Sick dragon

[NewBeardieOwner421]

I'm in a desperate spot I bought a bearded dragon on Jan 7 everything was good up until recently. She/he never ate alot from the start but all the research I did suggested this wasn't normal. She/he would only eat a couple crickets per feeding. She/he seemed healthy then as of yesterday I noticed that my dragon could barely move. Almost like it's paralyzed I check their tummy no lumps do I don't think it's impaction. They are on reptile carpet have 100w heating and basking lamp and a uvb bulb that's reptisun 5.0 as that's what came in the kit. Did I get a sick lizard from the pet store? Should I take my dragon into them? I can't afford a vet visit as I'm a college student. I need help I fear she won't last much longer. It has difficulty climbing and always falls off it's hammock very strange behaviour as this never has happened before.

 

[SHBailey]

For one thing, the Reptisun 5.0 does not provide enough UV and should be replaced with a Reptisun 10.0, but I'm not sure if that will fix it at this point. You can also add calcium and vitamin (especially D3) supplements to whatever you can get the beardie to eat. It may also be a good idea to remove the hammock from the enclosure and make sure you have a good stable basking platform under the heat lamp, and that you're getting good temperatures at the basking area (around 100 F or a little higher depending on the dragon's age).

If this came on as suddenly as you describe, there could be something else going on besides inadequate lighting and a possible calcium deficiency, so it would be really good if you could see a vet if you can possibly swing it. I hate to say it, but you probably won't get much help by going back to the same pet store that sold you a Reptisun 5.0 for a bearded dragon

 

[NewBeardieOwner421]

I feel terrible that this happen I managed to get the dragon to eat a couple dusted crickets when I fed him/her last night. I got the reptisun 5.0 in the starter kit I bought when I got the dragon. I fear that it's too late to fix this I honestly can't swing the vet visit. I put calcium in their food dish but never the dragon never touches it. Honestly I feel like a horrible owner because my dragon is so young and already very sick. At this point I feel that my hands are tied everything was fine a few days ago. Then I come home from work yesterday and find a half dead lizard in my terrarium. I feel guilty for letting this happen.

 

[SHBailey]

It's not your fault. Some pet stores are notorious for giving bad advice and selling unhealthy animals as well as the wrong stuff for them

But don't give up on the little guy yet. He(?) might still pull through if you keep trying and do the best you can with whatever you've got available.

 

[AHBD]

Sorry to hear about your baby. Can you post a few close up pics of the dragon as well as the set up Is the Reptisun 5.0 the compact or the long tube ? Either one needs to be closer to the dragon to give it as much uvb as possible so if you can mount it inside the tank, do that. Were the crickets smaller than the space between the beardies eyes ? Very important for a baby beardie, otherwise they can become impacted. Here's how to post pics :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then hit XIMG

Don't feel like it's your fault, you bought what you thought was necessary . You might offer water dripped in his nose to see if he'll drink. Drip, stop, repeat to give him a chance to realize that it's a drink.

 

[NewBeardieOwner421]

It has a compact fluorescent that came with the starter kit I purchased and I managed to get one dusted cricket into her yesterday and did most her and she licked the water off her nose. I can't mount the uvb in the tank as I don't have that hardware and I rested the uvb light on the top of the tank directly over her.

 

[AHBD]

Poor little one, there's a chance she could recover though. It's good that she ate even one dusted cricket. Give her another drink, just drip it right on her nose. And again, was the cricket small or was it larger than the space between her eyes ? These are important questions to answer. Also can you post a pic of her entire set up including the light placement ? If you can hang the uvb fixture down in the tank [ being sure it doesn't fall in ] that might help. The uvb from the compact bulb is not quite strong enough to reach her.

There may be other things going on, you really can;t be sure but getting her hydrated and with good uvb exposure are mandatory.

And if she ate a cricket that was too large she would be impacted. If you can get some baby food squash + green beans it can give her some nutrition and you can mix a bit of calcium powder with D3 in it.

