Sick beardie - not sure what the problem is

[Drache613]

Hello Gabrielle,

That is a big size difference between them, but Hermies is looking better.
The wound doesn't look as raw, does it? I hope it is feeling more comfortable for her.
She has a cute beardie belly, too. Is she eating well also, it looks like she is.

Let us know how things are going.

Tracie

 

[Esther19]

Oh Gab, Hermie is making good progress! Her belly really looks like it's healing. Such heartening news. Thanks for the good report!

 

[Gab122]

Hi all,

Hermie and Nammer are both doing great.

Hermie is gaining weight and is 65 grams as of a few days ago. I've switched to just using colloidal silver on her and she looks so much like she's feeling better! I put it on her mouth sore, her chest wound and her fungal spots. I completely am convinced she getting better! As she grows the chest wound looks smaller and like it's just finally starting to heal. She stands up on all fours so much more often instead of looking like she's exhausted so much. She totally does look like she's getting a belly. her color is great and the only area I don't see improvement on is the bump under her jaw. It feels like bone. She doesn't seem bothered.

I continue to give her voriconazole and supplements daily (acidophiliz, serrepeptase,) then 5x a week calcium w/D and bee pollen, and 2x a week multivitamin and spirulina. I haven't been using gentak or anti fungal creams the last few days as I think the colloidal silver is making more improvement. (Shd I worry about using too much colloidal silver?). I think I'm remembering it all. Sometimes I put a little raw honey in her carn care. Is that ok? She doesn't eat live food or greens yet but I'm hopeful she will eventually.

I'd like to thank Hermie and Nammers biggest fans and cheerleaders Esther and Tracie! Thanks for all the encouragement!

I hope all your dragons are well! I'd love to see pics of yours! Here's Hermie today basking:

Gnight
Gab

 

[Esther19]

Thanks dear, for the excellent report! It does look like Hermie is developing a fine little belly. That's certainly joyful news. The healing properties of the silver are remarkable, aren't they? So good to hear from you, especially with such good news!

 

[Drache613]

Hello Gabrielle,

How are your two doing? So Hermies is improving quite well now?
That would be terrific if the size of the wound is decreasing finally, it sure has taken a long time.
How many times per day do you use the silver gel? How is she doing on the oral anti-fungal now, still handling it with no problem too?
Has she shed her skin yet?
Her jaw is better also, except for a small bump?
That is so wonderful she is up on all fours now. She must not be in nearly as much pain as before. Is she more active also?
You can cycle the colloidal silver liquid, so her body can get a rest from it then give probiotics.
Putting the honey in with the carnivore care is perfectly fine, it will help her immune system, that will be fine. Has she started eating greens or live foods yet? I am hoping she will start getting her natural appetite back soon. Her weight gain is fantastic!

Let us know how they are doing. I hope Nammer is happy & healthy also!

Tracie

 

[Gab122]

Hi all,

We are doing well here in NH - Hermie and Nammer have made it thru their first New England winter and tho the calendar reads Spring, it will be months before they can go outside to enjoy real sunshine.

Here are some pix of them both.

Hermie:

Hermies weird poop today. ??? Is it ok? (Green from spirulina)

A strange thing that Hermie sometimes does after I feed her is something that looks like this video I found. She only wiggles her upper torso tho. It looks like a shiver or a dance move. Anyone know what is is?
http://youtu.be/bfIS7T4-go4

Nammer:

And I found this spot on Nammer recently .. I hate to ask... Is it fungal?
EDIT- looking at nammers "dark spot" tonight it was almost gone, thinking it was a piece of cricket or even cricket poop squished on her chin? I tried to rub off the remaining and it lightened... She was scratching at me tho so I didn't try too long.

I didn't put any topical meds on Hermie today to give her a break. (But did apply raw honey on her wound). Shd I give her a break from voriconazole too? If so how long?

Lastly, you can see hermies getting a belly... Is it too big for her length?
Thanks
Gab

 

[Drache613]

Hello Gabrielle,

So that spot did come off then, basically? Good, it must have only been food or cricket, etc.
What is Hermie's length & weight? You might want to taper off just a bit, as her body is getting pretty round. LOL How many mls daily do you give her?
How long has she been on the voriconazole? The vet may want to give a break every 6 or so weeks, so I would definitely ask her. It is good to give a break to ease up on the liver.
The spirulina will turn the stool greenish, definitely!
The wound really is looking much better now, finally.
Nammer looks great, too!
I am happy they both made it through the long cold winter!
That is odd about the wiggling, but endearing. I had one awhile back who wiggled like that after he had eaten prey, trying to move it down his throat area possibly. Try & get a video of her doing that if you can.
You can definitely use the honey as often as you would like, it wont hurt anything.
You are doing a phenomenal job!

