I bought a very sick beardie...

[doch]

Hi all, I'm in trouble.
I decided to get beardies for my daughter's birthday. Found what seemed to be a reputable seller online (Will happily name them if I'm allowed) and bought 2 dragons.
I was told that they are 5 and 7 months old... they are definitely adults. Who knows how old.

The ****** ended up sending them to me via FedEx ground from across Canada (Toronto to Edmonton) and they ended up in a box with no heat, food or water for 5 days. In April. In Canada. I don't know if this is what has caused my problems or not, but I now have a healthy male, and a very sick female. She came very dehydrated, weak, and skinny. You could easily see all of her ribs, and her hip bones were VERY defined. Her movements are very... erratic? It's like she doesn't have much control over herself, so she kind of just trembles and flops to where she wants to go. Her one eye is obviously messed up... an Ulcer (as per the vet) and doesn't open much, when it does, it's clouded over.

I had honestly chalked it up to her dying soon... but I got attached to her (she's a sweetheart) so I took her to the vet. The vet wanted to do a ton of blood work, put her on a bunch of meds and give her subQ injections of saline while force feeding her with a syringe (as she hardly eats). Given that I was expecting her to not make it, I opted out of the huge bill, and went with the saline injections, force feeding, and meds for her eye to see if she would improve. She has improved to some extent. Without weighing her, I can feel that her weight is up, and she is far more hydrated and less skinny. Her eye opens up more often, but is still a big issue. Her movements however... still very weird and floppy. Oh... and she couldn't poop for a week and a half. She would strain a lot and try, but just a small amount of liquid would come out. I put her in the tub daily and massage her belly a little (can't feel any blockages, but I'm not a vet). She did start to poop the other day, but small poops. Waiting to find one fresh enough to bring in to the vet for an exam for parasites.
She also regularly gapes her mouth open... but seemingly just when she's warm, so I'm not too worried. Worth a mention though.

Anybody have any ideas? I'm woried that she has neurological issues and will need to be force fed and get saline injections for her whole life. Poor thing.

I'll likely take her back to the vet in a week or 2, but in the mean time, any help and ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Johnny

 

[AHBD]

Hi Johnny, this is absolutely terrible . I'm sure others would like to know who the person is so they could avoid that breeder. Did you notify them immediately of your problems and that this is wrong on so many levels, maybe even illegal ? You should be in contact with that breeder and ask for a full refund of every penny and maybe even the vet bills.

Can you post pics of the dragons ? Here's how :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload
You will probably need to at least assist-feed her, but once she gains a certain amount of weight she will not need food every day. She can get adequate hydration from some of the feedings by adding water to the mix. She will definitely not need sub-q shots all her life.

Her neorological condition may be attributed to vitamin + calcium [ either or ] deficiency, dehydration and some other unknowns, but good food, uvb, hydration + supplements may help her over time. She will never be " normal" but can sill be a sweet pet, one who needs a caring owner .

 

[doch]

I contacted the seller immediately after finding out that they were shipped via ground... no reply. I have sent several messages since, no reply. Phoned... no answer. Called the police, they are "too busy". Called and filed a complaint for animal cruelty... not sure if they will actually do anything... They sent my complaint to the investigations department.

The name of the Seller is "Bearded Dragons Canada". If that needs to be removed... I'm sorry. Hopefully saying that is not against a policy.

I will post pics when I have a chance. My daughter and her Mom are currently taking care of them while I'm out of town.

 

[BeardieLover232]

poor thing! that is cruel five whole days in a box! i would have reported them for all of that. but you know, she is in a happier environment, where you are here to care for her! how where they shipped?
(in a bag, in a container?)
i am glad she is getting better
i don't think she will need injection all her life! until she is able to eat by herself do bearded dragons stuff, but for now try some baby food with chicken, add some calcium. and try to syringe feed her with a bit and see how she is liking it.

 

[doch]

Right out of the vet we had "Carnivore Care" powder that she was eating (by force) via syringe. We ran out, and now are force feeding her a blend of baby food, beardie pellets, a touch of olive oil to lube up the poops and some vitamins. She does eat a small amount on her own... but a very small amount. Seems to have little to no interest in bugs (although I did see her chase and catch one cricket), but eats a very small amount of veggies most days. When she has her mouth gaped open I'll sometimes sneak a wax worm or super worm in there and she'll swallow it... but has no interest in the ones in her bowl. Maybe she's just playing me to hand feed her? hahaha

They were each in a 15"x5"x5" box, separate. The boxes were then in a larger styrofoam box taped shut. No holes, no heat packs, no water.

I thought chicken was no good for them... am I wrong?

 

[doch]

I had a couple pics on my phone. The close up of the yellow one is her.

 

[AHBD]

Although it's possible that a 7 month old female can be quite large, it looks more like an adult female that they wanted to get rid of, most likely has either laid eggs for them and they no longer " need " her or she became sickly + thin and they could not breed her. Either way, she was like that before you got her. What a shame to try to pass it off as a young dragon and sell you a sick, debilitated dragon.

How long ago did you get them ?

 

[doch]

You don't think it's possible the trip in the box for 5 days in the cold could do this? I lean against that... But I'm no expert.

And, yes... This guy is a real POS.

I've had them for a little over 2 weeks now.

 

[AHBD]

It takes much longer than 5 days to get to that condition. Not even in 2 weeks would a healthy dragon go down to where the pelvic bones + ribs show that much. More like months for that to happen. The 5 days in the box was bad, although they can actually breathe because the boxes are not airtight. If the weather was too hot it would have killed them both, being cool is better but not cold. I just can't fathom that he was so cheap that he had them delivered ground and let them go through that experience. They can do fine with no food or water for 5 days, they are built for it, so what happened to the female was already done back at the breeder's place.

 

[doch]

Any guess as to a cause? Neglect? Illness? Parasites?

 

[AHBD]

If she's adult size my guess is that she may have been bred + layed lots of eggs quickly [ they can lay over 150 eggs in one season easily ] and never recovered her health + weight. That's just a guess, but that is one thing that can cause the weight loss and shakiness from loss of calcium that the body needs for it to function but is diverted to develop the eggs.

 

[doch]

Could she recover with the right care and calcium? Or is this likely permanent?

 

[AHBD]

It may be possible, only time will tell. If you're out of Carnivore Care, get some more. You can also make home made smoothies, use an old blender and put greens + a few fruits [ strawberries + blueberries but nothing citrus ] The greens would be turnip, mustard, collard, dandelion, arugula and even some squash. Add a bit calcium with D3 and a bit of extra water. A high quality reptile vitamin like Herptivite can be helpful, too but just a pinch. Some people recommend bee pollen to boost health, but you can also use a bit of raw, unpasteurized honey [ like from a health store or a beekeeper ] to the smoothie. Most beardies like the taste.

You can try to get her to eat insects by smashing one until the guts come out and rubbing it lightly on her snout to see if she'll go for it. But the Carnivore care + smoothies will do her good right now. You can also add insects to the smoothies, just be sure you have a way to really sterilize the blender after each time.

 

[doch]

This is close to what I'm doing... But baby food and beardie pellets in the smoothie. She eats veggies/greens on her own... A little at least. I'll stick with it, modify a little and keep my fingers crossed.
Thanks for the help.

 

[AHBD]

O.K, just add some of the other things I mentioned and extra water. That will keep her hydrated. Hopefully she can keep improving.

And you're welcome.