Sick, done all I can do…Please help!!

[Littlefoot2022]

My bearded dragon’s name is Littlefoot. She is 7 years old, and she has always been healthy up until the last couple of months. I first started noticing that she wasn’t as hungry as she normally was. She didn’t have that much energy. She wouldn’t eat even if I hand fed her. That kind of came and went, she would eat sometimes. Then, I noticed her wheezing and keeping her mouth open. I thought she was wheezing from maybe eating too fast, she had never done it before. But, that next week, it’s like her health declined dramatically. Some of her symptoms are
-Loss of appetite
-Mucous in her mouth
-Eyes look almost teary
-Great weight loss
-Pale
-Won’t move, hold her head up
-Won’t eat even when hand fed
-Won’t swallow when force fed
-Breathing very deeply, few times a minute

I’ve gotten her a brand new basking light, red nocturnal heat lamp, new vitamins to go in her food and I have controlled her tank temp and humidity greatly. Last week, I took her to the vet and they did not give me a straight forward answer. I spent $500 for them to tell me “We can’t really tell because reptiles are small.” I’ve been giving her the antibiotics, forcing her to take it, and it takes her forever to swallow it. I’ve also been trying to feed her Critical Care Omnivore feeding formula. I give her warm baths every day. I’m doing my absolute best and she’s not getting better. I don’t know what’s wrong with her, I’ve done tons and tons of research but I’m not a vet, I can’t truly diagnose her.
She’s my baby and I’m so scared I’m going to lose her. I have loved her so much these past 7 years and it breaks my absolute heart to see her sick. Please someone give me some advice.

 

[KarrieRee]

My bearded dragon’s name is Littlefoot. She is 7 years old, and she has always been healthy up until the last couple of months. I first started noticing that she wasn’t as hungry as she normally was. She didn’t have that much energy. She wouldn’t eat even if I hand fed her. That kind of came and went, she would eat sometimes. Then, I noticed her wheezing and keeping her mouth open. I thought she was wheezing from maybe eating too fast, she had never done it before. But, that next week, it’s like her health declined dramatically. Some of her symptoms are
-Loss of appetite
-Mucous in her mouth
-Eyes look almost teary
-Great weight loss
-Pale
-Won’t move, hold her head up
-Won’t eat even when hand fed
-Won’t swallow when force fed
-Breathing very deeply, few times a minute

I’ve gotten her a brand new basking light, red nocturnal heat lamp, new vitamins to go in her food and I have controlled her tank temp and humidity greatly. Last week, I took her to the vet and they did not give me a straight forward answer. I spent $500 for them to tell me “We can’t really tell because reptiles are small.” I’ve been giving her the antibiotics, forcing her to take it, and it takes her forever to swallow it. I’ve also been trying to feed her Critical Care Omnivore feeding formula. I give her warm baths every day. I’m doing my absolute best and she’s not getting better. I don’t know what’s wrong with her, I’ve done tons and tons of research but I’m not a vet, I can’t truly diagnose her.
She’s my baby and I’m so scared I’m going to lose her. I have loved her so much these past 7 years and it breaks my absolute heart to see her sick. Please someone give me some advice.

First thing get rid of the red bulb- they disrupt sleep and can cause eye damage- next it sounds like she has a RI - Please tell me what your using for a uvb - No coils please basking temps what are they and how are you taking them ? No stick ons you want surface basking temps taken w/ a digital probe thermometer- since she is sick please keep the tank around 80 or so at night you will need a ceramic heat emitter- x-rays should of been done along w/ bloodwork to find infection-
@AHBD
@Drache613

 

[AHBD]

So sorry to read this about Littlefoot and also that the vet basically seems to have took you for $500 just to say they don't know much about reptiles. They should have told you that before ! She probably does have a serious R.I and maybe something else, too. How long has she been on the antibiotics ? Can you find another vet that knows more about reptiles ? You can stop the warm soaks, once a week is O.K but in her condition it would be better to not soak her every day. I know you're doing everything you can, I hope you might be able to find a good vet or get a glimmer of hope.

 

[Littlefoot2022]

I told the vet that I believed she has a RI. They did x-rays and told me that she's too small to really tell if she has that or not. The tank stays at 80 at night. Shes had a ceramic heat emitter until recently. I got her the red bulb only two weeks ago, thinking that was better for her after doing tons of research. Her tank temp and humidity is just fine, I've always been good about that. I've taken really great care of her ever since I got her. The only problem is that I'm clueless to her sickness and how to truly fix her 100%.

 

[Littlefoot2022]

So sorry to read this about Littlefoot and also that the vet basically seems to have took you for $500 just to say they don't know much about reptiles. They should have told you that before ! She probably does have a serious R.I and maybe something else, too. How long has she been on the antibiotics ? Can you find another vet that knows more about reptiles ? You can stop the warm soaks, once a week is O.K but in her condition it would be better to not soak her every day. I know you're doing everything you can, I hope you might be able to find a good vet or get a glimmer of hope.

She's been on the antibiotics for exactly a week. The nearest vet that works on reptiles is 4 hours away. The vet we went to told me that they could definitely see a Bearded Dragon... that wasn't the case. Thank you so much for your kind advice, it really helps. I will take your advice on the baths!

 

[AHBD]

You're welcome, I wish I could do more just like anyone reading this wishes they could. Tracie is usually on later in the evening, she may have some helpful advice. If you find a good vet they may be able to take a swab from the mouth or throat to help diagnose the problem.

 

[AHBD]

Oops, I forgot the video. This might be helpful, it's a vet tech showing how to assist feed a beardie. This can be helpful for giving meds. as well.

 

[KarrieRee]

She's been on the antibiotics for exactly a week. The nearest vet that works on reptiles is 4 hours away. The vet we went to told me that they could definitely see a Bearded Dragon... that wasn't the case. Thank you so much for your kind advice, it really helps. I will take your advice on the baths!

Here is a website to help w / the reptile vet finding if your in a small area type in the biggest city zip code closest to you
www.arav.org