Nervous

[oli12]

My beardie is going to the vet today, and I’m so nervous. I’m nervous that he’s going to get too cold, or too stressed. I’m also nervous something is seriously wrong. He’s lethargic, hasn’t been eating, and he hasn’t grown at all in the two months that I’ve had him. I think he has a parasite. Does anyone have any experience with bringing baby beardies to the vet? I think it would make me feel a bit better

 

[VenusAndSaturn]

Shoe boxes work great for transportation, its nice and dark inside so they'll be confused but not too stressed. When i took my two adults at the same time in two different shoe boxes, when i took them out they were eager to explore. Not so eager about the meds they got once i got home for pinworms however. They fought me a bit but it worked out.

Just get a decent sized cardboard shoe box, smaller but not too small would be best, just the right size where he fills it up mostly but isnt cramped. Then put paper towels in there for him to lay/dig in.
Make sure he cant escape in any holes, but dont tape them if there are any holes as that could hurt him.
You may be able to just get a very tall cardboard box, put tons of paper towels in there and that could also work.

As for him being lethargic, not eating, and not growing it sounds like improper lighting or diet. It's still good to get him checked out by a reptile vet just in case of anything, also if your vet isn't a reptile vet and is a exotics vet make sure to research any meds they give him. Exotic vets are one of those types of things were its a 50/50 chance where you can have a good vet or a bad vet that doesn't know what hes doing for these certain animals.

Answer a few questions for me.

Is his UVB a exo terra, zoomed/reptisun, all living things, or zilla brand?
Is it a compact/coil bulb, a MVB, or a tube light?
How old is the UVB bulb?
If tube light is it a T5 or a t8?
If tube light is it a 5.0 or a 10.0, or a 12% or 14%?
Is it mounted underneath the screen or on top.
How many watts is it?
How many inches is it from the basking spot?

What is his basking spot?
What is his warm side?
What is his cool side?
How are you monitoring these temps, temp gun/digital temp gauge/plastic gauge?

Do you use bulbs at night?
If so are they colored or produce only heat?
What type of basking light does he have?

What sized tank does he have?
How old is he?
How big is he head to tail?
How much does he weigh?
What are you feeding him for insects?
What are you feeding him for salad?
What supplements are you dusting with?
How many times a week are you dusting?
What substrate/flooring/bedding does he have?

Pictures would help greatly.
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/
You can upload them there, to post them here hit the XIMG tab of the post a reply box to select them.

 

[AHBD]

The first thing to be sure about is that this is an experienced reptile vet. If not they can do a lot of guessing + prescribe non necessary + potentially harmful meds. like antibiotics. The vet should be asking you all about your tank set up, what the beardie eats, etc.

For the trip there, put the little guy in a small box with some shredded paper towel [ in case he poos ] + keep it under your coat if it's cold out. Your body heat will keep him warm along with your car temp. being warm but not hot. Same thing at the vets, keep him warm under your jacket right until the exam, and make sure you going for the exam just like you would for a child. Bring a small washcloth in case they just put him on the steel exam table which is cold, and watch that he doesn't dart off.

BTW, if you can list the exact brand of bulbs you have + pics of your beardie + his tank we may be able to help you if there are adjustments needed. Here's how to post pics :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them.

EDIT....I see Venus asked most of the same Q's I did.

 

[oli12]

He has a reptisun t5 10.0 high output that’s only a week old. He had a compact light before because a pet shop employee that said he had reptiles for 20 years said that the compact was okay (I know now that it’s not). It’s on top of his tank, but it’s within 10 inches of his basking spot. His basking spot is 105-110, and his warm side is about 95. His cool side is 80. I use thermometers with probes. I have a ceramic heat emitter at night. He has a 75 and 100 watt uva bulb in a dual hood, because my room is pretty cold he needs two heat lamps. He has a 20 gallon tank, I already have a 40 gallon breeder for when he gets bigger. I think he’s about 4 months old. He eats crickets. I dust them with calcium without d3 every day, and calcium with d3 3 times a week. I try to feed him mustard greens, bok choy, bell peppers, and carrots, but he usually doesn’t eat them. The only thing he’ll really eat is squash baby food. He has repticarpet. His basking lights are zoomed

 

[oli12]

I no longer use the red bulb that’s in the picture. I used it during the day, but I switched it.

 

[AHBD]

If you just replaced the inferior bulb he might start doing better , just takes a little while. His lethargy is probably related to having the coil bulb before which didn't allow enough uvb to reach him. He would probably perk up after a while under the new uvb bulb and might not need any vet attention but you could ask for some Critical Care formula until he starts eating better.

 

[oli12]

The weird thing is that he started acting lethargic a while after I put in the new bulb. He was doing a lot better and then he just took a nose dive and all he’ll eat now is a little bit of baby food.

 

[oli12]

Okay he just ate a waxworm but he won’t eat his crickets??

 

[AHBD]

I'd avoid waxworms, beardies sometimes refuse other insects that are better for him [ like his crickets ] in favor of holding out for the waxworms.

And he may just now be showing the effcts of the time under the coiluvb, it doesn't happen right away.

BTW, don't feed him if he's going on a trip to the vet, he'll have trouble digesting it without heat from the tank.

 

[oli12]

Oh okay. There’s still a couple hours until he has to go to the vet, but I’ll post when I find out what’s going on

 

[AHBD]

Oh then it's O.K for him to have a light meal, just not more than a few bugs it's fine. Offer a few drops of water on his snout for a drink in case he's thirsty as well. And yes, please do post about what the vet thinks.

 

[oli12]

In the waiting room now. They’re putting fluid under the skin and I have to get a fresh fecal sample, but they said everything looks good. They said he doesn’t have MBD so that’s good. I’ll just have to wait for him to poop tomorrow to get some answers lol

 

[CooperDragon]

How is he doing now?

 

[oli12]

He was doing pretty bad, not eating and very lethargic. He still hasn’t eaten any crickets, but he ate a ton of baby food today and is a lot more perky. I was going to bring him to the vet again, but I’m worried that will stress him out and make it worse. Does anyone have any advice on how to get him to poop? Because I need a fecal sample