Dying Lizard :/

[daggerz]

They really do chew on animals overnight, especially if there's no other food in there. Crickets seem to eat constantly. I have been bitten before. One bite isn't much, but I know continuous chewing has injured dragons and subsequent infections have proved fatal. You really should get rid of the sand considering he's having diarrhea. It is probably full of bacteria and maybe parasites. For now newspaper or papertowel will work fine. I have my girl on paper towel for the next few months until I get her "big girl viv". Laying down in his waterdish really isn't enough to constitute a bath. Bathwater needs to be warm (like what you'd have for babies) to do much good. Did anyone mention adding some non-colored pedialyte to his bathwater to help get electrolytes in him? If you can't get ahold of pedialyte, gatorade will work, but dilute it a lot so it doesn't stain him.
Sara

Wouldn't the ink from the newspaper hurt him?
I know it doesn't count as a bath. I was just saying what he was doing & that he went in there himself...
I was told to give my gecko gatorade (for the electrolytes) so she'll eat more. So it'll work the same way for the dragon?
I was able to get him to drink water about an hour ago.
But he seems worse now.
He's hardly moving & still won't open his eyes.
He'll only open one eye if he has to.
And when I put him back on the log we have for him to lay on, he doesn't move to grab onto the log, he just stays the way I held him. (yes hes still breathing; he isnt dead)

 

[spurlee01]

With gatorade (pedialyte is better if you can get ahold of it. most groceries carry it) I wouldn't feed it directly to him. You could mix a little bit in with some baby food or a veggie "smoothie" or just mix it in with the bathwater and it will get in him through his vent. I honestly don't know if the reptiglo 2.0 could have hurt his eyes, but the sand definitely could. Has your dragon lost any weight (if your not weighing, does he look thinner)? Is there anyway you could get a pic of him for us, especially of the top of his head?
Sara

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How are things going for your dragon today, is he doing any better?
The Reptiglo 2 coil/compact really wont hurt his eyes but it gives him absolutely no UVB exposure unfortunately. It is a very weak light in that respect but will give brightness overall.
Has he eaten anything today either? If not, are you getting any type of food into him?
It is not advisable to leave any crickets of any size in the tank with your dragon. They can bite no matter how small they are. Besides crickets running around in the tank will stress him especially if they run on & over him all of the time, disturbing him while he sleeps, too.
Since he has diarrhea, it would be a good idea to take the sand out. I would use paper towels, they are the easiest right now.
Try to get a fecal done as soon as you can.

Tracie

 

[Pleaides]

hey
just wanted to wish you all the best for your lil one. you have gotten fantastic advise here.
keep us posted on him

 

[beardie osk]

Hello,

I'm so sorry to hear how sick your beardie is, but you really need to get him to the vet ASAP, he appears critical and needs some attention. (this is not implying that you haven't given him attention)

Do you have a good exotic vet in your area? You can usually bring a fecal specimen in without bringing your beardie, but I really do think you should make an appointment and bring him in also........... do you?

You have come to the right place to gain information,
(Please take any advice that Tracie/Drache gives you, she is a vet in her own right and very knowledgable)


We're all pulling for you and your beardie here,

 

[daggerz]

He's doing a little better.
We fixed up his cage.
He now has a new heat light which is a 50 watt basking spot lamp.
On the bottom, he has ground English walnut shells instead of sand.
In his waterdish, we put pedialyte (plain).
We're using saline eyewash for his eyes.
We're bathing him in warm water.
Also, we're force-feeding him meal worms since he's still not eating.
He no longer has diarhea (or so we think; he hasn't gone to the bathroom yet).
We took him to Petco to have a trusted bearded dragon owner check him.
He said he wasn't dehydrated at all.
His eyes were just crusted too much/ he might have sand in them.
I took pictures like spurlee said; click to see him:
http://s721.photobucket.com/albums/ww220/L-and-N-Photography/Spike/

 

[Pleaides]

On the bottom, he has ground English walnut shells instead of sand.

oh wow so sorry to add insult to injury here but walnut shells are possibly even worse than the sand, plain paper towels would be the very best thing for him next to textured ceramic tile that is, walnut are a high risk factor for impaction.

Also, we're force-feeding him meal worms since he's still not eating.

again mealies are also a high risk factor for impaction they have hard chitin shells, id stick to soft bodied worms, eg, phoenix, butters, silks even waxies although they are quite fattening but if he needs putting on a bit of weight then wax worms are brilliant for that.

aww and he looks so fragile in the pics, hes adorable though! really hope he picks up for you. me and my lil clan are all wishing and hoping!

 

[daggerz]

On the bottom, he has ground English walnut shells instead of sand.

oh wow so sorry to add insult to injury here but walnut shells are possibly even worse than the sand, plain paper towels would be the very best thing for him next to textured ceramic tile that is, walnut are a high risk factor for impaction.

Also, we're force-feeding him meal worms since he's still not eating.

again mealies are also a high risk factor for impaction they have hard chitin shells, id stick to soft bodied worms, eg, phoenix, butters, silks even waxies although they are quite fattening but if he needs putting on a bit of weight then wax worms are brilliant for that.

aww and he looks so fragile in the pics, hes adorable though! really hope he picks up for you. me and my lil clan are all wishing and hoping!

