R.I.P Spot, my one and only beardie

[Tamthecat]

I have an 11-year-old male bearded dragon. I've taken good care of him, he got exercise, I always had a UV light on him every day, and I used to have a heat lamp in the winter too (but 1 year ago that bulb broke we've never been able to find a good bulb that won't roast him and doesn't make the room light up since- the room never gets below 65 degrees, though, and his tank stays 10 degrees hotter than the rest of the room), his tank has always been next to 2 windows, the tanks’ dimensions are 3ft long, 16.5 inches long, and 16 in wide. For the past half a year he's been slowing down, but lately (in the past 2 months or so) he's gotten sick I think. Both eyes are swollen on the bottom lids, sometimes the tear up a little. He usually keeps his eyes closed now, and has been for a month, sometimes opening them but never opening them fully. He may be partially blind but not completely; he can still see a mealworm when I wave it in front of him. His eyes seem to have both rolled backwards; you can still see the entire pupil and iris, they just don’t move. He hasn’t been eating at all. I have to hand-feed him, and even then it takes a long time to coax him to eat a bit of lettuce or 3 worms. He’s pretty thin now, he hasn't been eating regularly for a very long time and that is the reason I put this topic on the ER and not on Health issues. Yes, after my research I found out that not 1 but 3 pet stores lied to me- I CAN feed him certain fruits and veggies and I shouldn’t feed him lettuce or cabbage, which they told me I could. I will be sure to alter his diet immediately. He won’t eat dry pellets, never would, never has, but I’ll change his diet from 90% mealworms to more acceptable squashes, strawberries, and dandelion leaves. He stopped drinking a while ago, so today I did some research and gave him a warm bath for several minutes. He started running around a while after the bath (he hasn’t been moving more than an inch every few days in his tank for 2 months), I have him out of the tank, and he rubbed his face on various objects on the office table he’s lying on now, but soon lost interest and tried to sleep on said objects. He also opened his mouth and there was a lot of saliva. He doesn’t seem to have a respiratory infection or any problem breathing, though I was told it could be heart problems. He’s still lethargic, I mean really lethargic. I flipped him upside-down carefully in my hands to check his stomach and lower area, and he very slowly rotated his arms and legs in small circles, usually when I do that he flails like crazy. I’m guessing he’s bromating/ hibernating- though I live in Southern California and he’s never hibernated this long before. I’m worried he has Hypovitaminosis A, but not sure. I really don’t have the money to take him to a vet, so if I could treat him myself that would be great. Thank you so much to all willing to help.

 

[Tamthecat]

I just cleaned his tank. I put a bowl of mixed veggies and one of mealworms in his tank. He's just kinda lying there now with his eyes closed, head down, and tail up, in the same place I put him in. He has his normal coloration, not too dark and not too pale, so that’s a good sign I think.

 

[MrD]

11 years is long for a bd so it could just be old age. i would stop using meal worms because they hard for bd to digest. also a basking area of 95-105 degrees is need to properly digest so you should get a new heat light. i would really recomend seeing a vet, im pretty sure in southern cali they have several reptile vets near by. its not that expensive as you may think. exams can cost from $25 to $60+, call around and find a cheap price, but make sure they are specialized in reptiles. also there is a thing called carecredit that lets you pay little at a time, kinda like lizard health insurance. keep hand feeding and giving water thru straw or eye dropper. hope your beardie gets better and keep up the good work!!!

 

[Tamthecat]

Thanks for replying Mr. D.
Yeah, it is old, though I heard from several sites they can live till 20, so I figured it might not be old age.
I had no idea, the guy at the store I bought him from told me he should live off of mealworms- guess he was wrong.
Okay, I didn't know they needed temps so high (his tank only gets that hot half of the year) I'll look for a new one. we usually get all supplies from a store called LLLreptile. They seem to have pretty much everything on the market.
Woah, that's really cheap. I was told a visit and prescription/treatment would be $300+.
I've been putting water on his nose and letting him lap at it (he also has a water dish in his tank), but I have an eye dropper so that would work well, thanks. Thank you so much for all the advice!

 

[2lizards]

Not sure what it could be but in Southern California we have Dr. Greek and associates in Yorba Linda, he has my sick beardie right now actually. Office visits are I think $50 and he dies have payment plans. Maybe he can help.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

What type & brand of UVB light are you using right now?
How often has he received calcium supplementation?
Yes, they do need a basking temperature of 95-110 but since he is an adult, he may only prefer it around 100-103 or so. The cooler end can be around 78-82 for him.
He may have metabolic bone disease as well if he has not had a good quality UVB light, either.
I think a check up for him is a good idea right now, since he sounds very critical.
They have or should have a formula for sick reptiles called Critical care or Carnivore care, either one is great. It is a powdered formula which is very nutritious.
Mealworms are not very nutritious. Roaches, crickets, silkworms, hornworms, phoenix worms, butterworms & superworms are all better sources.
Do you have any pictures of him for us?
Make sure to use either a digital probe or temp gun to measure the temperatures also for the best readings.

