can anyone help please? i'm very worried :(

[beardierhea]

i got 2 new beardie babies 2 weeks ago, jim 2 months 2 weeks old, dot 3 months 3 weeks old.
my boy was from a very good breeder and reared well but my young girl was from first time breeder.
she was kept on sand and fed mealworms only so not a great start.
since i've had her shes been on kitchen roll as substrate and fed small crickets, dusted with calcium 5 times per week and vitamins twice a week. i've been feeding them 3 times per day, all they can eat in 5 mins along with a mix of fresh greens.
their vivs fitted with a reptisun 10 and daylight (white) 60w heatbulb, the bulbs are set to the correct height/distance as per advice from this site :wink:
their basking temp is 100/110 and the cool side of the viv is 85/90.
theres nothing in their viv they could eat that they shouldnt, they've been fed the correct size food and they've been pooping normal so i dont think impaction is the issue.....sorry i will get to the issue eventually, just giving you all an idea of their viv.
my young boy is fighting fit and very lively and eats like a pig but my young girl is much quieter, eats less and even though shes a month older than him, shes approx the same size.

ok, so now ive told you a bit about their environment i'll go on to tell you about the issue that has me worried.

yesterday i had them in the bath which the little girl usually loves, she seemed happy at first but about 10 mins in she blew herslf up like a floatation device which i know is quite normal but she held her breath for so long that she passed out, she closed her eyes and went limp but was still full of air and not breathing. i got myself in a panic and shook her gently to get her to wake up, which she did eventually. i took her back to her viv and popped her under her basking light and within a min she was back to normal, she ate some crickets and veg, had a sunbathe then went to bed.
this morning all was fine, she ate breakfast and got on with her normal business of basking and more basking.
this afternoon was different though,she didnt eat well, only ate a couple of crickets which is unusual because she normally cant get enough, so i left her alone and tried to give her another couple a little while later, she had one and lost interest.
just and hour or so ago, i was sitting watching them and she was sitting on her log with her eyes closed when hers eyes bulged out of her head, she had her eyes closed but it looked like her eye lids were really swollen, bulging. it was only for a few secs but i'm really worried.

does anyone know what it can be? i'm quite confident their viv and diet is correct as i done months of homework (mostly on this site) before getting them.
if anyone has any advice, it would be so much appreciated.
thank you so, so much in advance guys.....please help

oops, also, i forgot to mention, i'm sending their poops off tomorrow for fecal analysis.

 

[SybLee]

Is your reptisun a compact light or tube light? I read about an eye issue they can get from the bulbs. I will try to find the link.....

 

[beardierhea]

hiya, is a tube/strip light

 

[SybLee]

http://www.uvguide.co.uk/phototherapyphosphor.htm

They say it is from compact bulbs but look at this anyway?? It sounds just like what they wrote about happening....

 

[beardierhea]

thank you for your reply, i just had a look but its definately a tube/strip bulb i have
i'm so worried about her

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Did your dragons eyes look like this? Here is an article with a little video for you to see.
Oh great that you have a flourescent tube bulb!

http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/eyebulging/

How is she doing today?

Tracie

 

[beardierhea]

wow yes, thats exactly what her eyes looked like, it scarred the hell out of me, thank goodness its sort of normal :roll:

i'm still worried about the holding breath until she passed out and her not eating well though.

she came out this morning to say hello but went back under her log for a while when i put the uv on.
shes out from under her log now and shes ate a couple of crickets this morning but no veg

no poops this morning but will give her a bath and massage later to try and move things along, i can send away for the fecal analysis then.

thanks for replies

 

[beardierhea]

she done that weird eye bulging thing again today, its so strange, i dint panic as much this time and tried to take a pic but was too slow.

shes only ate 2 crickets today and her sides look all wrinkly like shes very underweight, should i try the syringe feeding baby food?

on the up side though, theyve both had a poop and i've sent them off to have fecal analysis so hopefully i should get some results tomorrow evening, maybe that will shed some light

 

[SybLee]

Do you have a local vet that does the fecal analysis?

Those pics freaked me out. I can't imagine watching it in person!!

George really likes squash babyfood. You could try that. (It can't hurt) They say to mix some chicken babyfood in too for protein.

Hope all goes well!

Sybil:mrgreen:

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Yeah the eye bulging is normally done prior to them shedding their head & eye area. So no worries there.
I think one reason why they hold their breathe & act strangely is perhaps they are just not used to baths, or they get upset. I had one who would get so upset, he would turn his beard pitch black & his body would go pale & he would drop his head down into the bath until I felt so horrible I would take him out. Then magically, he would be fine as soon as I took him out of the bath. He learned how to properly pout to get his way!
Great that you did the fecals one them, that will give us more answers if they have parasites or worms.
I would try some babyfood just to help out since she is not eating very well right now.

Keep us posted.

Tracie

 

[beardierhea]

yes i do have a local reptile vet but he over charges a bit so i've sent the poops off to another reptile vet which is about 2 hours away from but he charges reasonable prices.

she normally loves the bath though, she was raised with a big pool in the bottom of her viv (with the guy who had her before me) so shes really used to the water. she seems to swim so calmly and never puffed up before. i'm thinking maybe she got a mouthful of water or something,puffed up and forgot to breathe, i really dont know what happened.

its her not eating that really worrying me at the moment, she just looks so thin. i know its only been 2days shes not been eating much but i'm ever so worried.
i'm terrified that i've done something wrong

 

[beardierhea]

ok so i tried to syringe feed her but she wasnt much impressed,shes still quite energetic so it was difficult.
she ate another cricket on her own though so shes ate 3 crickets today now.
i've also had her in the bath for half hour to make sure shes well hydrated, she was her normal happy self in the bath,no puffing up this time.
shes just having a bask now but i'll try and give her some crickets again in a bit.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Well, it will take her some time to get used to eating from the syringe. Just keep on trying & hopefully she will start to enjoy it a little bit. So she had a nice bathtime without freaking out on you this time?
It is highly possible that she did take in a little water especially if she is not used to getting a bath. Keep your hand in there to comfort her & put a towel down on the bottom of the plastic tub you are using so she doesn't slip around so much.
How is she doing today?

Tracie

 

[beardierhea]

hiya

well she ate another couple of crickets and went for a 3rd one but was too slow and it bounced out her viv onto me, i was flapping round like an nutter to get it off me, i think dot was rarther amused.

she is usually great in the bath, i put a towel in with them, the full length for a bit of grip and a floaty thing but she usually prefers to lay down and get as deep as she can in the water whereas my little boy wants out as soon as possible. (never take my eyes off them in the bath by the way )

she seems great in herself, personality wise, the only noticeable difference is her not eating and shes looking thinner, but then again, i know beardies are good at hiding problems.

i've just bought them a bigger brand new viv with all brand new bits n bobs too but dont want to move them in yet because i dont want to stress dot so will have to leave it until shes feeling better.

its vitamin dust day tomorrow so maybe that might tempt her to eat, she always seems to eat more on vitamin day, i think she likes the taste of the dust haha

 

[beardierhea]

shes eaten 3 crickets today but nothing else, shes still fighting the syringe feeding.
still no results on the fecal.
do you think it might be depression? she might still be upset after her bath incident.
i wish i knew what was wrong, i think if shes not showing any improvment tomorrow i may take her the vets, i so hope its nothing serious