Please help! VERY sick Beardie!

[ThaLovelyMisJ]

I just posted but it disappeared so I apologize if this sounds redundant.

My 8 year old Beardie is extremely sick. He was perfectly fine and then out of nowhere the last 3 days he will not open his eyes, he barely moves and when he does he drags his body across the cage and then doesn't move for the next several hours. He won't eat, poop, drink - do anything at all. We tried soaking him in warm water and wrapping him in a warm towel but it doesn't help. My vet suggested we spoon feed him calcium dusted baby food but he won't eat. We put it in his mouth and it just sits there. We also have been spooning water into his mouth becuz he won't drink. He doesn't appear to swallow tho and at times it appears that he is not even breathing. When he does finally breath he takes this crazy deep breaths to the point where his whole body almost goes flat as he inhales. He walks into the glass ( he won't open his eyes ) and then falls over before we pick him up. He literally looks beyond miserable and like he's suffering. I dont know what to do. This is breaking my heart watching this. I feel so incredibly helpless and cannot stop crying. His neck has turned dark black. One thing I also noticed is all of a sudden he will open his mouth wide open and almost "gasp" while pointing his head at the ceiling for a few seconds and then its back to appearing dead for the next 30 min. I RECENTLY changed his food to freeze dried crickets and that is the ONLY difference that I can possibly think of. I did not sprinkle calcium on them ( I didnt think to do that ) and now I feel worse then the most horrible someone can feel. Is there anything I can possibly do to help him? Is there something I can give him for his pain ( I THINK he is in pain - he looks JUST MISERABLE ) I'm lost and cannot bear to watch him suffer like this any longer. He is in an 80 Gallon glass tank with turf like material on the bottom. He always has water and crickets in his tank and I have a circular UV light overhead that is always on. His temp in his tank is at 95.

 

[ThaLovelyMisJ]

I wanted to add too that the coolest point in his tank is 82 degrees with his basking at 95.

 

[kcarello]

I am so sorry about your dragon. The only help I can offer is a prayer, and tell you to pm Drache613..she is one of the moderators on here and she is incredibly smart!! If there is anyone that can help ,,its her. Good luck and you truly are in my thoughts..
Hugs, Kelly

 

[BeardieMommy3991]

The basking temps need to be around 100-105, but I doubt that is what's making him this sick. A parasite maybe? I agree- PM Tracie. She might know what to do.

Wishing him well.

 

[Irwinshealth]

I agree, you should PM Tracie and see if she has any suggestions. Could you have gotten a bad UVB bulb? Eight years is getting on the older side but I will send my prayers that this it not the end. I sure hope Tracie is able to help you. Love and Prayers! Please keep us posted

 

[ThaLovelyMisJ]

Yes we got him a UVB light...we went to the pet store tonight and bought him a liquid vitamin oral shot that is supposed to shoot vitamins and protein into him and give his body a jumpstart...I also added some calcium powder in his baby food ( squash and chicken )..I was able to give him the entire dose of the liquid shot and he looked like he was having a small seizure after I gave it to him. He is still super lethargic and not moving at all. The black appears to be lightening up a little tho which might be a good sign? He did fight me just a few minutes ago when I tried to feed him some baby food - he started slamming his head from side to side causing it to fly all over his entire cage...lol hopefully that means he is getting better...I just cannot stand the thought of him suffering. I also got him some antibiotic eye drops and he did open his eyes for a half of a second and then closed them and hasn't opened them since but anything is better then nothing I guess...I hope by morning he is a little more active and will at least accept a little tiny bit of food...I know his little belly has to be sooo hungry. He is so limp and when I try to pick him up it's like a rag doll....I just pray to God that he is not in any type of pain bcuz just the thought of that is KILLING me...I can't sleep becuz I am worried sick about him and I keep checking on him every 10-15 min. I'm afraid to go to sleep and leave him alone for several hours considering he has wiggled into the corner on top of his water dish and fallen and gotten stuck almost 3 times tonight. I tried moving it but he somehow finds a way to fall onto his side and get wedged somewhere in that cage. I'm thinking about taking everything out of there but since he can't see at the moment I'm trying to keep it as familiar as possible for him in case for any reason he does not get his vision back. I wish there was something I could do!!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am so sorry to hear about your 8 year old.
Which UVB light do you have & how old is it? I just skimmed your PM after I posted! LOL The circular UVB lights are not good, how old is it? You will need to get either a Reptisun 10 tube bulb or an Arcadia D3 12% tube bulb, either one.
Which liquid calcium did you get, Flukers brand?
I don't think giving dehydrated crickets would affect him in that manner. Are you using a digital probe or temp gun to measure his temps with?

