Please help!!!!! RIP dear one

[spikerocks]

We purchased Spike at the beginning of November as a bday present for my son. I took him to the vet (a specialist for reptiles) within a week. Spike is very alert and active. Rarely goes into his basking area except after we've had him out or he's had a bath. He still weighs 5g. Hasn't gained any weight since we bought him but he has grown some. He is currently 5 3/4 inches long. He looks healthy but he hardly eats.

Everything I read says his appetite should be voracious and this just isn't the case. We are lucky if he eats two crickets every two days and a waxworm every three days. He only eats a tiny bit of his greens. He does move his bowels daily and they are normal. He's also been dewormed.

He never goes under his hideout and spends the majority of his time in the middle of his enclsoure where it is warm. I have followed all the recommendations of the vet regarding the uv-b lamps, the temps for the basking area and the warm area as well as his enclosure set up.

Spike gets up around 7am but puts himself to bed around 7pm. I am home with him all day so he gets out for excercise and handling. He seems okay other than the fact that he doesn't eat and sems to be on the small side. We figure he uis about 4 months and when I see other people's posts about size I am amazed.

I love this little guy and am constantly stressed out over this food situation. PLEASE, ANY INFO OR INSIGHT WOULD BE IMMENSELY APPRECIATED. Thank you.

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

What typ of uvb are u using?What are u taking your temps with?What are your temps?How often does he eat?what does he eat?What kind of substrate are u using?
By responding to these questions it will be easier to try n figure out whats going on w/ the little guy.

 

[isabelleandpaul]

Just a suggestion: maybe he is not warm enough to feel hungry. If you could make him stay longer on his basking spot (warmest point), maybe he would get more hungry. I noticed that if my beardie did not have enough time to warm uo in the morning, she's not really interested in food, but when she's warmed up, she even found a way to let us know she is hungry (stares at the crickets bin, scratches the glass...).
Please keep us updated!

 

[spikerocks]

Thanks for your quick response. I use a repti-glo 10.0 uv-b bulb. The heat lamp is a 75 watt repti halogen by zoomed. The temps are: basking area between 98 ans 103, warm area 85 and cool is 70-75. I have two digital thermometers for the basking area and warm area and a dial for the cool area. The substrate is indoor/outdoor carpeting as per my vet.
My hubby is building a larger enclosure as we speak but Spike is currently in a 20 gallon enclosure. For his veggies we mainly give kale, romaine, endive, apples, green beans, peas and sometimes bananas. We mist him two times a day for several minutes, pretty much until he stops drinking or runs away. This seems to be the only time he goes to the basking site or after he's been out for a while. I also give him a bath 3x/wk.
I hope I didn't miss answering any questions. Thanks again for your help.

 

[spikerocks]

I forgot to add that Spike gets fresh veggies every morning and my first attempt at feeding is about 2 hours after he gets up. The next attempt is aroung 1:30pm and the last attempt around 5:30. I've tried removing the hiding spots in his enclosure while feeding, placing him in a smaller enclosure to feed, hand feeding, and nothing seems to work!!! He won't ever touch the mealworms so we pretty much stick with crickets and waxworms. I tried to upload his pic but it was too large, will try to resize it and post for you to see.

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

Sorry to say ...The repti glo is a really bad bulb...what u want is repti-sun.
Is he eating crickets or worms or any sort of live feeder?
Also u do not need to mist dragons,just bath them dailey.
Your temps look good although some beardies won't bask in temps above 105 or 99-100 for adults.
I have read some really bad stories about repti glo if u go to the lighting section of this site u will see....also in the ER section i read stories dailey about the effects of this bulb.
Your subsrate is good.
I recomend that u shut off the repti glo.
You can get repti sun flouresent tube lights at reptile supply co. online or pet mountain.
Some pet stores do carry them.
I saw your last post as i was typing....how big are the crickets?Are you feeding him in a seperate
enclosure?such as u can put him in a large square tupperware then add crickets one or two at a time.
Some babies do like veggies...just keep offering them....salad u can leave in viv in a bowl n they will eat it when they are ready just replace dailey if not eaten.
For ideas on food go to Beutiful Dragon .org
Also crickets or salad should be dusted w/ calcium vitamin.u can also get at pet store or online.
There are several care sheets available on this site.Please read them as theyare very informative.
As always we will help u n anyway we can!

 

[spikerocks]

Malibusmom,
U r a lifesaver. I m so appreciative of yoiur quick response. My hubby says I am over-obsessing and worrying but something just isn't right here. Now that you say it, our vet did tell me not to buy the repti-glo and I didn't realize my mistake until I went to look at it after u asked. I will replace the bulb tonight.

Spike has not eaten ANY live feeders in four days. He is so random with his intake of live prey, it's hard to say how often he eats them but it's certainly not everyday or even every other day. We puchase the small crickets at Petsmart. Our local pet store doesn't have small enough crickets and I don't trust them nyway. They gave us so much bad info before and after we purchased Spike. Our vet corrected everything they told us so I don't ask them nything nymore.

