Sunken fat pads after leaving her for vacation..advice?

lizdragon

Hatchling Member
Hey everyone,

I have a beardie named Liz with MBD who I've posted about many times on these forums. She's been laying clutches of eggs since December, and right now she's in the midst of trying to lay. I had my wedding last weekend, and my husband and I went on a mini vacation for a few days afterward, leaving her with family. Well since we've gotten her back it looks like her fat pads around her head are a bit sunken, and she still doesn't have much of an appetite due to laying (which is normal for her). She's still eating but not as much as usual. Should I give her carnivore care? I had been told to do that in the past by a vet when she wasn't eating due to laying eggs. Would love any advice. I don't know if it's at the point where I should take her to the ER. We would preferably like to treat at home because it's very difficult for us to get her to a vet since we have no car and I have a baby, but I'll do what I have to do. Thanks everyone.
 

lizdragon

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
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AHBD

BD.org Sicko
She is very thin so yes, try the Carnivore Care to keep some weight on her. If she starts to struggle at all with laying then get her to a vet right away. She's in pretty shaky condition. It's sad to see how hard it is on some of these females when they have such a long laying season that totally depletes them, it seems to happen to some beardies and not others.
 

lizdragon

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
She is very thin so yes, try the Carnivore Care to keep some weight on her. If she starts to struggle at all with laying then get her to a vet right away. She's in pretty shaky condition. It's sad to see how hard it is on some of these females when they have such a long laying season that totally depletes them, it seems to happen to some beardies and not others.
Thank you. She honestly always struggles to lay due to her MBD but this time seems especially rough on her. This is the longest by far she's laid clutches in a row. She barely gets a break. I feel so awful for not getting her spayed in the past. I'm going to make her a vet appointment this week. Do you know if this would be sufficient to give to her? She did eat some greens and two worms so far today.

 

lizdragon

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
I am taking Liz to the vet tomorrow morning. Hopefully they can help and give me the right kind of supplement she needs, and possibly some pitocin as well.
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
Bless her heart, you can see in the pics she don't feel good. Hopefully the vet can help her feel better. Mbd is a nasty disease, my heart goes out to her, and you to for that matter.
 

lizdragon

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Bless her heart, you can see in the pics she don't feel good. Hopefully the vet can help her feel better. Mbd is a nasty disease, my heart goes out to her, and you to for that matter.
Thank you so much. I won’t go into her whole life story, but she’s had MBD since we adopted her four years ago. I wish she didn’t have it and that she could just live life as a normal bearded dragon without these health issues.
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
It breaks my hearth what thoughtless people do to them and it makes my blood boil because it's absolutely available. I keep saying it and i mean it every single time. Anyone who takes in a neglected beardie is a hero!!!
 

lizdragon

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Thank you so much. I'm very worried about her, but what gives me hope is that I know she is one resilient lizard. There have been so many times where I really didn't think she'd make it, but she always pulled through. I hope it's the same this time!
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Poor girl, she is definitely dehydrated, & her fat pads are sunken somewhat. Has her beard
been very dark?
The Carnivore care should help start to put some weight on her. Since she has been laying a lot
of eggs, she definitely needs a bit of extra calcium. Are you giving powder or liquid calcium? She
has metabolic bone disease also?
It is so hard on them to lay repeated clutches! You are going to try to get her spayed this time?
Let us know how she is doing & I hope she starts feeling better soon.

Tracie
 

lizdragon

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Hello,

Poor girl, she is definitely dehydrated, & her fat pads are sunken somewhat. Has her beard
been very dark?
The Carnivore care should help start to put some weight on her. Since she has been laying a lot
of eggs, she definitely needs a bit of extra calcium. Are you giving powder or liquid calcium? She
has metabolic bone disease also?
It is so hard on them to lay repeated clutches! You are going to try to get her spayed this time?
Let us know how she is doing & I hope she starts feeling better soon.

Tracie
Hi Tracie,

Thankfully her beard is not dark. She is still crawling around trying to lay, which makes me feel a bit better knowing that she hasn’t given up. I’m guessing they will give me carnivore care today and maybe inject her with an IV to help with dehydration. Right now we were just giving calcium powder to be honest, but we have liquid calcium so we’ll do that as well. Yes she has had MBD for years now. It’s always tough on her to lay eggs, but I feel she looks especially skinny this time. She has also been laying clutch after clutch since last Christmas. At this point I don’t know if she’ll ever stop. I’m going to chat with them about spaying and see how risky it is. That was what was keeping us from doing it last time. Thanks for you help.
 

lizdragon

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Hey everyone. Wanted to give a little update on Liz's visit at the Animal Medical Center in NYC. The Dr confirmed that she is in rough shape (thank you everyone for being honestly about that) and that if she continues to lay continuously like this she won't be around for much longer. At this point she said it's less risky for her to get spayed than to continue laying. She said something may be abnormal about her ovaries which is causing her to lay so often. She said the eggs have not ruptured yet thankfully though it looks like they could be getting close. Also her gallbladder is enlarged which isn't great. She is staying in the hospital for at least 24 hours while they assess how she could do in surgery. They're running a blood test on her and giving her some medications and fluids. If it looks like she could do okay in surgery, we're going to go ahead and do it and hope for the best. If not, we may need to discuss humanely euthanizing her. At this point that's not something I want to even think about. I have to say, Liz is resilient as heck. The doctor told me she's shocked she has lived this long laying as often as she does with her condition. I feel guilty not getting her spayed in the past but my girl is such a fighter that she always seemed to recover well after laying. The doctor said that she has successfully treated beardies in this condition before so that, combined with the fact that Liz is so resilient, gives me hope. Please keep Liz in your thoughts!
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Zen , Ruby ,Snicker Doodles, Sweet Pea, Sinatra
God bless her and she will be in our prayers!
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I do agree. The repeated clutches are very stressful on her & is definitely zapping her calcium
& nutrition. When did the vet feel he would do the surgery?
I am glad to hear that none of the eggs have ruptured yet so she doesn't have an infection from
peritonitis. Hopefully her gall bladder will hold out & not cause any problems!

Tracie
 

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