So Mr Pickles is not doing good. His beard was jet black when I got home. He was also black around his eyes and the back of his neck. I rushed him to the Vet last night where they told me he was severely dehydrated and prognosis was a low survival. They gave him fluids and sent me home with a critical care powder drink to give him. I’ve been up all night with him giving him water through a syringe and I also was putting some water drops on his lips and back of his neck. This morning I gave him a warm water soak and his critical care drink. I’ve also given him more water. His beard is no longer black but not quite back to normal. No more back around his eyes but he is definitely still lethargic. He did walk (more like a crawl) across the bed and his head is up a bit more but I’m still terrified I’m going to lose him. Any other suggestions? If I lose Pickles I will be devastated but don’t know what else to do for him.
Not sure either -- Tracie or AHBD is gonna haft to help you on this one-- why or how did he get so dehydrated? I will flag the post so they look and give advice
Karrie
Well he's on the right track now, just keep doing what you're doing but don't keep him up at night for anything. So do you know how he got like this ? Do you know the temps. in his tank and what do you feed him ? Do you use oral hydration ? Post pics of his tank including lights. Try to answer all the questions I asked. Hopefully he's going to make a recovery. Here's how to post pics :
Well he's on the right track now, just keep doing what you're doing but don't keep him up at night for anything. So do you know how he got like this ? Do you know the temps. in his tank and what do you feed him ? Do you use oral hydration ? Post pics of his tank including lights. Try to answer all the questions I asked. Hopefully he's going to make a recovery. Here's how to post pics :
I lost power to my apartment so I lost AC. When I got home from work temps in his tank were 120. I was told to not put a water dish in his tank to avoid high humidity issues. I was doing oral hydration as well as misting his veggies. I also bathe him once a week where he will sometimes drink during the bath. I have returned his water dish.
So if the temps were predicted to be in the low/mid 80s I’d just run the UVB and no heat lamps and the temps in his tank stay around 100. On days it’s predicted to be hotter and humid I set the A/C to 72 and run 1 of his heat lamps and get the temp to the same.
As far as feeding he gets fresh veggies daily (mustard greens, dandelion greens, collard greens, and butternut squash). Occasionally as a treat some blueberries get added. Twice a week he gets crickets dusted with calcium powder. As a snack he gets a horn worm or two per week. Sometimes if I can’t find good horns I’ll give him 3 or 4 super worms. No freeze dried or canned crap.
You have your uvb 8-10 inches from decor? And are you using a hygrometer? Your tanks humidity should not be 70% or higher- is he eating his salads? I would start rinsing them before serving- his poops will tell you if he's dehydrated- urate- should be firm moist and white if it's dry and chalky looking he's dehydrated- extra water coming out is good
Karrie
Wow, that's too bad about the A.C going out. You say it's back on now ? How long was the temp. too high ? That definitely affected him, he would be suffering from heat exhaustion or close to a heat stroke. Make sure he has a cool end no more than 80 and hot end no more than 100. Offer oral hydration. A water bowl is not necessary but a lukewarm soak 1-2 X a week is fine if he drinks.
Shaun, I hope you don't mind, I am going to link your post about when it happened here in case there is anything there that might be helpful for AHBD or Tracie to know since it seems like that may have been missed by them.
Wow that is terrible, I am so glad that he made it through that. I would just go slowly with the
oral fluids so he doesn't aspirate anything. Since his beard is almost back to normal that is a
great sign for him.
Hopefully he wont have any neurological issues after this. At least you caught it fairly quickly
then, that must have been scary!
Is he interested in eating at all, or not yet?
You could also consider getting a rhiastat to help control temperatures in his tank, too.
A little update. Pickles won’t eat his veggies or live food. I’m continuing to give him the critical care powder food mix the vet gave me. He finally pooped today and it stank bad.
What really has me concerned is he’s having a hard time moving his arms and legs. He’s only moving a bit and he’s struggling to get around.
I’m going to keep on doing what I am but I’m extremely worried and upset because it’s my fault.
You might want to have a fecal done to see if he has parasites--- as far as the having a hard time moving his legs and arms etc I would post some pics of him so Tracie and AHBD can see him--
Karrie
I am following this bc I am having a similar problem with my beardie. Andy is 2 years old and has been very food driven lately. She always seems to stop eating when she is full but she ate 15-20 crickets today then stopped moving. I’ve called vets all around me, but none look after reptiles or had appointments. One person I called said that beardies do that and to just keep and eye on her. She has pooped once, there was white and then the poop that got stuck. The poop came out and she has been lethargic since. We made a hammock for her so her belly hangs free and have given her a warm bath but nothing has changed. She is somewhat alert but won’t move unless we mess with her. Any advice is welcome.