Spay recovery-sunken eyes/fat pads but still looking around tank.

[Jessss]

Hello,
By now this is my 3rd post in 2 days and most of you are probably getting annoyed of seeing me pop up!
Recently my rescue female beardie bee has been having trouble laying her eggs,today she went in to be spayed(originally went in for ultrasound but once seen scans was told she needed surgery) everything went as well as could hope with the surgery and she is now back home with me to settle.She doesn’t look very well,I understand she wouldn’t look amazing after going through that but she looks very sick.Her fat pads have sunken and so have her eyes,she is still looking round her tank and some what responding but seems very confused( obviously the anaesthetic).Right now she is in bed tucked in her blankie,I’ve set up her CHE to keep temps up a little at night for her.I have been sent home with enrocare to be given twice daily and meloxicam to be given once daily.

My main concerns are her sucken eyes and fat pads,she still looks around and closes her eyes every now and then.If it is just a side effect of the operation then that is fine and I’ll try not to worry but is this normal? She is also black bearding but again expected if she’s hurting from surgery I know beardies all act different but is this something I should be overly concerned about? Any help or input would be very appreciated,I haven’t offered food but offered water but she didn’t want it.Right now i am leaving her alone and I have snuggled her into her bee blankie and she is asleep in her viv.Any help or anything will be very welcomed and appreciated!

 

[AHBD]

It's just a wait + see, hopefully she'll feel better in a few days. It's good to keep posting, not a problem at all as this is a stressful time for you. There's no way to know for sure the outcome of any serious surgery but many dragons get through O.K. Keep offering water at least once a day and try dripping the enrocare very slowly on her nose.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I agree to give her some time, poor thing! Is her beard dark at all right now?
Since she was spayed, she did lose some body volume & fluids. Do the best you can in keeping her
hydrated daily, by dripping fluids onto the end of her nose with a dropper or syringe, as AHBD suggested.
You are definitely right to be concerned because they can have reactions to the anesthesia afterwards,
but they do take awhile to get back to normal afterwards since the medications pass through their system
more slowly than in mammals.
Keep her a little warmer overnight right now, in her tank to help boost her system. Usually around 75-80F
is good. Please keep us posted on her condition, I hope she gets to feeling better.

Tracie

 

[Jessss]

Hello,

I agree to give her some time, poor thing! Is her beard dark at all right now?
Since she was spayed, she did lose some body volume & fluids. Do the best you can in keeping her
hydrated daily, by dripping fluids onto the end of her nose with a dropper or syringe, as AHBD suggested.
You are definitely right to be concerned because they can have reactions to the anesthesia afterwards,
but they do take awhile to get back to normal afterwards since the medications pass through their system
more slowly than in mammals.
Keep her a little warmer overnight right now, in her tank to help boost her system. Usually around 75-80F
is good. Please keep us posted on her condition, I hope she gets to feeling better.

Tracie

Thank you for the reply!
She has her CHE on last night so was kept warm,she has had a black beard for about 4-5 days and had one last night when brought home.She does still have a dark black beard this morning but her eyes and head look less sunken.She has drank today from a syringe and ate some wax worms,she’s had her pain meds and her antibiotic so hopefully she’ll start feeling a bit better soon.She is moving around a little bit and is quite hungry but I am cautious of feeding her too much or the wrong things.I have omnigold balanced all natural complete food,50%veg and plants,40% whole vertebrate animal protein mixed insects and egg and 10% mixed fruit with all natural vitamins full spectrum minerals and carotenoids.This comes has a dry mix that you mix with boiling water,it turns into a jelly or I can make it more liquidated if needed for her.Should I be adding extra calcium or anything? Vet said she should be back to her normal calcium routine now she’s no longer producing eggs but I feel as though she needs more now.
When should I start worrying about her black beard? Her tail isn’t black but her shoulder pads and chest area(speckled down a little bit) are a bit black/dark.Overall she has perked up a lot since yesterday and am hopeful she’s black bearding because she’s very sore?
Thank you for the reply again! Very grateful that my little bean is still here.

 

[AHBD]

O.K, so far so good since you're seeing improvement and she's taking in some food + hydration ! No way to tell how long the black beard will display but she's doing better so just give it time. A wee bit of extra calcium is O.K, the amount can only be crudely estimated but make sure it's just a pinch so she doesn't get constipated.

 

[Jessss]

O.K, so far so good since you're seeing improvement and she's taking in some food + hydration ! No way to tell how long the black beard will display but she's doing better so just give it time. A wee bit of extra calcium is O.K, the amount can only be crudely estimated but make sure it's just a pinch so she doesn't get constipated.

