Chance's Story

[BonesMommy1011]

So last Sunday, i drove 2 hours away to pick up this bearded dragon for sale on craiglist. "Spike" didnt look so good. I asked the owner for some more pictures and he sent me this

i was like hes so skinny. what are you feeding him? and he said that he was eating 25 large crix every other day and .... LETTUCE
i told him that lettuce has no nutruitional value and that he needed dark leafy greens like collards, mustard, and turnip greens. He replied to that with " when can you come get him". He was asking $100 for him. I talked him down to $50. I belong to a group "bearded dragon friends" on facebook and they helpped me raise enough money to go get him. I normally wouldnt have needed help but it was the end of the month and i get paid at the beginning of the month so i was broke.

Well, anyway, i picked him up and renamed him Chance. He was super skinny and his eyes were/still are VERY swollen.

theres his eye (both are like that) and his mouth sore.

i took him to the vet on Monday (day after i got him) and she gave me baytril and a calcium upper. and a recheck in 2 weeks (may 7th). She thinks his eye swelling is the sore in his mouth and the baytril should knock it out. if not then his got something wrong with his heart and there is no good prognosis for him. I love this boy with all my heart already. Hes a short snout! I have been feeding him daily with a syringe full of slurried dubia, collard, turnip, dragon pellets, pedialyte, water, waxworms, and reptaboost. Hes been eating great and taking his meds just fine.

hes in a 20 gallon long right now ( all i have til i get paid) with a reptisun 10.0. Its not much but he doesnt care. hes happy just being fed correctly again!

i dont know how old he is but i do know that he has no teeth:-/

any other advice would be appreciated or if you all would like to know more just ask questions.

 

[Amy2]

Poor Chance! I am so glad you were able to get him out of that home! I hope the meds from the vet work, I hope there is nothing wrong with his heart. I just don't understand why people do things like this to helpless animals. You are a wonderful person for taking him in!
Please keep updating so we know how he is doing!
Amy

 

[BonesMommy1011]

Thanks. I wouldnt have been able to do without my facebook group!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Poor Chance, it is so nice that you picked him up.
I am sure that he is so grateful you took him in & gave him a better home.
Was a blood test done when you took him into the vet? When does he start with the Baytril?
The swelling of the eyes could be several issues. It could be a heart problem, a vitamin A deficiency, or other nutritional deficiency perhaps. His lower jaw looks to be showing a slight underbite from calcium deficiency.
Are you using diluted betadine on the lower lip sore along with antibiotic ointment daily to help prevent infection?
I hope he is eating well. Keep us posted on him.
How is his appetite doing, is he excreting a good amount of urates?

Tracie

 

[BonesMommy1011]

He started the Baytril a week ago today. No there were no blood test done. I didn't have alot of money to work with. I'm gonna take him to a new\better vet this week. I get paid tomorrow. The vet did tell me that it could be a heart problem and that there maybe no good prognosis for him. He has no teeth and a really bad sore in the roof of his mouth in a slit that's in there. She said that infection could be his eye issue. He's been passing very little stringy urates and tiny little poops. But I have been feeding him by syringe twice daily. He is on a calcium calglucon too. Today has been one week since he went to the vet. His dosages are BAYTRIL INJ 100mg/ml 0.1mL by mouth every 24 hours and NEO CALGLUCON 0.1 mL every 24 hours. I really didn't like the vet I brought him to. I'm pretty sure he has RI cuz he open mouth breathes and clicks and has really sticky salvia and occassional nasal discharge but he wasn't open mouth breathing at the vet so they just checked his airway and said no RI. I asked if I should get some probotics for him and she said that there is no proof that it actually helps them. So she said no. Well I picked up some bene bac from petco yesterday for him. Everyone here says I need it. He got a couple warm soaks in pedaltye and no it's just plain water. He did throw up on Friday morning but i think I was feeding him too much too fast that day. I don't have any betadine but I do have triple antibiotic ointment without pain killer... Just put it on his lip? He's taking about 1-2 teaspoons of slurry twice daily. He weighed 276g at the vet last week. Now when I clean his face after eating with a qtip, he'll accidentally move and The qtip will touch his eyes and he squirms like it hurts...BAD. I feel so bad. I've been using herptivite in his slurry so that should help with vitamin A defiency, right?
What if it is a heart problem? I don't want to lose him. I already way super attached to him. I don't want to have to have him PTS. I want him to get better.

