QuinlanGirl
Member
- Beardie name(s)
- Quinlan
I apologize in advance as this is probably going to get lengthy. I'm going to start at the beginning when I got my bearded dragon Quinlan just before Christmas 12-21-24. She was completely neglected when she was with the family I got her from, she was dark in color and lethargic and didn't eat much at first (I'm not perfect but I'm always researching what I can do better and open to advice, suggestions, etc). She didn't have proper lighting or tank setup when I got her, I'm not even sure what her diet was, if it was just bugs or what. I asked what her favorite snack was and they said sweet potato but she won't even touch sweet potato. They thought she was a he. I've taken her to the vet 4 or 5 times since I got her now. She won't poop in her enclosure and would only do so in the bath and would go a couple to a few days without pooping. Her first vet visit was a few days after I got her/after the holidays, she got a vitamin shot of A and D and started eating better after that, I was told to sprinkle her food with blended up dog food for extra protein so I did that every day like the vet recommended. (Now I'm not sure if that was good advice or not) She was doing well for awhile and was eating most of her salads and all her bugs and even shed her whole body and got more active wanting to explore the whole house. Then she started getting lethargic again and not eating as much. Her second vet visit was February 13th and they gave her another vitamin A and D shot, they said she had went through the last one really fast and gave a bigger one this time along with another basic exam. February 17th I took her back because my initial concern was a respiratory issue and they just kept giving her vitamin shots. She was doing like a dry cough is the best I can describe it. No noise and no bubbles around mouth or nose but her whole body would move when she did it. This visit I saw the lady vet instead of the guy vet and she did X-rays of Quinlan and said her lungs were a little cloudier than she'd like and gave me some antibiotics to give her for 10 full days (Enrofloxacin 2.27%). After the full regiment of antibiotics she still wasn't doing any better but not worse either. She would only eat a piece of bell pepper maybe twice during this whole time. She did poop while at the vet when getting X-rays and she said it looked normal but didn't even suggest a fecal test even though she pooped while we were there. I didn't think to ask either and now I regret that. She was barely eating during this time, a few bugs here and there and maybe a bell pepper piece or a piece of greens. She was coughing a little bit still and not eating or pooping so I took her back to the vet February 26th and this is where I get mad. Today I learned the vet should have done a poop test before giving her a dewormer but she didn't and I didn't know that should have been done. She gave her an ivermectin injection and another vitamin shot. 2 or 3 days after this visit she was basking again and pooped a big stinky poo so I thought she was getting better. But maybe 2 days later she start hibernating (I think) I haven't been sure about that because she had just been sick and my boy dragon before her never brumated. She hasn't eaten or pooped since the couple days after the dewormer. I was doing what I could to look up what I should do but kept getting conflicting answers, (do bath her, don't bath her, don't handle her at, it's okay to handle her ETC) so I've been doing my best to monitor her, offer water and food whether she ate or not. I got some probiotics on Amazon that I asked the vet about to see if it was the right kind and she said yes at the last visit where she gave her the dewormer. I was concerned that her stomach bacteria might be off from the antibiotics that she was given previously, I know my stomach feels terrible after antibiotics so I wanted to make sure to try and fix that, I started putting this probiotic powder from Amazon in some pureed pumpkin and she'd eat that right up. The probiotics said once a week so that's what I did. I didn't want to force feed her too much since she hasn't pooped and didn't want it to rot in her belly but also wanted her to feel better. So she got that once a week and still wouldn't touch her salads and would only stay in one spot in her tank not really moving at all. The conflicting advice trying to look up what to do didn't help at all. I just wanna do right by her so I didn't wanna force anything if she was trying to brumate. I just took her back to the vet on March 27th and she still hadn't eaten or pooped since a couple days after the last vet visit. She examined her and didn't really address whether she could be brumating or not but said she could have gone into a shock/hibernation like state from all the changes in her environment and all the vet visits. She recommended critical care omnivore to help stimulate her appetite so maybe she'll start eating and hopefully poop. When examining her she said it seemed like she has nothing in her and that's probably why she's not pooping. I did end up buying the critical care and have only given it to her once, now I'm seeing that people don't recommend that so I wasted money for that. The day I brought her home from this last visit she went straight into her cave and would not come out which made me think yeah