Need help?!

[Zeus71103]

Hey guys, I am in desperate need of someone's opinion. My BD has been having problems going to the bathroom for several months now. To begin, I thought it was constipation because it would sometimes have bright red blood. Took her to a local vet who does "minor" reptile illnesses, and she seemed to think so too. I gave her more fluids, only to end up with very loose stools and her appearing to be in quite a bit of pain. She will only go ONCE a week, and when she goes she just acts like its so awful. I finally took her out of town to a very well known reptile vet, he gave her a fecal. No parasites. He seemed to think the only other thing could be a bacterial infection. He put her on antibiotics for ten days. She's now finished her antibiotics and there is absolutely NO change. I cannot stand to see her in pain, and I am at a loss as to what to do now?? She still eats great and does not seemed to be bothered by anything until she has to go. Does anyone know of anything else that can be causing this??

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Sorry you are having some trouble figuring this out.
How old is your dragon?
What type & brand of UVB light are you using? A fluorescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light?
What are you using for substrate? Sand, tiles, paper towels?
How often do you use calcium supplementation for her?

Tracie

 

[Zeus71103]

Hi! She is almost a year old, about 10 months. I am using a ReptiSun 10.0 tube bulb and I use shelf liner as a substrate. She also gets calcium supplementation daily, and a multivitamin once a week.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Ok, well she should not be impacted then. How old is the Reptisun 10 tube bulb? How far is it placed from your dragon, & is there a screen in between your dragon & the UVB tube?
Was a fecal done previously? If not, I highly recommend that one is done immediately if there are still issues. It is not a normal occurrence for blood to be in the stool.
That is usually hookworms. So, you would need a dewormer, not an antibiotic. However, it would need to be confirmed through a fecal being performed to determine the correct route of treatment.
At least she is eating pretty well right now, that is good. Has her beard been black then?

Tracie

 

[Zeus71103]

My bulb is only about 2 months old, but yes there is a screen between the bulb and her, and it is about 6 inches from her basking spot. They did do a fecal and it was negative for everything because he thought it was definately a parasite issue before he did the fecal. She hasn't had a black beard or anything. She does get "stress marks" when she has to go to the bathroom though, but when she finally does they fade away. I just really hate seeing her go so crazy when she has to go, she just seems like its hurting.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Ok, well there could be some problems with not enough UVB due to the screen. It will filter out about 30% of the UVB unfortunately. Is there any way that you could possibly mount it underneath of the screen, or cut a hole in the screen so that she could get extra strength from her UVB light?
So what type of fecal did they do, a fecal float or a fecal smear? If you are not sure, can you call to find out? There is a difference in the two in what it will detect. I would suggest getting another one.
The urates, are they hard or soft? Is she well hydrated enough?
Maybe try getting extra oral fluids into her daily, perhaps she is a little dehydrated & has to strain a little bit. You could also get some canned pumpkin & sugar free applesauce to give to her daily to give some extra fiber.
Also, try backing down on the calcium to 3 times per week to see if that helps as well. Sometimes too much calcium can constipate them also. Once they hit a year or so, they don't need quite as much calcium because they aren't growing much anymore & their body doesn't need it.

Let me know how she is doing.
Tracie

 

[coastergirl946]

Another thing that may help her pass her stools is organic baby food prunes. My boyfriend's beardie (Curt) suffered a calcium sand impaction so painful that he literally collapsed in my hands with his eyes closed after he pooped (he is now on paper towels). He finally pooped on his own last night after putting some baby food prunes on his nose so he could lick it off (he loved it and after the first "helping", he tilted his head up at us like "where's the rest?"). Is there any way to get her painkillers with the deworming medicine? I don't know much about beardie medicine, but thinking about your poor girl having to suffer like that reminds me of what Curt went through, and it tears me to pieces. I will keep her in my thoughts.