LG ~ The Handi-Capable Bearded Dragon

[jscott]

Tracie, I do not know the concentration. Just to be safe, I am giving him as much water as he'll drink after each dose. I also make sure there is some food on his belly thoughout the day. I usually have to force feed him, but the only thing he will accept is that squash baby food. I looked at the ingerdients and it said no preservatives, the only ingredients were purified water, squash and starch... I dont know, strarch is ok right? That just turns to calories doesn't it? Does it matter what kind of starch it is?

Well, here are the pictures I took a few days ago as well as some recent ones. I will try to post them in chronological order;

*Note* some of these are videos:

Here are the videos:







Today I soaked him twice in warm water. But when I tried to rub his tail from the base to the tip, he acted like it was causing him a lot of pain so I stopped. I just poured the water over his tail and kept it warm.

So far he has had 3 doses of the Baytril; Do I really need to do 10 doses?

 

[jscott]

I forgot to post this picture; This is the stool he produced before I took him to the vet.

He has since pooped, but it has been very watery with almost no brown parts.

I also forgot to mention that one of the foods I am forve feeding him is crickets. He wont eat them when I set them in front of him, but if I pull on his beard gently, he opens his mouth and when I put the cricket in there he immediately chews and swallows it. He has only been taking 3 or 4 crickets at a time, then he refuses to open his mouth no matter what.

 

[beardie osk]

I'm sorry J, to see LG so ill, please know my thoughts and prayers are being sent your way. (((HUGS))) sent from my gang to LG.

 

[fresnowitte]

Hi Jason I was just looking at the tail pic's you posted....I don't see anything wrong with LG's tail...am I missing something? :?
I mean rather than the tip of it being a bit funky....wasn't he nipped there though?

 

[jscott]

Hi Jason I was just looking at the tail pic's you posted....I don't see anything wrong with LG's tail...am I missing something? :?
I mean rather than the tip of it being a bit funky....wasn't he nipped there though?

That makes me feel a little less guilty... I didn't see anything wrong either, but when the vet saw it and felt it he said it was going to "just fall off"... :?

This is a very similar thing that was posted in another(now locked) thread... What is with all these negligent/ignorant vets?

I should have gone to the other guy, Dr Greek... He was just so freakin expensive and I simply couldn't afford him. He would have done all sorts of tests I bet. I am so angry that I wasted my check so a guy could squeeze LG and fork out some baytril...

 

[fresnowitte]

Jason all I can say is a good vet is hard to find in California for some reason...
I don't mind paying for a good vet(as long as is not an arm, leg, and first born child...) I just have issues paying for a m0r0n's opinion/"diagnosis". Don't beat yourself up an I wouldn't be very worried about the tail thing either.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Jason,

How is LG doing today?
I have to agree.....those pictures of his tail.....look normal to me. Maybe I am not seeing something or am missing something, but it doesn't look like it is going to fall off to me??
Keep giving extra oral fluids as long as he is on the Baytril. From the pictures, his pads on his head look elevated & convex so you are doing a good job keeping him hydrated.
No, there is nothing wrong with a little bit of starch, most starch found in food is "modified" food starch, so, if you can find baby food with no starch at the health food store in the organics area, that would be better. Otherwise, a little bit of starch is ok, no problem.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[jscott]

Well, I don't want to jinx it, but LG seems to be feeling better today. He is much more in control of his movements, and he picks his head up when he moves around now. Before, he was dragging his limbs round and not really picking them up, but now he is making more meaningful movements and getting around quicker. His head is still trembling; Not constantly, but often enough for me to still be worried.

He has been pooping very watery, but he hasn't been accepting many live crickets so I could understand that. I think I am going to try to smash a bunch of crickets in to a paste(sorry crickets ), and make a slurry to squeeze into his mouth. He eats that squash paste, so perhaps he will eat the cricket goo.

 

[beardie osk]

Well, I don't want to jinx it, but LG seems to be feeling better today. He is much more in control of his movements, and he picks his head up when he moves around now. Before, he was dragging his limbs round and not really picking them up, but now he is making more meaningful movements and getting around quicker. His head is still trembling; Not constantly, but often enough for me to still be worried.