Keep him around 80 in his tank overnight to help his immune system. How do his stools look?
Did he come in contact with anything toxic that you know of?
Has he had trouble supporting his weight or climbing? It could also be a calcium deficiency. Even as adults they still need calcium several times per week.

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[ThaLovelyMisJ]

Hello,

I am so sorry to hear about your 8 year old.
Which UVB light do you have & how old is it? I just skimmed your PM after I posted! LOL The circular UVB lights are not good, how old is it? You will need to get either a Reptisun 10 tube bulb or an Arcadia D3 12% tube bulb, either one.
Which liquid calcium did you get, Flukers brand?
I don't think giving dehydrated crickets would affect him in that manner. Are you using a digital probe or temp gun to measure his temps with?

Keep him around 80 in his tank overnight to help his immune system. How do his stools look?
Did he come in contact with anything toxic that you know of?
Has he had trouble supporting his weight or climbing? It could also be a calcium deficiency. Even as adults they still need calcium several times per week.

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Hi - yes it is 4 a.m. and I am STILL up freaking out and crying. I keep checking on him and have to rub his back for a couple min just to make sure he is still breathing....this sux. I currently have a brand new Reptisun 10.0 UVB coil bulb in there ( I didn't have one in there prior tho - just the basking lamp with UVA ) Yes Fluker's brand liquid....The temp I have in there is a strip from ZooMed that seems to work great becuz it changes throughout the day...He hasn't pooped in almost a week but he hasn't been eating AT ALL. He isn't even drinking on his own. The ONLY water he gets is from me actually spooning it into his mouth little by little. We have been warm water soaking him but he still isn't pooping and we have to be so careful becuz his body is so limp that he will flop in the water and not move and I'm always afraid he's going to drown becuz he doesn't keep his head up at all for the past 2-3 days. He is definately not climbing, and the only time he moves is to crawl into some weird little space that he winds up falling face first into and gets stuck and I have to get him out.... The black on his beard did lighten quite a bit tho since we have been nursing him but his behavior has not seemed to change much at all...The only reaction I have gotten out of him is becuz he can't open his eyes if u don't talk to him and rub his back gently to let him know u are there and who u are he will freak out and take off face first into the glass. This is seriously breaking my heart. If he is dying I just want him to die so he doesn't have to suffer anymore. I just feel so helpless. :'(

 

[zackbeardieowner]

i think its time for a trip to the vet

 

[kcarello]

Please read Tracie's post again...you are using the wrong uvb light. It sounds like it may be too late for your guy,,but if you ever have another dragon it is important for you to understand which uvb light to use. My prayers are with you and I truly hope you guy gets better,,,but I am sure he won't without the proper uvb light. The coil / compact ones can cause the issues your dragon is showing.
Best of luck,
\Kelly

 

[ReptileAddiction]

If he is in pain to much longer (take him to the vet first) have you considered humanely euthanizing? Something I would prepare yourself for.