The person who helped us find the things we needed for him told us that the walnut shells were extremely good for him. He said he used it for his bearded dragons.
We're using mealworms because the other fat worms won't fit in his mouth. He refuses to eat them. :roll:

 

[Pleaides]

The person who helped us find the things we needed for him told us that the walnut shells were extremely good for him. He said he used it for his bearded dragons.
We're using mealworms because the other fat worms won't fit in his mouth. He refuses to eat them. :roll:

sorry but mealies are recommend for beardies longer than either 14" or 16", cant remember now because of how difficult they are to digest. with the waxies, phoenix and butters you can get them in tiny sizes and phoenix worms are the absolute best thing for them to eat as a staple.
with the crushed walnut shell, its a loose substrate right? no loose substrate should ever be used for a beardie, this store assistant you trust may not have had problems but the impaction issues are always hanging overhead and it can happen at any time, he/she has just been really lucky then not to have any issues with it just yet and to be completely honest i wouldnt trust a store assistant as far as i could throw them! lol.
but obviously i can only advise and have your beardies best interest at heart, what you end up chosing to do is down to you at the end of the day its your beardie however i hope you make the right choices for him.
good luck with him and as always keep us posted!

 

[daggerz]

The person who helped us find the things we needed for him told us that the walnut shells were extremely good for him. He said he used it for his bearded dragons.
We're using mealworms because the other fat worms won't fit in his mouth. He refuses to eat them. :roll:

sorry but mealies are recommend for beardies longer than either 14" or 16", cant remember now because of how difficult they are to digest. with the waxies, phoenix and butters you can get them in tiny sizes and phoenix worms are the absolute best thing for them to eat as a staple.
with the crushed walnut shell, its a loose substrate right? no loose substrate should ever be used for a beardie, this store assistant you trust may not have had problems but the impaction issues are always hanging overhead and it can happen at any time, he/she has just been really lucky then not to have any issues with it just yet and to be completely honest i wouldnt trust a store assistant as far as i could throw them! lol.
but obviously i can only advise and have your beardies best interest at heart, what you end up chosing to do is down to you at the end of the day its your beardie however i hope you make the right choices for him.
good luck with him and as always keep us posted!

Well, then he seemed to know what he was doing.
He took him in the back and put medicine in his eyes & stole a few mealworms to feed him a little & show us how to do it.
We're going to watch him for a few days to see if he's getting better.
If not, we're going to go looking for a vet.
Hope it doesn't get to that, though.
He's moving around more.
How long do we put the drops in his eyes for? Do we need to do anything else to help open them?

 

[beardie osk]

Oh my, it seems like we're all giving you different advice from your Pet-co friend, unfortunately, we've all been given poor advice from Pet-co personnel, (not to say anything about your friend, please believe that) but PLEASE, PLEASE, don't have your baby who is already very sick, on walnut shells or give it mealworms, both are great cause for impactions as mentioned. And as far as your little one "being hydrated", I don't see any fat pads on your babies head which may be a sign of dehyation/poor intake. Some beardies never get the fat pads, but most do and when their flat or sunken, it's a sign of things.

While he is doing so poorly, I would give him some squash baby food, thinned with pedialyte, useing a NEEDLELESS syringe or dropper, put it on his mouth and he should lick it off. Wrap him in a towel, burrito style, and feed him this way. I would start with squash, (he should not have alot of protein right now) then when he's eating better, you can try chicken babyfood, doing the same thing. When he begins to eat and get stronger, go back to your baby crickets, but feed him in a different container, not in his viv, so you don't loose any in hiding. They WILL nibble on your beardie, esp. at night when he's sleeping. Also you should look into butterworms or phoenix worms which are smaller and so good for your beardie.

I wouldn't try to open his eyes, just drop the saline over the eyes, and if there closed, wipe gently, or just let it dry on it's own.

We really are trying to do the best for you and your beardie, and not frustrate you, so keep in touch, YOUR BABY IS BEAUTIFUL.

 

[daggerz]

Just wanna thank you all for helping!
We're doing what we can with the advice you all are giving us.
I'll keep ya updated on how he is.

@ beardie osk: Maybe he's one of the dragons without those fat pads? ...What do they look like?

 

[beardie osk]

Here are a few pics of both my boys, showing thier fat pads:

If you look staight on at this pic, as far as you can see, you'll see the humps, one on each side.

Here is a side view of Pyrex, showing the hump past the eye, over to the right, (not the bulges behind the eye)

I don't know if this shows it any better.

Let me know if you can see them.

 

[daggerz]

Oooh, I see. Yeah, he's never had those. At least, I'm pretty sure he didn't. So then he's been dehydrated since we got him? I'll try to find some old pictures & see if he had that.
Again with the eyes (i know, annoying, sorry), he now won't open the other one (the one he usually opened). Just keep putting the drops on?

 

[daggerz]

I found a couple old pictures, click the link below to see (titled "old"). He didn't have those fat things.
http://s721.photobucket.com/albums/ww220/L-and-N-Photography/Spike/