Dying Lizard :/

[daggerz]

Our bearded dragon has been acting weird.
He hasn't moved from the same spot for a few days. (yes, he's breathing)
He won't open his eyes & when he does, he only opens one.
He won't move when you take him out or touch him.
He stopped eating & lost a lot of weight & he has diarhea.
Anyone know what's happening?
I know that reptiles don't show that their sick until it's too late, and I think that's what he's doing.
Maybe it's because we moved him?

 

[jacqui778]

This isn't good. :|

So that we can help you more, could you answer these questions?

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?


I honestly hope he gets better soon. Maybe it isn't too late, if we can figure out what's wrong with him.

-- Jacqui

 

[spurlee01]

Diarrhea (sp?) is typically a sign of parasites. Have you had a fecal check run? If not, this is a priority. Even a dog and cat vet should be able to identify parasites, but you will need a reptile vet to prescribe medicine and doses. A couple of other questions:
What do you usually feed your dragon? How much? How often?
What are your temps: basking, warm side, cool side? How do you measure them (stick-on, digi w/ probe, temp gun)?
What substrate do you use?
What TYPE and BRAND of UVB do you use?
For now, try giving warm baths 2-3 times a day 10-15 mins each. Do not leave him one second because in a weakened state he could drown. Be prepared to hold his head up if he's too weak. If you havn't given baths before, the temp should be the same you would use for a baby.
Sara

*edit- Sorry for overlap Jacqui

 

[daggerz]

I gave him a bath about 30 minutes ago. He's moved his head around a bit, but his one eye won't open. I think there might be sand in it. Any idea how to get that out?

@ Jaqui: I answered all that I could...
*How old is your dragon?
About 2 years old

*How long have you had your dragon?
About 2 years

*How long is your dragon?
12 inches

*What is the sex of your dragon?
Male, we think

*What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
10 gallon tank

*What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Some digestable (blue) sand

*Do you use UVB lights?
Not sure

*Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
No

*What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
Tiny crickets with calcium dust on them & mealworms every now & then

*How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
We put the crickets in & leave them. Once he finishes those off, we buy more.

*Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
No

*Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Yes, but don't know the brand

*Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
No

*Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Yes, 1-3 times a month

*Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
There's a water bowl in the cage

*Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
No

*Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?
No

 

[spurlee01]

Hey-
I'm sorry to say I think you've gotten some bad advice along the way.
Is the "digestable sand" Calci-sand? If so, no matter what they say, it's not digestable. It actually clumps in their system and can cause big problems. since he is not pooping, my guess is that he's impacted. You will need to bathe him every day in warm water 2-3x per day would be better. There's a way to massage their bellies to make them poop, hopefully someone can give you more info about that. Also, you can feed unsweetened apple sauce with a drop of olive oil to help lubricate his system.
What lights do you have in your tank? Any long tubes or coiled lights?
I assume you aren't mesuring temps? this will be a priority to make sure he can digest okay. basking temps (right under the light) need to be 95-105*F and cool side temps 78-82*F.
12 inches is a good size for a 4 or 5 month old. A 10 gallon tank is way to small even for a dragon this tiny. 40 gallon breeder is the absolute minimum they should be housed in.
The biggest deal right now is getting him to poop. I would truly take the sand out immediately. For now you can just put paper towel in his viv. Eye irritation can also be caused by UVB lights, depending on the brand so it's important to find out if you have one and what brand it is.
Sara

 

[daggerz]

Hey-
I'm sorry to say I think you've gotten some bad advice along the way.
Is the "digestable sand" Calci-sand? If so, no matter what they say, it's not digestable. It actually clumps in their system and can cause big problems. since he is not pooping, my guess is that he's impacted. You will need to bathe him every day in warm water 2-3x per day would be better. There's a way to massage their bellies to make them poop, hopefully someone can give you more info about that. Also, you can feed unsweetened apple sauce with a drop of olive oil to help lubricate his system.
What lights do you have in your tank? Any long tubes or coiled lights?
I assume you aren't mesuring temps? this will be a priority to make sure he can digest okay. basking temps (right under the light) need to be 95-105*F and cool side temps 78-82*F.
12 inches is a good size for a 4 or 5 month old. A 10 gallon tank is way to small even for a dragon this tiny. 40 gallon breeder is the absolute minimum they should be housed in.
The biggest deal right now is getting him to poop. I would truly take the sand out immediately. For now you can just put paper towel in his viv. Eye irritation can also be caused by UVB lights, depending on the brand so it's important to find out if you have one and what brand it is.
Sara

He hasn't stopped going. He has diarhea.
The light says it's a Repto-Glo 14 watt.
He's 12 inches & about 2 years old, not 4-5 months.
I can't find the bag of sand, so I'm not sure what it is. But we used the same brand for him & my gecko before & there were no problems for either of them.