Tracie

 

[Gab122]

Hi Tracie (and all)!
I'll answer you questions w/in your post.

Hello Gabrielle,

So that spot did come off then, basically? Good, it must have only been food or cricket, etc.
Yes! It did all come off completely!

What is Hermie's length & weight? She's at 70 grams. I will measure her tomorrow and update length.

You might want to taper off just a bit, as her body is getting pretty round. LOL How many mls daily do you give her?
I give her 1 tsp of carn care plus supplements and meds.

How long has she been on the voriconazole?
7 weeks I think - I'll call the vet.

The vet may want to give a break every 6 or so weeks, so I would definitely ask her. It is good to give a break to ease up on the liver.
The spirulina will turn the stool greenish, definitely!
I was actually wondering about the gold / tan colored stuff connecting her urate to her poop.

The wound really is looking much better now, finally.
Nammer looks great, too!
I am happy they both made it through the long cold winter!
That is odd about the wiggling, but endearing. I had one awhile back who wiggled like that after he had eaten prey, trying to move it down his throat area possibly. Try & get a video of her doing that if you can.
That would be like capturing a shooting star on film. Difficult to know when to be ready.

You can definitely use the honey as often as you would like, it wont hurt anything.
You are doing a phenomenal job! thank you! I try!!

Tracie

 

[Drache613]

Hello Gabrielle,

How are things going with little Hermie?
You could probably give her a short break from the voriconazole, to let her system rest.
Let me know what the vet says about that.
Well, 1 teaspoon isn't much really but enough so since she isn't as active as she could be then you could probably back down a bit just to be sure she doesn't get too round.. LOL You are doing a terrific job of keeping her weight on & being healthy.
The gold/tan coloration on the urate is normal & can sometimes be related to supplementation or medications.
I know, trying to get that motion on film would be rare! You would have to have it set up & ready just in case.
How is Nammer doing?

Keep us posted on them both.

Tracie

 

[MapleDeer]

I've been reading this thread since before I joined this forum. How are the two babies doing now?

 

[Gab122]

Hi Maple Deer,
Thanks for your inquiry!
I haven't updated in quite a while - life has gotten so busy but both are doing great!

I don't know why trying to update from my iPhone gives me such grief... I tried to update this morning and after much typing I tried to insert some photos so I opened photo manager and in the process I lost all my typing. Ugg This happens to me too often! In any case I always think - i'll update later and then never get around to it..

in any case, thanks for following Hermie and Nammer's journey. :study:
They are both doing great!
I'm now updating from my laptop so hopefully I won't lose this post. So many more smilies to choose from here as well. :bikerwave:

Nammer - is doing awesome - last I checked she was 200 grams! She has no fungus or anything bad - just that one darkish spot on her forearm that she's always had... she eats crix, wax worms, greens and we just introduced dubias. She's loving them!

Hermie has had her scab on for soooo long now I've felt sure it would be healing underneath. When I tried to update this morning it was still on... though it looked smaller (or she's just bigger?) and it was kind of thick. then a few hours ago it fell off! I cleaned it with a betadine swab then sprayed with bactine to help numb it then put colloidal silver on and a bandage to keep it clean. I didn't have the colloidal silver the last time the scab came off. I'm hoping directly putting it on the fresh wound will help a lot! I'll include photos toward the end of this post. In any case I do think it looks much better underneath.

I did an experiment the last few weeks. I put colloidal silver cream on the wound and on any spots on her arms, neck and face. I used anti-fungal cream on the belly and leg spots. Then waited to see which improved more..... drumroll.... the colloidal silver cream was more effective! So now I put it on all her 'spots'. The only area it didn't help was on the wound on her lip. I'm now back to using the gentak on that spot and I hope it improves. She still has a bump on her chin that feels bony. No idea what it is. Vet wasn't too concerned about it.

