Hello I was wondering if any one knew of a alternative options other than surgery for a 2 year old bearded dragon. I accidentally dropped her on Saturday and took her into the ER yesterday and found out that the bone in her jaw is indeed fractured. I would get the surgery for her but I sadly do not have the money to do so. They gave me some pain meds and anti antibiotics to giver her via syringe. I just saw her eat the squash yesterday and also saw her eat one of the dubia roaches but im afraid to giver her anymore roaches. If any one has any other way than surgery for the fractured jaw I would really appreciate the help! Thank you!
Hi there, how bad is it ? As long as it's not a compound fracture [ bone sticking out ] she should heal on her own to a degree. If she's eating that's a great sign. Just feed her fresh shed dubias for now, not too many at once. They are soft + won't aggravate the injury by too much chewing. It's O.K to limit food while she heals, you can even get something called Oxbow Critical Care from the vet, a nutritious food supplement to feed via syringe.
Poor girl. The bone is not protruding is it? I can see it looks misaligned though. It's up to you to do what you can , shop around for another price but realize that surgery comes with risks as well.
no its not sticking out of the skin but its not connected. I want to do whats best for her but where I live not a lot of vets will deal with dragons and the one place that I found is going to charge a minimum of 1,350$ and that's just something I cant afford sadly. So I am torn on what I should do.
Unless the jaw is reset surgically , she'll not be able to chew ( or be willing to ( or feed normally )).
It's a no brainer imo . I'd be talking to your vet surgeon about setting up time payments or maybe your bank about a personal loan .
Your dragon will need soft foods until this injury is fixed surgically and for a while afterwards while it's healing. Are you prepared to do this for the rest of it her life if you don't have it reset ?
Oh dear, that is very unfortunate to hear.
It is possible that it will heal up but probably wont heal up properly or completely aligned.
You could check into Care Credit possibly, a lot of people apply for it. You can pay it back
in payments but you would have to check with your vet or a nearby vet to see if they accept
that or applications for it.
As suggested, try the critical care powder & limit insects so he doesn't have to chew much
while he is healing.
Let us know how he is doing.
How is she doing, is she still eating ? Most dragons with a slight fracture continue to eat so that's a good sign and some do heal on their own. Of the ones that I read about [ Googled B.D. with broken jaw ] 3 healed on their own, one had an extensive surgery + feeding tube placed in it's stomach through it's neck and it needed 2 surgeries. Who knows if that one would have also healed without surgery as well.
I havent seen her eat since sunday. I put her vegies into her bowel and chopped them up really small but havent seen her eat any nor has any of it gone down.
she did eat the day after but hasnt since. she is fighting me on taking the pain meds and the antibiotics. She keeps jerking her head away or she will slap my hand
Yeah, she's upset now and that's why she's not eaten since the meds. started. Poor thing. Can you post a new pic of her face, from a couple different angles ?