Please help!!!!! RIP dear one

[spikerocks]

Thanks for the info crikest and jiffy. The girl at the vet told me to use my fingernail to get him to open his mouth but I don't like to do it. I like your way better and thankfully I am home all day so I have plenty of time to take care of Spike and do what's best for him.

Jiffy, THANK YOU for the info on uploading the pics. Here is a pic of Spike. (I hope I did it right!) Let me know what you guys think.

We are guessing at his age but it is hard to know because he is so small. Definitely not growing rapidly or eating (before he stopped a few days ago) like other beardies I've been reading about on here.

He seems to like the Critical Care diet. I put some extra in his food dish and when I went in to get him for his bath, he was on the dish!!! He hasn't been over to his dish in days! It may sound crazy but I count how many bite size pieces of greens I put in each day so I can see how much he eats. The herp vet said to give it once a day, about 0.2ml. Does this sound right?

Also, I have been having somewhat of a problem getting crickets small enough for Spike. The small ones from PetSmart are still too big. Any ideas of a reputable source?

Thanks so much and I luv u guys already!

 

[pudden318]

u can order crickets from hungrylizard.com they have them small enough for your baby. im current rehabing to itty bitty babies myself and the people at hungry lizard are so nice and have good quailty crickets that dont die on you in a week. your lil guy looks great dont second guess yourself it just takes time and patience. and a whole lot of love. i have 10 beardies and each one is totally different, they steal your heart.

 

[crickest]

Or Ghann's. I know they sell in a variety of sizes including pinheads. I have had really good luck with Ghann's. The other thing you can get is phoenix worms. I think Ghann's has small phoenix worms that your lizard can eat. He does look a little dehydrated and the fat pads on the top of his head look depressed, but turning off the Repti-glo will help with that. Getting the Repti-sun will make it even better and soon he'll be doing great! If he is eating the critical care formula bodes well for the squash baby food. I love feeding squash, even if it takes a while, cuz they get all mush faced and cute. Sometimes they will lick if you stroke your fingertip along the sides of his eyes or mouth. I don't believe in force feeding unless the animal is so weak it absolutely can't eat on its own and your little one doesn't look that bad.

Let me know how the baby food goes and how he is doing.

 

[spikerocks]

Well, Spike seems really lethargic this morning. His tail is droopy. Usually when I pick him up his tail goes straight in the air, like a flag. But not today but I am just hoping it's from not eating except what I fed him in the syringe and the medicine. He was also just laying flat in my palm and closing his eyes. Also, normally when I put him in the bath, his tail is up in the air and then he runs around like crazy. Today he just stayed in one spot.

Crickest: Thank you so much for the advice on syringe feeding. Spike ate this morning (half of the prescribed dose of Critical Care), with me using your suggestion. I placed the food where his lips meet and it took a while but he did lick it off and then continued to do so drop by drop until he'd taken half! He seems to like it which is a great thing. When I get back from the vet I will try to feed him the other half.

I am trying not to worry too much and remind myself that I am a nurse and I have taken care of people who seemed horribly ill but turned around and made a wonderful recovery. I am on my way out the door to the vet with his stool sample.

Here's a pic from this morning. Doesn't he look sad?

 

[crickest]

The meds can make them feel sick. I really hope you can get this turned around. Have you tried the squash? He may need more food than just the critical care formula.

What are your temps at right now? You might need to bump them up a bit while he is sick. And keep it a little warmer at night to help him recover.

Let me know what the vet says and then get ahold of Drache613 (Tracie) about the meds the vet prescribed. She's the expert on meds and worm counts and all of that stuff. She'll have the best advice on what to do and how to do it with the least amount of impact on your baby.

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from Feeding to ER

 

[Drache613]

Hello Jane,

Let me know what the vet says about the fecal exam results when you get them in. Be sure to request the counts of whatever is found on the exam, if anything is found at all.
How is he doing today, basking happily I hope?
When is your UVB due to be shipped out, soon?
I hope that he likes the addition of the babyfood with his critical care, it will help him put some weight on, too. Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

 

[spikerocks]

Hi all. I just got in from the vet and they should be calling me shortly with the fecal results. I will post it asap when I get them. I had a chance to chat with the vet when I was there and he said considering that Spike semed worse to stop the Baytril for now.

The good news is that he seems to LOVE the baby food. He just ate a good bit of the squash and chicken mixed together. His tail was still droopy but he was alot more active this time.

Crickest: U got me thinking when u asked about the halogen bulb. I think maybe I made a mistake checking my temps. I had the probe positioned so I was getting a reading under the bulb but in the air. I just laid the probe on his branch and it read 109.5! I raised the lamp stand quite a bit and it dropped to 101.5 within a few minutes. Could I have been frying the poor guy? Could this be part of the problem? Oh, I will b so mad at myself if all this was preventable and caused by me!!!! But I will also b relieved if things turn out ok.

Drach613: Still no tracking info on the Reptisun bulb. I think I m going to scream!!! Going to call them right now. Every time I order something thru amazon I usually have it in two days but of course now that I NEED it, its taking forever. I went to the local Petsmart and they didn't have any Reptisun bulbs in stock. Can u believe it???

