Sunken Eyes and black beard

[cmh3988]

Hi -
I posted the following in 'health' last night, but now I've got some new things going on. Her eyes look sunken when she closes them and she is STILL black bearding which is SO odd for her. Other than the beard, absolutely NO stress marks though. I gave her a bath tonight. She wouldn't eat anything or drink anything. Is there anything I can/should do before she goes to the vet tomorrow morning? (Original post was more about the tail/excess urates but I'm REALLY worried about the sunken eyes/blackbeard more today!)

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(Original post from 1/23/13)...
I've had Puffy since June '11 (she was around 3 months old). She's about 17" long and was 437 g at her highest but has not been eating well and has lost some (my scale needs new batteries).

I took her to the vet 2 weeks ago to have him look at her tail. It's got a crook about 3 1/2" from the tip and I was afraid she may be getting MBD. He suspected the same and had me up her liquid calcium to 5x / week. I had a fecal done a week ago to make sure parasites weren't slowing her appetite and that came back clean.

Her tail has now darkened fairly far up from the tip since the vet, appetite still not great and I came home today and she had a black beard (which is very rare for her). Totally white and happy colors other than the beard. She also pooped/peed (very small amounts since she hasn't eaten much) 3 times today which is very rare for her too.

Could something possibly going on I can't see externally with all these symptoms? I used to freak out over every tiny thing but have read and researched a TON since I've had her and can usually figure out if it's something to be concerned about or not. This is kind of worrying me though. She ate a couple of bites of peas tonight. Here a couple of pics of her from when I was feeding her:

She is:
In a 40 gallon
2 18" reptisun 10.0 uvb bulbs inside the viv
heat bulb - 102-105 at basking spot
paper towel substrate
When she was eating well she was on dubia supplemented with baby food peas -- every other day on each(i'm able to shove greens down here occasionally but it's been a long, hard road with those).
Before calcium uppage by the vet she had liquid calcium 3x / week and dusted with vitamins 2x/week
Gets a bath every other day

Any thoughts/advice are much appreciated. I'm watching to see if that black beard goes away. Even if/when it does I'm curious about the tail and the excessive (for her) poop/pee.

 

[cmh3988]

Just noticed one of the replies on my original post said she could possibly be wanting to lay (she never has before). Could the sunken eyes (dehydration) and black beard/excess urates possibly be symptoms of that too?

 

[cmh3988]

Here's some pics. The one her eye is all the way closed is from last night. The others are from tonight. They just looks so flat when she closes them .

 

[cmh3988]

 

[Esther19]

I'm so sorry that Puffy is not well, and glad to hear you have a vet appt. tomorrow. I'm afraid that I cannot be of much help, but I will tell you what little I know. Before laying, they will lose their appetite, and will potty more frequently in smaller amounts. But, I think you said that you believe she has lost weight, which would not make sense. I would continue to offer her water by mouth to see if she will lick a little. Hopefully, someone with more experience will be by to offer you more suggestions. Please keep us updated as to her condition. She is a very beautiful girl, and it is obvious that you care deeply for her.

 

[cmh3988]

Thank you for your response I've talked to a few other people since I posted tonight and they said the same thing about it possibly being eggs. I've never tried to force water down her, but I'm going to try tonight. I was SOO hoping I'd get away with her never laying, but it sounds like that may be what this is!

 

[Esther19]

I don't know that I would force her to drink the water. I do encourage mine though, by smacking my lips as I dribble the water over their lips with the dropper. It often does work, as silly as it might seem. You can also add a bit of unsweetened juice to the water for flavor.

 

[cmh3988]

I'm going to try just a little. I know they can aspirate easily and I got some tips from a beardie slave i know who has the same issue. Puffy just will NOT drink unless i can sneak a drop or two in after a bite of food when her mouth is still open. The drops on the nose she totally ignores

 

[Esther19]

Best of luck. I hope she cooperates. She needs to feel better. Hang in there!

 

[cmh3988]

I got at least a few drops into her. Glad I can get to the vet tomorrow! Thanks again for the responses

 

[Esther19]

Please let us know what the vet says.

 

[cmh3988]

Will do!!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Yes, let us know how things go at the vets!
It is a high probability of egg binding. Not all females lay infertiles, but a lot of them tend to.
She looks fairly round & puffy as best I could tell from the pictures. What is her weight?
Are her urates pinkish in color or small & frequent right now?

How is her appetite how long has it been since she quit eating?

Tracie

 

[cmh3988]

No eggs Vet did xray and ultrasound. He drew blood for lab work and said it was more watery than he thought it should be (he tried it in two spots). He suspects she's anemic - she's also paler than usual - and is wondering about her kidney function since she's had more urates than is normal . I feel so bad leaving her at home, but I have to go to work for at least a few hours today. Her beard's all dark and she looks unhappy. He said to do soaks twice a day to help with hydration but didn't want to give fluids until we got the blood work back. Will be back later today or tomorrow. I HOPE it's today!

Anyone have experience with anemia? IF that's what it is he said it could be kidney function, bone marrow issues, or several other things.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great, I was going to suggest a blood test, but they are expensive!
Can you post them for me or send them to me via PM so I can look over them, that would be great.
If she is anemic, she could have parasites/worms that can cause anemia. What vitamins do you give?

How is she doing today?
I hope it is not kidney issues, but, that can be treated & managed though.

Tracie