 

[Tmrhodes1121]

It has a compact fluorescent that came with the starter kit I purchased and I managed to get one dusted cricket into her yesterday and did most her and she licked the water off her nose. I can't mount the uvb in the tank as I don't have that hardware and I rested the uvb light on the top of the tank directly over her.

He looks very lethargic. Can you apply for the care credit card? I know it's expensive but that beardie doesn't look too good right now. That's what I had to do when I brought mine in today(I'm a college student and single mother, I know about tough times) also upgrade that light asap. Have you tried a bath yet? He could be dehydrated.

 

[NewBeardieOwner421]

Yes it was appropriate size and I checked her belly no large lumps. I'm at work right now but I made sure she was under the uvb when I left for work I tried getting her eat this morning but no interested and made she she had a drink.

 

[NewBeardieOwner421]

I have not tried a bath but I will. Do that asap. I'm trying to save this little one. Because it means a lot to me I appreciate all the advice you guys are giving me I hope that all hope has not been lost I can't do anything until I'm done work this evening.

 

[AHBD]

We certainly wish the best for your baby, hoping he/she can pull through. If you give her a bath, be sure it's warmish and not deep, also stay right with her. Keep in mind a bath only helps if she drinks, so if she doesn't drink [ or if she drank before ] then don't bother with a bath.

She will be better off with a small branch or log, get rid of the hammock. Babies especially can snag their claws in them and sprain their legs. You can even get a log, branch or small piece of driftwood from outside, pop it in a preheated 250 degree oven [ to kill any potential pests ] and use that for her basking area. If she can't climb right now, just roll up a small towel to set her on under the heat + uvb. But take the hammock out. Hopefully your baby will pull through.

 

[NewBeardieOwner421]

Do you think the lethargy has come from dehydration? Has she damaged her legs because of the hammock? I will be removing the hammock until she is older she loves that hammock but she cannot climb at all poor little thing. Have I done something wrong I'm a first time owner and only a week in I've already got a health problem with my beardie do you guys think she will pull through? I read that I could mix Powerade in a 1:1 ratio and give it to her that way. When I give her a bath could I put her in say a Tupperware container with like warm water and put her uvb light over too so she gets direct contact from it? Would this help? I'm not a neglectful owner at all this all happened in the last 48hours as of Friday she was herself then all of a sudden this happened.

 

[NewBeardieOwner421]

Because I have a screen top on my terrarium could I maybe take the top off of open it a bit to get more uvb rays to into the tank directly over my beardie? Would that help her with the issues that are present? My mom has checked on her and she hasn't moved from where i placed her in the picture I posted about. It appears al though she can't move at all. This is a bad sign. I really hope she pulls through.

 

[Varalidaine]

I'm going to be very blunt about this, I do not think this is your fault at all nor do I think she can be saved. The animals from pet stores come from mills. They are severely inbred and most suffer from parasites and disease. I have worked at both a Petco and a PetSmart and the dragons were always the sickest animals. Many of them come in with Adenovirus, a virus that will kill babies before they are 4 months old. If the dragon survives past this age, they have a more passive form of ADV and are considered carriers. At the PetSmart I worked at, our last 5 dragons died. 4 were euthanized and 1 died on it's own. All from the same symptoms and from different shipments. They were all thin, lethargic, wouldn't move or eat, and some developed shakes. These are all clear signs of ADV or parasite infection. Given that you're little one has trouble walking and flips over on it's own, I would say she has a fatal form of ADV. I would return her to the store to be euthanized and save your money for purchasing a dragon from a reputable breeder.

Her having a 5.0 instead of a 10.0 light for one week is not nearly enough time for her to develop symptoms of anything. The mills send sick animals and the stores sell them. It's always best to avoid pet store animals for this reason. This was not your fault, but I would not purchase from a pet store again.

 

[NewBeardieOwner421]

So what your saying is I should go take my little dragon back to petsmart and get my $95 back that I paid for it? I bought a sick lizard? I feel so guilty I thought it was something I did wrong. I'm heartbroken about this