Hard lump on leg! Comments please

[kingofnobbys]

Thank you for the dimmer information, I thought it was an adapter/different fixture
I have crickets and mealworms for now but will order some better bugs for him.

I was given Calcium drops and have little syringe, I dust his crickets and wombaroo on veggies for bugs. Should I get one of those supplements you recommended?

<<< IMO it's worth getting the following:
>>> http://vetafarm.com.au/product/herpaboost/
>>> http://vetafarm.com.au/product/crittacare-reptile/ .... if herpaboost is not enough I'd try this and calcivet (this is very highly recommended stuff)
and
>>> http://vetafarm.com.au/product/calcivet/
and a 10ml feeding syringe & an 12G feeding needle see viewtopic.php?f=45&t=232687
.... I'd try Herpaboost + the calcivet first , might be all he needs.
.... If he's really sick , I'd try crittacare reptile + calcivet + herpaboost (maybe cc one day , hb next)

note , if you decide to use a general syringe, you'll find these very thick viscous slurries very hard to push out of a normal syringe , VetaFarm told me I needed a 2.5mm - 3mm bore and that some people drill out the bore to suit, I opted to buy a proper feeding syringe.
What you don't use of the above liquid foods and the calcivet will keep for ages in the fridge (and he handy have should Nardo ever get sick again).
All available from Vet-n-Direct http://www.vetnpetdirect.com.au/, they are very good , if you contact them and tell them it's urgent , they'll send by Express Parcel Post (so you'll essentially have them inside 24 hr in most places).

Am not going to be home until late tonight, hope he makes it through this

 

[AHBD]

I think you're much better off treating him at home where he is comfortable. Their calcium injections did nothing for him and they did not even xray his leg from what I can see unless I missed it. Being in a strange new place [ vet clinic ] is very stressful, and for a reptile that is detrimental and it seems he's gone downhill. I wouldn't take him back there at all.

Does it say he had Baycox and a stomach tube ? Will he eat anything on his own right now ?

And yes, keep his basking spot low and handling to a minimum. Let him get as comfortable as possible and see if he'll take food via syringe if not live insects. Ask for Oxbow Critical Care or Carnivore Care supplement that can be fed via syringe .

 

[Nardo]

I think you're much better off treating him at home where he is comfortable. Their calcium injections did nothing for him and they did not even xray his leg from what I can see unless I missed it. Being in a strange new place [ vet clinic ] is very stressful, and for a reptile that is detrimental and it seems he's gone downhill. I wouldn't take him back there at all.

Does it say he had Baycox and a stomach tube ? Will he eat anything on his own right now ? Yes Baycox and stomach tube. Am scared to do stomach tube and think would rather Vet do for me, or at least me watch them do once and I'll try. He ate 1 mealworm not last night, the night before, and nothing since then..

And yes, keep his basking spot low and handling to a minimum. Let him get as comfortable as possible and see if he'll take food via syringe if not live insects. Ask for Oxbow Critical Care or Carnivore Care supplement that can be fed via syringe .

I couldn't open his mouth to put syringe in for Cali drops, luckily he opened himself and hated the taste! His body temp is at 36 degrees, I think the serious issue is his back legs, I spent hours massaging and tickling him last night and looks like he is very sensitive at the hips and back legs. They are flat like a frog, he cannot grip with them. Looked on this forum with a few similar cases and looked like Calcium issue. He has new Reptisun 10.0 t5 3ft with reflector but is laying on floor so hoping distance is ok. He is still very sleepy

 

[kingofnobbys]

I think you're much better off treating him at home where he is comfortable. Their calcium injections did nothing for him and they did not even xray his leg from what I can see unless I missed it. Being in a strange new place [ vet clinic ] is very stressful, and for a reptile that is detrimental and it seems he's gone downhill. I wouldn't take him back there at all.

Does it say he had Baycox and a stomach tube ? Will he eat anything on his own right now ? Yes Baycox and stomach tube. Am scared to do stomach tube and think would rather Vet do for me, or at least me watch them do once and I'll try. He ate 1 mealworm not last night, the night before, and nothing since then..
<<<< this might help viewtopic.php?f=45&t=232687

And yes, keep his basking spot low and handling to a minimum. Let him get as comfortable as possible and see if he'll take food via syringe if not live insects. Ask for Oxbow Critical Care or Carnivore Care supplement that can be fed via syringe .

