Sick Beardie, please help.

[chancellor91]

hey,
how your beardie doin
let me kno cause im leaveing for maui tomarrow morning and want to make
sure your beardie okay before i go, or at least help if i can

chancellor

 

[ReefLuvR]

HI all,

Sorry for the absence of my reply. It's been a long couple of days! I've been trying every few hours to get him to eat or drink to no avail. I mixed up some babyfood chicken and squash, along with some pedialye to make it really runny, but he wasn't interested. So, I've tried a couple different combinations including blended greens and vanilla Ensure. I can't even get him to take any water orally. So, every 4-5 hours, I'm bathing him for a short time. He's so weak, he doesn't hold his head up for very long, so the warm baths have been only 10-15 minutes each.

I feel horrible that I didn't do more digging on the proper care of beardies. I keep saltwater reef tanks, so I am very aware of the mis-information given by petstores. I should have known.

One good note - he's got one eye partially open today. The first I've seen for a couple weeks. You all seem to be right on as far as the coil bulb goes.

Question... Em said to get a ReptiSun (not Glo) bulb. Is there a similar problem with the Glo? I ask because I have immediate access to one of those. Of course, it seems like either way, I need to have only the heat bulb going for awhile. I had the coil bulb right next to the heat bulb for the past few months.

Anyhow, my children are away this weekend, so it's just me and Fluffy. I'll be fussing over him as much as needed this weekend, so if there's anything more anyone can think of I can do, please do tell.

Prayers for Fluffy appreciated.
Jennifer

 

[ReefLuvR]

Oh, I forgot to ask...

Is there a screw-in type bulb for UV that is ok for him? I have the two bulb Repti fixture. Whatever is best is what I will do. I eagerly await your advice.

Thanks again. I love the internet!!

Jennifer

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

What sized tank are you using, a 10 gallon right? If you get at least a 30-40 gallon tank, then I would suggest getting a mercury vapor bulb. They screw in. However, you need a ceramic base light fixture to handle the heat & wattage. So, if you get a 100 watt Megaray or a T-rex active UV heat then you need a ceramic light fixture rated to at least 250 watts to ensure it doesn't get too hot.
They are excellent bulbs as well as the T-rex are also.
If you decide that is what you want to get, let us know & we can direct you where to get them at.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

 

[ReefLuvR]

I was home at lunch to check on him and try some food, but he wasn't interested. He's spending a lot of time in the "cool" corner of the tank with his head up. He climbs up to bask for 1/2 hour or so, then back down to cool off. I'm simply amazed that he's still alive, considering the fact that he hasn't eaten. I think he's a fighter. And now that I'm getting some help from you all, I hope we have a chance.

As far as the tank goes, I don't really see a need for a larger tank yet. He's so small! But if/when we get thru this, I'll definitely look into a different setup for him. Including a different lighting fixture. From what I've been reading now about this UVB "poisoning", he will do best with some time (up to two weeks!) without UVB. It's too cold here for outdoor time, but I may move his tank closer to the window for at least some filtered sunlight.

 

[Embee]

Hi there,

It's good to hear from you. It sounds like your dragon is at least moving about some, that is encouraging news. truly. Given some time, hopefully he'll be back up to eating as well. It sounds like you're doing the very best you can for him. I know it's so hard when they aren't well. The fact that he wanted to bask a bit, is good also. Indeed, he sounds like a "fighter" to me also.

In answer to your question, the ReptiGlos, while not as dangerous as some, have also been known to emit low levels of UVB which do not serve dragons well. The only ReptiGlo I can recommend is the ReptiGlo 8.0 tube, but to be clear, this is only an "ok" bulb. The only other alternative is the ReptiSun 5.0, but again, it's just "ok." There really is no substitute for the ReptiSun 10.0, well worth making the effort to get this bulb, particularly since you're not looking to upgrade the size of your tank just yet. With that, when you do upgrade, certainly consider a MVB. They are especially helpful to previously ailing dragons... our dragon has been doing beautifully under hers, and while she is still small, she is finally thriving, and growing again. Let us know if you would like more information in the future about MVBs.

Do you feel like he's perked up any since turning off the coil? We're pulling for your dragon!

Lots of support to you!