Try not to turn him on his back, as they are not able to breathe well on their backs. In some cases, it can cause lung collapse.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[Tamthecat]

Thanks so much for replying, 2lizards and Tracie.
He's under a 15"/381mm REPTISUN (F14T8) 5.0 UVB light along with a window on two sides of his tank.
I was researching metabolic bone disease before I posted this, I think you're right. I wish I had found these sites years ago so I could have known to feed him mostly veggies and not many meal worms.
Okay, I'll go over to LLL and find it- I've given him the calcium one when he was a baby and juvenile.
We used to feed him crickets- a bag of 50 every other month, but he hasn't chased 'em for 2 years, last time we had them they attracted a swarm of ants into his tank. I think I can put him on superworms or hornworms.
I'll get some.
I think I need to replace the thermometer; it's 8 years old.

Okay, I wasn't really thinking and trying to see if there was anything wrong with his stomach, sorry.

Spot's sleeping in the same spot, his tail finally went down, though.

 

[Tamthecat]

He's still acting very lethargic. He never opened his eyes but squeezed his eyes shut a bit tighter when I brought him over into the light. He rotated his legs feebly when I picked him up, but that was it.
I found a bulb while looking through old boxes on my lizard-stuff shelf. It's a bit bright, but he needs the warmth. He's very cold right now.

His tank.

Him in different positions so you can see his eyes.

And here he is in my lap.

Sorry, my phone camera is terrible.
Hope that helped some.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

His eyes are swollen, correct? How long have they looked like this?
Were you using the Reptisun 5 tube bulb in his tank without any bright lighting, correct? The Reptisun 5 is a long tube light correct or a compact/coil light?

It could be metabolic bone disease, other nutritional issues or renal, liver or heart issues if the eyes are swollen due to increased fluids & or blood pressure.

I would recommend getting a blood test when you are at the vets.

Tracie

 

[Tamthecat]

Yes they are. Around 2 months- but it was never this bad until recently.
It's kinda bright; I have that and the windows, that's it. Long tube light.

Hm, okay. That doesn't sound good at all.

Yeah, I think that would be a good idea.

Thanks Tracie.

By the way, he moved today. 2 inches, but he did move.

 

[MrD]

i hope you poor baby (not really baby but you know!) gets better! my hopes and prayers go out to you both! stay strong and keep doing everything you can.

 

[beardieluv]

Your beardie is really underweight Poor baby. UVB cannot stream through windows. Keeping them next to windows like that is bad because it can get super hot in their tank from the direct sunlight. You need to take your baby to a vet asap. And you need to start on proper salads immediately, they need a good salad every day. She will also probably need liquid calcium mixed in with high protein baby food.

 

[Tamthecat]

Thank you Mr. D. Yeah, he is my baby- I've had him since I was little.

To beardieluv:
I know, he got that way once he stopped eating. He used to be such a fat lizard, too.
I know it can't, but I was told to put him near windows.
I'm trying to get an appointment.
I have greens in the tank, the problem is he won't eat it and I can't force his mouth open or anything like that, that would hurt him.
I have some calcium powder that I sometimes coat the worms with, would that work?

 

[babyelvissocute]

I would try baby food. I have a beardie with mouth cancer, so she cant eat salads and crickets because it makes her mouth bleed, so she eats and loves baby food. You can get chicken or turkey, 1st or 2nd stage, and then mix it with squash, sweet potato, apple, sweet pea, ect baby food. Mix it with a little hot water or microwave it for a few seconds so its nice and warm. You can also try to give him some wax worms, they are very soft and fatty. You should defiently get a heat light and get his cage nice and warm, and get a new UVB light, if the one you have is under 6 months old.

Keep doing everything you can! Since he's 11 years old, you must have been doing most things right the last 11 years!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is he doing this evening?
You can get the UVB light at www.petmountain.com if you want to get a Reptisun 10 instead of Reptisun 5.
Placing his tank by the window is fine, for brightness but it doesn't give enough heat to maintain a good basking spot.
Were you able to get some baby food to feed to him yet? I think that would help out a lot for him.
The basking temperatures being in a range of 95 to 110 will help him a lot too, with him being able to digest his food better.
Do his eyes stay swollen during the day as well?

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie