CAN SOMEONE PLEASE HELP

[chellechipper]

I AM CONCERNED ABOUT MY BEARDIE RANDALL. HE IS A LITTLE OVER A YEAR OLD AND HE HAS NOT SHED, IS NOT EATING OR POOPING. I SOAK HIM ONCE A DAY IN WARM WATER FOR ALMOST HALF AN HOUR, FEED HIM CHICKEN OR SQUASH BABYFOOD WATERED DOWN WITH CALCIUM ADDED TO TRY TO HELP JUMP START HIM. I JUST GOT A NEW MEGA RAY 100 WATT LAMP FOR HIM ABOUT A MONTH AGO. HE WAS EATING CRICKETS AND SUPER WORMS FINE UP UNTIL 2 OR 3 MONTHS AGO AND THEN IT WAS JUST A FEW HERE AND THERE. I HAD HIM TO THE VET ABOUT A MONTH AGO ALL FOR THE VET TO TELL ME HE IS FINE! I DONT KNOW WHAT MORE TO DO. WHEN WE FIRST GOT HIM FROM PETCO HE WAS VERY SICK. OF COURSE WE HAD NO IDEA UNTIL HE ALMOST COMPLETELY SHUT DOWN FROM GIARDIA. I BELIEVE HIS TEMPS ARE GOOD, I HAVE A DIGITAL THERMOMETER AND A STICK ON. IF ANYONE HAS ANY SUGGESTIONS I WOULD APPRECIATE IT, HE SOMETIMES JUST LOOKS LIKE HES GONNA DIE!

 

[dreshany]

I am sorry your beardie is not doing so well. I believe it is good you are giving him the baby and calcium. Is he eating that ok? How are you feeding it to him? You can try and get some jumpstart from your local pet store, I believe it's made by zilla. Could you ask the vet for some carnivore care? A fecal might be a good idea because some parasites can cause beardies to stop eating. When did you last treat your beardie with antibiotics? The antibiotics can kill the good bacteria in their intestines. Some acidophilus could help replace the lost bacteria.
Tracie might be a good person to PM, she is very knowledgeable about this stuff and can offer more help than I can. Best wishes for his speedy recovery.

 

[dreshany]

How is your little one doing? Any improvement?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

So have you gotten a fecal on him recently? I would suggest getting one first. He does not have giardia now, correct? Was he medicated for that then & it cleared up?
Is he losing weight at all? Is his beard been darkened at all?
How close is the Megaray to him, & how large is your tank? What are the temps in the tank?

It is a possibility that he has gone into brumation, but, let's go over everything else first before deciding that is the case with him.

Tracie

 

[ashleyl0413]

Please tell me yours is okay. Mine just died and had the same symptoms at the same age and I was told he would be okay as well. I lost him tonight very sad I hope yours got better.

 

[chellechipper]

OK heres an update, I took Randall to his vet and had a fecal done. It was normal. He has only lost 2 grams. He seems healthy but just wont eat, except for his chicken and squash baby food. I am still soaking him for 20-30 minutes a day and he just will not poop! The doc gave him a shot of b12 to try to help his appetite. The vet seems maybe a little bit of brumation is going on?! I think he is unclear too. I took him in a month and half ago and the doc said he was fine then. Anyways, he is in a 40 gallon tank. The megaray is about 12 inches away from him. I also have a regular light bulb for heat/basking and a heating pad for at night. His temps have been around 90, although the humidity is never there. We mist the cage frequently to raise that. I just dont know, I almost think he is being stubborn lol! I can say I haven't seen him vent in a long long time, so maybe I dont have it hot enough? The vet nor I can feel any blockages, as I know sometimes there can be one but you can't feel it. And all he has ever eaten is crickets and worms of course appropriate sized for him. Any clues anyone??? He does seem really lazy, hence part of my worries, but isstill lookin really good. The only other thing I can say is his underneath of his eye is like a dark purple color, doc said its normal. Its the bottom part of the eye, not underneath the eye?! I thank all of you who have responded! And any more suggestions would be great, oh also doc gave me metranazole, he said he may be battling a bacteria in his stomach.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Ok, so you are saying that your basking temps are only 90? Is that correct? If so, that is not warm enough. His basking temps need to be around 95-110 for active behavior. Where is the digital probe located, directly underneath the basking light? Or is the 90 degrees the temps of the entire tank? Where is your other basking light, on the other side of the tank? He needs one end at the 95-110 basking spot & the other end it needs to be 78-82.
It is not recommended to mist in the tank just to reduce chances of mold issues. If you need extra humidity try putting a small water dish on the basking side so water will evaporate into the air.
If his stool was normal, I do not recommend using the Metronadizole because he probably does not need it. Some vets give it as an appetite stimulant but if his stool was normal he just doesn't need it. The medication could really hurt him if he is slown down for brumation & his body wont metabolize it very well. The B12 shot should do just fine.
If he is not losing weight & his fecal was clear, forcing him to eat when he is needing to brumate will harm him more than it will help him. Their body slows down naturally & that means his metabolism is not very high so he wont digest his food properly & food can sit in the tummy & make him sick. If you try to keep him up & around when his body is slown down he will lose weight.
I suggest rechecking his temps first to make sure you get the basking temps up. Make sure that he goes to the bathroom so he doesn't have food sitting in his tummy undigested. If he is healthy there is no reason he can't brumate for a little while during the winter. He is old enough to do so. It is quite normal for them to brumate though. No worries. We can't beat nature.
That is correct, they do have a slight purple or bluish type of color underneath their eyelid when they are closed & sleeping.
Unless your temps in the tank get below 55 or so, he doesn't need the heating pad if he is brumating. You don't use it during the day with the Megaray do you?
Can you post a picture of him?


