Prolapse? HELP

[0791]

My bearded dragon (9) Tinkey has been very sick recently and we had taken him to a vet 2 days ago. He is very lethargic/weak, dehydrated, has not been eating/sleeping well, and is blackbearding. The vet did some testing on him and so far the only test results we have gotten back that were alarming were his calcium levels. She put him on 2 supplements and a paste food, we have several upcoming appointments for fluid shots as well. I am extremely concerned of prolapse because he has been straining for a while with little to no poop, and when there is poop it isn’t formed or it’s runny. He seems like he’s in a lot of pain with straining and his vent/tail area is swollen. The vet has made no comments on this but now I am concerned because it seems like his vent area is pushing out a little and will NOT fully go back in. What can I do to help him right now? His next appointment is tomorrow. I am extremely scared and worried for him. Thank you so much

 

[KarrieRee]

My bearded dragon (9) Tinkey has been very sick recently and we had taken him to a vet 2 days ago. He is very lethargic/weak, dehydrated, has not been eating/sleeping well, and is blackbearding. The vet did some testing on him and so far the only test results we have gotten back that were alarming were his calcium levels. She put him on 2 supplements and a paste food, we have several upcoming appointments for fluid shots as well. I am extremely concerned of prolapse because he has been straining for a while with little to no poop, and when there is poop it isn’t formed or it’s runny. He seems like he’s in a lot of pain with straining and his vent/tail area is swollen. The vet has made no comments on this but now I am concerned because it seems like his vent area is pushing out a little and will NOT fully go back in. What can I do to help him right now? His next appointment is tomorrow. I am extremely scared and worried for him. Thank you so much

@Drache613 @AHBD

 

[0791]

UPDATE:
Looking at a few posts I see that people recommend sugar water for swelling/prolapse. I soaked him in some sugar water but he continues to try to strain. I'm going to try for some vaseline as well. He did something that I've never seen him do before that really scared me while he was soaking. While he was straining, he opened his mouth really wide and breathed very heavy while it looked like his body was contracting hard and fast. He only did it once but seemed really alert after. I am not sure if this is something caused by pain or what? I am very scared and I don't want him to be in pain anymore. What can I do to get him to stop straining??

 

[KarrieRee]

UPDATE:
Looking at a few posts I see that people recommend sugar water for swelling/prolapse. I soaked him in some sugar water but he continues to try to strain. I'm going to try for some vaseline as well. He did something that I've never seen him do before that really scared me while he was soaking. While he was straining, he opened his mouth really wide and breathed very heavy while it looked like his body was contracting hard and fast. He only did it once but seemed really alert after. I am not sure if this is something caused by pain or what? I am very scared and I don't want him to be in pain anymore. What can I do to get him to stop straining??

What have you fed him ? How big were the insects? It sounds like he's impacted-

 

[0791]

He is currently on: https://www.amazon.com/Oxbow-Critical-Apple-Banana-Supplement/dp/B001FKACXO (6ml dosage once a day)
This is what the vet gave me to give to him while encouraging other foods. I finally got him to eat 2 super-worms earlier today. I thought it was an improvement from the nothing he's had the past few days but now I hope it didn't contribute to something worse.

 

[KarrieRee]

He is currently on: https://www.amazon.com/Oxbow-Critical-Apple-Banana-Supplement/dp/B001FKACXO (6ml dosage once a day)
This is what the vet gave me to give to him while encouraging other foods. I finally got him to eat 2 super-worms earlier today. I thought it was an improvement from the nothing he's had the past few days but now I hope it didn't contribute to something worse.

I looked at the pic again and critical care is not going to impact him+ nor the super worms I would not think so it does look like prolapse- so I need drache613 or ahbd to respond

 

[AHBD]

I'm sorry about this , it sounds like Tinkey most likely has an impaction [ but it could be something else ] but since there's no prolapse yet the sugar water isn't needed. Impaction can be from a number of things. What were the last things he ate before this trouble started, and how long ago was it ? Did he eat a lot of superworms in the past ? What are the temps. in his cage, hottest + coolest ? Does he have loose substrate ? Could he have eaten a foreign object from the floor or fake leaves ? Try to get any of the following in to him : baby food squash, sweet potato or prune. Canned pumpkin, a little olive oil and raw honey. All of those are natural laxatives. Then use a little honey on his vent or vaseline. Give him an extra warm soak during the day.

