Dragon is having trouble adapting. HELP

[spngbob4me]

I bought my son a bearded dragon two days ago. Its almost 2 years old. It was doing quite well until last night. He started opening his mouth and making weird noises. We have been feeding him greens in the morning, just as his previous owner did. He is in a 55 gallon tank I believe, and has a red heat lamp of 150. Hes not the most active beardie, but hes been really friendly and alert.

This morning when we woke up he was laying limp across his rock and we checked the posts and assumed he was dehydrated. We gave him the bath for 20 min in warm water and he perked up a little. So we put him on his rock under the heat lamp while I ran to get the applesauce so we could syringe feed him. He was on the rock with his head held up to the lamps glow. I took him from his cage to feed him and i cant get his mouth to open and his front legs are now being held back and its like he got stuck in the "sunning himself" position. Is it possible he got too hot? Right now he is in another bath lukewarm water. Hes not moving, but there feels to be a light breathing in his chest. What can I do, I cant get him the food if I cant get his mouth open. Im hesistant to pull the mouth open too forcefully, cause I dont want to hurt him. Please help, I dont know what else to do!!

 

[akingsley9000]

Ok - first things first

1. Swap that red bulb out for any ordinary house hold bulb - try a 100 watt to start with

2. you need to get a UVB light - either a reptisun 10 or a Mercury Vapor Bulb

3. What are your temps?

4. What have you been feeding and how often?

5. It looks like you are using eco earth or something similar for substrate - Particle substrates are not typically recommended for beardies. I would swap it out for tile, newspaper, non adhesive shelf liner or paper towel.

6. when is the last time he pooped?

 

[spngbob4me]

He pooped yesterday like normal. The breeder we got him from said she fed him a large amount greens and only in the morning, and that she substituted crikets. Hes had crickets and greens for the past few days. Im trying out the new bulb now. Im not sure he is going to make it. I dont have an exact temperature. The breeder didnt have a thermometer and I wast aware that we needed one. Here is a pic of him now and the positon he wont move from.

 

[akingsley9000]

Ok he does not look good at all.

He may be impacted. Let me PM Drache for you unfortunately i'm at work right now and can't give detailed responses. It does look like he may be impacted. This may be from a cricket or a piece of the substrate that he is on.

 

[akingsley9000]

Ok I PM'd Tracy - in the meantime do you have any type of thermometer at all that you could use temporarily?

Try putting a drop of applesauce on his nose and see if he will lick it off. That way you don't have to force him to open his mouth.

How was he during the second bath?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Wow he does not look good at all hon. How old is he?
You need to know what the temps are, otherwise he will over heat or not be warm enough. What wattage is that red light that you have in there? Do you have a regular household lightbulb to switch that out for right now? Bright light may help him out right now. How close is that half log to his basking light?
It is a possibility he is impacted. Do you know what type of substrate was he on before you got him, do you know? Where did you buy him from, locally? If she did not keep track of the temperatures, then he might not have been doing well for awhile.
Is he having trouble breathing? He is in great distress exhibited by his black beard as well as his tail tip being black, too.
How is his breathing, is it erratic or steady?
What type of substrate is in the tank, is it pine or cedar wood chips?
Please take that substrate out & replace it with paper towels for right now.
As suggested, you can go ahead & treat for impaction with sugar free applesauce, or canned pumpkin (sugar free), along with squash babyfood & a couple of drops of olive oil. While bathing, try to gently massage his belly from the armpit on the right side all of the way down to the vent area.
Try to get him rehydrated as much as you possibly can, & let us know how things are going.

Tracie

 

[spngbob4me]

thanks for the help he just died, my son will be heart broken

 

[zebraflavencs]

I am sooo sorry ! Hugs to you and your son !
I lost an 8 yo just after Christmas. I know how it feels, and I am sure others will commiserate with you.
Bless.
Janie.

 

[akingsley9000]

I'm so sorry - did the breeder give you any sort of health warranty on him? Where did you get him if you dont mind me asking?

 

[beardie parents]

I'm soo sorry. I know how fast they become part of your heart. I suggest talking to the person that sold him to you as he obviously wasn't healthy when you first got him. I don't think it was apparent because they can appear healthy until it's too late.

 

[Dawnrider]

I definately feel for you more then you can imagine. It is shocking the details that you are giving and how they resembled those of my first dragon, whom I loved dearly passed on. The strange noise is him trying to clear his lungs to breath better, thats what the vet explained to me The vet preformed a necropsy and concluded it was a cancer of the diaphragm that spread to the lungs and caused her to look pale due to the lack of oxygenated blood flowing through the blood stream. She deteriated quite quickly with me, and I was greatly heart broken. I kept feeling as though it was something I did wrong and blamed myself, but the vet said I was caring for her above and beyond normal after I told her about the cage setup. Everyone I talked to about it said the same thing, that it wasn't my fault but it was hard to get over. I contented myself that I gave Draken the best life I could in her time with me. I learned alot from Draken and we where best pals, and we still are and we will never be seperated from each other. Please tell your son, that there is someone who knows what its like to go through what he has, and if it would make him feel any better to read this. Your son and you did the best you could to make that beardies last few days the best you knew how and nothing less
Most Sincerly,
Chris (AKA Dawnrider)

 

[HowlinGaleDragon]

Sorry He looked soooo sick I would go after that breeder!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh gosh, I am so sorry that this has happened, how devastating for you & for your son.
Have you told your son yet?
You need to contact that breeder, because that is just not right.
If you need anything, please let us know.

Tracie