EMERGENCY PLEASE HELP

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh no, I am so sorry. I really hope that it isn't a neck/cervical injury. How sad.
How is he doing today?
I hope the metacam will help him.
Did you lower everything in the tank so that he doesn't have to climb?

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[plantkisser]

Yes, I took all of his furniture out so he does not flip over it. I hope the metacam helps too. Although I really hope he does not have any serious brain or spinal trauma the vet seemed fairly sure. He did a "reflex test" by flipping him over on his back to watch him try and get flipped over the right way. He said it was called the "righting reflex" and since Spyro did not even try to flip over he said that was very worrisome. Thank you for you kind thoughts.

 

[plantkisser]

I am laying with Spyro right now and listening to him breathe and I just do not feel right about what the vet said. I understand that a spine or brain injury is very possible, but he did not address Spyro's issues with breathing at all. He still pants for air and sometimes he wheezes a big woosh of air. Sometimes his breathing makes a small click noise. None of this seems like it could be related to spine injuries to me? I think I might take him to different vet for a second opinion, does anybody think this is a good idea?

 

[AHBD]

Sorry to hear that Spyro is still not well ! Did his breathing problem develop immediately after the fall ? The breathing issue sounds like a respiratory infection......maybe a second opinion would be good. I feel really bad seeing that he was eating pretty well for you before your latest vet visit....watch him carefully now that he's back on the Metacam. Hopefully he'll keep his appetite up. Another thing, if you backtrack to when he first jumped + got hurt, was he in pretty good health before ? I see one of your posts on the first page says he was a rescue....what condition was he in when you got him ? In the pic of him on the bed with the bunny ears [ I think ] or whatever is on his head that you have of him [ before the fall] he looks very well. Anyway, I'm just trying to draw out any possible scenario as to why a 2 foot jump on to carpet, which would almost never hurt a b.d would cause such issues. That way, if you DO see another vet you can tell them as much as you can. It's hard to imagine any damage from landing on carpet.....so it's somewhat of a mystery. I hope you can get Spyro's issues resolved !

 

[plantkisser]

Hello, thank you! As far as I can tell the breathing issues came from fall, at least the gasping happened directly after, and the vet thought he had a bruised lung at first. He is still eating okay too, so I'm thankful for that. As for him being a rescue, he was in pretty bad condition when I got him, but nothing unfixable! Most of it was the fact that he had never had calcium/UVB and he was very malnourished from only being fed about once a week or less. That was in May and before he fell I like to think that he was "fully recovered", meaning his limp was gone, he was a healthy weight, he was growing constantly, ect. As for why such a small jump hurt so bad, I think it was just the speed he was going. He practically launched himself off. I have never seen anything like it.

 

[Taterbug]

Did you ever get x-rays of him? Considering his nutritional/calcium/uvb status I wonder if he had/has some lingering bone density/strength problems.

 

[plantkisser]

No, I didn't. I suppose I should probably jump on that. I'm looking around for a different vet if anybody knows good ones in the Dever (CO) area! Regardless I will get x-rays done

 

[Taterbug]

No, I didn't. I suppose I should probably jump on that. I'm looking around for a different vet if anybody knows good ones in the Dever (CO) area! Regardless I will get x-rays done

I'm not sure it would show anything since somethings doesn't show up, esp soft tissue damage or swelling. But it migt help assess his bone structure or detect any breaks/fractures the physical exam missed.

I hope he feels better soon.

There are a few members on here in colorodo - maybe a shout out for recommendations? Have you checked the herp vet sites? Some are self listings, not user recomendatins though, so it wouldn't hurt to call and ask questions of the practice.
http://www.herpcenter.com/reptile-vet-finder/colorado-reptile-vet-listings-7/
http://www.herpvetconnection.com/colorado.shtml (Old site some may not be in practice anymore)
http://www.anapsid.org/vets/colorado.html

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I agree, I think a second opinion is a good idea.
Either x-rays or an ultrasound would be helpful to see if there is any soft tissue damage. At this point, a bruised organ is a possibility though. The gasping for air seems like it may hurt him to breathe a little bit. That would explain why he didn't try to right himself because he was too sore.
I hope the metacam doesn't bother him any this time.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[plantkisser]

Hey everybody. I was looking through some other posts about soft tissue damage and spinal damage and stumbled upon Drache613's website where she sells serrapeptase, the silkworm enzyme. It says it can be used to treat inflammation and spinal injuries, would you recommend I try this? Could I get the same effect from switching his live feeders to silkworms as well?

 

[diamc]

Serrapeptase is great, I have relied on it many times and it was helpful, also no side effects. I would suggest getting the liquid and also feeding silkworms, that way if/when you run out of silkworms, you will still have the liquid on hand to help him out.

I don't think it would be a good idea to give him both the Serrapeptase & Metacam at the same time though but others might have some thoughts on that.

 

[plantkisser]

Ugh. The more I read about beardies the more confused I get about Spyro. I think he might have a respitratory infection, because he still breathes heavy and I can hear his breath whoosh or click sometimes, he has a lot of stringy spit in his mouth... For a while he was puffing up his body, especially when he was moved around, and the Metacam is not giving a lot of noticible differences... Is it possible he has a respiratory infection that just as a fluke happened after the fall? Or he has both a respiratory infection and damage from the fall? I have been to the vet twice and I still feel so lost.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Those are definitely symptoms of a respiratory infection. That could have crept up on him from stress from an injury, too.
Have you treated him yet for a respiratory infection?
How is he doing otherwise, are his colors good or is his beard black?

Tracie

 

[plantkisser]

Hello, I have not treated him for a respiratory infection as of yet because the vet did not say anything about it. Would it be good to bump up his basking temps and avoid baths? His colors seem fine, his beard is pearly white as usual and I haven't seen any stress lines on his tummy either. Thank you for your response.

 

[plantkisser]

This morning I woke up and gave Spyro his Metcam. He twitched his head around and then shook it violently, which he does sometimes because the vet said he might not like the taste. Then he walked away across his tank and I stood up to do something. When I crouched back down to feed him he was on his side and almost on his back. I picked him up and set him down on his tummy and he is not holding his head up, he is all limp. He keeps gaping and his beard is still white, but his eyes look very sunken. What should I do? Is he leaving?