She's eating carn care still along w/ supplements. I stopped the voriconazole for a while and asked the vet her opinion but I never heard back. I've since started it again as I think it's helping. I'll ask her again. I took a few days off of the silver cream and all topicals at one point but only for a couple days.

btw - I never answered question about hermie's length... last checked it was 9" (70 grams) but she lost a bit of her tail toward the beginning of our owning her. It was black when we got her. so she doesn't have the length of tail she should. so her length isn't really an indicator of true body size. I think the nose to vent was 4 " or was it 5". ?? tail was 4" or 5" too. In any case her total was 9".

Gotta run but here are some pics.

a few days ago before scab fell off

now:
note - she's shedding on her chin.

scab
which I really really need to send off to lab!

lightening "spots" on lip

lip wound: outside and inside
her mouth isn't deformed -i'm pulling her skin over so you can see inside wound.

will update more if I remember something to add... feel free to ask questions if anyone has any.
Thanks,
Gab

PS - Nammer only poops in water how can I break her of this habit... ?
also - how can I get hermie to start eating live food again??

 

[Drache613]

Hello Gabrielle,

Wow, what a huge improvement, I am very surprised. I am so happy that it is working for you. I am sure her tummy feels better also, without all of that raw, exposed skin all of the time, bless her.
The other spots are starting to heal up & fade more now also? How is the oral antifungal doing for her now, the voriconazole, is it still helping?
The best way to get her to start eating live food is to begin slowly cutting back on her syringed food to let her natural appetite return. It may take a bit of time, but it should help out.
Hermies is doing wonderful, I am so proud of her.
Nammer is really gaining weight, isn't he? How terrific. I want to say I am so impressed with your persistence, you are really awesome.
Thanks for the updates on them both.

Tracie

 

[Gab122]

Thanks for your kind words Tracie

What I forgot to mention and what I'm sure will lower me a peg or two...

A few weeks ago I accidentally closed the door without realizing Nammers tale was tucked in the corner out of view... And it got pinched. We have the new Nat geo tanks. When I closed the door she was sitting on a brick in the tank and must have had her tail extended toward the corner of the tank ... So as I started to close the door, she began to scratch at the brick. I thought "oh, good, she's going to file down her nails" (if I was typing from my laptop I'd insert 'smiley' image here of banging my head against a wall) I thought something was wrong with the door because it wouldn't fully close so I opened it and she scampered off. I felt Sooo awful and like such a bad mama after that. Examining her tail it appeared "crimped" sort of. That's when I realized what had caused the earlier crimp in her tail. (Insert eye rolling smiley here) It hasn't fallen off but I'm not sure it won't eventually. It's about an inch from the tip of her tail. She didn't get black bearded or stress marks but I'm sure it must have hurt. Are there bones there? Could it be broken? She seems to not be affected by it thankfully.

Here she is sleeping tonight

And a close up of previous crimp and more recent crimp. Both touching or on black band in pic. Not near gray band.

All I can say is I'm very careful now about where her tail is.
Gnight
Gab

 

[Drache613]

Hello Gabrielle,

OH poor thing, that had to of hurt some.
It may be broken, is it dangling or not, just the crimped type of deviation? I would watch for discoloration of the tail, so it doesn't turn into an infection from constriction.
Accidents happen & sometimes their tails do get in the way as they move quick. Don't beat yourself up over it.
I hope she will be ok! Is she still eating well? I am sure it didn't feel good but that is surprising she didn't black beard!
Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

 

[Gab122]

Hi Tracie and all

Just thought I'd post an update.

The gentak does not seem to be helping hermie's mouth sore. As of last night I'm switching back to using the colloidal silver on it. If it doesn't improve I'll bring her back to the vet. We were on vaca and when we returned it looked worse despite their consistent application of it. Otherwise Hermie is doing well and going through a shed right now. Here is a video of her from last night. Right after we picked her up. She didn't eat great while we were away but ate well yesterday and this morning. She must have missed mommy.

Nammer is doing great and continues to grow and eat well. The tale tip does not dangle at all but I think it might fall off. She does not seem to be bothered by it at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqHS_JSIFA8
I hope you and your beardies are all enjoying the Warmer weather. It's supposed to be 80 in NH today so I'll be taking them outside
Take care
Gabrielle

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UPDATE; thought I'd add a couple pics if Hermies wounds