My BD scared me tonight

[SeventyGTX]

Got home from work tonight and found my 10 year old female had bled out her vent...........a LOT! I have absolutely no idea why. It appeared she pooped, but it was covered in blood and the blood had spread out in about a 10 inch circle on her paper towels.
She has been living on Supers and veggies most of her life. The odd thing is she is also acting like her normal self, basking on her rock, alert, and accepting Supers like there is no tomorrow. Because she is acting fine, I did not put this in the ER section. But WOW, what the heck could this be??? This is a first in the 10 years of having her.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....sorry to hear about your girl, I can imagine that you were scared This actually does belong in the E.R.....but it's good to hear that she is acting normally. It may be heavy parasite load, or possibly some type of growth that may or may not be cancerous....possibly something that burst. Or was she out + possibly ate a foreign object ? I doubt that could be it though, I'd think that she would be in extreme distress if that was the case. Do you have a good reptile vet ? It's best to have a fecal done ASAP, as well as an X-ray. I'm sure that others will add to this thread, but it does belong in the E.R. Hopefully she'll be O.K., you've done very well taking care of her if she's 10 years old !

 

[SeventyGTX]

Unfortunately, no reptile vets in this small town. I did have her outside last Sunday, and she typically goes after pebbles, dirt and just about anything that will fit in her mouth. When I see her doing that, I bring her back inside. Besides the blood and poop, I didn't see any thing else she might have passed. She us under her night time rock now, so we will see how she is in the morning.

She has been extremely healthy her entire life, save for a kink in her tail that started about a year ago. But I have been giving her calcium the past few months.

 

[AHBD]

Hmmmm, I'm not sure what other advice to offer.If she actually ate something that pierced her inside, you would think she'd be sick or in pain. Maybe you could call a regular vet and ask if you could bring a fecal sample in. At least they could check for parasites since it would be a very high load to produce a lot of blood. If it's some growth or something else, they could do an X-ray and they could check it with normal beardie x-rays on line or possibly consult with a reptile vet.

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from Health to ER

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That sounds serious even if she is acting normal right now. That is great she is 10 years old now.
I would definitely get her in to see the vet as soon as you can.
It could be anything from a heavy load of worms to liver issues, etc. I hope it is nothing, but that needs to be addressed. That amount of blood loss can leave her anemic.
Is her beard black?

Let us know how she is doing.


Tracie

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree that a vet visit is probably warranted. From a quick search I've found a couple of herp vets in Reno. It may be worth calling them to see if they have experience with Bearded Dragons.

Animal Medical Center of Reno
855 E Peckham Ln
Reno, NV 89502
(775) 827-3033

All Creatures Veterinary Hospital
7111 S. Virginia St., Suite A6
Reno, Nevada 89511-1183
(775) 851-3151

 

[SeventyGTX]

Thanks for the info Cooper. Got home early today, and she looks perfectly normal, climbing on her rock and looking alert at me with bright clear eyes like she usually does. No black beard or any other symptoms of anemia. I will give one or both of those vets a call even though they are over an hour away from here. I wish I had taken a pic of the mess yesterday, it looked horrible and I was surprised she was even alive with all that blood. Then to act perfectly normal is major puzzler. :?

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm glad she is acting normal, that may be a good sign. They are very good at hiding illness though (in the wild if they show illness they get attacked so they've adapted to hide it very well). It's probably worth the drive and getting a checkup even for peace of mind. I'd definitely check to make sure they're experienced with bearded dragons though. If not, they could wind up doing more harm than good with a serious issue like this.

 

[AHBD]

Just wondering how your girl is ?

 

[SeventyGTX]

Just thought I would post up that my girl has been fine after over two weeks since her bloody mess. I never could get her into a reptile vet in Reno, but she had normal bowel movements and eats like usual. Really bizarre thing that happened and hope it never happens again. Here she is today basking in the sun in our front yard just as perky as usual....

 

[AHBD]

I'm glad to hear it ! She looks great sitting there. I think it may have been a cyst that burst.