Sunken fat pads

[tendo102]

Hello,

OH no! Poor Brick, that is really quite shocking & upsetting. I hear of way too many
incidents of dragons have extended vet stays, only to not make it. A bearded dragon wont
develop a fatty liver in just a few weeks, so if he did have any liver or renal issues it is most
likely due to inbreeding.
I am sorry you have had so much trouble with the couple of dragons you have had. There are
a lot of dragons having health issues these days & it's no fault of the keepers.
I am so sorry you lost him.

Tracie

Seriously, what is going on lately? There have to be at least 10 on here right now that have died either while staying overnight at the vet's office, or at home a day or two after coming back from the vet's office and being put on multiple medications that sent them downhill rapidly. I'm almost afraid to open any more posts...

I'm so sorry this happened to you guys, and twice yet, it's nothing at all you guys have done, you've gone above and beyond what 99% of beardie owners typically do to help their sick dragons. I don't even want to say it's "Luck of the draw", that sounds so cold, but it seems to be true. I've gotten 2 dragons from Petco and 1 from a couple who rescued 3 clutches of fertile eggs from a breeder who bred his dragon and then decided he no longer wanted to be a breeder and was going to freeze the eggs...My first Petco dragon I got at 2 months old, and lived to be a month shy of 13 years old, and my second Petco dragon I got at a month old and is now over 10 months and is in perfect health, never even had parasites...and my younger boy from the rescued eggs I took in at 4 weeks (maybe, more like 3 weeks I thing), I was trying to help this couple who rescued the eggs out early, as they had over 60 babies hatch...he's now 5 months old and perfect...yet I work with someone who got a baby beardie from the very same Petco I got my current 10 month old from, he got his about 4 months ago as a month old baby, and I went with him when buying his lighting, thermometer, etc. and I set up his enclosure for him, and instructed him on everything, the diet, the photoperiod, light replacement, etc. and his baby was diagnosed with Adenovirus and his not doing well...

There needs to be much more responsible breeding to begin with, there need to be laws or at least company protocols about the babies being old enough to sell, and there needs to be mandatory testing for Adenovirus before the babies are sold in the first place...and mandatory wellness exams by an experienced reptile vet, and that include fecal testing for parasites and skin scraping for Yellow Fungus...it's just too out of control and putting people, families, young children, etc. through such stressful, heartbreaking times...

I completely agree with you. When we first got Brick Top (from a reptile shop whom get their reptiles from Hamm or breeding them themselves) the next day we took him in to the vet for a check over. This didn't include fecal or skin scraping (something I didn't even know about until I just read your message) so if we ever do get another beardie, I will request all those and Adenovirus testing too.

About the Zero beardie we were going to be bringing home (which we had been planning for literally months!) I did a lot of searching online and following the breeder via their facebook page. My husband did say I should think about it seriously as to whether I was sure I didn't want to take him on after Brick Top died, and he even said (sounds callous but only way to explain it) third time lucky? I've always been a logical person and I know for sure that just because it feels like it, doesn't mean this baby is going to be sick as well, but...

... outside of having reptiles, I have always loved Sphynx cats, since God knows when, I just always remember loving them. This is a very long story, but I joined the UK Sphynx community, the top breeder, who runs the meet ups, talks, highly regarded etc, I contacted 5 years ago so I could just meet and talk about Sphynx even though I couldn't take one on at the time and she was kind to oblige and answer all of my questions back then. So when we moved in to our first home of our own, I contacted her right away. Months passed, kittens were born, constant updates and visits, my husband (in fairness) was a little freaked out until he met them and the little boy we were going to be bringing home (we named him Norman). But the day we went to pick him up, the breeder said at her front door "right, he has a sniffle, but its fine". Alarm bells rang but the kitten was adorable. We took him home when we shouldn't have done, took him to the vet, and basically the explanation our breeder gave us was a total lie, he had full on feline flu, and it had been going on for weeks untreated. Thus began medicating the poor thing and having to keep him locked in our kitchen for 2 weeks, with regular check ups at the vet. Eye drops 3 times a day, medication 4 times a day. The vet expected an improvement within a week, or suspect life long issues with his health and potential surgeries in the future. Low and behold, Norman didn't get better, his breathing was strained and it was likely, because he was a kitten, it was permanent. The vet suggested we return him to the breeder. We told the breeder all of this as it was going on, and although she denied he had cat flu, she offered to take him back and give us our money. The reason why we decided to do that is because as it was an issue we took him home with, insurance wouldn't cover any surgeries he may need in the future, and we couldn't guarantee that we could pay for it when that happened. I couldn't forgive myself if he needed surgery at age 3 and we couldn't afford it because he wasn't insured for that. We had Norman for 2 weeks and was heart broken to return him to the breeder. I put so much time and effort and thought we were going to a trust worthy breeder... I don't believe she is a back yard breeder, but I do believe she is arrogant and thought she knew better so didn't take him to the vet and was sly by not telling us before we turned up (she had 2 damn weeks to tell us) because she knew we would find it difficult to say no to an adorable kitten.

