Seriously sick bearded

[Agmarshall85]

I have no idea what happened, he is a 6-7 inch juvenile, and has been acting fine up until the last 2 days, he suddenly became very lethargic and stopped eating. We gave him a warm bath yesterday and he perked up some. Today though has been very strange. Still refusing to eat but drank small droplets of water that I placed on his forehead and dripped down his nose. He would open his mouth and lap up a little for a few minutes. But he is turning up his head and trying to walk and walking in circles. He can not sit on his log, he tries to move and falls off. I went and got some baby food, mixed in some calcium supplements and tried to syringe feed him and he won't eat any of it, I can lay him on his back and he won't try to move. Then all of a sudden he will almost "freak out" stick his head straight up and try to run. He has also been gaping his mouth frequently. His tank is 102 at the basking site and about 80 on the cool side, we are using a zoo med 50w on his basking spot and a 75w to heat the cool side from across the tank and a reptisun 10 tube. Please help, I think he is dying and the only reptile vet in our area is out of town till tomorrow night.

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Sorry hes not well. How are you taking the temps? How often have you been giving him calcium? Is the reptisun mounted in the tank without any plastic or screen between him? How close is he to the lights? I'm confused as you said he has a 50watt basking light, but the on the cool side a 75watt. Do you use any colored bulbs?

 

[Agmarshall85]

I am not sure how to post a picture, but I have a floodlight ceramic light fixture that holds 2 bulbs one is for the 50w basking light and the other is the 75w, we had to use the larger watt bulb to heat the cool side because without it, the temp on the cool side was staying in the 60s, no colored bulbs. I am taking the temps with digital probes. His basking spot is about a foot from his light and the tube is about the same. He has been getting calcium from the gut loader that we feed the crickets. He has always been a light eater though, I don't think he has ever eaten more that 2-3 crickets a day in the almost 2 months we have had him.

 

[Agmarshall85]

Oh and yes there is nothing obstructing his lights

 

[Esther19]

It is very important to keep him hydrated. You can bathe him daily. Keep offering drops of water when he will take it. Could he have come in contact with anything toxic?

 

[diamc]

Sorry to hear about your little beardie.

Please don't lay him on his back as they don't have a diaphragm so it could cause their lungs to collapse.

How long are you waiting before getting the temps with the probe thermometers?

Good that you have the Repti-Sun 10.0 tube. He should be able to get within 6 to 8" from that bulb. Do you have it mounted inside the tank?

His crickets should be dusted with calcium 5 days a wk for one feeding a day. They need the calcium because the UVB light & calcium work together to synthesize the right amount in their bodies. Just using the gut loaded crickets isn't enough. Are you dusting 2 days a wk with vitamins too?

What greens/veggies have you been offering him?

Had you been giving him baths at least 3 to 4 times a wk?

 

[Agmarshall85]

The probes give a constant reading, I was not dusting the crickets, I believe I was misinformed that the gut loader had the calcium that they needed. His reptisun is in the tank with nothing to obstruct the light. I offer him collard greens daily and a few times a week a few small pieces of pear or blueberry, or grape, or strawberry, and squash. He has been getting bathed frequently. And I don't believe he came in contact with anything toxic that I am aware of.

 

[Agmarshall85]

The probes stay in the tank at all times so I can adjust the temp in the tank when the temp in my house fluctuates, it stays right around 70-72 degrees at night. The only reason I put him on his back is I thought he was dead because he want moving, and I thought moving him into an unusual position that he would move a little, but he didn't and I thought he was dead, but after putting him upright a few seconds later he "freaked out" again and tried to run in a circle.

 

[diamc]

Good that you have the probes in place all the time. I would try to lower the UVB if you can and also mix a small pinch of calcium with D3 in it in a little bit of water that hopefully he will lick off.

If he is unsteady, would be a good idea to remove any logs and perhaps prop up some towels so that he can't fall.

I understand the reason you put him on his back for that quick amount of time. I just wanted to make sure that you knew about the concerns with doing that.

Could he have fallen perhaps?

Would you be able to post a video of him? This should help. viewtopic.php?f=30&t=167225

 

[Agmarshall85]

It is possible that he fell, I don't think it would have been a very fall far, his highest perch is about 8 inches from the ground. I tried the calcium In water a bit ago, he didn't take it this time but I will keep trying. His UVB is mounted with Velcro, so I am going to get some More tomorrow so I can move it lower. Any ideas on the frantic circle running though? I am at such a complete loss about why he is like this....my 4 year old son says that Dusty is his lizard, I am so afraid he won't make it through the night. He will be devastated.

 

[diamc]

The reason I mentioned a fall is because the running in circles sounds neurological. That's why a video may help us.

It's so hard to try to figure things out when we can't see how he is acting. Is he pointing his head straight up or does he tilt his head backward?

 

[Agmarshall85]

I will try to get a video, but his behavior is so sporadic it may take a while to get a video, if he makes it through the night. If I can't figure out how to post it, I would be willing to email it to anyone wanting to see it. I was thinking that his behavior seemed more mental than physical, but I am not sure. When he lifts his head his nose is pointing straight up, sometimes a little pointed back further toward his tail. I will let you know if I am able to get a video as soon as possible.

 

[Agmarshall85]

Dusty died at 11:15pm

 

[Esther19]

I am so sorry for your family's loss. I don't believe that there would have been anything you could have done to save Dusty. I'm sending strengthening thoughts for you as you share this news with your son.

 

[diamc]

I'm so sorry to hear about Dusty. Seems like something was really wrong as he didn't want to eat hardly anything from the very beginning. You did your best.