she's definitely in brumation but I don't know. Her cave is unfortunately on the basking side of her tank, with the rest of her accessories it just doesn't work on the cooler side. I ordered some stuff to make a new cave/hidey hole on the cool side for her that's coming this Wednesday, April the 2nd. She was doing that dry cough again today until I took her out of the cave and moved her to the other side and made her comfy. I have 2 basking lights on the basking side and turned 1 off after reading that it could be way too hot for her. She was still breathing a little hard but stopped that dry cough. I was crying cause I'm at a loss of what to do. My mom found a similar (not exactly the same but similar case) on this page that I will link down below saying how he got his temps a little lower and had also had the antibiotics and dewormer and his dragon wasn't eat and then did start eating after giving him what's Formally known as the Pet Authority brand of Acidophiliz+ and he started eating again like he was starving. I couldn't find the same brand or exact same name but did find "
NOTE: This product has been repackaged by Beautiful Dragons. Pet Authority no longer sells this product for reptiles, however we have been able to get their same great tasting fruit-based Acidophiliz but it is for humans! Even better right?! It comes in large bottes so we repackage it in smaller sizes for our scaly friends". And I'm thinking about getting that to try for her cause this case :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/resources/supportive-care-during-parasite-treatment.7/
Sounds very similar to what Quinlan and I are going through. I would like to know if the acidophilus would be a good idea to try. I would also greatly appreciate any good resources for bearded dragon care that is accurate and if anyone can recommend a exotic vet that actually knows what they're doing. I've tried everything I can think of including what the vet suggested and I'm really just at a loss. I want the best for my babygirl and feel so bad that she still isn't right. Please and thank you in advance. I did my best to write everything in the order of how things happened with what I did and the vet visits so I hope it all makes sense. (At the time of writing this lights are out for my dragon so I will figure out how to attach photos of her set up when lights are back on in the morning) I want to be completely transparent so I can get my girl the proper help and care that she needs. Thank you. Oh and I should also include that I added some moss to her tank because I couldn't keep her humidity up enough before.
The 2 photos I do have attached, the 1st photo is how she was setup BEFORE I got her from the family I got her from. The second photo is her current tank but I have changed a couple things since taking it so it's not quite up to date. I will add her current setup like I said when it's time for her lights to be on as I don't want to disturb her while she's sleeping.
EDIT: first photo is her setup before I got her. Next 3 photos are her current setup with me, up to date. This coming Wednesday I have a couple new things coming for a hidey hole on the cool side and will update photos again.
NOTE: This product has been repackaged by Beautiful Dragons. Pet Authority no longer sells this product for reptiles, however we have been able to get their same great tasting fruit-based Acidophiliz but it is for humans! Even better right?! It comes in large bottes so we repackage it in smaller sizes for our scaly friends". And I'm thinking about getting that to try for her cause this case :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/resources/supportive-care-during-parasite-treatment.7/
Sounds very similar to what Quinlan and I are going through. I would like to know if the acidophilus would be a good idea to try. I would also greatly appreciate any good resources for bearded dragon care that is accurate and if anyone can recommend a exotic vet that actually knows what they're doing. I've tried everything I can think of including what the vet suggested and I'm really just at a loss. I want the best for my babygirl and feel so bad that she still isn't right. Please and thank you in advance. I did my best to write everything in the order of how things happened with what I did and the vet visits so I hope it all makes sense. (At the time of writing this lights are out for my dragon so I will figure out how to attach photos of her set up when lights are back on in the morning) I want to be completely transparent so I can get my girl the proper help and care that she needs. Thank you. Oh and I should also include that I added some moss to her tank because I couldn't keep her humidity up enough before.
The 2 photos I do have attached, the 1st photo is how she was setup BEFORE I got her from the family I got her from. The second photo is her current tank but I have changed a couple things since taking it so it's not quite up to date. I will add her current setup like I said when it's time for her lights to be on as I don't want to disturb her while she's sleeping.
EDIT: first photo is her setup before I got her. Next 3 photos are her current setup with me, up to date. This coming Wednesday I have a couple new things coming for a hidey hole on the cool side and will update photos again.
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