 

[ThaLovelyMisJ]

Thanks but the only vet who specializes in reptiles in my area told me that we are doing everything he would do himself or recommend. I do not plan on getting another one- I actually rescued mine from an evil ex who bought him for his children 8 years ago and then he moved out of his apartment leaving the poor little guy to fend for himself. I had to break into the apartment to go get him ( it was a nasty break up ) and I have had him since. I met my amazing Husband just under 4 years ago and he immediately fell in love with my little guy and they have been inseperable ever since. I admit I have not taken the best care of him over the years ( no proper light, prob not the greatest food choices ) and I took for granted how healthly he had always seemed to b up until 3 days ago. I figured I must be doing something right if he was perfectly fine for 8 years with the way things were going so I didn't realize nor understand I was hurting him all along. Yes I feel guilty and yes I feel beyond horrible for what could have more then likely been prevented I admit that and it KILLS me. I would do anything to take his discomfort and pain and live it myself rather then him. I don't have any kids so my pets are my children and I love them more then anything. If I somehow caused his illness ( which part of me feels I did ) then that is something that I have to live with - and understand that my ignorance ultimately caused a slow painful death for one of my babies. It breaks my heart! I went and bought that UVB light yesterday and thought I got the right one becuz I purposely paid $75 to get the Repti 10.0 UVB bulb that everyone was talking about. Now apparently it's wrong becuz it's a coil rather then a tube. I cannot afford to spend an additional $75 to replace it with a tube and also the housing for the tube. We spent over $200 yesterday on stuff for him to try and save him and that was literally our grocery money for the next 2 weeks. We both thought that saving his life was more important then groceries so therefore we just don't have any money at all to do anything more. We just don't. I am trying to be with him 24-7 to show him that I love him and he is not alone and trying to help him in any way I am able. ( feeding, giving him water, soaking him, petting him, talking to him, cleaning out his eyes, ) I am doing the best I can do at the moment and am a prime example of an ignorant person owning a pet they clearly didn't know how to take care of properly. I wish I would have known what I know now and it didn't take 8 years to surface so I could have done something sooner. At the moment he is laying inside of his little log tent thingy with his face to the back of the cage. He actually ran in there lAST night when I was trying to get him to eat and he clearly wanted me to leave him be. I turned off his UVB light but currently have his basking light on until I go to work at 2. My Hubby is leaving work early at 5 so he can be with him and he will only be left alone for 3 hours instead of 6....Only time will tell I guess at this point. I don't want to keep trying to force feed him baby food becuz I read that that can harm them if it gets into their lungs but he NEEDS to eat. I mixed the cal powder into it and used the syringe from the liquid vitamin shot to get it in his mouth...is this wrong? should I give him another mouthful or 2 or leave him alone? I don't want to cause more harm then good but I feel like he NEEDS help eating. Please someone tell me if I should continue trying to get some food in his little belly?

 

[BeardieMommy3991]

Everyone makes mistakes, and no one thinks you are a bad person for not knowing what light exactly to get. It's all very confusing. He sounds critical, but I know how much natural sunlight is good for beardies. Since you don't have UVB, taking him outside for a 1/2 hour or more everyday could get some good UVB in him, and perhaps help him get a little better.

I am seriously wishing him well.

You may not need this info, but you can get the reptisun 10.0 tube bulbs for about 20-25 dollars from www.petmountain.com. The hood can be a t8 fixture from walmart or a home improvement store. It's so commendable that you spent your grocery money on him.

 

[Esther19]

I am so sorry to hear that your beardie is not well. If he does not move much, put him in a blankie burrito and take him to bed with you. Put him up by your pillow. Then you can keep an eye on him and hopefully get some rest yourself. My Cissy has been sleeping with me for over a year. Sending prayers and positive thoughts your way, Esther

 

[kcarello]

You are a great beardie mommy..you did the best you could do with what you knew. You didn't do anything to harm your baby on purpose so please don't beat yourself up over this.
Beardiemommy is right, if you could take him outside in the natural sunlight it would be great!
We are all thinking of you and keeping you both in our prayers.
Please let us know how he is.
Hugs,
Kelly