I couldn't open his mouth to put syringe in for Cali drops, luckily he opened himself and hated the taste!
]<<< mix the calci-drops with some fruit juice will make it taste nicer.
<<< I found Lucky loved the taste of CalciVet solution , same with Wriggles and George, I tasted a drop on my finger and discovered it's very sweet tasting
His body temp is at 36 degrees, I think the serious issue is his back legs, I spent hours massaging and tickling him last night and looks like he is very sensitive at the hips and back legs.
all my dragons have been "ticklish" there ....
They are flat like a frog, he cannot grip with them. Looked on this forum with a few similar cases and looked like Calcium issue. He has new Reptisun 10.0 t5 3ft with reflector but is laying on floor so hoping distance is ok. He is still very sleepy

a SMALL 18Gauge feeding needle is perfect for getting past those lips and teeth , you only need to get the end of it into his mouth and then slow push the syringe plunger to get the CalciVet (or equiv) onto his mouth. I do this approach when giving my gang 0.4 ml olive oil.

Other option that's a bit gentler is to ask the vet for 22gauge sureflo catheter tube less the needle

I used this setup to get calcivet and oral antiobiotics into Lucky my rescued injured juvenile water skink , the flexi tube is slipped into the back corner of the lizard's mouth and about 5mm - 10mm into the mouth , even Lucky mangled several of these tubes !!

Or another option is one of these :

I bought the green "feeding" cone on Ebay.

 

[AHBD]

Those are good options mentioned by king....you see that the vet did not really help. The best option is to mix the calcium with something that he likes, you can even try a drop of raw honey or some type of fruit juice. The new bulb should help.

I still want to know how your dragon was set up at the clinic. I doubt they have good uvb bulbs or pay attention to the heat gradients, etc.

Best not to mess with his legs too much....we don't know how much pressure actually hurts or at the least is irritating. And if your t5 bulb is within 14". that's good. If you can take him + set him in the grass in the sun for 1/2 hour a day that might speed up the calcium absorption too. Best wishes to your little guy !

 

[Nardo]

!VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!
He had 2 seizures last night First: https://youtu.be/UrE0R4J3QvM (Red bulb at night with t-shirt over his head until CHE arrives)
Second: https://youtu.be/isHGUW71mxg
Heart breaking. 6 seizures in total, none today!

How far along do you think MBD? Think there may be hope for recovery?
Have found a lot of similar cases here but then the comments stop and unsure how their beardie went after these seizures.

Current condition: https://youtu.be/bgELatwAmLI (sorry for focus, was very cautious of his stability)
He still has the hard bump on his right back leg that I was originally concerned with, and he is not using his back legs. A bump in between his shoulders, also since day 1 has a weird tail mark (after bath can see shed/loose skin).

He has gotten worse since his stay at vet which is highly upsetting and the other local vet does not do stomach tube just injections.
The vet he stayed at I asked what he was kept in, I asked if they could take a photo, Vet didn't do handover Nardo it was his wife and said "imagine a wooden box...", not good enough, I haven't paid yet and not sure if I will if they gave improper care, information and no follow up advice except for Calcivet drops.Nardo really doesn't like the Calcivet drops so cute him wiping his face of any remnant of it.
-I figured out how to open his mouth! Ordered Herpaboost, CrittaCare, crop needle, CHE is on way, am using Anarchy Reptile Calcium powder with D3, should I cease this D3 with my Reptisun 10.0 T5?

Took him in the sun today and his tail twitched a little and a little perkiness, he had mouth open for a bit too but not seizure, too hot?.. Still very uncoordinated, he would walk straight off a surface and fall. For 2 and a half days, he has eaten 1 cricket, 2 mealworms and 2 parts of babyfood, & 6 seizures. Been giving him baths but he just falls asleep.

What temp should his body never drop below? 35-39 degrees?
Chances for recovery? Is there anything else I can do?


Sorry, not sorry for giving you pink things

The real reason why he is so sleepy, flying around at night time being a super hero

Love you lil man, stay strong xxxx

 

[AHBD]

The vet visit did him no good at all. But yes, since his legs can still move [ per the last video ] then he has a chance to recover to a degree, absolutely.