Hi!
Thank you for all your advice! Wait all day for any replies that could help my girl.She has had a few more wax worms so about 8 today,she doesn’t normally have these as before I knew she had eggs she was actually classed as over weight so she was put on lockdown from wax worms.She’s still black bearding but not as intense and even moving a little here and there,would she be ok to have some morio worms? I know they have quite a hard exterior and exoskeleton so haven’t offered these! But as I say she’s very hungry and will have some slurry later but hesitant about giving too many wax worms? Also would like to try her with some baby food,what would you recommend and is there anything on the labels I should look for that she can’t have? Any other food suggestions for bee are also welcomed,not sure if she’s allowed hard bugs after her surgery.My vet has also said about no baths for a couple of weeks but bee looks very wrinkled,she has a check up appointment in 10 days!Thank you again for the response

 

[AHBD]

A strong appetite is a good sign ! Definitely don't soak her for a while as the vet mentioned, wrinkles are normal right now because she just had a surgery that reduced her weight quite a bit. Just offer a little bit of the supplement with water and maybe 1-2 morios at most a couple times a week. Freshly shed ones would be the best. Soft locusts would be O.K, even a couple of canned locusts if you can't get live ones. The Omnigold food is better than any baby food.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great to hear she has improved some, even though she does have a black beard. She is likely just
sore so the discomfort will cause the beard to be darker than usual.
I can't remember brands of baby foods off hand, but there are a few all organic brands that would be
fine. You can use sweet potato, squash or chicken/turkey mixture. The Omnigold food should be very
good for her. Soft bodied worms in small amounts are fine.

Keep us posted on her!
Tracie

 

[Jessss]

Hello,

Great to hear she has improved some, even though she does have a black beard. She is likely just
sore so the discomfort will cause the beard to be darker than usual.
I can't remember brands of baby foods off hand, but there are a few all organic brands that would be
fine. You can use sweet potato, squash or chicken/turkey mixture. The Omnigold food should be very
good for her. Soft bodied worms in small amounts are fine.

Keep us posted on her!
Tracie

A strong appetite is a good sign ! Definitely don't soak her for a while as the vet mentioned, wrinkles are normal right now because she just had a surgery that reduced her weight quite a bit. Just offer a little bit of the supplement with water and maybe 1-2 morios at most a couple times a week. Freshly shed ones would be the best. Soft locusts would be O.K, even a couple of canned locusts if you can't get live ones. The Omnigold food is better than any baby food.

Hi! Quick update,bee has been eating well
And drinking well,she’s fighting when I give her meds (especially enrocare she hates it and has to have it twice a day!)but is appeased by a few wax worms.She’s had some slurry today but wasn’t that fond and kept shaking it off her mouth although I do wipe it away as I go,will try again tomorrow.Her beard is still black but no where near as bad, I can even see her beautiful happy red beard starting to make an appearance! She has also been moving around her tank more as well,she hasn’t done a poo yet but I’m not sure how long after surgery she should do one? She has a check up on Friday at 10am to look at her stitches so will bring it up then if she hasn’t pooped.I have lactulose (think that’s the name) that she was given a few months back due to having a big poo that wasn’t moving,should I offer any of this if she hadn’t gone in a couple more days?
Thank you for the replies

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Excellent to hear that Bee is eating well right now. They can get frustrated by having to take in too
much food or fluids via syringe but keep trying. The slurry is good for her, even if she doesn't think it
is. LOL
She shouldn't be backed up, with the fluids & softer diet right now. I would give her a bit more time &
hopefully she will pass something through. I would imagine that a little bit of lactulose wouldn't be bad
for her though. You just don't want her to have to strain & hurt herself since she doesn't have stitches
in right now.

Let us know how she is doing. I hope her red beard starts to show more!

Tracie

 

[Jessss]

Hello,

Excellent to hear that Bee is eating well right now. They can get frustrated by having to take in too
much food or fluids via syringe but keep trying. The slurry is good for her, even if she doesn't think it
is. LOL
She shouldn't be backed up, with the fluids & softer diet right now. I would give her a bit more time &
hopefully she will pass something through. I would imagine that a little bit of lactulose wouldn't be bad
for her though. You just don't want her to have to strain & hurt herself since she doesn't have stitches
in right now.

Let us know how she is doing. I hope her red beard starts to show more!

