Vet wants me to consider putting down

[Subion]

just an update.

We left sun to stay in a hotel. Zilla stayed awake the entire trip and finally went to bed at 7pm without naps.

Mon her appointment went well. They didn’t do any blood work or anything this time. Just a quick look over and removed her stitches. The vet was very happy at how she was doing and even said she’s doing the best I’ve ever seen her do. She was being feisty and trying to climb while we were there and even fighting the vet a bit. Normally she would just lay and go with what was being done. The vet said keep up with what we are currently doing. Keep Zilla off her heart meds for now since she seems to be doing so good and unless something comes up she won’t need to be seen again for 3 months. The vet was really surprised by how much a change in how she was acting she seemed to be a little lost with words.

on the way back from the vet I tried to let her sleep in the car but she was wide awake until 7pm I finally got her to go to bed. Today she’s a little tired but I don’t blame her. I got her up and we went outside for about 2 hours. Then she got a nice long bath, she hasn’t had one in over a month and close to 2 that she could enjoy one with not feeling good. So she swam a bit and acted like she loved it once she would get in. Afterwards she was ready for bed. So I let her go to sleep. I’ll get her up later to try and see if she wants more food and to go outside for a bit but I think for the most part I’m just going to let her sleep today since she’s had a busy couple.

Again I want to thanks everyone for the help and just thinking about her through our all of this. Here’s a few pics of her trip, first time in a hotel lol.

 

[xp29]

She is such a cutie pie, she looks happy in those picks, and man she camouflaged well on that curb. My favorite pic though was of her all sprawled out in her binky

 

[AHBD]

Nice to hear that she's making good progress and yeah, she's looking really good in her photo shoot

 

[Subion]

She is such a cutie pie, she looks happy in those picks, and man she camouflaged well on that curb. My favorite pic though was of her all sprawled out in her binky

Lol I caught her right as I was uncovering her in the hotel. She wasn’t ready to get up yet.

 

[Subion]

we’re still taking it day by day waiting for some good weather. Fighting me over meds and not wanting to eat greens on her own unless it’s grass. Doesn’t seem like summer is ever going to get warm here. Been trying to get her to walk more but she’s being a bit grumpy with the shed she has on her face right now.

Does anyone know of anything to clean their feet with? Hers are dark (more than likely stained some) but the vet has looked at them and said they look good. I’ve been trying a q tip and water and she hates that. Wont even let me get it all. I just want to make sure she doesn’t end up with mouth issues after everything else. I know I can’t use like toothpaste or anything, just wondering if there is something similar for beardies. A lot of places I look online says calcium powdered help but her vet doesn’t want her on any right now since they are still high levels.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon,

She is looking really good there! I'm glad she is feeling better & has become more active,
too. Poor girl, after everything she has been through she is shedding now?
You can use a diluted betadine to clean out her mouth to help. If she has mouth issues right
now you can also get some raw unpasteurized honey for any raw areas.
You can try using some wet wipes to help clean up her feet if they seem to be dirty.
We are all pulling for her full recovery!

Tracie

 

[Subion]

Hello Brandon,

She is looking really good there! I'm glad she is feeling better & has become more active,
too. Poor girl, after everything she has been through she is shedding now?
You can use a diluted betadine to clean out her mouth to help. If she has mouth issues right
now you can also get some raw unpasteurized honey for any raw areas.
You can try using some wet wipes to help clean up her feet if they seem to be dirty.
We are all pulling for her full recovery!

Tracie

I’ll have to try and get some to waste her teeth with this week. They were pearly white but when she got sick and Bonn off the calcium they are a dark tint to them. Since she eats a good bit of fruit I just want to be sure they don’t get cavities or anything.

So yesterday we went to the park and it started to rain and she wanted in it. Everytime we got in it it quit so I had to give her a shower last night. First one she ever had and she seemed to really enjoy it. Today it rained some so I let her play on it for a few moments before it came down heavy and worried she’d get too cold. She trying her best to swim in it.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon,

That looks very cute, they do seem to like the rain. It is a good idea though not to let her stay
out in it for too long so she doesn't get chilled.
Cleaning her teeth several times per week should help out. They do tend to get stained sometimes,
from a myriad of things in the diet. I'm glad she is really starting to feel better now! She has certainly
been through it!