Do you think I should go back to the first vet that I didn't like for his check up or just make an appointment with the vet I've heard better things about? Could it affect his treatment? The vet I don't like has a 2 week check up on Chance on may 7th. I just want to get him better.

 

[SpikesAgirl]

Oh my gosh, poor baby! If you don't like vet #1, go to another. I wasn't crazy about my vet and saw a 2nd who was a little more informed on the skin issue mine is having. Anyway, in the mean time, you could find out if either of them has Oxbow Critical Care for herbivores and Carnivore Care on hand, lots of vitamins in those! They're called a "recovery food" given to pets suffering from poor nutrition, illness or surgery recovery. It cost me $12 for herbivore and $15 for carnivore through my vet. You can also purchase it online without a vet: http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/contact/find_products/online_store_locator
When mine was critically ill, a mix of both of those (1/2 each with water through a sryinge) boosted her right up. She was more willing to take the Critical Care without force; it's Apple Banana flavored! LOL! I hope you are able to give Chance another chance!!! Keep us posted!

Hugs,

Sue
*edit* instead of cleaning his face with a q-tip and risking hitting his eye, maybe you could just dribble a little warm water on his face from a wet papertowel or cloth...

 

[SpikesAgirl]

How is Chance doing??? Did he go back to the vet today??? Just thinking about you guys!

Hugs,

Sue

 

[BonesMommy1011]

Just thought you all should know that Chance passed away on Mother's Day. I had taken him to a new vet on May 4th and the vet wanted to keep him until he was eating on his own. Well he was doing good being tube fed and all and his jaw was getting stronger. The vet called on Friday, May 11th, and said that I could come pick Chance up on Saturday. Well, I got him home and everything was okay. He was acting a bit weird but i figured he was just exhausted. Well the next morning i peeked in his cage and he was laying on the floor just fine, so 15 minutes later his lights came on and i uncovered his tank and he had thrown up a lot of blood in a half circle where he was laying. I called the emergency vet but they siad he sounded like he was too far gone for them to even do anything plus itd be $180 to call a reptile vet in just to see him. Well, i was hysterical. I was crying and screaming and well, crazy. I told him that he didnt have to fight anymore if he didnt want to. that mommy would be okay eventually. I told him that he fought well and he was loved. He took his last breath about 2 minutes later. I had a necrospy done on him the next day. Turns out he had gallstones in his bladder?? and his lungs were clogged and filled with blood. in other words, he was a ticking time bomb and i was his dragon hospice. Im okay with that. I just wish his death wasnt so painful for him. that i could have done something for him. I honestly think that he just held on long enough to tell me bye. on our way home from the vet he crawled himself up to my neck and wrapped himself around it and just cuddled the whole way home. i think that was him saying thanks and i love you but i need to go now.
heres the picture i have of him and the blood...

 

[SpikesAgirl]

OMG honey, I'm so sorry. That is just awful the way he went. You were his angel, rescuing him from an awful place that didn't care about him. He was loved and taken care of in the end. :love5: That's what's most important. I wish it didn't have to end like that for him. Poor baby. He's in a much better place now, pain free and happy in Beardie Heaven. Love and hugs to you and I'm so sorry Chance didn't make it.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am so so sorry Chance lost his battle. At least though, he was not alone. He hung on to be with you & that is all that matters to him.
I am very sorry for your loss.


Tracie

 

[Esther19]

I am so sorry to hear that Chance crossed over. You both tried your best. He died in a loving home with you.
How fortunate for him that you took him home. Sending big hugs, Esther

 

[athenacp]

Oh I am so so sorry, at least he had feelings of being loved...I am sorry

 

[BonesMommy1011]

Thanks guys. It's been really rough as no one IRL understands what I'm going through. But I'll be okay eventually. I have since rescued what will be 3 more dragons on Friday. I know Chance would want me to continue my rescuing of his "brothers" and "sisters".

 

[lauraj1055]

This story still makes me cry. You gave him the best home he could have ever had.

 

[BonesMommy1011]

Thanks Laura. I still cry too. I filled out his memory book the other day and bawled while doing so. I miss his cute little face rubs and those sweet eyes. And his little body wrapped around my neck. I'd give anything to have him back but I can't.