RIP Sweet Pogo; Welcome Home Happy Go LUCKY

Has anyone used/had problems with the magic mushroom basking ledge? It attaches to the cage with magnets and can be used as a platform for basking.

There is something wrong with my beardie. I have ruled out just about everything, so now I am checking particular cage furniture. Pogo goes back to the vet on Tuesday (and I am surprised I have been able to keep her alive this long). She has serious eating problems and now she has eye problems too. No signs of respiratory infection, though - like no mouth opening, weird breathing, crusties, mucous, etc. (I use a Reptisun 10.0 T8 Tube - not coil, so that should not be the problem.) I actually turned off the UVB today to see if it would help her eyes - it seemed to help at first, but now tonight, they seem worse again. Her temps are right. I have had two reptile vets (and people here) tell me that my husbandry is fine, but I am taking her back to the vet on Tuesday with multiple stool samples to see if maybe parasites just aren't showing up in every poop, but are there. And now the eye problem, which I thought was just shedding at first but seems to be getting worse . . .

 

[PogoLover]

I realized that she might not like it in that room right now because it is soooo dry. Normally the humidity in there is between 35-45% (might get a little higher in the summer), and right now the humidity is almost down to 20% (and it is still 35-40% in the rest of the house right now - where the small cage was - but not in her room due to the space heater). So, I put some water pans in the room to try to get the humidity up in there.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Can you move her tank to a different room so you don't have to do that? And if not, the extra pans of water should work well.

 

[PogoLover]

So, I am bleaching an old cat box that has not been used in 5 years, and I am going to put that in Pogo's room filled with water (after I rinse all of the bleach out, of course). That should get the humidity up - I have a smaller thing of water in there now which has it up to 25%. Hopefully, the cat box will get it up to 35%. I can't move her to another room, because that is the only room that I can keep hot enough for her (and it has glass doors, so that she can see out into the family room and kitchen) PLUS the glass doors have some kind of special glass that is sound insulating (the loud screaming kids out here are not very loud when you are in there). We keep our heat low in the winter (67F during the day and 62F at night), so I really need a room that can have a space heater running all day long until the CHE kicks on at night. It is much easier in the summer, because I can just close the air conditioning ducts in that room and it gets to be a good temp for her by itself.

On the good side, I put her in her water tray (I switched to a tray-like water dish so that she can't really dunk her head since I can't watch her 24-hours a day) this morning and she drank and then JUMPED to the top of her hide and then jumped up onto one of her branches and ran up to her Queen perch! SO, that is clear evidence that her little feet are feeling better - she could not do that (or would not do that) just two days ago! She also ran across the floor last night without a noticeable limp. I think the medicine is working.

I have let her lose a little weight so that there won't be as much pressure on her legs and trouble with breathing - only a few grams. I am going to talk to the vet next week about how much I should feed her going forward. I don't know how she is going to get longer without eating a lot, but she does a lot more growth in the width category than the length category! I swear, I wonder whether she is really a Rankin's dragon sometimes - so tiny. She has grown three inches in the last 6 months - but she also quintupled her weight! Her tail base has thickened up, but her legs are still teeny.

Oh, POGO, how can I keep you healthy and happy?!?!? ... lots of prayer. :love5:

 

[sweetiepie9]

Definitely, lots of prayers, did my heart good to hear that she's running all over the place and jumping high, too. Yes, the medicine is working for her.

I'm glad you'll be talking to the vet and you're right, she could be a Rankin, even though I don't think so, they're heads are shaped differently, I'll have to find a photo for you. She could also be a dwarf, which is a normal dragon but on the small size. I have a friend who's dragon is a dwarf, but a bigger one as he's 17" long but small otherwise. She just is Pogo as far as I'm concerned :love5: the one and only :mrgreen:

Thanks for keeping me updated. The water dish in her tank and the cat box in her room will help alot. I'm glad she can see all your activity, they like that.

 

[PogoLover]

She seemed to be getting better, but today, she took a turn for the worse. She is limping again and very lethargic. She still ate, drank and pooped, but I feel as though something is different. Maybe I am just being paranoid. I really thought she had given up when I was holding her by a light after dinner . . . and then she cocked her head to look because she saw her worms moving around (I was cleaning their bowl and getting them new food so they were all crawling around in a bin and she could see them). There is still a little spark there, but not much. She is dragging herself along again - when just yesterday she could jump and was carrying herself up off the ground. She lifts her head up when I come into the room, but it looks like it is taking everything she has got to do it. I just don't get it. I am not giving up, but my hope is waning.

 

[sweetiepie9]

I'm so sorry to hear this. I think you should call the vet and ask what could be happening to her because she was doing so well. I hope she recovers soon, poor sweet girl. I'm glad you're not giving up hope, you've worked so hard to get her well.

