Hi all,
I was directed here from another forum and hoping I could get some insight into an issue I am having with my beardie.
I recently came home from being away for school for 2 years and got my 4* (I am the second owner so this is an estimate, I did get her as a juvenile though) year old dragon back from a friend who was watching her. I did come home for some holidays and the summer so had been checking in and things seemed fine, but near the end I noticed her fat pads were sinking in pictures I was sent. My first thought was dehydration so when I got her back I gave her plenty of soaks and offered her water daily (she drinks from running tap) and she was drinking fairly heavily so I figured that was it. My friend also let me know there was an incident when Artemis jumped out of the tank for a cricket and fell about 2ft, but her legs appear fine and she is running around.
She has been resettling back with me for just over a month, but her pads are still sunk and I have now noticed hip bones. She stopped eating about 3 weeks ago -- prior to that she only ate sparingly (2 large hornworms dusted with a multivitamin and about 8 crickets with calcium total, never saw her eat veggies but she is offered dandelion greens daily with squash, and occasional fruit for treats). I have been taking her out into the sun when I can (live in a cool climate, already 10 degrees outside). Her behavior seems normal and she is basking and moving around and regularly pooping, but no eating and pads are still sunk. She appears to perk up when food comes, but then doesn't go for it or even closes her eyes (usually with bugs). I haven't noticed any blood or undigested bugs in her poop, but it has been watery. I am currently saving up to get her into the vet asap but feeling anxious about what to do until I can get there (to clarify, it is not that she is not a priority, I don't have the money and the vet said it is pay up front). There is only 1 vet in my area that sees reptiles, so finding if another vet will do a payment plan is unfortunately not an option, and vets around here seem to charge hefty fees for reptiles. I did a full deep clean of her cage when I picked her up and spot clean daily. I have been trying to get a fecal, but it has been tricky as she is a bath pooper.
She has a history of being, frankly, a hefty girl. I weighed her when I picked her up from my friend and she had lost about 40g from when I originally dropped her off (from around 500 to 460). At first I thought it was actually good because she was tipping the overweight scale but now I know something is wrong. It can be hard to see in the pics, but her tail is the big thing I notice dropping weight and is moving toward the bony side rather than squishy.
Viv details:
-125 gallon, 4 x 2 x 2ft
-Reptisun 10.0 T8 with no screen over it and replaced last month, about 6inches from highest perch point
-Basking sits around 37/39 degrees, hot side 32 and cool 24. Humidity normal hangs out around 30 but this year has been abnormally wet with buckets of rain
-Her cage is in its own room kept away from our dogs.
I was directed here from another forum and hoping I could get some insight into an issue I am having with my beardie.
I recently came home from being away for school for 2 years and got my 4* (I am the second owner so this is an estimate, I did get her as a juvenile though) year old dragon back from a friend who was watching her. I did come home for some holidays and the summer so had been checking in and things seemed fine, but near the end I noticed her fat pads were sinking in pictures I was sent. My first thought was dehydration so when I got her back I gave her plenty of soaks and offered her water daily (she drinks from running tap) and she was drinking fairly heavily so I figured that was it. My friend also let me know there was an incident when Artemis jumped out of the tank for a cricket and fell about 2ft, but her legs appear fine and she is running around.
She has been resettling back with me for just over a month, but her pads are still sunk and I have now noticed hip bones. She stopped eating about 3 weeks ago -- prior to that she only ate sparingly (2 large hornworms dusted with a multivitamin and about 8 crickets with calcium total, never saw her eat veggies but she is offered dandelion greens daily with squash, and occasional fruit for treats). I have been taking her out into the sun when I can (live in a cool climate, already 10 degrees outside). Her behavior seems normal and she is basking and moving around and regularly pooping, but no eating and pads are still sunk. She appears to perk up when food comes, but then doesn't go for it or even closes her eyes (usually with bugs). I haven't noticed any blood or undigested bugs in her poop, but it has been watery. I am currently saving up to get her into the vet asap but feeling anxious about what to do until I can get there (to clarify, it is not that she is not a priority, I don't have the money and the vet said it is pay up front). There is only 1 vet in my area that sees reptiles, so finding if another vet will do a payment plan is unfortunately not an option, and vets around here seem to charge hefty fees for reptiles. I did a full deep clean of her cage when I picked her up and spot clean daily. I have been trying to get a fecal, but it has been tricky as she is a bath pooper.
She has a history of being, frankly, a hefty girl. I weighed her when I picked her up from my friend and she had lost about 40g from when I originally dropped her off (from around 500 to 460). At first I thought it was actually good because she was tipping the overweight scale but now I know something is wrong. It can be hard to see in the pics, but her tail is the big thing I notice dropping weight and is moving toward the bony side rather than squishy.
Viv details:
-125 gallon, 4 x 2 x 2ft
-Reptisun 10.0 T8 with no screen over it and replaced last month, about 6inches from highest perch point
-Basking sits around 37/39 degrees, hot side 32 and cool 24. Humidity normal hangs out around 30 but this year has been abnormally wet with buckets of rain
-Her cage is in its own room kept away from our dogs.