 

[0791]

UPDATE:
Looking at a few posts I see that people recommend sugar water for swelling/prolapse. I soaked him in some sugar water but he continues to try to strain. I'm going to try for some vaseline as well. He did something that I've never seen him do before that really scared me while he was soaking. While he was straining, he opened his mouth really wide and breathed very heavy while it looked like his body was contracting hard and fast. He only did it once but seemed really alert after. I am not sure if this is something caused by pain or what? I am very scared and I don't want him to be in pain anymore. What can I do to get him to stop straining??

Another update:
It looks like the vent went fully back in and the area is not as swollen as it was after the sugar water bath/Vaseline. I'm assuming this was all caused by him straining continuously, but I'm not 100% certain.

I have another concern that I would like to express and ask for some advice. He is due to go back in 4 more times for fluid shots, the dates go as-

Friday April 15th
Monday April 18th
Tuesday April 19th
Wednesday April 27th

with the final appointment being a checkup as well. He got fluid shots yesterday, but between yesterday and today's appointment he seemed to be extremely dehydrated even though he got fluid shots that day before. I expressed this concern with the vet tech today and I felt blown off. She just mentioned that the hydration from the fluid shots and food paste would be fine, but it obviously was not. I can confirm that because after today's appointment with 2 fluid shots, a few hours passed and his eyes were sunken in and his skin was very wrinkly again. I got him to drink some water and I had electrolyte soaked him for 15 minutes but he still seems somewhat dehydrated. I know diarrhea/soft stool can cause dehydration though, and so far that's the only type of stool he has had. I am concerned about his hydration in those gaps between his appointments and how he well he'll keep hydrated without the shots. Thank you so much for your help and time.

 

[AHBD]

Can you post a pic of him to show his condition ? It's good that he drank some water, that's much better than the shots. I think that all those upcoming vet visits in a short time are going to stress him out. If he's drinking, rely on that now and try to get the natural laxatives and watery food supplements in him. But again, what was he eating before he got sick and might he have swallowed some foreign object either in or out of the tank ? What are his tank temps ? These are important to try to pinpoint what happened .

 

[0791]

I'm sorry about this , it sounds like Tinkey most likely has an impaction [ but it could be something else ] but since there's no prolapse yet the sugar water isn't needed. Impaction can be from a number of things. What were the last things he ate before this trouble started, and how long ago was it ? Did he eat a lot of superworms in the past ? What are the temps. in his cage, hottest + coolest ? Does he have loose substrate ? Could he have eaten a foreign object from the floor or fake leaves ? Try to get any of the following in to him : baby food squash, sweet potato or prune. Canned pumpkin, a little olive oil and raw honey. All of those are natural laxatives. Then use a little honey on his vent or vaseline. Give him an extra warm soak during the day.

I thought it was impaction at first as well, but the vet hasn't really given me an answer as to what exactly the issue is yet. We are waiting for more test results, so I assume after that the vet will give more info on what exactly is happening and an update on plan of treatment.

About a week ago before he was sick, he ate dried mealworms, live mealworms, and live superworms for his insects. As for greens, he would have spinach and broccoli (I am aware now from the vet that those are not the best for calcium intake). He eats a lot of super worms, and he seems to enjoy insects more than greens.

Before we were using pin thermometers which the vet said are not accurate or trustworthy, and yesterday we got the drop thermometer/hygrometer for both sides of his cage. His basking side ranges from 90-100F degrees and the cool side is in the mid 70’s. The humidity in his cage for both sides range between 25(hotter side) to 40 (cooler). We use reptile carpets so there is no way he would have ingested any loose substrate. He has fake leaves that sit at a top of a water fountain that are now removed. The vet suggested that we electrolyte soak him everyday for at least 15 minutes and that’s what I have been doing as well. Prior to the vet visit, I was giving him a few drops of olive oil, but it didn’t really seem to help that much. He would just poop very little and it’d be runny, or it’d just be urate by itself. The day before his vet visit I had given him a little bit of dairy free yogurt and unsweetened applesauce as well, but again it didn’t seem to help all that much.

 

[AHBD]

O.K, that info is helpful. He probably is impacted from the dried mealworms and the superworms. Keep offering applesauce, a few drops of olive oil and the other things I mentioned with extra water mixed in. Electrolyte soaks won't do a thing unless he's drinking, but if he is drinking some, that's good. Give an extra warm bath, it can stimulate the bowels .

