Sudden lethargy, sunken eyes-pic attached. RIP

[beardedlarry]

My buddy ( about 1 year old) went lethergic on me a two days ago, wont chase crickets, barely eats a little salad. Droopy, slightly sunken eyes. usually basks with head up, but flat now. Latest stool small in a bath I just gave him. white Urate, small loose, yellow stool. Stool yesterday seemed not usual either, but larger. he usually runs around when I get him for bath time, but didn't squirm. Baths are infrequent because he doesn't like them normally. He drank some water while in bath; maybe dehydrated?

I'm very worried about him.
Reptisun T8 HO 10.0, 12"
92F-95F on hot side
Mixed dark leafy greens daily
Acorn Squash daily
live crickets most days
dried crickets treat.

 

[diamc]

How old is he, 9 months or so?

His eyes do look a little bit sunken. How often do you regularly give him a bath? Will he usually drink water off his nose with a plastic dropper or when you mist his head?

Not sure what the yellow stool could be from except possibly from the squash. What greens do you feed him? If he had any dried crickets lately, maybe they were past their expiration date and upset his stomach? Were the urates hard or nice & soft? How often are you dusting his feeders with calcium & vitamins?

Good that you're using a probe thermometer. What is the temp of the basking SURFACE temp with the probe placed right where he is laying for about 45 min?

What size tank is he in and what brand and wattage of basking bulb are you using? Is the Repti-Sun bulb a strip fluorescent tube & is it right over the basking bulb? If it is a HO (high output) bulb, it would be a T5 and the distance should be fine but if a T8, it should be within 6 to 8" of him when in his basking spot.

Have you had a fecal checked for parasites lately?

Sorry for the questions but it's best to rule things out first.

 

[beardedlarry]

How old is he, 9 months or so?

Yes, I believe so.

His eyes do look a little bit sunken. How often do you regularly give him a bath? Will he usually drink water off his nose with a plastic dropper or when you mist his head?

Maybe about once per week on baths, but sometimes less (he gets stressed out in bath)..He doesn't drink when we mist, but have not used a dropper. He was drinking in the bath I gave him today, which is the first time I have seen him actually lap water.

Not sure what the yellow stool could be from except possibly from the squash. What greens do you feed him? If he had any dried crickets lately, maybe they were past their expiration date and upset his stomach? Were the urates hard or nice & soft? How often are you dusting his feeders with calcium & vitamins?

He gets a mixture from Trader Joe's of mustard, collards, turnip greens. Acorn and Butternut Squashes. The butternut doesn't seem to digest as well as the acorn for some reason. The dried crickets are within date. I think the urates were soft, didn't look particularly hard but did have a cylindrical shape. I don't dust feeders every time but gut load them.

Good that you're using a probe thermometer. What is the temp of the basking SURFACE temp with the probe placed right where he is laying for about 45 min?

I have a Tempgun that registers about 95-97F on his platform.

What size tank is he in and what brand and wattage of basking bulb are you using? Is the Repti-Sun bulb a strip fluorescent tube & is it right over the basking bulb? If it is a HO (high output) bulb, it would be a T5 and the distance should be fine but if a T8, it should be within 6 to 8" of him when in his basking spot.

He is in a Exoterra 36"X18"X18" tank, but I am shopping for a 48". I don't recall the brand of basking bulb, but it's 150 watts and overlaps the strip (see photo), a T5 10.0 which I calculated to be correct off the UVB forum chart.

Have you had a fecal checked for parasites lately?

No, I have a vet apt. tomorrow (soonest a reptile vet was available), but I am fearful I will not get a sample before then. I discarded the last stool before I made the appointment.

Sorry for the questions but it's best to rule things out first.

Don't be, I'm thankful that you took the time to ask.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He looks a little dehydrated, but overall he looks great. He may be trying to brumate though, at this time of year.
The High Output tube bulb should be terrific for him & it looks like it is a good distance, too. You meant the T5 High Output bulb right? You could try to get the basking spot increased just slightly to 98 or so. They need a range of 95-105 so just a little increase might help.
Based on the picture, it looks like his head & tail are getting ready to shed?
The acorn squash may yield a yellowish type of stool, it is a high probability. How often do you give calcium for him?

Tracie

 

[beardedlarry]

Hello,

He looks a little dehydrated, but overall he looks great. He may be trying to brumate though, at this time of year.
The High Output tube bulb should be terrific for him & it looks like it is a good distance, too. You meant the T5 High Output bulb right? You could try to get the basking spot increased just slightly to 98 or so. They need a range of 95-105 so just a little increase might help.
Based on the picture, it looks like his head & tail are getting ready to shed?
The acorn squash may yield a yellowish type of stool, it is a high probability. How often do you give calcium for him?

