***An UPDATE on the UPDATE!!
The swollen leg: This has pretty well cleared up completely now. A few more days of pus that then turned into more of a pasty yellow goo, and then he was okay with that. However, one day in the
bath I was wiping it and the whole scale came off! It was a small hole almost and I could virtually look inside his foot! I kept up with antibiotic ointment on the wound itself and it has been fine since. Doesn't seem to bother him. Guessing the antibiotic is working. Oh, his toenail completely fell off too one day! Weird! All in one piece and there is a new little stub growing under it. What next??
The rest of the updates I will do daily cuz it is easier for me to summarize as I write down a diary of his food/poop/health every day. Here goes...
Monday 4/28
Gave meds then a soak in the
bath. He seems irritated and does a thick swallow like thing that looks like he is regurgitating and then smacks his lips and licks like he is swallowing it back down. While in
bath he literally dove for the water trying to drink drink drink. Even as I pulled him out he was pushing his head down trying to climb out of my hand to get to the water. Walking much better. Increased his temps at basking spot to 108-110. Fed greek yogurt, green beans and vitamins via syringe. Vet said 8-9cc's a day is fine.
Tues 4/29
No
bath today, urates only in viv were very crystalized, though it was dry from being under his basking light. Gave meds and then gave 2cc of a Flukes appetite stimulent gel that I got from PetSmart. It is very gooey and brown gel.
Wed 4/30
Pooped in viv, then gave
bath in afternoon and had small urates only. Took him out and let him roam while I drew up his meds. Turned around and he puked up copious amounts of blackish brown sticky liquid (? likely the appetite gel from yesterday??) There was also 3 small chunks of hornworm in the vomit again! The last hornworm he was even offered --let alone ate-- was back on 4/17! I gave him his meds later in the afternoon and he did a funky swallow thing like he looks like he is going to throw up, but then smacks and licks his lips like he swallowed it back down. I didn't dare try and feed him anything. Called the vet, she had left for the day, message for her to call me tomorrow.
Thu 5/1
I worked all day today and when I came home at 4pm there was another large puddle of brownish black vomit in his viv. No worms seen this time. I did manage to give 4cc of turkey with calcium via syringe. Vet then called back and I explained situation, and she is miffed. Said not to feed him for 24hours but to let him drink as much as he wants. Ugh! So worried about my boy.
Fri 5/2
Woke up to find another huge pile of brown puke all over his viv. On the walls, under the decorations, seeping into the cracks of the tile...a mess. Also small poop and urates on basking spot. I took Tashi out to completely clean and disinfect his viv and then he did something I have never seen him do in the entire 2 years we have had him. His beard turned jet black. Then he would like contort his body and head like he was going to puke, but never did. His eyes looked sunken and he seemed very weak. My boys (ages 7 and 12) were home from school that day and I was bawling and telling them to say goodbye because I didn't think he was going to pull through. They each cried and we held Tashi for a long time. Tashi even wiggled his way up towards my neck to try and snuggle in, still
black bearding. My oldest wanted to hold him and wrapped him in a warm towel which Tashi really likes (and apparently still does!) He held him for quite awhile and his
black beard disappeared! This of course made my oldest son jump for joy and perhaps gave him some false hope, as I told him we still need to know that Tashi is very sick and we could still lose him. Once I got his cage all cleaned up and put Tashi back in his viv, he shook his head violently and threw up again, though this time it was a small amount.
Black beard came back for a bit then went away. I put him on his basking spot and he pretty much stayed there the rest of the night...no more vomiting, but very weak. I'd pat his head and he'd look up at me and close his eyes. He knows we're here for him. I'm just hoping he isn't suffering and trying to hold on just for us. I'm so afraid of what I will find in the morning. The boys are going out of town with my hubby so they won't be home.
Sat 5/3
I was gone most of the day and left before Tashi's lights came on but he opened one eye when I touched him on the head. When I got back home around 4pm, he was still sitting on his basking spot where I had left him. I gave him a
bath and let him soak and drink, but did not dare feed him.
Sun 5/4
I worked 16hours today, and unfortunately got home after Tashi's lights were out. No food or
bath today, but no vomiting either. Hasn't
black bearded either that I'm aware of.
Mon 5/5
Quick
bath but no poop or urates. Fed 4cc green beans + 4cc turkey mixed with liquid calcium and vitamin powder. Seems to be a bit more perky today, and I gave his meds and he seems to be keeping it down today, but no poop.
Tue 5/6
Short
bath and Tashi pooped right away. Urates were all white and poop was well formed. Best poop I've seen in months! Poop was very dark and black however which may indicate possible blood? Also the dark emesis could be blood? I'm not sure...I know that is true for humans! Gave him all his meds including his last dose of Panacur (which he was given back on 3/25 cuz he was acting like worms, but had a clear fecal). He has kept things down for the last 2-3 days even with feedings so that is good. Fed him more turkey and green beans with calcium using the feeding syringe. So far so good.
Wed 5/7
Gave meds, last day of antibiotic today. Bathed and had urates only which were very white and well formed with a little yellow end. Fed him 9cc of pumpkin mixed with greek yogurt and he kept that down.
Thu 5/8
Here we go again...Tashi was
black bearding a bit this morning, but was pretty alert. Gave him a
bath and he kept trying to jump out. He used to love his baths and now he seems irritated by them, always jumping out. I guess I should feel blessed he has the energy to try it??? Pooped in viv with stool half black and half green but well formed. Urates nice and white with sm yellow end. Other than the
black beard he seemed okay. Then when I was trying to feed him some turkey and pumpkin, I no sooner got the syringe to open his mouth when he shook his head side to side and vomited dark brown sticky fluid again. It wasn't quite as big quantity as in the past though, but still very dark.
Black beard remains. He is more alert than the last time he puked though and I wrapped him in warm towel and he contorted and did the sticky swallow a bit but didn't puke again.
I just don't get this...I'm totally lost on what is going on and what to do. Worse yet, my oldest son and I are leaving to go on a school trip on Monday and we will be gone for 3 days. My hubby is very worried because he does not know how to feed Tashi with the syringe and since Tashi wont eat on his own, putting vegi's in his cage probably won't work.
WHAT DO I DO??? This is such a roller coaster! So many tears and worried stress already! My family is a wreck over this sick dragon! To top it off, this morning on the way to school the boys and I saw a bunch of crows pecking at something and chasing something. We shooed them away and found it was a baby squirrel. It didn't look in too bad of shape and we scooped it up and brought it to the Wildlife Rehab Center a few blocks away. They said the baby squirrel looked pretty good and old enough where he will probably survive this. So it was nice to help out another baby, but now we have to hope our 2yo "baby" will pull through this crazy illness.
Again, thank you to all of you who are following this post and are offering such great support and words of wisdom. All we can do still is wait and hope for the best!
Jill