I have to run over to my daughter's school for a bit but will update as soon as I can.
Hugs n kisses!

 

[crickest]

Breathe.

109 isn't bad. If he's still a juvie he should like it that warm. My baby is six months old and she loves it between 105 - 110. Watch your guy and see if he's basking under it. I would think 101 might be a little low. Try bumping it to about 105 - 106 and see how that works. If he is still directly under the light and never moving, it might be a couple of degrees low and you can bump it up to 109 - 110, if he's not going under the light at all, its probably too hot. Each one of these critters has their own comfort zone and it can be challenging to figure it out. Embyr likes it in the 109 - 112 degree range and Spark likes his at 106 - 108 or so. The range that's recommended is 105 - 110.

I'm glad he likes the baby food. And I'm glad you stopped the Baytril. It didn't sound like it was working. As you can see, Tracie found this thread. Make sure you let her know what the counts were and she'll be able to help a lot with the treatment.

These little guys just reach in and grab your heart, don't they?

 

[crickest]

Also, Petmountain at http://www.petmountain.com has the Repti-sun in various lengths for $20 plus shipping. Just for future reference. I don't know how much you paid through amazon.

 

[RolandKyramere]

I don't think I saw this in the previous posts, but you may want to pick up some probiotics to help introduce good bacteria back into your beardie's system. I use soy yogurt mixed in with the baby food for mine.

 

[Loganator]

I am still watching this thread hoping and praying for the best. You are getting great advice from Crickest, Tracie and everyone else. I really can't add anything more other to say we are all here for support. In the pics of him, he really doesn't look as bad as I expected. We have seen much sicker looking lil guys make full recoveries. Keep up the good work and know that we are here for you.

Originally our beardie was to be my son's (who, by the way is also 13, so I know what you mean) pet, but I quickly became sooo attached! Thanks to the wonderful people and advice on this site, our Izzy has been very healthy. He's now 16 months old, 22 inches long and almost 600g! But in the beginning I also was sold a bad coil UVB bulb by the pet store. Fortunately I found this site just 2 days after getting Izzy, so he was not exposed to it for long. I trust this site only now. I always run things by the people here before doing anything.

Good luck and I will be lurking out here to see how things are going.

 

[spikerocks]

Hey everyone. I can't thank you all enough for ur support and insight. I m happy to report the fecal was negative! I see some progress today. By this evening, Spike was raising his tail again when I held him and he ran around for a bit before I made dinner!

I changed the repti halogen to the 50 watt bulb and raised it about 6" above the tank. The temp is holding at 99.9 and Spike seems much more active and alert with this change. I will continue to monitor the temps to see if I need to change to the 75 watt bulb. Of course, I guess it's hard to tell whether the change is from stopping the Baytril, removing the crappy Repti-glo or dropping the temp.

This afternoon I was able to feed him (voluntarily) the rest of the Critical Care and more squash n chicken baby food. He also drank some water. He had a very small bowel movement - which is better than none. He still refused the crickets n waxworm.

I am just so happy that he is not worse!

Crickest: I ordered my reptisun from some stupid store called maxpet thru amazon. I pd $27 with shipping. Honestly, if it's not here tomorrow, I m going to cancel the order and get one somewhere else.

RolandKyramere: Thx for the info on the probiotics. Drache613 did advise this and I have some here. Wondering if it makes any difference if I mix it in the Critical Care or the baby food?


Loganator: Thx for checking in on us. I know what u mean. I never thought in a million years I would fall in love with a reptile but Spike won me over as soon as we picked him out. He really is more like my pet. If left under the care of my son, the poor thing wouldn't have made it this far.

Spike has already put himself to bed. I will update tomorrow about how he's doing.

Again, thank u for all of ur support. It really does make a difference and I don't feel like I have to go thru this alone. Hugs n kisses to all!

 

[spikerocks]

As i m reading over other topics, I've realized Spike has never shed. When should they start and how often do they do it? I don't understand y he doesn't. Is this a symptom of something else going on with him???? :study:

Although Spike seemed happier with the temp down, I am second guessing myself - wondering if I should keep it hotter tomorrow. I am so confused. I just don't know what is causing the slight improvement so I can run with it. If he continues to improve, does anyone have any idea if his growth might catch up to other beardies? He is so SMALL and FAST!!! :lol:

no errands or volunteering tomorrow (unless I have to go get a new bulb)so I will b home all day with my Spike. I am a worry wart by nature and I am obsessively going over every detail.

Drache613: I sent an email to Max Pet to find out where the h*** my reptisun 10.0 is. I told them if it hasn't already shipped to cancel my order. I will drive to a supply store I found which is not exactly close by and twice as expensive but I can't take it any more!!!! :evil:

 

[crickest]

Hey there. Sounds like Spike is doing better and that's awesome!

To answer the question about shedding: when he starts growing he'll shed. Once you get the temps correct and he's eating voraciously (Embyr eats 100+ feeders a day) then he will grow and shed. Spark's fiance Tazzie (a rescue on this thread) was only nine and a half inches long at five years old because she wasn't cared for correctly. She got rescued by my friend Kat and within six months has had a full shed. It will happen once the temps are corrected and Spike is eating. I honestly don't think there is anything wrong with him that fixing the lights won't fix.