My beardie got stepped on by my husband who weighs 250 and it seemed like a direct step on his head while trying to avoid him. We’re devastated. He’s still alive, trying to rest under his lamps to calm down and de stress. He ended up eating a cricket that was on him that we must’ve accidentally left in there and he ate it but seemed to have trouble moving his mouth on one side. I didn’t want him eating this early but that’s how it always works. We’re very worried about him but if it’s a head trauma I’m wondering if a vet can do anything or if we should just keep him relaxed calm and wait? He’s def traumatized and scared so we’re trying to keep his area as quiet as possible.
If it were my dragon I'd get to a vet ASAP to get him checked out in hopes that any damage is minimal and quickly dealt with. But if the vet determined the damage was severe, I would have the vet euthanize him to prevent suffering.
Oh no, that is terrible, I'm sorry that happened.
Definitely keep a close eye on him but I would highly recommend taking him into the vets
if you can just for an overall analysis. As long as he can still eat, move around, etc, then
with a head injury he may be able to have a normal life, with a few issues. It is very hard to
tell at the moment, but hopefully he will pull through.
Try to keep him as calm & low on the basking area so he doesn't have to move around to
bask, etc. Keep us posted on him.
Was your hubby wearing a show or barefoot ? If your dragon was able to eat, that's a very positive sign. Can you post pictures of him, including close ups of different views of his head ?
Thanks for all the help! I did get him to the vet and they said nothing is broken. They’re not worried about a brain injury since he’s alert and fiesty still. They said his jaw might be off a little and that’s why it’s gapping a bit on one side but they said it could be swelling or it might stay like that and he’ll adjust. He’s on meds for 2 weeks and some soft food if he can’t eat. He’s definitely not acting like himself still but he did move up to his light this morning when he woke up. I put in a cricket and he struggled eating ir and got pretty upset about it. I tried the syringe food and he got mad about that so I put a bit in a dish for him to lick if he wants. His tongue seems to be an issue when he’s trying to eat so I’m wondering if maybe he bit it and has some swelling but I’m glad his jaw isn’t broken or anything else. One day at a time! I’ll post some pics of his jaw in a bit.
Stewy is doing ok today, he’s sleeping a lot and wasn’t eating but I kept working and got him to eat a couple crickets if I put them right in front of him and his mouth seems to be closing better. But now he’s not using his front arm. The doctor said the X-ray looked good and it did include the arm so I would think they would’ve noticed anything. They’re talking to the doctor and getting back to me. Any advice? He’s not using it at all. Thanks
Ok it doesn’t look swollen to me but it’s hard for me to tell. He’s keeping it bent. Hopefully they’ll take a second look at his X-ray and we’ll go from there. Thanks for the help!
Wow, that is a surprisingly good update, all things considered. The vet nothing was broken?
The jaw might be able to go back to normal eventually. Is he still able to eat & chew? I'm
glad that he is active & doesn't seem to be in pain.
Perhaps his arm was affected some, he might have had it in t he way & it took some stress.
Let us know what the vet says, after they review the arm on the x-ray. I would think also, they
should have noticed a broken bone in the arm.
You could just lower the basking area so that he doesn't have to climb much to bask & get his
UVB lighting.
Keep us posted on his progress!
Thanks o have been trying to figure out how to lower his basking workout getting rid of his hide. I’m getting pretty nervous thinking maybe he had a stroke or something that caused his arm to stop working. If it’s not broken like they said and he was stepped on I worry there’s more brain involvement. But I’m hoping it’s a simple answer and just sprained but I’m a mess not knowing the long term effects of this. The vet is surprised he lives through it but it looks like we still have some things to overcome. Thanks for the support. It’s so helpful.
Hi again! Stew is sleeping quite a bit during the day, I’m wondering if his meds can make him sleepy or from the trauma? Still waiting on the doctor to call back. He ate more crickets today with my help catching them. Is it ok for him to sleep this much? Temp is at 95 last time I checked.
What medication did they give him, a pain medication?
I'm sorry he is having a bit of trouble with his arm. If he did have a small stroke then it was
most likely due to the pain or stress of being stepped on.
His colors there look really good so has his beard stayed that color or is it darker?
We are all pulling for him, so please let us know how he is doing.