Liver problem, anemia, pin worm !! PLEASE HELP

[Nelbert91]

Hi guys,
I have 3 year old male Beardie called Terry he is a brilliant little boy and loves attention. Recently I noticed a decrease in his appetite for his greens, but he is eating his locusts and crickets fine. Also he isn't pooping as much, normally everyday but recently every 3 days? And also when I was feeding him I noticed th entire of his tongue(not just the tip) was really yellow. So I took him to my vets and they advised he would need a blood test and referred me to my local reptile specialist vets. They kept him in overnight as it is a long drive from my home to the specialists and the vet had to leave due to the bad weather we are having in the uk, so they said to save Terry the stress of travelling all the way home and back to the vets in the morning they would hospitalise him overnight and the vet would see him in the morning. She checked him over and said he looks in good health and no lumps and bumps in his tummy. She did a fecal and noticed a couple of pin worms and said there were not enough to be harmful or to treat it. She also asked if I would like to do a blood test just to see what is going on inside. I got the blood results yesterday and she said he is borderline Anemic but nothing to seriouse and also he has high liver enzymes. My vet has not prescribed any meds at all but has adviced I take him back in 2 weeks for another fecal and blood test. And I'm not to sure what to do in the mean time and I'm concerned why the vet didn't prescribe any meds. And just to let you know his tongue is almost pink again. He was eating a lot of wax worms but was advised to stop with them immediately so I have. Any advice would be really appreciated

 

[Taterbug]

Can you call the vet for clarification? Sometimes they don't go into detail to for whatever reason, but should be willing to explain any results/decisions. I'd call them up and see what they have to say.

Some of the things they look for in blood work can be "high" in reptiles just from the stress if being at the vet or getting stuck with the needle. (CPK)

Id want to ask the vet too if they think the anemia is related to diet or something else.

Low counts of parasites are often better left untreated. Worming treatment is hard on their systems and may be worse than just a light load of parasites.

 

[AHBD]

I agree that it was a good call to leave the parasites untreated for now since the count was low. If the vet wasn't too concerned with the elevated enzymes, he may be hoping that a change in diet [ eliminating waxworms ] might help over a period of time. So try offering greens, if you can get dandelion greens they are very good for the liver, but others are turnip, mustard, collard.

Is he a large dragon ? Sometimes they get a bit heavy when they just eat bugs and stop eating their greens, so if you can offer fewer prey items, maybe his appetite for greens will return. Keep him well hydrated as well. If you want to post bloodwork here, Drache613 is a mod. here that can decipher + offer her input.

For now it may not be too serious, and hopefully can be reversed easily.

 

[Nelbert91]

The vet said to me the liver enzymes are high and to take another blood test in 2 weeks and if they are higher to have surgery a abotomy or something, but I'm thinking if they haven't given meds it must not be too bad? And the anemia is border line and she is not too concerned ? I'm just worrying a lot.

P.s thanks for the quick replies guys

 

[AHBD]

Can you ask your vet about milk thistle and dandelion extract ? Both are reportedly used with success to treat liver ailments. You can get both products in health food stores. If you p.m. Drache613 [ Tracie ] she might be able to advise you on the dosage if you'd like to try them.

 

[Nelbert91]

Ok I will call my vets in the morning and let you know. Do you think it's too serious? I just don't know how concerned my vet is if she hasn't prescribed any meds at all. What do you think?

 

[AHBD]

Hopefully it isn't serious, and if your vet is a reptile specialist then he/she should know. It's just good to know ahead of time what might be used if necessary, and you can ask if those supplements would be of help.

 

[Nelbert91]

Hey guys,

Terry is looking ok today, he is just a little lethargic, I gave him a couple of crickets this morning and was ok with them.

His tongue is a lot pinker today !!

I called my vets and requested a copy of the blood results to post here, just waiting on the email from them.

My vet is not in all this week so it's the other vet who I haven't dealt with, so I'm not sure if he will advise me on what I can give him or not but I will ask

Thankyou

 

[Nelbert91]

<a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=vseudf" target="_blank"><img src="http://i59.tinypic.com/vseudf.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a>

Here is the little guy taken yesterday

 

[Nelbert91]

http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=vseudf&s=8#.UwNlFmQgGc1

 

[AHBD]

He's definitely looking bright eyed and bushy tailed. He does strike a handsome pose ! Glad to hear that he ate a few crickets.

One suggestion I would make, get rid of the sand and put down newspaper or non adhesive shelf liner . Sand poses an impaction risk, and it can accumulate over time in the digestive tract to cause serious health problems.

But I'm glad to see him looking good !

 

[Nelbert91]

Hey thanks for the quick response ! He is such a beautiful boy ! And so friendly and he's not camera shy at all haha. Yeah my brother is building him a new viv and were having either ceramic tile flooring or slate flooring. But I will remove the sand for know and put some newspaper down thank you !

Does he look ok to you ? This is my first beardie and I can not imagine my world without him

Xxx

 

[AHBD]

Yes , he looks good.