Tracie

 

[Subion]

Hello Brandon,

That looks very cute, they do seem to like the rain. It is a good idea though not to let her stay
out in it for too long so she doesn't get chilled.
Cleaning her teeth several times per week should help out. They do tend to get stained sometimes,
from a myriad of things in the diet. I'm glad she is really starting to feel better now! She has certainly
been through it!

Tracie

She has. I’m trying to work with her every day a few times to use her legs more to help strengthen them. The one leg that always got the swelling in the paw she always seems to want to hold close to her body even if I hold her she lets it hang some. She seems to be able to move it alright when she needs to and eventually she will use it to hold on to stuff. She just acts like it bothers her or is weak. Normally she would fight to get all paws in me if I held her but now she will let them hang until she gets to uncomfortable or wants to move. I try to get her in a position she won’t like so she’ll try to climb up my hand and on to me. Besides when she wants to walk she still lays around most the day. Doesn’t even try to hold her self up on her legs, just stays in a laying position unless she’s after something. She just doesn’t like to explore like she use to and I’m hoping she gets back to where she did. She will hold herself up on her front ones once in awhile while I hold her but she prefers to be in laying mode. With all the swelling in the paws and issues she had over the last year I’m sure she is probably a little weak and needs to build up those muscles some. I really miss the days where she would run around non stop and try to climb stuff in my room and when we are outside. I know with age they get less active and everything but she was doing good before the follicles got her down. A lot of that is hopefully behind us for good but the road to getting her back to wanting to run around like she use to is defiantly going to take some time and effort.

Not to mention she is still not wanting to get up on her own most days. Only one here or there she will. She use to always come out of the covers before I was out of bed and wake me up. I have noticed though she seems to be yawing less now then she was a week ago. Last week at this time she would yawn at least once every 30 min or so it seemed like. Now we may go most the day with only 1-2.

It is a cold day today unfortunately again so we can’t really get out. So just sitting in the car with the heat up so she can look around and watch the rain. Suppose to be in the 80s the rest of the week so hopefully that will help perk her up some. Trying to cut back on food some also. Maybe hoping if she loses a bit of the weight that may get her in a better place. She’s not getting many bugs but it’s been hard cutting back on fruit since that’s usually what she will eat. Been doing. Slurries for her but it seems like if it doesn’t have something besides her greens in it she don’t like them as much. I’ve been trying to give her squash and sweet potatoes or even other veggies but trying not to overdo it on them either since they can get to much vitamins out of it. Then I run into the issue of stores either not carrying stuff she can eat daily or it just looks spoiled or about to. Literally it seems like 90% of the stuff people tell me to get her our area never carry’s or heard of. Been trying to find a reasonable price place to order stuff online but not much luck there.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon,

The good news is that Zilla is improving & seems to be alert a lot more often now. She
has been through a lot of stress & trauma so it takes them quite awhile to fully recover.
There is always a chance that she wont fully recover all of her strength but keep trying
to encourage her to move around more. Water therapy is very helpful in strengthening
muscles for them without having too much stress & or impact on them if there is joint
pain involved.
What types of products are you trying to find right now? A lot of stores do tend not to carry
a lot of things these days, I agree. Reptiles recover very slowly. If she isn't wanting to
get out of bed on her own, you can try to uncover her partially at night so she sees the light
better. Are you still keeping her a little warmer overnight right now?
Keep trying to get her to walk & move around a little more when out of her tank. You are
doing a great job with her & I do feel that she will eventually get back to a more normal life.

