kingofnobbys
BD.org Sicko
Has a vet checked him ?
Very worried that you say the sand comes in a bag that says calcium carbonate (sand)...
if it is calcisand ( = calcium carbonate sand) and he's been ingesting it .... that's bad. Checked Exo Terra site and they don't seem to have calcisand , but a few varieties of what they call "desert sand" , I can't see a chemical composition of their sands on their site. Perhaps it's on the bags or the boxes the sands come in. (PLEASE CHECK this.)
I know some reptile specialist brands sell calcisand as calcisand and market it as ideal for beardies !!! shocked !
here's an xray I saw on another board of beardie who has ingested calcium carbonate sand which has become impacted with concrete like impactions in it's gut ....
Very few beardie keepers here (in Australia) use exo-terra's fake (desert sands) , those who use sand use regular dry screened playsand (comes in 20kg bags from local hardware bigboxes).
If he's used to and likes sand, let him keep it unless it's calcium based sand.
I noted that you have both the lights ONTOP his tank's mesh top. I recommend as soon as you have a time (you''ll only need 5 - 10 minutes) and it will cost you under a $1 to do it , is that you move his UVB light from ontop the mesh to under the mesh , hanging it pendulum style if it's in a dome style reflector from the mesh (cable ties or twist ties will secure it very easily as the dome style reflector the compact UVB light is in is quite light.
Make sure the compact is equivalent to a 26W UVB200 (10% UVB + 30% UVA) . I'm not sure Flukers' brand compacts are good quality , I suspect they are Chinese made knockoffs of the high quality / more expensive brands. If in doubt , replace the Fluker's compact UVB with a brand new 26W UVB200 would be a very good start , the boost in UVA is likely to help him perk up and boost his apetite.
I also suggest locating the UV light as close as practical to the basking light, this way when he's basking he''ll be sunbaking and soaking up UVA and UVB too.
You can install a T8 or T5 10 - 14%UVB tube if you the money , this will be better as the UV(A+B) will he high over more of his tank rather than focused in place like now.
Looking at his head he is pretty emaciated, his head fat pads are really sunken .... .... I think he's at point where you will need to use liquid food suppliments or those that form a syringeable paste / slurry when made up with water in order to build him back up and give him a boost. He's got very little energy because he's not been getting enough protein and calories inputted to his body and he's essentially been burning up fat reserves and muscle to get energy to live.
Extra protein in his diet and extra insect fats (needed to mobilise the proteins in his blood) will help and hopefully he'll start bulking back up and building new fat reserves and regenerating muscles.
I think he's definitely saveable with some intensive care from you , perhaps a couple of meals a day , and clinical help from your vet.
Very worried that you say the sand comes in a bag that says calcium carbonate (sand)...
if it is calcisand ( = calcium carbonate sand) and he's been ingesting it .... that's bad. Checked Exo Terra site and they don't seem to have calcisand , but a few varieties of what they call "desert sand" , I can't see a chemical composition of their sands on their site. Perhaps it's on the bags or the boxes the sands come in. (PLEASE CHECK this.)I know some reptile specialist brands sell calcisand as calcisand and market it as ideal for beardies
!!! shocked ! here's an xray I saw on another board of beardie who has ingested calcium carbonate sand which has become impacted with concrete like impactions in it's gut ....
Very few beardie keepers here (in Australia) use exo-terra's fake (desert sands) , those who use sand use regular dry screened playsand (comes in 20kg bags from local hardware bigboxes).
If he's used to and likes sand, let him keep it unless it's calcium based sand.
I noted that you have both the lights ONTOP his tank's mesh top. I recommend as soon as you have a time (you''ll only need 5 - 10 minutes) and it will cost you under a $1 to do it , is that you move his UVB light from ontop the mesh to under the mesh , hanging it pendulum style if it's in a dome style reflector from the mesh (cable ties or twist ties will secure it very easily as the dome style reflector the compact UVB light is in is quite light.
Make sure the compact is equivalent to a 26W UVB200 (10% UVB + 30% UVA) . I'm not sure Flukers' brand compacts are good quality , I suspect they are Chinese made knockoffs of the high quality / more expensive brands. If in doubt , replace the Fluker's compact UVB with a brand new 26W UVB200 would be a very good start , the boost in UVA is likely to help him perk up and boost his apetite.
I also suggest locating the UV light as close as practical to the basking light, this way when he's basking he''ll be sunbaking and soaking up UVA and UVB too.
You can install a T8 or T5 10 - 14%UVB tube if you the money , this will be better as the UV(A+B) will he high over more of his tank rather than focused in place like now.
Looking at his head he is pretty emaciated, his head fat pads are really sunken ....
.... I think he's at point where you will need to use liquid food suppliments or those that form a syringeable paste / slurry when made up with water in order to build him back up and give him a boost. He's got very little energy because he's not been getting enough protein and calories inputted to his body and he's essentially been burning up fat reserves and muscle to get energy to live. Extra protein in his diet and extra insect fats (needed to mobilise the proteins in his blood) will help and hopefully he'll start bulking back up and building new fat reserves and regenerating muscles.
I think he's definitely saveable with some intensive care from you , perhaps a couple of meals a day , and clinical help from your vet.
