Hey everyone, I am very worried about my female bearded dragon, Biscuit. I have been on here before with concerns and have received so much help and advice! Biscuit started out rough with having gout when I purchased her from Petsmart (will never do that again), I treated her per the recommendations I received on this forum and she did wonderful...was thriving, healthy, and very spoiled!!
About 1 month ago I noticed a decrease in her appetite, but I just thought she was preparing for brumation. I noticed that she started to look thinner but not too bad, until recently. She started lapping water with her weekly baths, looking skinny with tail bone starting to show, looking dehydrated. I weighed her and she had lost 81 grams!!! I immediately started trying to find someone around my area that specialized in reptiles...there was one that said she was but I was leary. I took Biscuit to see this vet along with a fresh stool sample. They said Biscuit was negative for parasites. Upon palpation, the vet said she felt a mass. She said it “appears” to be a stone. She said there was nothing we could do to treat it and suggested things that seemed inappropriate, making me question her expertise. She said I should stop her maintenance dose of allopurinol because she has never heard of a beardy on allopurinol!! She said feed her baby food to help with weight gain, such as spinach...you don’t feed bearded deagons spinach!! She gave me an antibiotic to give her and told me to give her her calcium supplements (I do liquid) every day (Biscuit is 4 years old). She said Biscuit had metabolic bone disease not gout when I showed her pictures when I first got her.
Biscuit has been through the ringer...but she has been tough and done well. I don’t want this to get her! Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I saved her before with your help...it can be done again!! Thank you in advance.
By the way... her husbandry is what it always has been... She has a beatiful enclosure built just for her with everything she needs.
Gayle
About 1 month ago I noticed a decrease in her appetite, but I just thought she was preparing for brumation. I noticed that she started to look thinner but not too bad, until recently. She started lapping water with her weekly baths, looking skinny with tail bone starting to show, looking dehydrated. I weighed her and she had lost 81 grams!!! I immediately started trying to find someone around my area that specialized in reptiles...there was one that said she was but I was leary. I took Biscuit to see this vet along with a fresh stool sample. They said Biscuit was negative for parasites. Upon palpation, the vet said she felt a mass. She said it “appears” to be a stone. She said there was nothing we could do to treat it and suggested things that seemed inappropriate, making me question her expertise. She said I should stop her maintenance dose of allopurinol because she has never heard of a beardy on allopurinol!! She said feed her baby food to help with weight gain, such as spinach...you don’t feed bearded deagons spinach!! She gave me an antibiotic to give her and told me to give her her calcium supplements (I do liquid) every day (Biscuit is 4 years old). She said Biscuit had metabolic bone disease not gout when I showed her pictures when I first got her.
Biscuit has been through the ringer...but she has been tough and done well. I don’t want this to get her! Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I saved her before with your help...it can be done again!! Thank you in advance.
By the way... her husbandry is what it always has been... She has a beatiful enclosure built just for her with everything she needs.
Gayle