Tracie

 

[Subion]

Hello Brandon,

The good news is that Zilla is improving & seems to be alert a lot more often now. She
has been through a lot of stress & trauma so it takes them quite awhile to fully recover.
There is always a chance that she wont fully recover all of her strength but keep trying
to encourage her to move around more. Water therapy is very helpful in strengthening
muscles for them without having too much stress & or impact on them if there is joint
pain involved.
What types of products are you trying to find right now? A lot of stores do tend not to carry
a lot of things these days, I agree. Reptiles recover very slowly. If she isn't wanting to
get out of bed on her own, you can try to uncover her partially at night so she sees the light
better. Are you still keeping her a little warmer overnight right now?
Keep trying to get her to walk & move around a little more when out of her tank. You are
doing a great job with her & I do feel that she will eventually get back to a more normal life.

Tracie

Honestly Tracie she isn’t in her cage at all lately lol. I’ve been off work so we’re outside almost the entire time she’s awake. I get her up at 6-73 to give her milk thistle, then let her go back to bed until around 10-10:30. From there we head to the local park and hang out until usually 1:30 or 2. Today we met up with a friend so we were out until about 3:30. Once we leave there we go home and sit outside until 5:30 if she get a bath or shower (every 2-3 days). Otherwise we stay out until 6 then she takes her meds and goes to bed. Only difference is if she gets a nap in, otherwise our routine is the same almost every day. Not a lot of room to be in the cage unless it’s cold or rainy out then she will be. She still sleeps with the heated blanket on at night sometimes we wake up and she’ll be warm to the touch others she still feels chilled but the blanket is on all night and she’s under it.

Food wise we’re just hunting for anything to mix up her staples and try to get her off some of the fruit. Everting is just bad around here lately. Comes off truck looking like it’s set in the sun for days before being put in a cooler. I’m literally only finding bagged kale at one store and rainbow kale at another. Other then that it just seems to grab what we can when they have it and loos decent. Part of why I’m hoping to find somewhere online to order it may be better quality. Or even find something we don’t have local she’ll take to.

I keep trying to get her to walk more m. Some days she acts like she does than others she would rather not move. Hopefully trying to strengthen her muscles some and possibly finding some healthy foods and cutting back on fruit will help her lose a little weight max that could help her be more mobile. My major concerns is her being off the heart meds and not getting much protein might make it harder for her to get stronger. She only gets 5-10 BSFL a week and the occasional hornworm. Other than that she does get a bit of chicken or turkey mixed in a slurry a couple times every few weeks.


Edit: I was reading about arthritis in beardies after you mentioned joint pain. Zilla has had a lot of swelling in her paws this past year and not sure if that could cause her to have arthritis or even joint pain. But if there is some, is there anything I can do to help with that. I did see someone mention serrapeptase in the forums but from what I understand it is already in milk thistle so I don’t want to over do it if that’s the case. I’m going to try and see if our local pet stores has any silk worms. I doubt it and the place I order her BSFL don’t carry them. So any other online shops you may recommend that carry them? Just want to make sure I get from somewhere trust worthy. She hasn’t been wanting as much to eat the last few days so I’m not sure if she’s just getting tired of slurries and the stuff I offer or it’s because she’s got a little shedding here and there. It was on her face now she has it on one toe. So it’s just random places. She also hasn’t been as active in the tub last couple times. We have been out all day and I don’t get her a bath until closer to bed so maybe she’s just tired. I do have some left over metacam I was considering to give her a small dose to see if it perks her up any, maybe at least see if she’ll walk more so I know if its possibly pain that’s causing her to not be as active. I really miss her wanting to explore and play. I understand she may take time to recover and not get all her strength back. I just want to be sure she’s not in any pain when she does try to move. Her beard still looks normal. Like I said she can move good when she’s hot or uncomfortable it seems just doesn’t want to explore or climb/jump or run like she did before surgery.

 

[Subion]

Just a few pics from last few days and one to she her incision healing progress.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Brandon,

She is healing up nicely!
Well, I am glad her beard isn't dark, so hopefully she isn't in any pain. She is likely sore in the
tummy area & just overall not wanting to do much physically. At least she is willing to move in
& out of her basking area to thermoregulate.
How are her hands looking, does she still have some swelling going on? I am hoping that she
wont need to go back on any heart medications. I think a lot of it was circulatory due to the egg
issues, so hopefully that is all fixed.
The milk thistle shouldn't have any silkworm enzyme in it, unless it was formulated into it. The
serrapeptase would help with pain management, much like the metacam would but it can be used
long term while the metacam shouldn't be.
Did the vet want her protein levels lower for awhile? A little extra right now, wouldn't hurt her so
she can recover more easily.
I can try to look online to help with insect purchasing. You are wanting to purchase silkworms or
calcium worms?

