Very Sick Little Figment

[NeosMom]

Finally! Oh my gosh, I am so relieved. I have spent months trying to get my hubby to learn the small nuances of the dragons. "Exactly what do you mean he made a good poop?" One day my son & I had a conversation bordering on an argument with my hubby over Figment's happy colors, dark colors, stress marks... he just didn't see it. And that's how I landed with this sick little guy in my hands.

Well... I send notes home asking after him and a few minutes ago hubby answered "kinda dark & unhappy looking". I think he finally gets it. He sees that what I've been saying all along is right and those small things DO add up to something important! Dare I say it? We might have a reformed dragon keeper! Yay!

Of course, not so yay bout Figgy's colors, but I'll be off work in an hour. Mommy will fix.

 

[NeosMom]

When I got home, Figment was hiding. Little grump butt. It's all I can do to keep him basking. :roll: Dragons... Anyway, he was pretty limp when I scooped him out of his viv. Not like himself at all. This is breaking my heart. So, anyway, I forced the yogurt in him. This time he took only the tiniest little licks willingly. Hubby even had to help hold onto him so I could get it in him. And beard was all black again after we finished. But when we offered him food about 40 minutes later he seemed nearly like himself again. He refused the hornworms again, which I really wonder about. But then he gobbled superworms happily. Ate 8 of them. So I'm happy with that.

I will be happy to be home with him for the next three days. Then, Tuesday when I go back to work, it will be his final dose of Albon. I will be so glad to stop giving that to him. I will post again tomorrow.

 

[ShannyBeard]

It's so true that if people would pick up on the subtle changes in their dragons, problems could be realized a lot faster!! I've had to learn that, too. Dragons are pretty complex little creatures. I bet he will feel better if you can keep him hydrated, as many medications can dehydrate them and make them thirsty. The only time Ginger has ever drank water in the bath was after getting medication.

 

[NeosMom]

Oh, thank you for that tip, Shanny! I hadn't heard that one. I usually worry about bathing Figment for sanitary reasons rather than hydration. He eats hornworms regularly, so hydration is usually the least of my concerns. I will get him in a nice warm bath right now.

 

[NeosMom]

Life has been absolutely nuts here for a couple weeks. The last bit of school was crazy. Plus everyone has been sick. After the stomach flu, hubby got the respiratory bug so he is still not himself. Then, the parent / child bowling league started and I am just worn out. It's all I have been able to do to take care of Figgy. No time to post.

Anyway... We are still here. Hit a few bumps in the road, but overall he is maintaining his weight so I am trying to keep a positive attitude. Sunday was time for him to get his second dose of panacur. When I went to fill the syringe, there was only enough medicine for the second dose. There were supposed to be three doses in there. So frustrating. So, I gave him the dose and called the vet. I explained the situation and made arrangements to go and pick up the final dose this weekend so I can give it to him Wednesday. Well, I feel like such a ***** because it didn't even occur to me until after I gave him the meds that I don't know how much he got. Was he underdosed? Overdosed? What exactly was in that bottle? Was it three doses worth of meds mixed with enough liquid for only two? I mean... what in the heck did I give my baby? Did I mention I'm frustrated?

So, my Figgy baby isn't eating hardly. Hubby swears he takes whole syringes of yogurt from him, but he won't for me. And he's only getting that every other day because he freaks out on me so badly when I get it out that I just can't force him every day. He gets so stressed. He's eaten like one hornworm all week and it was kinda small. But I am getting him soaking every day to be sure he's hydrated well. If I don't see a huge turn around in the next two days, I think I'm taking him with me to pick up the medicine this weekend and talk to the vet. I'm really unhappy right now being in this position. I should know exactly what meds went in him and what I'm dealing with.

Anyway, it will all be fine. I will get an update on the regular thread maybe tomorrow and I will be sure to post here when I have some better info.

 

[Irwinshealth]

Looking for tomorrow update, sorry to hear Figgy isn't doing well.

 

[NeosMom]

Ok... I am officially really worried. Figment is refusing to eat and the only thing I have gotten in him was half a syringe of soy yogurt last night. He didn't eat anything at all today and the only thing he has eaten since Sunday besides little bits of soy yogurt is one medium hornworm that my husband says he ate (I think Tuesday). Tonight my son and I were out for a while and when we got home Figment's beard was dark. Poor little guy. I know he is feeling rotten because of the panacur, but this seems excessive. So, I was letting him rest on my shoulder while I dealt with trying to fix my son's video game system. We were snuggling like that for about 5 or 10 minutes when he poops all down the front of me. It was the WORST. The smell was unbelievable. It was so watery that it soaked right through my shirt AND bra. It was light in color and hands down the nastiest poop I have ever seen out of any dragon. Neo helped pull him off me and get him in the sink so I could get my clothes off. I threw them in my bathtub and walked away. I'm going back to deal with that mess as soon as I'm done here. So, I figured the poor little thing must feel better to get all that muck out of his tummy and it was probably what had him so miserable. Except now his colors are all dark and he has some mild / moderate stress marks on his belly. Although, his beard is normal again.