Take care and give me an update tomorrow, please? I'll be praying for her to recover. I'm just hoping she did too much & that's all it is, she just needs to rest.

 

[PogoLover]

Already sent the e-mail to the vet with the two-week update (just sent it two minutes ago). I also asked her whether there is any way this could be gout. I will let you know when I hear back.

Pogo is laying on me for her nightly cuddles and heating pad now. She is breathing more calmly and not scaring me as much as earlier tonight (I broke down in a hysterical crying fit while doing the dishes, because I was so afraid that she was going to die while I am away next week or sooner).

Thank you for the prayers. I will keep you updated.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Thanks for keeping me updated, hopefully you'll hear something from the vet. If it's gout, it's treatable with black cherry extract. I'll have to ask Tracie as her Napolean had gout. I'll ask her about it and get back to you.

It's so worrying to have her get worse like that, can't blame you for getting so upset, I would, too. So take care and let me know what the vet says. Hopefully she'll rebound tomorrow and be better.

 

[PogoLover]

Haven't heard back from the vet today, but Poges was doing a little bit better today. I took her out to lay by the fire with me for about 1/2 hour this afternoon - she scooched up onto my bathrobe and tried to play Eeyore, but I saw her open her eyes and whip her head around to watch the birds outside. Then she stuck her head in my bathrobe sleeve. LOL. She actually got fairly white bellied and lost the beard for a while. I didn't keep her out too long, though, because of the UVB. She is still eating and pooping fine. She's upset because she can't walk very well - just does the scoochy thing.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Oh dear, something's up with her. I hope you hear from the vet soon. And as for the UVB as long as she gets 8 hours a day under it, she's fine, you can have her out longer if she wants to be. It's not an issue and won't make her sick.

 

[PogoLover]

So, I heard back from the vet. She says that I jumped the gun on moving Pogo back into her big cage and gave her the chance to re-injure her feet. She said that she thought of gout and it really did not present like gout. So, she recommends that I restrict Pogo's movement so that her little feet can heal. Last night I did this:

Her little cage is now IN her big cage, so that I can use my good Reptisun UVB tube and my CHE (with her normal basking bulbs) with the little cage. She can't fall anywhere, she can climb a little, but not much . . . and believe it or not, I actually have a 30 degree (F) temp range in that tiny little space. If she moves all of the way over the the right side she can get colder, if she stays on the left side, she stays really warm. And she is always close the UVB no matter where she goes. She doesn't have a hide, but she has never used a hide in her life (other than my bathrobe) so I am not very concerned about that. Since she can only scooch right now, she might get stuck in a hide and not be able to turn around and get out (watching her turn around right now is pitiful).

Here she is in her new tight quarters:

She brightened up last night during tuck in time - actually got pretty white-bellied, so that is a good sign as to her state of mind at least.

She is still a fighter - when I went to remove her from my chest after tuck in time, she fought me and tried to hold on. Also, I think she head bobbed for the first time EVER today. I have had time to cover up the couple sections of the little cage where she can see her reflection so when I first put her in there during the day, she moved quickly to her reflection and raised her head up and down once. I was not sure whether this was a head bob, but it looked like one!

Oh, I also contacted Tracie, because I am thinking about getting an adenovirus test on Pogo just to know one way or another whether that could be at the route of all of this mess.

 

[CooperDragon]

That's good thinking to put the small tank inside the big tank so you can continue using the good bulbs. You'll just want to double check the temps from time to time to make sure there's still a nice gradient for her in the smaller space. I hope her feet heal quickly.

 

[sweetiepie9]

Oh what a great idea, putting her 10g into the 40g so she gets all her lights and yes, she's a fighter or she wouldn't be alive after all she's been through. I'm glad she's enjoying snuggling with her and doesn't want to let go.

Now she'll be able to move about a bit but be in the small space she enjoyed when she was in the 10g, best of both worlds and she can start healing again!

Keep me updated, I love to hear about your sweet Pogo.

 

[PogoLover]

That's good thinking to put the small tank inside the big tank so you can continue using the good bulbs. You'll just want to double check the temps from time to time to make sure there's still a nice gradient for her in the smaller space. I hope her feet heal quickly.

My husband came up with that brilliant idea (probably because he was worried that I would go out and get yet another cage/light fixtures, etc.). It is amazing how smart people can be when they are trying to save money!

 

[sweetiepie9]

Yeah for your husband because it was an awesome idea!

When do you leave on your trip? Your husband and son know how to feed her, right? I'm sure she's going to do well now that she's got padding for getting around. Hugs to both of you!