Tracie

Hi Tracie
I just gave him another soak and am hoping hydration will help, but he did not poop this time unfortunately. I meant the T5, yes. He has been shedding feet for four or five days, but tail has not begun to peel yet. I don't give calcium often as I gut load the crickets with it, but perhaps I need to start giving more as we reduce the live food. I have been dusting his greens with it lately, but he doesn't seem to like it much. I didn't think of bruamtion, but he did sleep under his hammock a couple of nights ago. He slept on his favorite branch last night, which was encouraging but back to lethargy today. Since this is my first Beardie, I get pretty nervous at the slightest changes. My son's tarantula just molted for the first time, and we all feared she was gone a couple of times through the process. I'm a nervous wreck here with all this stuff!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

He looks so sweet in the pictures, he is smiling! LOL
If he hasn't eaten a whole lot then he likely wont have much going through him, either.
At his age, he still needs calcium 3-4 times per week & once he hits a year & older you can decrease to 3 times per week. If he doesn't really like it on his greens, you can dust his insects a few times per week if he will eat it that way!
Great, the T5 is a terrific UVB light so I highly doubt it has anything to do with improper UVB lighting.
Sleeping under their logs, etc, on the cooler end or in the middle of the day are all signs of brumation or just slowing down for the season a little bit. Shedding doesn't help either though.
Wow, that would be pretty cool to see a Tarantula shed like that.
It is nerve wracking I know, with all of the different behavioral issues involved with reptiles.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[beardedlarry]

Hello,

He looks so sweet in the pictures, he is smiling! LOL
If he hasn't eaten a whole lot then he likely wont have much going through him, either.
At his age, he still needs calcium 3-4 times per week & once he hits a year & older you can decrease to 3 times per week. If he doesn't really like it on his greens, you can dust his insects a few times per week if he will eat it that way!
Great, the T5 is a terrific UVB light so I highly doubt it has anything to do with improper UVB lighting.
Sleeping under their logs, etc, on the cooler end or in the middle of the day are all signs of brumation or just slowing down for the season a little bit. Shedding doesn't help either though.
Wow, that would be pretty cool to see a Tarantula shed like that.
It is nerve wracking I know, with all of the different behavioral issues involved with reptiles.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Thank you Tracie.

 

[beardedlarry]

I just noticed he has an occasional twitch that looks like a possible hiccup. Or maybe a cough?
I'm observing this from across the room.

 

[beardedlarry]

Took to vet today. He said he appears to have full stomach but no obstruction pattern. Not sure what that means exactly. He thought I should keep soaking and raise his temps a bit to see if things change over next few days. Everything else looked pretty good he said. X-Ray attached in case any reptile vets on here for second opinion. He did say there was a gas or air bubble. He said we could try some meds to induce stomach contractions, but thought it could wait a day or two before that option. Also said bone density looked good.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is a good x-ray picture. The bones do look like they have nice density. If you are seeing strange twitches, then he could be low in B vitamins or calcium possibly.
I would try to get him to swim or exercise some to work the air bubble out instead of giving any medications right now, since he seems to be a little slown down.
How is he doing today?

Tracie

 

[beardedlarry]

Seems a little better. Had his head up while basking but still not eating. Has not climbed his tree for two days.
I gave him another soak today. Thanks Tracie.

 

[beardedlarry]

No eating, no poop or urate yesterday. I would like to get another opinion on that x-ray.
He hasn't eaten for four days now. I hope someone can help.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is he doing today? Has he been basking a little more?
You can definitely get a second opinion on the x-ray. It doesn't look like anything is amiss & I don't think he is impacted unless you can think of something that may have impacted him?
I can't tell much on the lungs, but hopefully he isn't developing a respiratory infection. Is he wheezing or coughing any?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[beardedlarry]

:silent: d

Hello,

How is he doing today? Has he been basking a little more?
You can definitely get a second opinion on the x-ray. It doesn't look like anything is amiss & I don't think he is impacted unless you can think of something that may have impacted him?
I can't tell much on the lungs, but hopefully he isn't developing a respiratory infection. Is he wheezing or coughing any?
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Gave bath and has been laying in towel all day. Turned lights off thinking he might be brumating but no idea. I tried to give him baby food on nose but but no interest at all. Gave him a long belly massage in bath but no movement other than urate with small trail. He will bask if I turn lights on, but moves slowly to it. Not quite sure if I should let him be or keep the light cycle going.

 

[beardedlarry]

My friend passed away today at the Vet while i was holding him. After four weeks of trying to diagnose and help him, he took a turn for the worse yesterday. I never knew how much I could get attached to a reptile before. It breaks my heart to let him go, and keep looking at his tank that sits by my desk.

Vet is going to do a post-mortum to see what was going on because they didn't think he was impacted, but he hadn't pooped normally for a while. He seemed to perk up when I changed his UV last week, and even ate with gusto, but then stopped again, and now he is gone. I tried everything, and took him to the vet twice per week for rechecks. I really tried to save him. I'm so sick.