I am seriously getting concerned about this and wondering if it might be due to that panacur dose he got on Sunday. Right now he is in his hammock all covered with his blankie and I have the night light on to keep his temps up. If anyone has any advice or input, I would love to hear it. I will be going to the vet Sunday to deal with the medicine I need. Starting to wonder if Figment needs to come along...

 

[Irwinshealth]

I would PM Drache 613 her name is Tracie. She is wonderful and very helpful with the medical issues. Good luck I will continue to pray for Figment :lol:

 

[sweetiepie9]

Gabriel was the same in the few weeks of panacur. The poops were watery and nasty smelling, too, as he pooped all over me too when we were cuddling. I put him on babyfood while he was being dosed as he wouldn't eat anything else. Try butternut squash & chicken with five veggies. That's what I've been feeding my crew for years when they're not eating normally. Gabriel will usually lick down at least 2 tsp if not 3 tsp daily. I use a small baster, it's got a blue top, I got it from a friend who works in a hospital. I'll show you the pic, it's easier & there's no force feeding, except just getting his mouth to open a bit to start the licking. Try that, it didn't put any weight on Gabriel, but he didn't lose any either. So he'd get his dose on Sunday, but I'd feed him the babyfood first, then the dose. I'd also give him a small dose of liquid calcium daily, but you can put powder calcium in the babyfood & get it into him that way. If you haven't tried it, it's worth a try. You should check out Tracie's online website http://www.bug-de-lite.com, she has acidopholus on her site (liquid probiotics) & liquid calcium, for not alot. She lives in Texas, so shipping wouldn't be very much & she takes Paypal for payments. So give that a try. She's the lady that was mentioned earlier Drache613, she's helped me for years. She's very knowledgeable, has 2 dragons of her own, so she knows what she's talking about. She helps alot of people in Beardie ER. So give that a try & good luck with Figment, you just got on my site so you know Gabriel has to start over again, I'm on my way to the vet this am to pick up the next bunch of panacur! So good luck to both of our little boys!
Deb

 

[Irwinshealth]

How is Figment? any update at all?

 

[NeosMom]

Tracie is being an enormous help. I just got a PM from her and I'm trying to absorb the information. I will post an update on him a little later.

 

[Irwinshealth]

She is very good. Looking forward to an update, and still sending my prayers for little Figment! Hang in there

 

[NeosMom]

Ok... Here is where we stand. Tracie says that Figment was given too much panacur and I should not give him anymore. I should also work on getting more fluids in him orally. I can deal with all of that. As for my vet... he isn't returning my phone calls. Yesterday I talked to his assistant and asked if I should bring the bottle of meds with me or Figment with me or what today. She said the vet would return my call. He didn't. I called back in the afternoon and they were closed so I left a message on their machine. They have been open since 8 today (It's 10:40 now) and no call. They close at noon. I am so mad I could spit nails.

So I'm thinking I call the vet now and cancel my appointments for June 24 for both Figment recheck and Fluffy well visit. I talk to Tracie more and get a mega crash course in bearded dragon parasites, meds, fecal checks, etc. I order my own fecal check kit from beardeddragon.co. And I take care of my three dragons via home fecal checks and Tracie. Everyone here trusts her and that is good enough for me. I also need to find myself a new vet so I have someone to see in case of an emergency.

If Figment wasn't so dark colored and sad looking I would be going on a rampage right about now. But what I need to do is focus on making him feel better and getting my other two checked out so I know everyone is healthy.

 

[Irwinshealth]

Let me at him ....Darn vet! Your plan sounds great! I'm very glad Tracie is able to help you. I will continue to send prayers to Figment and check in.

But what I need to do is focus on making him feel better and getting my other two checked out so I know everyone is healthy.

I sure hope the others are doing well. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

 

[sweetiepie9]

All I can say is you're in good hands with Tracie, she has helped me enormously for years with my crew & always with right on information. And Cheryl at bearddeddragon.co does have a great kit for fecals, a friend of mine has it and has been taking care of her own dragons ever since. I have a good vet, but I'm starting to think of doing my own testing, too, it costs over $20 for a fecal there, even they're very exact. I've never had an issue with her at all in all the years I've been taking dragons to her, so I think I'm just very lucky.

So good luck with Figment, hope he's feeling well, soon. You might want to add bee pollen to the fluids, I've had good success & you just get a bottle from your local health food store of bee pollen granules. Then melt them in warm water & syringe feed it to Figment, will add alot of good things to his body, but clear it with Tracie soon. Acidopholyz & Benebec gel are also probiotics easy to feed him. I'm going to order some soon for Gabriel.

Good luck & keep us all informed, I"m concerned for him and you!
Deb