Em

 

[ReefLuvR]

I'm honestly unsure about the bulbs. I will just order the first one you told me about, and we'll stick to that for now. I think I'm just tired. I feel like I have a newborn all over again!! LOL The folks here at work just laugh at me and my animals. I guess you all probably know exactly what I'm talking about!

I'm hopeful that he is indeed hanging in there. It seems that what I'm doing may be the right things finally, so I hope it wasn't too little too late. I'll pop in again over the weekend and let you all know how things are going. Thanks again for all the support.

Jen

 

[Embee]

I'm honestly unsure about the bulbs. I will just order the first one you told me about, and we'll stick to that for now.

Best way to go, truly. The ReptiSun 10.0 is really the only tube type you want. The other two are just ok, and the rest out there, frankly not worth looking at (including all compacts, coils, and many tubes as well :roll: ). And having only the basking light for now will be just fine, in fact, better for him to have a nice break in between.

I think I'm just tired. I feel like I have a newborn all over again!!

I know exactly what you mean. I told my 8 year old that when we didn't know what was going on or what to do about our dragon, it felt very much like those first days of motherhood when I was tired, life was blurry and everything sent me into a panic! :shock: :mrgreen:

You're most welcome, and do please keep us posted!

The best,
Em

 

[ReefLuvR]

Fluffy is holding his own as of today. I haven't been able to get him to eat, though today during his bath, he did open his mouth a bit. He may have gotten at least a "taste" of the delicious concoction I made for him.

He's still moving about, heading up top to bask now and then. His eyes are still closed, and he is still very lethargic. I don't know if he's actually gotten any better since turning off the coil, but he's definitely not getting worse, so I'm holding onto that for now.

Thanks again for all of your support, I'll continue to bring you updates as I have some.

Jennifer

 

[Embee]

Fluffy is holding his own as of today. I haven't been able to get him to eat, though today during his bath, he did open his mouth a bit. He may have gotten at least a "taste" of the delicious concoction I made for him.

He's still moving about, heading up top to bask now and then. His eyes are still closed, and he is still very lethargic. I don't know if he's actually gotten any better since turning off the coil, but he's definitely not getting worse, so I'm holding onto that for now.

Thanks again for all of your support, I'll continue to bring you updates as I have some.

Jennifer

Hello Jennifer,

I'm so glad you checked in. I was thinking about you and your dragon as I was perusing the boards yesterday evening. I'm glad to hear he's still "holding his own." The fact that he is still responsive to you, active in some way, proves that he certainly has a strong constitution. I would hope that in time, this will see him through.

Indeed, continue to keep us posted.

The best,
Em

 

[Drache613]

Hello Jennifer,

Well, don't give up on him. Remember, it will take him awhile to get over being under that light. That is why I mentioned not putting any UVB lighting over him for a couple of weeks, or until his eyes are back to normal.
At night, you can get some warm tea bags over his eyes when he is going to sleep. Use chamomile tea bags, they work best. That may help some of the swelling & irritation on those eyes.
Keep trying to get some oral fluids into him, & bathing him daily to help him get rehydrated.

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[zebraflavencs]

Jennifer, I just saw this and had to offer my HUGS and Support !
I totally understand the heart thing with your animals. I too did salt water enclosures (I designed and created them) and have been documented giving mouth to mouth on a black shark pup. It lived thankfully !
So, there it is in a nut shell.
Keep us posted !
Hugs again (this one keep in your pocket for emergencies)
Janie.

 

[ReefLuvR]

HI everyone,

Just a quick update....

This morning Fluffy seemed to be looking for his food! He was moving quite a bit. His eyes are still closed, but seeing him showing signs of life made me happy!! Unfortunately I had to leave right away to get the kids off to school and me to work, but I'll baby him some more tonight and see how he's doing.

Jennifer

 

[Embee]

An appetite can be a WONDERFUL thing... please do keep us posted.

Have you tried the chamomile tea bags on his eyes, as Tracie suggested?

The best,
Em

 

[ReefLuvR]

Fluffy passed away last night.

Thank you all for your words of encouragement and support. He really did fight hard. And I know that without your advice, we wouldn't have made it even this long. My children learned a good lesson in that we do whatever it takes when it comes to our pets. So, if I look at that, I can see a good thing. Thanks again for your kind words and prayers.

Jennifer