lethargic, not using back legs,help please!

[karolynmae]

4 year old male beardie has stopped eating. He does nothing but sleep, will barely even move.

Took him to the vet, not an impaction. Xrays revealed nothing. He has no poop in him whatsoever.

He is currently on pedialyte soaks daily, antibiotics, critical care, and some meds because the vet says his kidneys or liver may be shutting down. Hes been on these meds for a few days now but ive noticed he wont use his back legs now.

I have no idea what this could be, the doctor is having me basically force feed him baby foods. He also did not brumate this year.

Im so worried. Any thoughts or help?

His tank set up is a 50gal tank, repti uvb/uva. As well as a ceramic bulb for warmth. He is on crushed walnut substrate(he likes to dig). Hydrometer is at 20% , temps are 85 in cold and 97 in hot.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, sorry that your dragon is going through this. Is your vet truly experienced with reptiles ? I'm just concerned that antibiotics are being given if the vet suspects kidney/liver issues because antibiotics can make that worse. What are the other meds. being given ? Can you post the X-rays here ? There may be impaction from the crushed walnut that your vet is not seeing. It's probably best to get rid of the walnut. Pedialyte baths will not help unless the dragon drinks it,[ if he does, then keep it up ] the old thought was that they absorb water through their cloaca, this does not happen. A warm bath daily can still help if he IS impacted, but offer all nutrition through a syringe and add any of these or a combo: some raw honey, veg. oil, baby food squash, canned pumpkin or baby food prunes. These act as natural laxatives. Hopefully your boy will recover.

 

[karolynmae]

My vet is an experienced reptile vet. As well as the xrays showed he is completely empty of all food or particles. So empty they couldnt get any poop samples for a fecal.

His meds are baytril and lactulose as well as critical care. The pedialyte and all his meds are syringe given as well as mixing in a little bit of calcium.

Im just worried. Doc said he could be trying to brumate since our weather keeps getting warm then snowing. I just dont know whats happening. My other beardie is doing just fine, she has all the same conditions as he does.

 

[AHBD]

Do you remember what the Baytril is for ? That's the antibiotic....there should be a specific diagnosis of some infection. Lactulose is to help him poo, so the vet is also concerned that he is trying to get anything out of him. Did he do bloodwork ? Can you post a pic of your boy ? I would suspect late brumation as well, but are you sure that he can't move his back legs ? I'm just trying to rule things out to see what the problem might be.

 

[karolynmae]

Just took this. He just had some banana. He can use his back legs, he just acts like he doesnt want to. They dont seem painful at all.we didnt do bloodwork yet.the baytril was a just in case he is fightimg something i guess.

 

[AHBD]

He's a handsome boy, and I'm glad to hear that he can use his back legs. It may be that since he didn't brumate he is just now trying to sleep. If that's the case it would be counter productive to give him meds. If he still wants to sleep after a few days of this [ and getting hydration in him ] then you might just let him sleep for a few weeks or so. You can always opt for a blood test to see definitely if his liver is O.K and what his sugar + red/white cell readings are like.

 

[karolynmae]

I guess im just worried that if i let him sleep he will die. I dont want to lose my snuggler. This is obviously my first beardie and the first time he has gotten sick. My bf is worried and i am in super mom freak out mode. Thank you for all the help. Ill see if he perks up over the next few days, if not ill take him for blood tests. My only concern now is if he is trying to brumate why doesnt he go in his hide? He sleeps in full hot zone and wont move. :/

 

[karolynmae]

Update. I noticed his back leg is swollen qhich is why he wont use it. We are now waiting at the vet. Gonna do bloodwork and get checked again. :/

Vet is sending us to a specialty reptile emergency center 2 hours away. Xrays show no breaks, not mbd. Says he looks healthy. So hopefully the specialty hospital will be able to help us