He has been pooping very watery, but he hasn't been accepting many live crickets so I could understand that. I think I am going to try to smash a bunch of crickets in to a paste(sorry crickets ), and make a slurry to squeeze into his mouth. He eats that squash paste, so perhaps he will eat the cricket goo.

Glad to hear that LG's better, I have an 8oz blender, (costs under 10.00) that I only use for blending bugs, etc, it really works, and you can make a great slurry with it.

 

[diamc]

Hello Jason, does sound like he is doing a little better. Keep up the good work, you're doing a wonderful job with him.

 

[TheSilverGenie]

I need to go up to my grandparents right now, something is up.

I got the colloidal silver, 30pp. Mixed it 50/50 with water and he drank a few mL.

I will be back in about an hour, I will make another update when I get home with the greens/squash to make a slurry.

jscott, your entries about Colloidal Silver caught my attention. Sorry to hear about your troubles.

I haven't seen one of those little guys since I was a kid. Used to find them in the Las Vegas desert. Many years ago.

In regard to Colloidal Silver, you might want to go to http://www.silvergenie-cs.com/pets.html which is a link to Colloidal Silver and pets. There are many resources on this site about Colloidal Silver, just follow the links at the top and bottom of the pages to get more information on Colloidal Silver.

Good luck.

 

[jscott]

Just thought I'd update.

LG seems to be doding much better now, though I still don't know what exactly was or is wrong with him. The combination meds/silver water/probiotics seems to have beaten back whatever was hurting him.

His head still shakes, but not as much. I would really liek to get to the bottom of these shakes so I can actually treat the problem instead of throwing random meds at him.

I am going to see about a blood test. From what I hear they are 100-200 dollars, I only make 50-75 dollars every two weeks. LGs last vet visit was taken out of my check, but my mom already told me she expects my next check to go to her. A blood test will sound silly or just plain stupid to her.

Anyone have some talking points on what I could say to her to convince her? I've already told her that BDs can live past 10 if they're well taken care of. I said to let an animal die in adolescence is cruel, and if we can find out what exactly is wrong with him, we can pinpoint the treatment and solve it for good. :|

 

[TheSilverGenie]

Glad to hear BD's better.

If BD has a virus, bacteria or fungus (biological infection) problem, the CS should do the trick. Don't over do it though, he's just a little guy.

Does he have a hot rock or something like that to stay warm & digest his food?

I haven't had much experience with reptiles for over... well, many years. I do however remember occasional head shaking by some of the lizards & horned toads and as I recall it was after eating or drinking. Are his airways clear as best as you can tell, nothing lodged in a nostril?

Does he stretch his neck and tilt his head to one side like he's trying to tip over? Sounds funny, but many animals sometimes display this as a sign of a seizure. Not trying to scare you just a remote thought.

 

[jscott]

Hey, thanks for the support everyone; Hope you're all having a wonderful 4th of July.

No, LG hasn't been acting funny lately. He has just been resting and moving to a new place when he wants shade or warmth.

He seems to have regained most, if not all, of his strength. He still seems uncomfortable, but I'm sure it was the baytril. We're done with that now, he finished his treatment so we should be completely through with any bacterial infections within reach of that particular med. I know it doesn't treat everything, but that along with the silver I was giving him earlier on as well as the vitiamins and probiotics, I think we knocked down whatever was attacking him.

I'm not discounting it may have been a siezure or mild stroke, but he seems to have gotten over the worst of it and made a nice recovery. He is starting to act more like himself; Alert, inquisitive, not quite hungry yet, but we're working on that. I'm trying to figure out a way to feed him clean insect protien without wasting so much money on crickets... I used to get the canned because I thought they were sterile due to the cooking. The live ones die no matter how well I take care of them, it seems.

Alright, well here's wishing you all a happy 4th! More pictures soon. :mrgreen:

 

[Goonie]

Jason, thank you so much for updating on how LG's doing. I was so worried that something horrible had happened.

Hopefully the baytril got rid of a major part of what was attacking LG's system, and that the silver will continue to heal him.