Tracie

 

[chellechipper]

Sure Tracie I will post a pic. Yeah the 90 degree is at the basking spot, I really need to go get a probe thermometer, right now alls I have is a stick on on one end and a dicital stick on at the other. Do you think it could be brumation? I know eveyone freaks out about it and maybe im part of everyone lol! The weight loss of two grams isnt too bad is it? And as far as feeding him the baby food, do I continue? Ok Tracie I will post the pic here in hust a few. Is the megaray far enough as well? Geez, I act like I havent owned for a year but these little guys are tricky. And goodness knows the pet store doesnt give an inckling!

 

[chellechipper]

Ok this is crazy but how do i post a pic, Im trying everything and its not working lol!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Well, 2 grams of weight loss is nothing. No problem there. He sounds healthy, but, just to make sure go ahead & get those basking temps up to see how he does for a short bit. You can get a digital probe for a good price from http://www.reptilesupply.com
Go ahead & continue right now, with the babyfood until we can get your temps up & see how he does. Then we can better assess him to make sure his behavior is normal. If all is well, which it most likely will be, it is fine to let him brumate then. He is obviously holding his weight.
Yes, the Megaray is fine at 12 inches. I have a feeling that the basking spot should be fine, it will probably be at least 98 anyway at 12 inches. Just doublecheck it to make sure. Give him some time to digest & have a few stools, make sure that they are normal, etc. He should be fine. Brumation is a tricky thing it is sometimes hard to know what to do.
Oh, ok. Go to http://www.photobucket.com Sign up for a free account. Then, upload your pictures to there. Then, you can copy & paste your pics from the URL specified, then you are done. It is easy to do it that way.

Tracie

 

[chellechipper]

 

[chellechipper]

Ok its up, let me know if you think he looks ok lol. I really appreciate you helping me out, your the saver of beardies! I will try to get his temps up, any other suggestions for trying to help him poo?

 

[beardie parents]

I'm not an expert, but he looks alert and, to me anyway, he seems healthy. In September of 07, Redrock, who was about one year and 3 months old, started a semi brumation. She ate about 5 or 6 crickets, she would wake up about 12:30 pm and go back to sleep about 3:30 or 4 pm every day. She was refusing superworms which she loved. She started eating Superworms in mid March, when it was colder than in Mid September when she started refusing superworms. I think it has something to do with the shorter days.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He looks pretty good for a sleepy dragon. :mrgreen:
Well, you could add some oral fluids into him with a plastic dropper in case he is a bit dehydrated. You can also use some sugar free canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin, some squash babyfood & a couple of drops of olive or mineral oil to help him go potty.
Also, don't forget to get that digital probe or even a temp gun to doublecheck your temps. If he is too cold or too hot, that will affect him. If he is dehydrated, he will have a harder time going to the bathroom. You can try giving him a bath in warm water & massaging his belly starting at the armpit all of the way down to the vent on the right side, gently.
He is a pretty dragon. Did you wake him up or was he up & around?

Tracie

 

[chellechipper]

He was already up and around, we had just fed him baby food and soaked him for a while. He did seem very alert last night. I took his basking light and put it closer to the megaray for added temp, he loves the megaray, which is good I guess. I will get a probe today. I guess it would make sense that maybe he isnt hot enough. I havent seen him vent since back in the summer, we are in Ohio so of course it is cold now but I didnt think his temps were that bad, but they also are not near that 100 mark. I really appreciate all the suggestions. Tracie I did try doing some applesauce yesterday, he ate a little but he is so much more into the Chicken and squash. Should I still dust the baby food with calcium and do you think maybe I should stop the chicken baby food and stay with the squash? I will just be so happy when he is happy lol! I will get the thermometer today and post later what it turns out to be!