Sick dragon but all tests normal

[Ndlujan]

My bearded Camo had not been eating right for about 2 months, then 4 weeks ago she stopped eating and drinking anything at all. She also had an issue with her right eye, so i took her to the vet. The vet put her on critical care formula, an eye drop for the eye and also an oral antibiotic because she had discoloration and sores in her mouth, and told me to give her water through a syringe, this was 4 weeks ago. I took her for a check up 2 weeks ago and she had lost weight, so the vet upped her amount of critical care formula i was to give her. She also had some improvement with her eye, but not enough so i was to continue the eye drops. Her mouth was healed. Today i took her to a specialist because her eye is still yucky and she has lost even more weight. The vet we saw today did a complete blood count and everything came back normal, except Camo an elevated glucose level. But the vet said that shouldn't be making her not eat or cause anything to be wrong with her eye. I was given a new type of eye drop to give her and was told to up the amount of critical care formula I'm giving her to 10-15 ml a day. I was told if she doesn't start to get any better or put on any weight in 2-3 weeks that it's possible she may have some type of cancer. Has anyone had any issues like this before? I'm really worried about her.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....I'm sorry to hear about Camo's problems. How long have you had her,old is she and what is her weight + length ? I would think if she had cancer it would show abnormalities in her WBC count. If you can post her bloodwork here, Tracie [ username Drache613 who is one of the mods. ] can check them for you. Some beardies can go off food if not feeling well and then it becomes a cycle when they have frequent vet visits, syringe feeding and meds. that add stress. Not that that's what's happening, but could be a factor. And the vet sees no indication of liver problems ?

Have you tried offering different insects than she was used to ? Some dragons go crazy for hornworms or silworms. [ Mine love hornworms but not so much silkworms .] Sometimes if you crush an insect like a large cricket + rub the guts on the snout that will kick on the appetite.

For her eye, try some raw honey....yes, it really does work on all types of infections + wounds. I've used it in my own beardie's eye + it cleared up an infection within days. It must be raw [ unpasteurized ] from a health food store or beekeeper....you can dilute it with a tiny bit of warm water and apply gently with a Q-tip 2-3X a day. Google it if you're skeptical.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Definitely post or send me the blood test results. If the glucose was overly high, her liver could be having some issues, or maybe it was something she ate that could have spiked it, I am not sure.
Has she ever laid any eggs or had any problems with egg laying?
I am surprised that even though she is taking in that much critical care that she is losing weight.

Tracie

 

[Ndlujan]

Thank you for your responses! The vet did not give me a print out of her blood test results, she just came in and told me that everything was normal except for the elevated glucose level. The go home care and instructions sheet states the same thing. We don't exactly know how old she is. My husband found her last year (2014) in April. He worked for a trash company and someone had thrown her in the trash along with another bearded dragon that had passed away. Camo was small and undernourished when he found her and had an eye infection, but she ate fine for us and fattened up over the next few months. I also took her to the vet then and had to get her on eye drops for the same eye, but it cleared up that time. The vet i took her to yesterday is the third vet I've had her to and is the only very in our state that is considered a ''specialist'' on reptiles. She didn't seem too worried about the elevated glucose because she said no one really knows what the correct glucose level is for bearded dragons....is this true?

 

[Ndlujan]

Also, i forgot to answer some of your questions....no she has never laid eggs since she has been with us. We aren't sure of her age, we originally thought she was a juvenile when she was found because of her size, but she has never really grown much, just fattened up when she was eating properly. Her diet when she was eating was an array of greens, squash, and different fruits and veggies as well as crickets, superworms and silk worms. Her current weight is only .29 pounds which is down from .45 pounds. The vet is currently having me give her 10-15 ml per day of critical care formula which is way more than the previous vet was having me give her, at only 2.8 ml per day. I will definitely try the honey with her. We have some from a local farmer, would that kind be safe to give her?

 

[Ndlujan]

And her current length is 16 3/4 inches long

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I think I remember your story about finding the dragon in the trash, did you post on that here?
The normal or accepted levels for glucose in a bearded dragon are 250mg/dl or less. Do you think you could get a copy of the tests somehow, to take a look?
I haven't looked at the label of critical care in awhile. Did the blood test get taken before she started on the critical care formula? That is a good amount of the critical care so hopefully she will put on some weight again. It sounds like she had a great variety in her eating previously.
It depends on just how elevated it is, really.
That will be fine to get honey from the local farmer, it is not pasteurized & should be the raw form.

Tracie

 

[Ndlujan]

I don't believe i posted on this site about finding her, i did post in one of the bearded dragon fb sites though. I can call the vet on Tuesday when they open and ask for her blood test numbers, they shouldn't have a problem giving them to me. She had been on a very small dose of critical care formula for 3 1/2 weeks before her blood test yesterday and i had given her a dose yesterday morning about 3 hours before her blood test, but she only had .7 ml at that time. Could the weight loss just be because the previous vet had her on such a small amount of critical care formula compared to the 10-15 ml she should have been having?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

She likely wasn't getting enough food is why she had lost weight. The extra food should help out. The reason why she is losing weight in the first place needs to be figured out, as to whether it is a liver issue or something else.
That would be great if you could get a copy of the blood tests. How is she doing today?
Keep us posted on her.

Tracie

 

[Ndlujan]

She is doing about the same today, she has a bit more energy. I gave her some crickets just to try to get her to eat on her own, she actually showed interest in them today! She didn't eat any but she did follow them with her head and actually opened her mouth a few times with her tongue out like she was going to eat one...this is much more than she has done in the past few weeks, usually she just looks at them and goes to sleep. We smashed one up and put it on her lips and she did lick some of it off! Any improvement like this is a big step at this point. I will post her blood test results as soon as i get them today. Thank you!!!

 

[Ndlujan]

Camo's glucose level on Saturday was 408. The reference level her very uses said the highest it should be is 290? But, I've been reading online and i seem to be reading over and over that bearded dragons naturally have high levels of glucose, even to the 600 range, is this correct?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That isn't correct, the glucose levels really shouldn't be over 220mg/dl.
Where did you read those levels? My medical books list the lower numbers. They do have naturally higher glucose levels, I do agree with that, but not 600, that is way too high.
How is your dragon doing?
She has eaten a little bit on her own?

Tracie

 

[Ndlujan]

Hello, thank you for your reply. I googled normal glucose levels and bearded dragon, and just started reading different sites. I thought 600 sounded quite high, that's why i wanted to ask. I'm hoping that her level of 408 was just because she had a bit of critical care in the morning before her vet appointment.

We bought a digital scale today and weighed her, she has gained weight! She is at .54 pounds now! The higher dosage of 15 ml of critical care for the last 7 days has been working. She also ate a live cricket by herself on Wednesday, and has attempted to eat others since, she's just not quite fast enough yet, and isn't up to chasing them. Her eye isn't cleared up yet, but it isn't getting crusted shut by morning time anymore either, so that's a plus. Hopefully it will be doing better soon.

 

[Kashki]

Sounds like she's on the road to recovery. Please keep us updated!

 

[Ndlujan]

I definitely will! I appreciate everyone's help on here, thank you so much!! She has another vet appointment this Saturday, 9/19, so that we can talk about what to do about her eye and whether she should see an eye specialist.