help with beardie!!!

[cc1025]

i am having an on going issue with my one beardie. she had coccidia a few months ago so i took her to the vet for meds. the vet prescribed ponazuril .03ml once a day for 28 days. after researching on the forum i found out that giving her meds for 28 days isnt required for her to get the coccidia out of her system. i gave heer the meds for about 2 weeks and stopped giving it to her. during this time she weighed in at 50g and 10.5 inches. she will be a year in mid july. shes is always sleepy during the day under the basking light. when i take her out all she wants to do is burrow and sleep. i have been giving her critical care herbivore and she would gain weight and then poop it out the next day. she was between 50-54g. so i called the vet back after a week or two and expalined to him what is going on, he asked if i was giving her any protein i said no so he suggested that i mix the herbivore and carnivore critical care together and feed it to her by syringe. this whole time she hasnt been eating her greens, i had to feed her by syringe. she would eat a cricket or two maybe once or twice a week. She has recently dropped in weight to 46-48g. you can see her tailbone which i know isnt good. the vet said that if she doesnt gain any weight in a week or two then we should try different meds because she is too small to pull blood from to run tests. i am not going to try different medications for her just because he doesnt know what is wrong with her. i am trying everything i can imagine and search of on the froums. she eats the critical care just fine, its just she isnt gaingin much from that. i know alot fo yous are going to ask what her setup in her tank so heere it goes: 75 gallon tank split in half with her brother(they cant see each other i have a divider) reitsun 10.0 uvb tube, 150w basking bulb with the basking spot being 110-113. temps at night are bewteen 85-90. for substrate i have ceramic tile. she drinks water daily, not on her own i kind of have to show her where the water is and put her near it for her to actually drink it. the greens i usually give consist of collard greens, escarole, endive, and squash. snacks once a week are prickly pear. i dont know what else to do someone please help!!

 

[brittani299]

I would message Drache613 (tracie) she is a monitor on here and knows a lot. She might know.

 

[AHBD]

Aw, poor little thing! I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I have a few suggestions....your night temp. of 85 - 90 is much too high, it should be about 70 -75. That high temp.can cause dehydration, lethargy and loss of appetite. If you haven't already, try some Phoenix worms. You can also try freshly shed mealworms [ they are white when they shed, don't use them otherwise in her condition ] or a waxworm or two . Sometimes using wiggly worms will get them interested in food again. You can also try smashing a small cricket so the guts come out the back [ yuk, I know ! ] and rubbing it lightly on her snout. Also, some people are able to stimulate the beardies appetite with a product called Reptaid, or some probiotics. She is very stunted right now and will probably never be a big eater, but hopefully she will come around for you a little.

 

[cc1025]

so she wont get any bigger? i have pheonix worms and she wont eat them. she did eat wax worms before. tracie told me to have the night temp at 85-90

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....she can certainly grow more, yes, but she will probably never be a big eater or grow to be a big dragon. But I'm sure you'll love her nonetheless. You've put alot of time + effort into her care, that's for sure. As for the 85 -90, it's just too warm. The only time you put the temp. around 80 at night is for a respiratory infection, and sometimes for other illness but a constant high temp. at night keeps the metabolism too high, not allowing the dragon to really rest and can keep them on the border of dehydration. Night time temps. should be no higher than 80.

 

[cc1025]

Hi there....she can certainly grow more, yes, but she will probably never be a big eater or grow to be a big dragon. But I'm sure you'll love her nonetheless. You've put alot of time + effort into her care, that's for sure. As for the 85 -90, it's just too warm. The only time you put the temp. around 80 at night is for a respiratory infection, and sometimes for other illness but a constant high temp. at night keeps the metabolism too high, not allowing the dragon to really rest and can keep them on the border of dehydration. Night time temps. should be no higher than 80.

Ok.i turned it off for last night. Is there anything I can do to help her eat? I tried making a slurry with her critical care and mixing her greens in there and she wouldnt eat it at all. I have pro biotics so I might mix it in with her critical care and see what happens