I am glad to hear Zilla is doing well & is in good spirits!

Tracie

 

[xp29]

Man she is such a sweetie, she still looks tired but she also look happy

 

[Subion]

Hello Brandon,

She is healing up nicely!
Well, I am glad her beard isn't dark, so hopefully she isn't in any pain. She is likely sore in the
tummy area & just overall not wanting to do much physically. At least she is willing to move in
& out of her basking area to thermoregulate.
How are her hands looking, does she still have some swelling going on? I am hoping that she
wont need to go back on any heart medications. I think a lot of it was circulatory due to the egg
issues, so hopefully that is all fixed.
The milk thistle shouldn't have any silkworm enzyme in it, unless it was formulated into it. The
serrapeptase would help with pain management, much like the metacam would but it can be used
long term while the metacam shouldn't be.
Did the vet want her protein levels lower for awhile? A little extra right now, wouldn't hurt her so
she can recover more easily.
I can try to look online to help with insect purchasing. You are wanting to purchase silkworms or
calcium worms?

I am glad to hear Zilla is doing well & is in good spirits!

Tracie

Oh ok, when I did a web search to read about the serrapeptase one article popped up saying it is in milk thistle also. So I just assumed after reading that it was all had it in. Is that something I need a prescription for or is there a site I order from to try? If it would help her I’d defiantly be interested in giving it a shot. Also do you know if it may interact with her milk thistle or Ursodiol she’s on? Is it something that would be safe with her heart and gaulbladder issues? Sorry it’s a lot I just know nothing about it or it’s interactions. That’s one reason I was trying to find some silk worms because she could at least try to get a little naturally and I wouldn’t have to worry about it being to much if it was in the milk thistle already.

Her vet wanted me to cut back on proteins because of her gallbladder where it was all clogged up a few months ago. She said I can give her the occasional worm here and there but we are trying to cut back to get all that gunk out for now. So she just started getting 5-10 BSFL a week again and the occasional hornworm. Then whatever wild bug she sneaks when we are outside of course. I don’t know what she finds but one moment she’s good next min her jaw is chomping away.

The swelling in her paws is gone. But yesterday we had a bad day. She didn’t want to walk at all and when she moves her one paw that usually gets hit the worst it was a bit weak and shakey looking. When she did try to walk she seemed to have a limp. Usually that’s how it starts before the swelling hits. Last time it was helped when the vet gave her a bunch of fluid injections to flush her system. Since she hasn’t been eating or drinking much lately I assumed it was cause of her shedding, but mixed with how she’s not been active I’m wondering if she’s just needing flushed out again. Even when in the tub last couple times she doesn’t want to swim just lay on my hand and go to sleep. So I’m trying to force some water on her to see if that helps. If not I have an appointment set up to look at her leg at the end of the week. I don’t know if I’m feeding her too much of something that’s making her vitamins or something go high or we just Havnt figured out why she gets weaker.

Her staples are collard greens, kale, turnip or mustard what ever I can find but in slurries I mix her up yellow squash, carrots, green beans, fruits or sweet potato in daily to give flavor. Sweet potato baby food seems to be her favorite she eats her slurries more when it’s in. I also put a bit of chicken or turkey in a week just to get her some extra protein. I’m wondering if she’s getting too much vitamin a or something. I try to rotate it up what flavors she gets so I’m hoping getting fluids in her helps her before I have to take her to the vet. I’m tired of putting her though that but someone’s got to figure out why this keeps happening.

I did take her to see some fish yesterday at our pet store and she does enjoy that. Rest of the day she just seemed ran down and wanted to sleep.


Edit: she has one back leg sort of floating today. Any idea what could cause that? Not the best angles but seems like if I push it down it’s fine until I move her then she jut holds it off the ground.