Keep trying to get the calcium in him by mixing it with just a drop or 2 of fruit juice, experiment until you find out what he likes. And can you take a video of how you have him outside ? It's very important not to let him get overheated.

He sure has a beautiful kiddie pool. Seriously though, be careful of him in that much water, if he flips over in there he can aspirate water in just one second and choke very badly.

 

[Nardo]

The vet visit did him no good at all. But yes, since his legs can still move [ per the last video ] then he has a chance to recover to a degree, absolutely. Thank you! Gives us hope

Keep trying to get the calcium in him by mixing it with just a drop or 2 of fruit juice, experiment until you find out what he likes. And can you take a video of how you have him outside ? It's very important not to let him get overheated. Definitely need something easier to open his mouth with tight lipped fella. Yes will do, it was when he was in plastic tub in full sun but its not too hot here atm and am super ocd about wind flow, birds, feel safe, temp gun in hand, etc etc lol

He sure has a beautiful kiddie pool. Seriously though, be careful of him in that much water, if he flips over in there he can aspirate water in just one second and choke very badly. Ooo yes, he is way too clumsy right now! Was staring, emptying and changing water the whole time, I normally hold him and surprised the lounge chair worked He poops in the heat and he sticks to it, this morning his butt was stuck to t-shirt :silent:

 

[kingofnobbys]

Having a really rough trot .... is very disappointing that that vet seems in your experience to be a dud....

Trick I've adopted along with squishing the head only of the crickets is to pluck off the two big rear hopper legs (I call these drumsticks) and to get the stubborn little lizard to eat I first grab a drumstick and slip it's thick end (might need to press it firmly !!) between the lips on the side of it's mouth near the snout and then while it chewing the drumstick (need to have good timing here and good hand/eye coordination) I firmly press the gooy end of the cricket against the side of it's mouth (yes until it gets the hang of the hand feeding the risk if getting a finger tip nip is high) , they will usually take the cricket when they taste it.

There are also some useful video clips showing how to "force" feed hatchlings too that are worth watching , the better ones show how to pull down on the lower front lip to open the mouth and deposit an insect in the mouth (looks very rough - but if it's it works and the hatchling gets food into it , it's worth the stress IMO).

Another trick I saw one of the reptile handlers at the Gosford Reptile Park's Hospital use to feed a sick and stubborn lizard several years ago , was to take a plastic coated playing card, fold it in half , cut a small hole just big enough to slip a food item/insect through in the middle of the crease, then slip the folded card between the lizard's upper and lower lips and teeth and about 1/2 to the back of the mouth, while the card in the lizard's mouth, open the folded card enough to slip a food item/insect through the hole into the lizard's mouth, remove the card, insect is eaten , repeat ....

If that and the methods shown on UTube don't work, I recommend getting Repashi GrubPie and making a sloppy paste of it and giving it by syringe using a 2.0mm or larger bore feeding/crop needle , I'd try just getting the paste into his mouth.

If he stubbornly spit it out and never swallows it, then I'd resort to "crop"feeding , there is guidance on the size of feeding needles for different size lizards and also guidance on the lizard's stomach capacities based on their body weight , as well as instructions how to "crop"feed a lizard.
VetaFarm recommend 14Guage crop needles (2mm bore) for hatchlings / juvenile lizards) and 1-4ml of liquid food / slurry / paste per 100g bodyweight (I'd split the difference and try for 2.5-3ml/ 100g BW) .

And very shallow water only - he's at too high a risk of aspirating it if he falls in and can't keep his nose and mouth out of the water.

 

[kingofnobbys]

!VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED!
He had 2 seizures last night First: https://youtu.be/UrE0R4J3QvM (Red bulb at night with t-shirt over his head until CHE arrives)
Second: https://youtu.be/isHGUW71mxg
Heart breaking. 6 seizures in total, none today!

How far along do you think MBD? Think there may be hope for recovery?
Have found a lot of similar cases here but then the comments stop and unsure how their beardie went after these seizures.

Current condition: https://youtu.be/bgELatwAmLI (sorry for focus, was very cautious of his stability)
He still has the hard bump on his right back leg that I was originally concerned with, and he is not using his back legs. A bump in between his shoulders, also since day 1 has a weird tail mark (after bath can see shed/loose skin).

