Geriatric Beardie Care

[alexismersino]

That's scary! I hope she settles down soon and is OK. Did the prolapse (butt sticking out) go back to normal? Seizures can be a pretty serious deal. There are humane ways to put them down but I don't know that it's time for that yet. Try to keep her warm and comfortable for now and keep a close eye on her.

The prolapse is back to normal but her black beard isn’t going away. She also won’t let me touch her at all... she keeps jumping and trying to bite me. She keeps opening her mouth every once in awhile as well

 

[CooperDragon]

Good about the prolapse but it sounds like she's not comfortable. If she's acting defensive I would give her space but if she'll let you handle her you might try wrapping her in a soft blanket for comfort. Don't push that though if she isn't having it.

 

[SHBailey]

It sounds like she's in pain (black beard and not wanting to be touched). If there's any way you can get her to a good reptile vet, that would be the best thing. If euthanasia becomes necessary, the most humane way to do it is by injection of an overdose of a barbiturate such as phenobarbital (needs to be done by a licensed vet). She would literally just go to sleep and not wake up. But in the meantime, Cooper's advice is good to wrap her in a soft blanket for comfort if she'll tolerate it and just let her be if she won't.

I hope she'll feel better, but if not, I hope you can help her not to suffer too much.

 

[alexismersino]

For the past few hours I have left her alone on a heating pad. I know heating pads aren’t great but I’m too scared to put her in her tank and it’s too cold to leave her out without it. Her beard is still black but she has calmed down and will let me pet her though she’s still a bit jumpy. She already has a vet appointment on Thursday for her checkup and it doesn’t look like they can see her any earlier. What is your guys opinion regarding euthanasia? I don’t want to lose her but between having to force feed her daily and now this, I worry about her quality of life...

 

[CooperDragon]

It's good that you have the vet appointment. The heating pad may be helpful and keep her comfortable. If she's still jumpy just stay by her but let her be. I would discuss options with the vet and take cues from observing her behavior over the next few days. It's not a decision to be taken lightly but just try to get a feel for her situation by observing and discuss treatment options with the vet.

 

[alexismersino]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I had to euthanize lizzy today. Yesterday she began to have seizures and had another one today. I don’t think her quality of life was very good anymore so I made the very difficult decision to put her down. I miss her very much but I think it was the best option for her. I took her to a different vet in the area who I didn’t know about before who is a reptile specialist. He said that there was something very wrong with her and he thinks it may have been that her kidneys shut down. I am so heartbroken and angry that the vet I was taking her to before clearly didn’t know what she was doing. She should have ran tests or at least did a fecal. I am thankful that I will know about this different vet in the future....

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm sorry to hear that =(. It sounds like she was struggling though and she's no longer in pain which is good. I'm glad you found a vet that you are more comfortable with. That goes a long way.

 

[Toofer]

Our beardie, Toothless, is around 10 years old. Lately, it seems like he cannot see very well, since he "bobs" his head at phantom predators, and has a hard time locating insects that are presented to him. I am not sure if he is brominating or preparing to die at this point. We have another, younger, dragon who helps keep him young by competing for food, but Toothless appears to not be able to see the food he is attempting to eat. We feed him a salad of squash, collard greens, and various greens and fruits with dubia roaches and super worms a couple of times a week. Lately, I have had to feed him through a turkey baster since he appears to not be able to see his food and not trust that it is ok for him to eat (including insects).
I am wondering if I should just let him die naturally (not feeding him with the baster) or keep him comfortable as he goes... it is hard to let go of a beloved dragon!
Please share your feedback...

 

[kingofnobbys]

I'd be discussing pain relief for the old dragon with the vet , and be handfeeding and offering easy to see and catch and eat insects like silkworms , maybe giving a special enriched diet that can be given orally by syringe.

Making her more comfortable and giving her lots TLC in her twilight months or year or two would be my aim.

Of cause if she is strong pain and suffering , and not strong enough to survive treatment (or surgery if it's cancer , or her organs are shutting down ) , then I'd ask the vet to euphanise her BUT I'd be wanting to have this done at home where I can be comforting her when she is injected giving her a nice snuggle while she dies.

 

[SHBailey]

Also, if the younger dragon is in the same enclosure with him, it would be best to separate them, as this is most likely causing stress for Toothless and doing him more harm than good. I would keep Toothless in his familiar surroundings and move the younger dragon to a new enclosure as soon as possible.

You might also try making sure that his food is illuminated by bright full spectrum light. This may help him see it better if his vision is failing. Our beardie is only 6 years old and has had similar problems with not being able to catch his bugs, but we discovered that he does much better when he has his Reptisun 10.0 T5 high output UV lamp right above him when he's eating. I also have a 5000K LED spotlight right above his salad which is kept at the cool end of his tank. Good color contrast may also help -- black roaches in a white dish, white silkworms in a black dish, etc

If he does not seem to be in pain (black beard not accompanied by hyperactivity) and if he seems to want the food that you are giving him with the baster, then I agree with Kingofnobbys about soft easy super nutritious foods and lots of TLC for whatever time he has left. I also agree that you should have him checked by a good reptile vet who can hopefully help you answer the question of whether or not he is suffering, so you can decide what's best for him.

Hope this helps...

 

[claychick]

This post has been helpful. My 13.5yo beardie seems to be fading after brumation. He's been slowing down for years and has had to be hand fed due to vision problems.

He's extremely sluggish coming out of this brumation and isn't eating. Even when we feed him, he can't get anything. I think his vision is a lot worse.

I'm wondering if I should take him to the vet and try to figure out syringe feeding, or if it's just becoming his time.

He's had a great life, and I'm so sad to see how much he's deteriorated.