Help please :(

[ashleyl0413]

I don't know what to do and I think my beardie is just about dead He isn't moving much and hasn't eaten anything really in the past few weeks. I tried everything to get him to eat, they told me to try another light for heat and that didn't work. He won't eat veggies, greens, pellets, or even crickets at this point. I am really sad and think this will be my last day with him. I am legitimately saddened over this.

He is about a year old. Really small for his age due to not eating well for this whole time. Sand for his substrate. Two logs, a feeding dish, water dish, and a fake cacti. He is in a 20 gallon tank, one 150 red heat light, one UVA or whatever to simulate daylight, and a second daylight per the pet store. I am so sad over this

*He died nevermind

 

[NegativeCreep]

Has he ever had a UVB sourse? You said you had a uva bulb, but what about UVB? What are his temps? Have you force-fed him anything? After a few weeks of no nutrition, he won't be able to survive.

 

[dreshany]

Hi Ashley,
I am sorry your little guy/girl isn't doing very well. I would start by giving him a bath immediately. Dehydration is an immediate threat if they are not eating. put a little warm water (baby water temp) up to his elbows in a bowl and let him soak for a good 15-20 minutes. Warm the water as needed. I have soaked my beardie up to 1/2 hour. Do this a few times a day, they take water in through their vents (where they poop from) and this will help prevent dehydration. Next I would get some pedialyte or unsweetened gatorade. administer anywhere from 2-4 cc's per day depending on the size of your beardie. I would also pick up some chicken and squash baby food. You can administer this with a syringe or eye dropper (not glass because they might break the end when biting) You can feed this to them a few times a day, same as the pedialyte. I would also advise a trip to the vet for a check up. You would need to find one that specializes in reptiles.
When was the last time he pooped? If he is on a sand substrate, it is possible that he is impacted. I would remove the sand and use paper towel or newspaper for the mean time.
Can you review your set up? What are your basking temps? They should be between 100-110 so they can properly digest their food. Are you providing calcium supplements? What about a multivitamin? They need calcium dusted on their crickets daily when they are young and still growing and a multivitamin dusted about 3-4 times per week. What specific UV light are you using, what is the wattage and how close to your beardie is it? They need a proper UV light to help metabolize calcium and to produce D3. Like I said, I would not recommend sand because it causes a risk of impaction.
Good luck and a speedy recovery to your beardie. I understand, I almost lost mine a few days ago but he pulled through. Don't give up hope hun!

 

[beardie parents]

I just read your post and noticed he died before what those suggested could be implemented. I'm really sorry he died. I know how much it hurts, I've lost 4 in a 2 year period. Unfortunately with beardies, sometimes you don't know they are sick until it's too late. I found this out the hard way with Miss O, she is the orange/red head in my signature. By the time we realized she was sick, she died just after we got her to the vet.

 

[diamc]

Ashley, I'm so sorry that your beardie died. Wish you had found our forum sooner as it may have made a difference. It's so hard when you lose a pet, we have all been there with one type of pet or another.

If you do decide to get another one a little later on, please let us know so that we can help make some changes in your setup. There were a few things that we would have recommended be changed to try to help him, sorry it was too late. When you have time, you should read this helpful caresheet and it should help fill you in on the basic setup: http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/caresheet/

We are here when you are ready to discuss anything.

 

[ashleyl0413]

Thanks to you all. I just did as I was told to try another light, I was bathing him...etc. It was just so sudden that he died. It is really sad he is in my room with me so not having the glow from his heat lamp is so strange to me. I want to get another tomorrow...I miss him terribly and hadn't realized that I really did bond with him. I am hoping things get better with this one. One year old...so sad.

 

[diamc]

I'm sure you must miss him a lot and it's not the same without him. Had he been acting unhealthy very long?
That's good that you were bathing him to try to keep him hydrated.
If you plan on using the same tank for another beardie, it would be a good idea to clean it very thoroughly as you don't want to take the chance that the one that died had something contagious.
I noticed that you had a 20 gallon tank and were using 2 heat lights. You really shouldn't need 2 in that small of a tank. Rather than using the red light, you would be better off using a regular household lightbulb because the red lights are hard on their eyes and the white bulbs increase their activity level which also helps with appetite. A 150 watt bulb seems like an awful lot for a 20 gallon tank, so try using a 100 watt white bulb instead and see what the temps are. Make sure you use either a temperature gun or a digital thermometer with a probe on the end like this as those are the only 2 ways to get an accurate reading. You can find this one in Walmart for about $12.00 in the area where the outdoor plastic thermometers are sold.

Any type of stick on thermometer can be off by as much as 20 degrees, so they are actually useless.
You will also need a good UVB light like this: http://www.petmountain.com/product/bulbs/504983/zoo-med-reptisun-10.0-high-output-uvb-bulb.html Please don't get the Repti-Glo 10.0 fluorescent or a coil or compact UVB as those are very dangerous.
Please make sure you double check with us before you get another beardie so we can make sure everything is perfect.