sick beardie gaping and not moving much

[Trini]

Hello my name is Trini and I have a sick 2 year old male beardie. He started out limping two weeks ago, and now his beard is always black, his neck is puffy and has lost his appetite. We took him to the vet, they took xrays and a stool sample. The doctor said his xrays showed his bone density looks good, no apparent problems with his lungs. The stool sample showed pinworms so we stared treatment with a daily iinjection of antibiotics and a once a week oral dose of Panacur Susp. I am force feeding him the powder Carnivore Care supplements and dusted crickets. He seems to be getting worse. I would appreciate any feedback on what to do to help him recover. He is my baby boy. Thank you.

 

[Trini]

I forgot to post details about his enclosure, he is in a 20 gallon tank, has a rock to climb on a water dish, a 100 watt basking light Exo Terra, a 10.o UVB light by Zoo Med and is on sand. I keep his tank at about 95-105 DEGREES hot side, cool side about 75. This informatio. May help who ever reads this post
Thank you.

 

[CooperDragon]

Poor little guy. I hope he's able to bounce back. I have a few suggestions about his enclosure. A 20g tank is way too small for an adult dragon. You'll want to have him in a 40g breeder tank (36x18''x18'') at least. The more space the better though. This will allow him to move around freely and make it easier to regulate temperature and UVB exposure. I also recommend removing the sand, especially after the pinworm diagnosis. Sand is very difficult to keep sanitary. For now, I'd remove it and give the tank a good cleaning with some F10SC disinfectant or a steam cleaner and then put down paper towels as a substrate. In the longer term (along with a larger tank) I would use something like non adhesive shelf liner or ceramic/slate tile for substrate because they are much easier to clean and keep sanitary which will help with his overall health.

During his antibiotic treatment, I also suggest offering him a probiotic such as bene-bac gel or acidophiliz+ which will help replenish his gut flora which may be wiped out by the antibiotics.

 

[Trini]

Oh you have no idea how I was looking forward to seeing a reply. Thank you so much. I just replaced the old sand after cleaning the yank, but if it's not a good idea to have it,I will replace with paper towels. I will now get a larger tank for jim as well. I went to 3 different sites to find the acidophilus and had no luck. Our vet and local petstore dont have it either. Is there a specific site you may know of that I can purchase it from? I understand its relatively inexpensive which is great rIght now, our veterinary costs have been so far 450 and counting. Is it a good idea to give Buddy baby food and Pedia lite to keep him going? He spits out the crickets,kale and green beans. I appreciate any info you have. Thanks again for your help.

 

[CooperDragon]

I mentioned on your other thread that Tracie has some on her site so I'd check that out. I understand the pain of mounting vet costs for sure. It's worth it to take care of your buddy though. If you can't find a good deal on a 40g breeder tank, you could try building one. Here is a walkthrough for building the popular crossfire enclosure https://beardies.dreamwidth.org/2145.html