Help! 2 y.o. Male Beardie Vomited Dark Brown & Whole Worms

[SephyrasMom]

Sephyra is 2 1/2, male
40 gallon viv, ZooMed T5 long UV light, ZooMed 150 watt basking light, 100 watt ceramic heat emitter. 98-100 warm side, 75-78 cool
Eats waxworms, greens daily, other veggies, drinks water by mouth and misted daily- won't eat crickets, roaches, or mealworms since he had cocchcydia when he was about a year old

Seph has been blackbearding all day. This morning he vomited everywhere, dark brown liquid and at least a dozen undigested waxworms. He had not eaten for today yet. He is still bearding, and his belly feels bloated, soft, and heavy. Weird thing is he has had energy today, but acting weird- butting head against glass, sitting in his water bowl, strange behavior for him. He is resting now.
Called vet and was told to monitor him. I want to bring him in to get checked tomorrow.
Very worried! He is my spoiled-rotten scaly baby, I would be devastated if anything happened to him.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[diamc]

I'm sorry to hear that Sephyra has been vomiting. Was today the first time he has done that?

It seems like you have a lot of heat in a 40 gallon viv. Are you using the heat emitter during the day as well as the 150 watt basking bulb? What type of thermometer are you using, digital strip, round gauge, temp gun or digital with long wire & probe end? What is the basking SURFACE temp?

When he is in his tank, where does he spend most of his time? Does he bask right under the lights?

Wax worms are very fatty & may be too rich for him to have daily. Have you tried feeding him any other feeders lately? Their tastes can change almost daily so would be a good idea to find another feeder that would be safe to give on a daily basis. Have you ever tried silkworms, phoenix worms or supers?

How long has it been since he pooped? If you haven't given him a bath today, that would be a good idea, he may even put his head down to drink but if not, offer him a drink of water with a plastic dropper. He needs to replenish the fluids he lost from vomiting.

How is he acting now?

 

[SephyrasMom]

It is a lot of heat, not sure why I can't get it right. The emitter is set to low during the day. I have a digital temp gun now, not sure if I am using it right. By surface basking temp, what do you mean? He basks on the warm side under the lights.
I have gotten him to eat phoenix worms, I am ordering some more online.
He has not vomited like this before. When he had the coccyhdia he vomited clear mucus and crickets, but not dark brown liquid. We do give him daily liquid calcium and vitamins also.
He hasn't pooped today, but had a small, mostly white poop yesterday. He usually poops mostly every day. I forgot to mention my mom watched him for 10 days while I was on vacation. He did not poop at all or eat any worms. The morning after we brought him home he had a huge poop.
He has had water by mouth today and been misted several times.

 

[diamc]

Good that you have a temp gun, are you holding it about 2" from the area you're checking? By "basking surface temp", I meant the temp right on the basking log or rock under the lights.

Good that you ordered some phoenix worms. You may want to try one of the other feeders again that he used to eat. One of our beardies decided at the age of 8 months that he hated crickets. One day when he was about 15 mo old, I thought I would try them again and he loved them. Ate them from then on. So, their tastes in feeders do change & it's always a good idea to switch them around so they don't get tired of the same one.

Does he spend a lot of time right under the lights or just for short time? The reason I ask is because I'm thinking maybe he didn't digest good. Does he have at least 3 hrs to digest under the lights before they are shut off?

Good that you are giving daily calcium, I read your other thread about the MBD. Vitamins should only be given once to 2 times a wk at the most so you might want to consider cutting those back.

If he only passed urates yesterday, he may be bound up especially since he usually goes every day.

How is he acting right now? Is his color back to normal?