Hi there, Bruce is a good looking boy. I also think that his initial lethargy was caused by the move to a new tank. Some dragons go through relocation stress simply from going to a new tank. The vomit is not all that unusual, but just be sure that he is not possibly eating any fake plants in the tank. Other than that I think he's just stressed from the move. It IS possible that he was too hot the night before as well. For night time 85 is too hot, aim for 70 -80 at the most.
I agree, I was thinking the same thing, hoping he hadn't eaten any of the plant leaves. How
many mealworms are you feeding or do you feed those on a regular basis?
I think he could possibly have relocation stress which has upset his tummy. Do you give him
a couple of hours before bedtime, after feeding him to digest his food if he has eaten?
If his beard is staying black all of the time that could be a sign of distress or hormones, which
makes it harder to deduce between the two.
Maybe double check the temperatures also to be sure they are correct for basking & that he
has enough of an area to also cool down.
When I saw he was trying to eat the decorations I took them out. It's possible he got some before I removed them but hopefully not. He has a vet visit today at 5:30.
Karrie told me the heat at night was too high, so I moved the CHE to the "cool" side and moved it up a bit so that side is 72 at night and about 80 during the day. His basking spot, which is where he sleeps, was 78 when I turned the light on this morning.
He ate nothing yesterday. Wasn't interested in horns, bsfl, or dubias. I ususally feed him in the mid morning and leave a fresh misted salad until evenings.
I taped a sheet of paper to the outside of the cage, I think he can see himself in the glass and it also gives him an area to "hide" in but still be in the heat. His beard was a little less black. Still no poop.
I took him to a vet I found on MK's anapsid page on Tuesday - lovely guy who has tons of bd's as clients.
As of the vet appt, Bruce had not eaten anything in 3 days, was lethargic and looked thin to me, beginning to look wrinkly and definitely lost weight, though I don't have his weight, I can just tell from photos.
he did a blood draw and wants me to bring a fecal in, which I'll drop on Sunday. He's closed on Saturday and was off Wed - Sat for the holiday. Says he's a he, def an adult, no older than 5. Guesses maybe 1.5 to 3 yrs old. That was our estimation as well.
He told me to bathe him daily, bring the fecal in on Sunday if he had one, and continue to offer food. He also wanted me to put a water bowl back in that is big enough for him to lie in if he chooses. I did,but it's COLD water, so i doubt he will but Bruce and I are still in the early getting to know you phase lol. He also told me to play with the lights. Maybe, because he never had proper lighting, sudden brightness and 105 degree's was too much. I did. He's at about 95 - 100 and he sits and basks. He also moved around in his enclosure more.
Wednesday during his bath he had the most ginormous disgusting smelly poo ever in the bath. It looked like a dog poop it was so big. We also went outside and sat on the stoop in the sun (with a harness on) until a giant hawk made him gape and hiss. Then we went back in. Side note, my neighbor was walking down the walk passing our house and Bruce ran straight to me! So he likes me better than the scary unknown human. lol.
Yesterday, he ate 2 meal worms (his favorite). Uninterested in the dubias, bsfl, hornworms or salad.
Today I had to take him out of his hide at noon and put him in the basking spot at noon. (lights on at 8am). He had a bath at 2. I am offering any food he'll eat in small batches.
today he has eaten cumulatively:
4 med/lg dubia
5-6 large mealworms
4 supers
0 salad.
That's the most he's eaten in over a week. I'm hoping he's over whatever was going on, but we'll hear back about the blood work hopefully by Tuesday and the fecal by Monday. It's in my makeup fridge that already had to be to be thoroughly cleaned out and sanitized re: covid (I provide cosmetology services).
Fingers crossed he was pissed about the new enclosure, the lights were too bright and he just got a little dehydrated and hungry.
Here he is outside after the neighbor walked by. He's looking at him:
It sounds like Bruce is doing a bit better, he sure ate a lot!
That's good to hear you found a vet then, I hope he is knowledgeable. I'm glad that he sees
bearded dragons on a regular basis.
I would be happy to look over the blood work when it comes in next week.
Let us know how he is doing!
Oh those darn hawks, they sure do scare them!
I’ll post it if he give it to me, since it’s all no no contact maybe he can email it to me.
Also - HE ATE ALL HIS SALAD!!!! That was the first time in a couple of weeks. It was 1 whole mustard green leef and 1.5 leaf of kale (minus the spine, my dogs like to crunch on those) chopped up.
Ok. fecal came back with two parasites. Blood work was great. Coccidia and a protazoa, trophazoite.
Doc texted me a photo of one of our little invaders, the trophazoite - and is ordering medication for Bruce. Also - it probably came from the tank, imo. He was fine before I put him in there. SO. I will be bleaching the tank, again.
Any suggestions or advice on the medication? I don't know what it is yet, but is there anythign I should refuse (besides an enema)?
I don't know about trophazoite. I don't hear of that one much. Coccidia is common though and Ponazuril tends to be effective against it. I would avoid sulfa drugs like Albon. I've read about some harsh reactions to that. Bleach won't kill coccidia so you'll want to sanitize using an ammonia solution (don't mix with bleach) or something like F10 or a steam cleaner. Keeping things sanitized during treatment will be the best way to prevent re-infection from contaminated surfaces.
Did it come from his food? Do I need to toss all my feeders and start over? We got some meal worms from a friend, she has chickens. I JUST got my breeding bins going. That's gonna be a bummer but of course I will toss them.
Also, when should i start with sanitizing? I have a steamer, and can use that, I'm just wondering when to start? When the meds come in?
It's possible it came through food. Hard to say for sure. I would start sanitizing once the treatment begins. Try to simplify the decor and maybe use a disposable substrate like newspaper or butcher paper etc that can be thrown away. That will minimize what you need to steam. Give a good steam to anything that comes in contact with poop after you have cleaned the area. Clean then sanitize with your steamer.