Tracie

Hi!
Just wanted to give you a little update,Bee has been eating for what seems 20 and is drinking good as well! Her red beard is fully back and no black beards since the 5th day after surgery.She had her check up on Thursday and her vet said all is looking as well as we can hope,she has put bee back on meloxicam for 5 days as she said she was still quite sensitive when being touch near her belly.She hadn’t pooped in over a week but Thursday after we got back from her appointment she did a big one,very soft but expected since she’s been eating slurry’s and waxworms.I have also started reintroducing mealworms but still holding off giving her morios,has her greens every day but shredded as requested by her vet.Overall I’m very grateful to have my little strawberry short cake back and am very thankful to all who have helped, especially you tracie! Very traumatic experience for bee and myself to go through and it has helped tremendously having support here to help me know I’ve done the best thing for my sweetheart!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is great to hear little Bee is eating a lot more now, bless her!
I'm sure her red beard is beautiful now, much better than black bearding. Oh so she is on the
metacam for a short round, to help? Her tummy will most likely be tender for awhile but it will
eventually heal up. Definitely keep shredding/chopping up the greens so they are easier to eat
for her.
I am happy I was able to help out for you both, but you have done ALL of the work. She is a very
lucky girl. Please keep us posted on her progress, I'm so glad she is improving for you daily!

Tracie

 

[Jessss]

Hello,

That is great to hear little Bee is eating a lot more now, bless her!
I'm sure her red beard is beautiful now, much better than black bearding. Oh so she is on the
metacam for a short round, to help? Her tummy will most likely be tender for awhile but it will
eventually heal up. Definitely keep shredding/chopping up the greens so they are easier to eat
for her.
I am happy I was able to help out for you both, but you have done ALL of the work. She is a very
lucky girl. Please keep us posted on her progress, I'm so glad she is improving for you daily!

Tracie

Hi,
Hope you’re having a lovely weekend!
She’s on meloxicam at the moment and has been since her spay so a bit over 2 weeks now,she’s also still on her enrocare as the vet said it would probably be best to be sure.Should she come off any of the meds? I’m calling on Monday to discuss when she can go on to solid foods instead of slurry’s and waxworms,I’ve been giving mealworms as well but in small amounts through out the day.She did a big poo about an hour ago and all looked healthy but I noticed before she seems more agitated when she needs to go toilet but is fine once she’s been.Is this anything to worry about? I’ll be bringing up all of this on Monday to bees vet but wanted to check now as well also wanted to add that bee does struggle getting over infections,when I first took her in she had a very bad uri and was coughing a lot,that took 3 separate rounds of antibiotics to get rid of.She’s had a tough life bless her and she deserves the best out of life! One last thing is she is shedding in multiple areas(hasn’t shed prior to this in months not even patch shed) legs and feet(stubs on back),part of her back and face but not her incision site/stitches,do you have any idea of when she should shed the stitches out as she’s missing her log but can’t let her have it until she’s got rid of the stitches!
Thank you again for all of the help and guidance, honestly couldn’t of done it without your support! Overall a very traumatic experience but so thankful to have bee here with us

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Yes, our weekend was great, the weather cooperated. The meloxicam is good but i wouldn't keep her
on it for long term, just because it can eventually cause side effects.
Are her urates hard or soft? If she has to struggle a bit, she might be a little backed up possibly. Are
her calcium levels good?
Usually, it takes a few weeks, maybe more, for the stitches to shed off, but eventually they will shed off
& or dissolve. Do you have any cream/gel to put on the area?
I hope she is doing a lot better now, but keep us posted on her, bless her!

Tracie

 

[Jessss]

Hello,

Yes, our weekend was great, the weather cooperated. The meloxicam is good but i wouldn't keep her
on it for long term, just because it can eventually cause side effects.
Are her urates hard or soft? If she has to struggle a bit, she might be a little backed up possibly. Are
her calcium levels good?
Usually, it takes a few weeks, maybe more, for the stitches to shed off, but eventually they will shed off
& or dissolve. Do you have any cream/gel to put on the area?
I hope she is doing a lot better now, but keep us posted on her, bless her!

Tracie

Hi!
Glad you had a nice weekend! Our weather has been a bit hit and miss ( I’m located in Bedford England) but hopeful for sunshine soon
Overall bee has been doing very well,she’s still eating like a trooper but is less happy being given water but I feel that might be because she’s fed up of having her meds.Ive stopped the meloxicam but not sure how long she needs the enrocare,think I’ll hold off giving her anything today and call her vet.
Her urate was a tiny bit yellow at one end,she’s getting veggies daily and offered water but because she can’t have baths think this might be a factor.Her calcium levels have been good but I do have a few questions hopefully you know a bit more about.I use vetark calcium dust and the vet ark nutrobal,I went to buy some more calcium and the woman at the reptile shop said that I don’t need the calc and just need the nutrobal? Is this right or what,how often do you recommend giving the different supplements or just one.Just want to make sure what I’m doing is right for my babies! Also the vetark brand has a new type of lid that has a compartment of silica beads(the ones that collect moisture)and has a small cardboard circle keeping in.Im a little worried about any leaking
Into the powder,Arcadia do pouches which wouldn’t have this probelm but not sure how good the Arcadia brand is with supplements? Any help would be appreciated,Thank you in advance!