I'm Losing Him

[PastelBeardie]

Thank you Tracie, that's pretty much what the vet said about the color indicating liver issues. He wants to wait until Monday to see if the antibiotics help before taking any more action. I'll ask him about the blood test.

Thank you Esther, I believe that prayer really does help.

 

[Esther19]

I hope you can sleep tonight. Is there a place you could put him and lay beside him? I'd bet he'd be pretty still. My special needs girl shares my queen bed with me. We each have a side, and I can reach out and touch her when I need to, but she is not so close that I would roll onto her. Continuing to support you in prayer.

 

[PastelBeardie]

Thank you Esther, but I don't want him to feel my nervousness and stress out more. He's sleeping on his hollowed out log, the one that's in the picture. It's his favorite spot in his viv. I'll spend some extra quality time with him tomorrow and enjoy him for what time we have left.

 

[sue09]

I will keep you both in my payers and hope that he feels a little better soon,,Sue

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Any updates for us today? I have been thinking about you hoping things are improving.

Tracie

 

[PastelBeardie]

Good morning Tracie, and thank you for checking on him.

This morning he had another real small stool which was dark and had some blood in it. He no longer goes to the other side of the viv to poo, he does it where he is. After the lights had been on for about an hour and a half, I took some squash with a little calcium mixed in and tried syringing it into his mouth. He did not cooperate very well, but did eat about 1 cc. Hopefully that will get enough food (glucose?) into him to allow for more success later.

He's not too happy that his log is damp because I had to scrub the blood and poo off.

And thank you Sue, with everybody pulling for him surely he will be better.

 

[PastelBeardie]

He just ate another half cc, and I plan to keep trying to get more into him all day. How much would be too much? He's 21 1/4" long and the vet said he weighs half a kilo. The scale he was on read between 493 and 497, depending on how we moved him around.

Also--and this is very important to me--is it possible for any of this to spread to crested geckos or leopard geckos? My vet didn't think it was likely.

 

[Brezzy99]

If he is pooping where he is laying (like his log), you could put a wash cloth or a piece of fabric on it. Then toss or wash if he uses the bathroom on it. I am not sure how much he should be fed through a syringe. There are lots of us pulling for him!

 

[PastelBeardie]

Thank you Brezzy, there are some really good people on this forum.

We went outside for about 5-10 minutes to see if some natural UVBs would perk him up. It's about 80 degrees out with no wind.

Would giving him another beardie bath wash out or dilute the antibiotic solution the vet squirted up his rear yesterday?

 

[PastelBeardie]

I just got back from town with some milk thistle. It looks sort of like shelled sunflower seeds, and not leafy. How do I make this into a tea, what strength should it be, and how much should he get?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I have not dealt with the leaves. I would steep it to make some juice, then give a small amount of the mix to him with a plastic dropper or syringe.
How is he doing today, any changes? I am glad you were able to get some food into him. Did he enjoy going outside?
Bathing him wont affect the medication that the vet injected into him, either. Is he still excreting some blood?
You can give up to 4-5mls of food for him, if he has lost some weight, that should be plenty. That is if you can get that much into him.
Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

 

[PastelBeardie]

Baldric passed blood again this morning, and has been doing it about once a day along with a small amount of feces.

He was not happy about having food syringed into his mouth, but he ate nearly 3 cc's. Maybe that will give him some energy to fight this problem. I also got a small amount of water mixed with Pedialyte into him, mostly by putting it into the side of his mouth after pulling his lip down. For a weak beardie, he sure can clench his mouth shut. Are there any other good foods besides squash, so that he can have a variety? Is using stage 2 instead of stage 1 baby food OK? The stage 1 is harder to find.

He just laid against me outside and didn't seem to care too much other than turning his head once or twice. Tomorrow he'll get another beardie bath now that I know it won't interfere with the antibiotics, and we'll probably take another trip outside.

If he can gain strength, maybe he can live with this problem for a while. People are saying that beardies can be tough guys.

 

[Esther19]

I'm glad that Baldric is eating and drinking a bit for you. Squash is quite popular, but you could use peas or green beans. You can mix in some turkey or chicken to give him some protein. I also like to make a slurry in the blender using the greens and veggies/fruits I would normally feed. I add some water to the mix. Then I put it through the strainer and feed with a syringe. Leftovers go in the fridge. You can add supplements to the individual servings. Mine like their slurries very much. Continuing to send positive thoughts and prayers your way.

 

[PastelBeardie]

Thank you, Esther.

This morning he had his daily small poo, and for the first time in about a week, I did not see any blood in it! YAY!!!! It might be there but not visible, and there's no telling what might happen tomorrow, but today there was no blood. I'll take all the good news I can get.

His beard is darkening around the edges.

Early afternoon update: A bloody stool.

 

[Tonja]

I have read your thread and I am praying for your Baldric. I am going to suggest one thing I can think of and that is to have your vet check also for Giardia, which is also a parasite that may need to be specifically looked for in beardies although I am not sure they didn't look for it. Giardia can cause bloody stools, dehydration, lethargy and other problems. If he is losing blood due to this parasite in particular it can also account for pale gums and tongue as anemia sets in from blood loss. Giradia can be cured with anti-parasitics but cannot think of the name of them off the top of my head. Just another suggestion they can look for.