say not feeding the dragon is not the way to go because odds are it is not going to eat on its own. beardies seem like once they are not eating because of health or stress issues they just won't eat without assistance and it sounds like your beardie is going to starve itself which is very painful. Unfortunately I think the only two options at this point are to ship the beardie to the person who is offering or continue to force feed this dragon which could go on for a very long time. Again I can see you have really been putting alot of effort in I just think sometimes we get totally burned out and need some help. Sorry I wish I had some medical advice to fix this.

 

[Lenewen]

Look- I know this sucks. Believe me, we have seen this a fair number of times. We take in rescues all the time. Typically I rehabilitate them and often rehome them once complete.

When an animal stops eating, you have to make them eat. Your dragon would make a full recovery. Have you tried an appetite stimulant? This one is the one we use with some success: http://www.amazon.com/Zilla-11864-Jump-Start-Supplement-4-Ounce-Bottle/dp/B000QFOIDE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366461115&sr=8-1&keywords=reptile+appetite+stimulator

As much as you want to give up, you can't. Your friend is counting on you! In the wild, this dragon would not survive but in captivity there is no reason to let it die.

I have seen dragons come back from MUCH worse. I do not believe this is life threatening. But to be frank, you need to do your job and force feed or let someone else do it.

You should also make a slurry using calcium powder, the appetite stimulant, ground up greens some critical care and ground up feeders. It's much easier to only ease the mouth open once or twice and jet this stuff in with a syringe. Or you can drip it on the nose and let them lick it off. It's less stressful on the dragon verses ripping the mouth open.

We do not sit on this blog 24/7 and if we do not have good advice to offer, we either give you a message offering support or nothing at all. We are not medical doctors and we do not know everything, nor would we ever claim to. But we all share a single passion and skill set and that is Bearded Dragon Care. When we hear one may be "given up" on or allowed to die, yeah, we're going to try to do something about it. Don't get angry with us, we are trying to help you.

 

[Lenewen]

I should also add that perhaps wrapping the legs so that they heal correctly may not be a bad idea. If you don't know how, a vet should be able to help you.

 

[daner923]

Excuse me RelentlessChaos - everyone here is trying to help you. We didn't have an answer for a few days in there. We still don't. I know that's frustrating, but coming here and trying to get a rise out of people, some of whom may be fairly sensitive about allowing a dragon to die because you don't want to offer the medical care she needs, is extraordinarily cruel. By all appearances, her legs don't look wrong. It's extremely hard to diagnose and/or fix a problem over the internet - sometimes there is something atypical, and there just isn't an answer. No one here is paid to respond to you, we all do it because we care about bearded dragons. Everyone that has responded to your thread for the last 2 months has been trying to help, and it failed. I'm sorry that this is case.

Force feeding her isn't wrong - if that's the only way she'll eat, then you should do it. If she seems to be in a lot of pain, that is a different concern. However, I still think you should consider Lenewen or chatityx's offers - they just want to help her. I know you do to, but it is okay to admit if you're in over your head.

 

[morphmom]

How is the babe today? Will you be able to wrap the legs? Have you thought about a second opinion from an alternate vet?
-I'd like to apologize, if my previous post was offensive to you. I do know that you're doing everything you can. I think this is just a new situation that very few of us have experience with. We all get frustrated, I would be too if I were in your shoes. Keep us updated, we could all stand to learn from this. :wink: I also believe that your comment about letting her die was more venting then anything else, you're here, so that says to me you do care.