Seems very sick? Help

[Raicardso]

My 8 month beardie has been acting really badly lately. During his growing phase he was eating around 150 crickets a day. When winter came around he slowed down a lot, and i know that's normal so i didn't freak out earlier. But lately it's been really bad.He won't eat crickets anymore and for a while he would only eat superworms. So we bought superworms and he ate about 10 a "meal time" and then he slowed down to like 7 and then down to like 4. His temperatures are fine and i replaced my repti sun uvb light about 3 weeks ago. He was taken to the vet on Saturday 1/5/13 because for about 4 days before that he BARELY ate, he only ate around 10 superworms in those days combined and didn't go to the bathroom at all. When we took him to the vet she said he looked incredibly healthy on the outside and she was even able to get a feces sample out of him during the appointment. There was no parasites. She did say he seemed a little dehydrated so for the last 4 days we've given him a bath each day to see if it would help but it hasn't. Ever since the vet trip he only ate once(this morning) and has not gone to the bathroom. The vet says there is a virus that beardies can get that stops them from eating and that if he doesn't eat after 4 days we should bring him back to get him checked for that. Should i go ahead and bring him back? I figured he was just slowing down from winter but his behavior is still pretty much the same he just wont eat or poop at all. WHAT DO I DO?!

Sorry for the long text, i'm just a worried beardie parent

 

[jezwolf175]

Has,he been lethargic? He may be going into a semibrumation. If he has been hiding more, eating less, and sometimes plain grumpy then it may be just that. Just keep an eye on him and his weight. maybe another member will chime in.

If you feel the need to go bring him in. just keep an eye on him.

 

[Esther19]

Let's try a couple things. First, offer him water orally, via dropper or syringe, if he doesn't drink in the bath.
Get some Stage One baby food. Turkey or chicken. Squash and greens beans. Mix a meat with a veg. Add water if necessary. Dribble it over his lips to see if he will lick. If you have canned pumpkin with no spices, that will work, too. Add his supplements and a couple drops of vegetable or mineral oil to the mix and feed by syringe. You can bathe him twice daily. Make the water just a bit warmer and just a bit deeper than usual. Stay with him the whole time. This might encourage him to go potty.This should help him stay hydrated, too. They don't eat well if dehydrated. The baby food will get some nutrition in him if he will eat some.

Please let us know the temperatures in his tank: basking spot, warm side, and cool side. Also we need to know what you are using to measure temps. This affects eating, as well. Please keep us posted on his progress.

 

[Raicardso]

Let's try a couple things. First, offer him water orally, via dropper or syringe, if he doesn't drink in the bath.
Get some Stage One baby food. Turkey or chicken. Squash and greens beans. Mix a meat with a veg. Add water if necessary. Dribble it over his lips to see if he will lick. If you have canned pumpkin with no spices, that will work, too. Add his supplements and a couple drops of vegetable or mineral oil to the mix and feed by syringe. You can bathe him twice daily. Make the water just a bit warmer and just a bit deeper than usual. Stay with him the whole time. This might encourage him to go potty.This should help him stay hydrated, too. They don't eat well if dehydrated. The baby food will get some nutrition in him if he will eat some.

Please let us know the temperatures in his tank: basking spot, warm side, and cool side. Also we need to know what you are using to measure temps. This affects eating, as well. Please keep us posted on his progress.

The basking spot when he's not on the rock is about 104 last i remember. I use a thermometer with a probe. Cool side is about 80. The temperature may be a little low, but i know it's not extremely low, I've had the hardest time ever getting the right temperature. Also its the same light we used for when he was going through his grow phase and was eating like a mad man.The only light that works for me is the 150W zilla bulb.
As for your first couple suggestions, what will those do?

 

[Esther19]

It will get him some nutrients and keep him hydrated. The oil will help him go potty. Your temps sound good.

 

[kcarello]

Hello, Does your dragon eat greens and veggies at all??? I don't see any mentioned??

 

[Raicardso]

Yes we supply greens every morning. He use to eat them all the time but he stopped eating those too. Today we tried force feeding him some baby food that you guys mentioned. i felt so bad

Edit- Syringe feeding* force feeding sounds too bad.

 

[kcarello]

Aww! Did you try just dripping it on his nose and letting him lick it up?

 

[Raicardso]

Aww! Did you try just dripping it on his nose and letting him lick it up?

yeah and that worked for a little bit, then he started running away :\

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How close is the Reptisun 10 tube bulb to him & is there a screen or plastic in between him & the light?
At his age of 8 or so months, it is highly possible he could be trying to slow down or brumate a little bit. Do you have any pictures of him?
If he is not testing for high levels of worms/parasites & his weight is stable, that would my idea as to what is going on with him.
Hydrating him is a good idea though, to help in case he may be impacted.
What type of calcium do you use for him & how often does he receive it?

Tracie

 

[Raicardso]

Hello,

How close is the Reptisun 10 tube bulb to him & is there a screen or plastic in between him & the light?
At his age of 8 or so months, it is highly possible he could be trying to slow down or brumate a little bit. Do you have any pictures of him?
If he is not testing for high levels of worms/parasites & his weight is stable, that would my idea as to what is going on with him.
Hydrating him is a good idea though, to help in case he may be impacted.
What type of calcium do you use for him & how often does he receive it?

Tracie

he's about 8 inches from the tube, and there is a mesh cover or whatever those are on top of the cage. I can post a picture in a little bit of him . I don't have a scale so i don't know how his weight is doing, but last time i went to the vet a week ago he was at about 650 grams or so. He looks like he's lot a little bit of weight. We've been giving him a bath every day as well as syringe feeding him some water. He finally went to the bathroom yesterday after 4 days of nothing, and the white part was pretty hard. I use the zoo med repti calcium, and i use to do calcium 5 times, multi vitamin twice every week. But since he hasn't been eating that schedule is screwed up.

 

[Esther19]

Hard urate is a sign of dehydration. The screen is filtering out a lot of the good UVB rays from the bulb. Try mounting it inside the tank using Velcro or Command hooks. There are other suggestions in the Enclosures section. Also, if there is a plastic cover over the bulb, remove it. That also keeps the UVB from getting to your dragon. Try this and see if it helps. Let us know how he is doing, please.

 

[Raicardso]

I figured that was a sign of dehydration but we've been giving him a bath every day for the last week

 

[Esther19]

Try dribbling water over his lips with a dropper or syringe. You could let it drip off your fingers or a paper towel, too. He might lick it up. You can also try some unsweetened juice to flavor the water with. The juice can be found in the baby section of the grocery.

 

[Raicardso]

Sadly i got the news last night that my boy came positive for the adinovirus so now the effort will be into getting him through this.