It was about this time Trevor died. On the same day we brought Norman back to the breeder, which felt like we were saying "sorry, its broke, can we get a refund?" poor thing, we had a phone call from the vet saying Trevor's ashes were ready to pick up, which we did. This year and animals for us has just been relentless. Sorry for being such a downer and sharing all my pet troubles on here. Its just been awful.

 

[Savora]

Tendo, that's TERRIBLE. I'm so, so sorry you went through that. Poor Norman. I hope you ended up going to a different breeder and getting another healthy Sphynx.

I can understand your distrust of having anymore animals, though... But you always have the best intentions, I can tell, and you should always keep your heart open, because living with you and your family is a blessing to the pets you take on.

 

[EllenD]

Wow, that's absolutely heartbreaking. I can't believe that all happened to you guys in one lifetime, let alone one year. I hope that breeder took responsibility for Norman and got him the help he needs, I hate breeders that do this. It's not all breeders, but unfortunately it's a good percentage of them. Last year my 14 year old pug died and I wasn't going to get another dog for a while, but a friend of mine just by chance came across a Shared Pei breeder who had just had a litter and had only one pup left, a black male. I love Shar Peis and decided to speak to her, and this breeder was the most honest person in the world, she told me the only reason she still had him at 14 weeks old was because he had to have the eye-tacking surgery twice (Shar Peis have so much skin that their eye lashes can actually fold over into their eye balls when they're puppies, because their heads haven't yet grown into the wrinkles. This causes scratching of their eye balls and sometimes blindness, and if eye tacking doesn't work it takes a very long, invasive, expensive surgery to correct, and you may end up with a blind dog). So this puppy had his eyes tacked twice, was not going to be able to ever be bred, and though the second eye tacking worked, his right eye was deformed and his vision in that eye damaged. She admitted everything right up front, and basically gave me him for free as long as I signed something saying that if he ever needed additional surgery and I couldn't afford it, I'd return him to her...So Jett will be 2 in January and though his right eye is funny looking (lol, his whole body is funny looking) he's healthy as a horse and can see just fine. That breeder could have very easily sold him as a registered Shar Pei with no issues to someone who wasn't aware of the problem, but she was good person that wasn't more interested in making money than the welfare of the animal and the people.

This bearded dragon breeding thing is crazy though. Just last week someone on here had purchased a very expensive baby from a big, private breeder (some special morph), and this breeder told them a UVB light wasn't necessary...Now what advantage does telling this massive and crucial lie serve a breeder? What, were they scared that he wouldn't buy the baby if it required a UVB light? If someone is going to pay between $200-$500 for a baby bearded dragon of a particular color or morph, I would assume they can afford a UVB tube and fixture. I just don't get it. None of these beardie breeders test for Adenovirus...It can be done for under $15, and if you were having a large clutch tested all at once, I would think they could work a deal with a vet or a testing lab or facility, or they could at least just test their breeder beardies, but most don't. Most pet shops won't even take babies to a proper vet, let alone test them for anything. But Petco will spend tons of extra money putting Calcium sand in all their bearded dragon tanks across the country that contain babies that are only 4" long...That makes sense.

 

[tendo102]

Thank you for your very kind words Savora, the community on here is just amazing, I've never come across such a group of kind and knowledgeable people. Now more time has passed, it feels less painful. We do pick up Brick Tops ashes tomorrow and I just want him home with us, he can hang out with Trevor on your TV stand where we see them everyday. We haven't got another Sphynx, or any cats. I always imagined my house would be full of cats and dogs, reptiles, birds, you name it! I love animals! I'm thinking we should let this year pass, before we even think about it.

Ellen, you Shar Pei sounds utterly adorable, and is lucky to come from who sounds like a caring and honest breeder and to be part of your family. As well as Sphynx I love sighthounds and daschunds, though because of daxies surge in popularity in the UK lately (I've seen some with exceptionally short legs and long bodies, and that worries me when the breeding is extreme) I would worry about finding a reputable breeder, as I imagine there are a lot of back yard breeders or puppies smuggled in from Irish puppy farms. It angers me!

I have heard some crazy stories about bearded dragon breeders. For a moment after reading about some of these a few months ago, me and my husband were talking about how bad it is and we said if we were experienced enough we could consider breeding ourselves just so we can do it right and be decent breeders doing it for the right reasons, but we dismissed that almost immidiately when it was brought up i couldn't get a roach colony to breed haha! Its a minefield out there. It must be so frustraiting to those breeders who really are doing it for the love of their animals and not for the money but see people going to the wrong people.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I'm glad to hear you are feeling a little better. This kind of pain sure stays with you a long time,
though, it's something that you never really get over.
In general, people always find some way to exploit animals & beauty on this planet. It's really
a shame.

Tracie