He has gotten worse since his stay at vet which is highly upsetting and the other local vet does not do stomach tube just injections.
The vet he stayed at I asked what he was kept in, I asked if they could take a photo, Vet didn't do handover Nardo it was his wife and said "imagine a wooden box...", not good enough, I haven't paid yet and not sure if I will if they gave improper care, information and no follow up advice except for Calcivet drops.Nardo really doesn't like the Calcivet drops so cute him wiping his face of any remnant of it.
-I figured out how to open his mouth! Ordered Herpaboost, CrittaCare, crop needle, CHE is on way, am using Anarchy Reptile Calcium powder with D3, should I cease this D3 with my Reptisun 10.0 T5?

Took him in the sun today and his tail twitched a little and a little perkiness, he had mouth open for a bit too but not seizure, too hot?.. Still very uncoordinated, he would walk straight off a surface and fall. For 2 and a half days, he has eaten 1 cricket, 2 mealworms and 2 parts of babyfood, & 6 seizures. Been giving him baths but he just falls asleep.

What temp should his body never drop below? 35-39 degrees? The Preferred Operating Body Temperature for a bearded dragon is 36 degC . I think if you try to keep him warmer than 30 degC (24/7) he should have a better chance of fighting off what ever is causing this.

Chances for recovery? Is there anything else I can do?
I think he can recover , he might always be a bit disabled and small and it will take a while , he has potential to thrive even .


Sorry, not sorry for giving you pink things

The real reason why he is so sleepy, flying around at night time being a super hero

Love you lil man, stay strong xxxx

 

[Nardo]

He looks worse today skinny, dehydrated, and zero energy. Him & I have gastro bug..
Took him in the sun again today on my lap, he perked up a little and started walking very well but then looked like he was too overconfident had like a headspin and then seizure
I have gotten good at syringe feeding him!
The medicines are due to arrive Monday, I asked for emergency but no response as I could drive to their warehouse.
Taking it day by day

 

[AHBD]

Just keep trying, get the hydrtion + calcium in him [ but don't overdo the calcium ] and get him in the sun. Other than that don't handle him too much , leave him in the tank to rest and so he can get the uvb rays.

I'm still sorry that he ever went to that vet. That, IMO made him worse.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Just keep trying, get the hydrtion + calcium in him [ but don't overdo the calcium ] and get him in the sun. Other than that don't handle him too much , leave him in the tank to rest and so he can get the uvb rays.

I'm still sorry that he ever went to that vet. That, IMO made him worse.

I regret including that vet in the list. Did he ever indicate how he came to suffer toxicosis ? (or did he mean he had a serious systemic infection / blood poisoning due to the effect of the parasites he was infested by ? )

Will take a time to come good from a systemic infection if this is what he meant. I'm surprised he's not still on oral or injected antibiotics.

Keep him under the UV and warm (I'd also keep him warm overnight too), let his body's immune system work and , of cause try to feed him several small feeds per day (by syringe) and no more liquid calcium (CalciVet) per day than recommended by VetaFarm.

Please don't give up on him.

 

[Nardo]

I had known of this Vet previously and when you recommended I was convinced he would be great. I met Vet in initial consult and he gave me a piece of his mind, laughed at research I had done. I think the worst part about that Vet was on picking Nardo up, the Vet wasn't there at all, it was his wife/reception. Wife gave all information. No explanation of parasites, what he ate, medication, poops, bloodwork levels, but particularly, appropriate follow up care, behaviour, and information for anything in future. "Come back in 3 months for parasite test".
If he had been stomach fed the whole time how would Nardo react to eating bugs again.. He has gotten so weak after being there.

Hoping to get Nardo here on Monday, have been before for my lorikeet and is highly recommended, would prefer to bring him home though;
Brisbane Bird and Exotics Veterinary
http://bbevs.com.au

Thank you everyone for the support :love5: Fingers and toes crossed he can push through this

 

[kingofnobbys]

Not living in Brisbane I can only on what others have said (at Aussie herp boards). I have to say I'm far from impressed with how he treated you & Nardo .
Hope the new vet can help Nardo and get to the bottom of what's going on with him. He's a sweet little guy and a trooper and deserves better.