I think the end is near

[trisharg]

I have an 11? year-old dragon who has really slowed down over the past few months. His eyesight is terrible and he will not eat on his own. We have been syringe feeding him Beardie Buffet, Grub Pie, or Critical Care. He will usually lap it up pretty well for me, but not really for anyone else. He is weaker than he used to be and he sleeps a lot. He can get around but we have had to modify his tank so he doesn't tip and fall or get stuck. He goes through spurts where he seems to get URI symptoms (he will get a ring of gunk around one nostril). But lately, he has been opening and closing his mouth sometimes. I swear I read somewhere that is an indication of pain. But my google searches are not helpful. I do not want to see him suffering but the thought of having to put down my Rexy boy is hard. We have gone through 4 vets in the 7 years we have had him. Our favorite and a clear expert moved far away. Our current is nice but she is more of a general wildlife vet who will see exotics. I don't want to just give up on him but we know he is ADV positive, but I don't know that I want to put him through labs and any possible meds that might upset his tummy if his time is already short. My other dragons who we had to euthanize it was clear they were ready. They had labwork already that proved issues for their decline. I guess I am just struggling with not knowing any underlying causes for Rex. I would really appreciate any insight.

 

[KarrieRee]

I have an 11? year-old dragon who has really slowed down over the past few months. His eyesight is terrible and he will not eat on his own. We have been syringe feeding him Beardie Buffet, Grub Pie, or Critical Care. He will usually lap it up pretty well for me, but not really for anyone else. He is weaker than he used to be and he sleeps a lot. He can get around but we have had to modify his tank so he doesn't tip and fall or get stuck. He goes through spurts where he seems to get URI symptoms (he will get a ring of gunk around one nostril). But lately, he has been opening and closing his mouth sometimes. I swear I read somewhere that is an indication of pain. But my google searches are not helpful. I do not want to see him suffering but the thought of having to put down my Rexy boy is hard. We have gone through 4 vets in the 7 years we have had him. Our favorite and a clear expert moved far away. Our current is nice but she is more of a general wildlife vet who will see exotics. I don't want to just give up on him but we know he is ADV positive, but I don't know that I want to put him through labs and any possible meds that might upset his tummy if his time is already short. My other dragons who we had to euthanize it was clear they were ready. They had labwork already that proved issues for their decline. I guess I am just struggling with not knowing any underlying causes for Rex. I would really appreciate any insight.

@AHBD
@Drache613

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is always a hard ordeal to go through. Do you have any old blood tests on him at all?
Please post a few pictures of him along with tank setup pictures, etc. What type of UVB lighting does he have & is it up
to date?
His age of 11 is not bad at all. No matter what the age, it's never easy when they decline. We will review everything with
you to see what else can be done. How much food do you syringe him & how often?

Tracie

 

[trisharg]

Here are a couple of pics from today and the one in the towel is after a long soak and drink last night.

His enclosure is super basic. That bowl in the middle is actually our attempt at adding some moisture to his tank. He has clogged pores. He always has. But vets have never wanted to do anything with them and said to leave them alone. The last time I was in, I asked again and the vet finally agreed with me that they were an issue, but told me that with his age, she didn't want to put him under to clean things out. We have tried soaking and scrubbing with a toothbrush so many times. She suggested putting a soaking dish in his tank. But I told her that he has a track record of drinking to excess and then I have to trip him and help drain some of it out. She then suggested we put a shallow dish with wet moss. He actually seems to enjoy it, though I don't know that it does any good. He has a zoomed basking bulb and Reptisun 10.0 HO. I just checked it today. It is measuring about 3-3.2 directly under it so it is probably time to change that.

He doesn't have any recent labs. I think his last vet visit was last summer and there weren't any labs done. We have known for year he was ADV positive. Never seemed to affect him but now he is much weaker. He gets serrapeptase daily and I mix black cherry powder in his food. He eats several cc's of mix a day, maybe 10ish?? I encourage him to eat until he starts wiping the food all over me or trying to get away. If he retires early for the evening, I don't generally wake him up to eat.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, it sounds like you're doing everything that you can and the fact that he's reached this age despite having ADV shows that he's had really good care and been strong to have come this far. Just do what you're doing as much as he'll tolerate without being invasive or putting him through too much. Best wishes to you + your good boi.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

It does sound like his setup is good, the UVB lighting should definitely be sufficient for him. The T5 tube is measuring a 3 or so UVI
with the meter? That probably should be changed out. How old is it?
Does the serrapeptase seem to help him out? Are you giving calcium for him also?
The black cherry should be helpful for his kidneys. Since he has Adeno, you could consider some milk thistle for his liver too. It appears
his eyes a little puffy & his hands, too which could indicate renal issues. Did the vet ever mention gout at all?

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie