Very Sad Situation.

[Drache613]

Hello Keith,

Great to see she is slowly getting better! They can have severe symptoms after vomiting, etc which sounds like what happened.
Let her rest & keep her warm overnight to help her heal up. I am glad to hear things are looking better right now.

Tracie

 

[keith167]

Hello Keith,

Great to see she is slowly getting better! They can have severe symptoms after vomiting, etc which sounds like what happened.
Let her rest & keep her warm overnight to help her heal up. I am glad to hear things are looking better right now.

Tracie

This morning Judy's color looks great. Almost no black beard. Shes still reluctant to move tho. And she's pretty flat and looks bloated. And she keeps peeing a very small amount of just eurate.
You think she could could maybe have some kind of blockage/impaction after choking? Anything else you think i should be doing for her? The incident was Sunday and today is Weds.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Keith!

I am happy to hear Judy is looking better with an almost normal color in her beard. So, she is obviously feeling
much better now.
Is she breathing normally? I don't think choking would cause impaction but perhaps it has messed up the GI tract
balance some since she vomited previously.
Is she taking fluids for you?

Tracie

 

[keith167]

Hello Keith!

I am happy to hear Judy is looking better with an almost normal color in her beard. So, she is obviously feeling
much better now.
Is she breathing normally? I don't think choking would cause impaction but perhaps it has messed up the GI tract
balance some since she vomited previously.
Is she taking fluids for you?

Tracie

Hi Tracie,

She's looking much better. Still not very active tho. Alotta napping and basking. Sometimes I feel like she's not thermo regulating well. Like too much basking time. Maybe a bit of the desire to brumate is part of the equation as she started going to bed early prior the incident.
I gave her a break from fluids as I was having to force them on her by opening her mouth and using a syringe and it was stressing her out. She will not eat or drink voluntarily. And she keeps going to the bathroom in small amounts. And there may have been a trace of blood this morning (pic attached).
She seems to gulp often. Especially if we go near here. And she seems to breath heavy sometimes...

 

[Drache613]

Hello Keith,

How is her breathing? How long has she had a few breathing issues? Try to keep the humidity down right now, since the weather
is getting cooler so she wont catch a cold/respiratory infection.
Will she not take fluids from a dropper or syringe off of her nose?
The urates don't appear hard but that does look like a bit of blood though. When was the last fecal you had done on her?
It could just be related to the recent problems with the worms, etc.

Tracie

 

[keith167]

Hello Keith,

How is her breathing? How long has she had a few breathing issues? Try to keep the humidity down right now, since the weather
is getting cooler so she wont catch a cold/respiratory infection.
Will she not take fluids from a dropper or syringe off of her nose?
The urates don't appear hard but that does look like a bit of blood though. When was the last fecal you had done on her?
It could just be related to the recent problems with the worms, etc.

Tracie

I'm just noticing her breathing being funny since the incident.
She will not take fluids off her nose. I have to open her mouth to get her to take anything.
She hasn't had a fecal for a while.
I'm gonna take her to the Vet on Monday. I'm thinking ill get a fecal done, have the vet listen to her etc. I'm not sure I want to have Bloodwork as I dont want to stress or weaken her. What do you think I Should have the vet do?

 

[Drache613]

Hello Keith,

How are things with your girl, is she still improving I hope?
They can definitely do a fecal on her to see what is going on. Bloodwork is always helpful though it can
be stressful for her. Is she still having breathing issues? Can you think of anything that might be stressing
her out in her tank or the environment?

Tracie

 

[keith167]

Hello Keith,

How are things with your girl, is she still improving I hope?
They can definitely do a fecal on her to see what is going on. Bloodwork is always helpful though it can
be stressful for her. Is she still having breathing issues? Can you think of anything that might be stressing
her out in her tank or the environment?

Tracie

She's not providing me w a fecal, lol.
She seems ok. But she doesn't want to move. She basks and sleeps in one spot. When we go near her, she starts gulping. If I speak to her from across the room (like I always do) she starts gulping. She wont take any fluids without a fight to open her mouth. When we show her any worms or food, she closes her eyes.
Its kind of funny, her parents, whom I had from babies, seemed very intelligent (or I projectd qualities onto them lol). And now she seems the same way.
Tomorrow we go to vet. I guess we will get an exam and do some bloodwork. I just want her to be healthy and happy...

 

[Drache613]

Hello Keith,

Let us know how she is doing. Has her breathing improved at all? It does seem strange that she is not moving much but she
could still be a little worn out. Is her beard normal colored?
Keep us posted with the vet visit, too. Bloodwork would be a good idea considering what has happened to her.

Tracie

 

[keith167]

Hello Keith,

Let us know how she is doing. Has her breathing improved at all? It does seem strange that she is not moving much but she
could still be a little worn out. Is her beard normal colored?
Keep us posted with the vet visit, too. Bloodwork would be a good idea considering what has happened to her.

Tracie

Her color is normal. Her breathing seems ok until we go near her. Then she gulps. Im Gonna have the vet examine her for Respiratory infection and do blood work. I will report back here afterwards...thank you

 

[keith167]

Ok, just returned from the Vet. We did bloodwork and the vet observed Judy breathing etc. She agrees, she probably choked, she also agreed choking can be a big deal for these guys.
The Vet observed Judy gulp a few times, and take a cpl of deep breaths while there. The Vet is concerned maybe there's a respiratory infection. She wants her to do a round of antibiotics (pic attached). I hate giving these guys meds, etc, but I guess its neccessary.
Other than that, and the size of her jowls, she thinks Judy looks good. I will also post blood test results when I get them.
Anyone have any thoughts? Thanks...

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Well, if she is having some symptoms, due to what happened, it probably would be a good idea. I don't like giving antibiotics
much either but winter is coming up & you don't want her getting a respiratory issue.
How is she doing today?
Be sure to give probiotics too just to help out. I hope she is feeling better soon!

Tracie

 

[keith167]

Hello,

Well, if she is having some symptoms, due to what happened, it probably would be a good idea. I don't like giving antibiotics
much either but winter is coming up & you don't want her getting a respiratory issue.
How is she doing today?
Be sure to give probiotics too just to help out. I hope she is feeling better soon!

Tracie

So she had 1st dose at Vet. She woke up yesterday looking good. I noticed she started to thermo regulate again by moving in and out of the basking area which she hadn't done since rhe incident. Then she seemed jumpy like she was hungry. I offered her tomato worms and she ate two! First time she has eaten in 9 days!.... things are looking up for sure...

 

[keith167]

UPDATE:

Judy is doing much better. She's eating, basking and acting normal.
Here are her Blood Test Results and the Vets comments.

Attached is Judy's bloodwork. The toxic heterophils and azurophils are indicative of infection/inflammation. The bloodwork cannot specify where the infection/inflammation is coming from. Based on clinical signs and whether or not there are other bloodwork abnormalities is how we choose which treatment protocol to start. The other abnormalities you will see are elevated Total Bile Acids - this value is not terribly useful alone and in a study done in bearded dragons specifically they saw a large variation in the bile acids level on a daily basis so a single elevated value in the absence of other clinical signs is not useful or indicative of any particular problem. The Creatinine Kinase is indicative of tissue damage, which can be from something as simple as the blood draw itself. Or if there is inflammation it can also cause some elevation. So this value is also not very useful.

 

[beardie]

Very glad to hear that Judy is doing much better!