- Beardie name(s)
- Rango Rocky Balboa
Sorry for your loss
I am so sorry for your lost. R.I.P NancyEDIT: I love you Nancy, R.I.P., she died of these health complications. Thread kept up in case anyone else in the future has similar issues and s searching, I sympathize with you.
Nancy has suddenly fallen very ill within the past 3 days - little to no movement other than shifting positions occasionally, almost as if in an all day deep sleep. She doesn't want to open her eyes, but has been observed opening them halfway and walking a few steps a couple times, then settling down weakly into "sleep". 3 days ago she was glued to the cool side of the tank, with no interest in moving, or basking. She has been syringe drip fed Oxbow critical care and dubias for the past few months, because she would refuse greens unless snuck in with roaches. For the last 2 weeks she's been slowly losing weight to where her ribs slightly showed, but maintained a normal/round belly. Her head fat decreased even with food and water. When I picked her up 2 days ago, suddenly she felt very weak/limp with slow breathing. Her eyes had sunk in dramatically. I drip fed her food to get some energy, eyes still closed (surprised she licked it at all). She had passed a small stool the day before (3 days ago) that seemed normal, very little urine but was watery as usual but she drinks lots of water so I assumed this was the culprit. She was cycling through eye bulging/very sunken in eyes. It seemed like she could hold them normally for an hour or so but it got worse again. What was most concerning is that she would not resist how I moved her, almost seeming half dead. I held her and slowly flipped her on her back very briefly (only as a test, as she could suffocate) and she didn't whip around at all. A week ago she was walking and moving around normally, moving from basking to her hut on her own. She is 7, almost 8 and has never acted this way. Yesterday I took her to the emergency vet.
They kept her throughout the day, she reportedly was "very chill" so I knew she still didn't move much at all. They did an X-Ray and all they said was that they noticed a mass that could "either be a blockage from constipation due to parasites or could indicate a tumor". They couldn't get a stool from the soaking they did. She was prescribed 0.25 ml every 14 days of Panacur 100mg/ml Suspension (0.50 mL), and 0.7 mL of Metronidazole Suspension 50mg (1.40 mL) the same frequency. It's a dewormer and for bacteria/infections/parasites respectively. I gave it to her last night, and will again before her next visit. Today she had another bath, rubbing her stomach to try and clear the blockage. She was very weak, still "sleeping", as I floated her on my hand. Usually she would react to the water and be alert. Nothing happened. Now I can't even open her mouth to give her water or food anymore, she won't raise her head. I put her under the basking light on a towel to keep her comfortable. She is sitting there breathing very weakly at the moment. The vet wants to see her in 2 weeks, but I'm concerned that she won't make it that long. I'm unsure of where to go from here.
Attached are photos of her enclosure at the moment, most decorations removed so I can boil the small items frequently and replace towels easily to kill parasites. Is she definitely going to die soon? Should I stop trying to force feed her and make it worse? I just have no knowledge on whether what they prescribed is enough, it doesn't seem like a lot... She looks worse than the pictures show, more bony with a bulbous belly. She also developed gout problems but I assume they wanted to treat the emergency first. Thanks for reading. I'm very concerned.