 

[0791]

Can you post a pic of him to show his condition ? It's good that he drank some water, that's much better than the shots. I think that all those upcoming vet visits in a short time are going to stress him out. If he's drinking, rely on that now and try to get the natural laxatives and watery food supplements in him. But again, what was he eating before he got sick and might he have swallowed some foreign object either in or out of the tank ? What are his tank temps ? These are important to try to pinpoint what happened .

Here are a few pics of him currently, he’s definitely a trooper He was trying to strain a little more again and it seems like his vent area opened back up. You can just tell all of this is extremely painful for him and he’s not taking it the best. I will go with what you recommended and try for some more natural laxatives along with his supplements and food.

I would like to add that I have made some changes/are in the process of making a few changes with his current tank setup so maybe I can avoid any future issues. I removed all things that he could possibly eat accidentally. I ordered a new UVB light, I am upgrading from the coil UVB bulbs to T5 10.0 34w UVB bulb, I didn’t know how big of a difference there was between tube vs coil lighting. I also removed a massive heat rock that was on the cooler side of his cage, the vet said that they can cause burns. As mentioned earlier, I also upgraded his thermometers as well. Are there any other changes I could make at the moment? His cage is more on the empty side currently so I can add or remove whatever is needed. I also wanted to ask if the waterfall is okay? I haven’t used it in a long time due to fear of mold build up, and the inside is extremely hard to clean. Should I opt for something else or is it fine as a decoration? He has had it for less than a year. Thank you again for your help.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your boy doing this evening?
I am glad to hear you are upgrading to a T5 tube now from the coil. Do you have a copy of the
blood test you could post? He may or may not be impacted but when they suffer from hypocalcemia,
they can oftentimes have trouble with going to the bathroom. Which calcium supplementation did the
vet give you?
We recommend either the Reptisun 10 T5 or the Arcadia D3 12% tube. They are both good & are so
much better than the compact/coil lights.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[0791]

Hello,

How is your boy doing this evening?
I am glad to hear you are upgrading to a T5 tube now from the coil. Do you have a copy of the
blood test you could post? He may or may not be impacted but when they suffer from hypocalcemia,
they can oftentimes have trouble with going to the bathroom. Which calcium supplementation did the
vet give you?
We recommend either the Reptisun 10 T5 or the Arcadia D3 12% tube. They are both good & are so
much better than the compact/coil lights.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

These are his discharge papers/the vets findings. There is a concern for hypocalcemia sadly. I would like to add so far aside from the calcium, the only other bad reading was his blood sugar. They said it was around 100 over the average range but they didn’t seem too concerned over it as they stated that over 1000 would be extremely worrisome. The only plan we have so far is giving him the supplements/food and hoping to see some improvements in his levels after 7-10 days until we get some other tests back. I got a fecal sample yesterday that they said was diagnostic (finally after no bowel movements for a bit/very small bowel movements) so we are waiting for the results on that as well. We are holding off on X-rays until we get his other tests back to even see if an X-ray is needed. (Vet approved)

I am not sure how Tinkey will recover. Today he seems tired/dehydrated again as I woke him up for his calcium supplement. I know he hasn’t been sleeping well at all, but I’m happy he finally got to sleep somewhat last night after a while of not sleeping. It has only been a little over 2 days though. While I see some improvements, I also see somethings that worry me. As mentioned earlier, I got him to eat for the first time since he’s gotten sick and he finally went to sleep, but the constant straining/blackbearding really concerns me. Another good thing to note is that he feels a little heavier/bulkier again, since he wasn’t eating he definitely felt like he was rapidly losing weight and he felt more bony. The only other big concern I have currently is his dehydration. He was drinking some water before we took him to the vet but he was still 7%-8% dehydrated. Even with the fluid shots and drinking water he still gets sunken eyes and wrinkly skin, it worries me a lot that he cannot seem to stay hydrated no matter how much we give him. The vet really hasn’t given me plans of what improvements will happen/when to expect them, not even side effects or if he’ll improve at all. It makes me feel very sad. I understand we must wait until we have all of the results from his tests first to give a rock solid plan of treatment and information though.

 

[KarrieRee]

Please post on here when the T 5 comes in -- I will help you get it placed for your tank - its good your getting rid of the coil they are terrible UVB's -- the T 5 has certain placement and distance and that will depend on the screen your using --