Previously I had the crickets dusted at Petsmart upon puchase but now I dust them myself because they were dying since Spike doesn't eat them soon enough. A dozen crickets will last us 7-10 days with a few dying. Ugh.

I m waiting for the vet to call me back and in the meantime, will replace the bulb and go from there.

God bless you. I am so grateful as this situation is giving me gray hair!!!!

 

[MALIBUSMOM]

Welcome to "Beardie Bootcamp"Your well on your way to becoming a great slave!
I bought Malibu for my sons 12th Bday....he is now 15....I am her slave.
Be patient and post as much as you need here...somebody always is here to help!Thats why I Love This Place!

 

[spikerocks]

As I sit here crying, I will do my best to update u on Spike. We just returned from a visit to the herp vet. Spike weighs 6g. He was 5g when we bought him. He's only gained 1g in 2 months. Since Spike hadn't eaten in days, I couldn't bring a stool sample with me. The vet is treating him with Baytril x 10 days in case he has parasites. He also prescribed Critical Care diet I am to syringe feed him for 10 days.

He said because Spike is so small it is hard to do any diagnostic testing. If this treatment doesn't work, he could have internal organ problems and be a failure to thrive and we may lose him!!!! I can't bear the idea! He's so young!

I don't care if he ends up being a runt as long as he is healthy. The vet said it is a good sign that he is active and has grown a tiny bit since we bought him. I'm not ready to give up on him but I can't bear the thought of him dying.

Still hasn't eaten any live prey or veggies. No bowel movements for two days now. My heart is breaking.

 

[crickest]

First, take a deep breath. I know exactly how hard it is to figure these little guys out and there are a lot of us that have gone through what you are going through.

First - did you move to a Repti-Sun 10.0? If you still have the Repti-glo - turn it off.

Second - do you have a digital probe directly under the light taking the temps? The reason I ask is that the 75 watt halogen is really a lot of heat for a 20 gallon viv. I have a sixty gallon with a 75 watt 18" away from my basking spot and its sometimes too hot for my much larger viv. If he's not laying under the basking light for a large portion of his day leads me to believe it may be too hot.

My suggestion is to get some squash baby food and some chicken baby food. Mix it together and dropper feed him. Most babies will gobble at the baby food. Also, make sure you are bathing him to try and keep him hydrated.

You might also PM Tracie the moderator at Drache16 and ask her about the Baytril. See if she suggests treating him for worms even though you haven't had a stool sample to test.

 

[crickest]

Sorry - I mean Drache613 - she is like our resident health/treatment expert.

 

[Loganator]

Hang in there! I have read of many beardies on this site turn around quickly once that bad Repti-glo bulb is turned off and replaced! It's never too late. My prayers are with you and your beardie. Please post updates as we will be waiting to hear.

 

[spikerocks]

i can't thank you guys enough for your support. Thank you for giving us more hope.

Crickest: I ordered the Repti Sun 10.0 yesterday. Just waiting for it to be delivered. I did turn off the Repti glo and threw it out.

Spike just had one loose stool. It was very runny and green/white. I am bringing it to the vet tomorrow morning. Spike was de-wormed via 2 injections, one in november and 1 in December.

I do have a digital thermometer probe positioned directly under the halogen bulb (about 5 inches below) and the thermometer is always on. I am sort of a nut about monitoring the temp all day long. Maybe because my son's room is on the cooler side this light is ok?

I will go to the market asap to get the baby food. How often should I feed it to him?

Does anyone know a trick to help me open Spike's mouth when no one else is around to help? I just can't seem to pry open his mouth and hold him and get the syringe in by myself.

loganator: Thank you so much for your support and insight.

I am eternally grateful and will continue to update you guys. For the life of me, I can't figure out how to insert a pic of Spike so you guys can see him. Ugh.

 

[crickest]

I wouldn't try to pry his mouth open - just drip some on the upper lip right above where his mouth opens. Then you wait. Sometimes it takes Spark several minutes to investigate the glob on his lip, but once he does, he licks it away very quickly. I just keep dribbling until its gone. Embyr on the other hand, lunges at the dropper and gobbles until she doesn't want any more. The trick is to be patient and I would offer it as often as you can. I was doing it twice a day during the week and four times on the weekend. (working during the week). As much as he would eat. Squash is a staple and can't hurt. Chicken will give him the protein. I usually go half and half. You can also add the calcium and vites to the squash and mix it in.

I know that I had read the recommendation to give beardies acidophilus (?) to help restore the good flora in your beardies gut. I think you can find it at Whole Foods or Natural Grocerers. If you can't find it you can always try soy yogurt. It might help to get him hungry again.

 

[Jiffy]

I will be keep you and your family and Spike in my thoughts. Hope the little guy feels better and starts eating soon.
The easiest way to put a pic is one, get a photobucket.com account (they are free). load the pic to photobucket. photobucket will assign an img code to the pic. Copy that code and paste it in your post here.