 

[spurlee01]

Whoops sorry I saw that he wan't having regular poops- I'm confusing posts again . Diarhea like I said earlier is most likely caused by parasites. I realize that he is two years, I was trying to let you know that he is pretty small; sorry if I didn't make that clear. I wrote that last post in a hurry as I was walking out the door. I'm not positive if you have the reptiglo 8.0 or 10.0. I know the 10.0 has a 14 watt model. If it is the 10.0, do a search to see about the problems other people have been having with it. Others have said their beardies have had digestive issues and eye problems becauseof it. The temps can also cause digestive problems. You may want to turn off the UVB for a few days and see how he does without it. If you decide to replace it, the reptisun 10.0 is the best in my opinion. it's available most cheaply at http://www.petmountain.com.
Sara

 

[daggerz]

Whoops sorry I saw that he wan't having regular poops- I'm confusing posts again . Diarhea like I said earlier is most likely caused by parasites. I realize that he is two years, I was trying to let you know that he is pretty small; sorry if I didn't make that clear. I wrote that last post in a hurry as I was walking out the door. I'm not positive if you have the reptiglo 8.0 or 10.0. I know the 10.0 has a 14 watt model. If it is the 10.0, do a search to see about the problems other people have been having with it. Others have said their beardies have had digestive issues and eye problems becauseof it. The temps can also cause digestive problems. You may want to turn off the UVB for a few days and see how he does without it. If you decide to replace it, the reptisun 10.0 is the best in my opinion. it's available most cheaply at http://www.petmountain.com.
Sara

It says 2.0... I think. :|
We'll try shutting down the light for a while to see what happens.
Thank you for the advice!

 

[spurlee01]

The 2.0s don't give much UVB at all, so just got ahead and shut it off. You will need to have a new bulb within 2 weeks, but a break from UVB for 1-2 weeks will probably be good for him. The reptisun 10.0 really is the best UVB followed by reptiglo 8.0 and reptisun 5.0. Make sure whichever of these you get, its a long tube, not a coil or compact. Keep us updated on how he is doing. You may want to keep your eye on Craig's List for a bigger tank. he minimum recommeded size is a 40 gallon breeder. Google and you should be able to find the dimensions.
Sara

 

[H31d1]

sorry to hear about your bearded dragon. id definately get a fecal sample taken to a vet.
The UVB is not a great one. Not sure where abouts your from but another good UVB light is arcadia 12% D3, this is as good as the reptisun 10.

Not sure where your from, if your from the UK then the arcadia 12% D3 is easier to get that a reptisun.
Which ever brand you go for make sure its a strip tube. not a bulb.

good luck! hope things improve!

nearly forgot! also, keep giving your beardy baths, having bad diarrhea means that he is more likely to become dehydrated.

 

[daggerz]

OK, so he's moving around a lot more.
Can't tell if he's eating or not.
But his eyes...
He still won't open them.
What can we do?
Dab water in his eyes?

 

[diamc]

You can use saline solution to flush his eyes out. Make sure it isn't the type made just for contact lenses, it has to be the type for flushing out the eyes. Did you remove the sand and replace with a solid substrate?

Does he still have diarrhea? You need to give frequent baths to prevent him from getting dehydrated and also offer liquids by mouth by putting drops on his nose for him to lick off. Using diluted Pedialyte would help a lot to bring his electrolytes up due to the diarrhea. Very few beardies drink from standing water dishes so it's important that you make sure he is getting some liquids orally. You also should take a sample to the vet to be checked for parasites asap.

What have you been feeding him for greens, any type of lettuce? If so, they can contribute to diarrhea. Here's a site that shows the best greens/veggies to feed: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html It's not a good idea to leave uneaten crickets in the tank because while he is sleeping, they will chew on him causing nasty sores. Do you think he ate anything today? If not, you could try handfeeding but if that doesn't work, then it's time to supplement with chicken and squash baby food. It sounds like he can't stand to lose anymore weight.

Did you look up the brand of calcium & vitamins that you're dusting his crickets with? How often have you been using each one? What are the tank temps and what type of thermometer are you using?

 

[chancellor91]

i didnt see in post above,. but what light are u using, and my lil girl had diahrea and it turned out to be coccidia so check that out asap

 

[daggerz]

You can use saline solution to flush his eyes out. Make sure it isn't the type made just for contact lenses, it has to be the type for flushing out the eyes. Did you remove the sand and replace with a solid substrate?

Does he still have diarrhea? You need to give frequent baths to prevent him from getting dehydrated and also offer liquids by mouth by putting drops on his nose for him to lick off. Using diluted Pedialyte would help a lot to bring his electrolytes up due to the diarrhea. Very few beardies drink from standing water dishes so it's important that you make sure he is getting some liquids orally. You also should take a sample to the vet to be checked for parasites asap.

What have you been feeding him for greens, any type of lettuce? If so, they can contribute to diarrhea. Here's a site that shows the best greens/veggies to feed: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html It's not a good idea to leave uneaten crickets in the tank because while he is sleeping, they will chew on him causing nasty sores. Do you think he ate anything today? If not, you could try handfeeding but if that doesn't work, then it's time to supplement with chicken and squash baby food. It sounds like he can't stand to lose anymore weight.

Did you look up the brand of calcium & vitamins that you're dusting his crickets with? How often have you been using each one? What are the tank temps and what type of thermometer are you using?

We didn't remove the sand.
He's been moving around more since I turned the light off.
He laid down in his water dish.
Those mini crickets? I don't think they'd bite. They haven't done that to either one of our lizards since we started buying them. (since we bought the lizard last year)
We're still not sure what the brand of calcuim is. :/

 

[spurlee01]

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