Vomiting Beardie

[BeautyBelle]

My girl Belle stated to walk funny. Took her to the vet, they ran blood tests, took x-rays. Prescribed liquid calcium daily. Next day vet calls and says her bloodwork showed signs of an infection again. Prescribed Marbofloxacin (0.15ml by mouth every other day for 20 days totaling 10 doses). She started this treatment March 3rd. Problem is today, during her bath she vomited this foul smelling brown gunk and her poop was really dark almost black. She has a vet appointment tomorrow morning. I'm just really worried can anyone shed some light?
A little info on Belle. She's 3 yrs old, Tank setup is perfect. 116 basking temp, 95-97 ambient temp, 87 cool spot. Brand new Reptisun tube (mounted inside, running length of tank). Eats her roaches and occasional superworm. Hasn't been eating her salads lately.

 

[diamc]

Poor girl, I'm sorry to hear about her vomiting and the infection. What type of an infection does she have?

Antibiotics are very rough on their system and can cause stomach upset as well as dehydration. Have you been giving a probiotic to help restore the good gut flora that the antibiotic destroys? If not, would recommend you start doing that asap. You can use SOY (non-dairy) yogurt, Benebac gel for birds & reptiles, Acidophiliz, etc. You also should be giving her baths, encouraging her to drink and/or offering oral fluids on her nose for her to lick off.

A basking temp of 116 is way too high for a 3 yr old, in fact, that is even too high for a baby beardie. Would be better to have a basking SURFACE temp of 102 or so. The ambient temp should be about 90 and the cool side 78 to 82 but no hotter as otherwise it won't allow her to thermo-regulate properly. It seems like you need to go down on the bulb wattage for sure. What size is the tank & what wattage bulb(s) are you using? Also, what type of thermometer, digital strip, round gauge (dial), temp gun or digital with probe end? Temps that high can cause rapid dehydration and she is more prone to getting dehydrated because of being on an antibiotic. Recommend lowering the temps right away and starting her on a probiotic.

 

[BeautyBelle]

Thanks for the response I'll try lowering the temps. And Started her with Acidophiliz. She's been getting baths every day since she's been sick and offered water randomly thruout the day via dropper.
Her tank is a 40 gal breeder. 36L 18W 18H. She has a 100watt CHE at the middle of her tank and a 75watt basking bulb and a 60 watt CHE on the cool side, which is shut off. Temps are taken with a temp gun and a probe on both sides.

 

[diamc]

Has she been taking the Acidophiliz since starting the antibiotic this time? Good that she's getting baths & offered water frequently.

That is a lot of wattage for a 40 breeder. I have 2 tanks that size and only need a 75 watt basking bulb & 40 watt bulb on the cool side to get temps of about 104 basking & 80 cool side on one tank. In the other, I have an 80 watt Arcadia MVB on a lamp stand with a Arcadia HO 6% fluorescent & a 40 watt bulb on the cool side to get a basking temp of about 102 to 103 & cool side temp of about 82. Since you're using probe thermometers & a temp gun, you must be getting accurate readings. Glad to hear you will be lowering the temps. You may find you don't need to use one of those CHE's at all, possibly could turn off the 100 watt CHE. Would be a good idea to make sure her tank stays about 80 overnight to help boost her immune system so the 60 watt CHE should be good for that.

 

[BeautyBelle]

I'm hoping it's just a side effect from the meds. All the CHE's are because it's very chilly here in Seattle atm. massive windstorms temps in the 50s-60s. nights get very cold. but her temps don't go below 85. lowest I saw was 83 a couple nights ago around 2 am. But thankfully the weather is slowly warming up. Without the 100watt, the ambient temp wont go above 90. So I shut off the 60 watt, which I'm hoping will cool it down to the right temp. if that doesn't work ill shut off the 100watt and turn the 60 back on.

 

[diamc]

The temps here are actually colder than that as we live in N.Y. Keeping the night temp about 80 would be good to help her out since she is feeling poorly now.

The ambient temp shouldn't be over 90, 88 up to 90 is fine. Let us know what temps you get with the 60 watt CHE turned off.

When you use the temp gun, are you holding it about 2" from the area you're checking?

 

[BeautyBelle]

Well its been about an hr. and her temps are in your suggested range. 105 basking, 81 cool side and ambient 87.
She vomited again. not as much this time and it was right after giving her meds. Hoping that was stress related. The smell kind of reminds me of raw hamburger gone bad.
Hope to get answers tomorrow. ill keep you posted. Thanks again for the suggestions.

 

[diamc]

Glad to hear the temps are in a better range now. Hope she will start basking, if she felt better, it would help I'm sure.

Sounds like that med is really not agreeing with her. If it smells that bad, it has to be horrible for her. When did she last get the Acidophiliz?

 

[BeautyBelle]

she got her last Acidohiliz about 10-15 min. before my 1st post so about 3 hrs. ago. I never did mention the infection. Its a stomach infection. She had one last yr around the same time. only then they prescribed daily shots for a week. That was miserable. But this time seems worse, The vomiting didn't happen last time. Gonna try some pedialyte to help calm her tummy and get some electrolytes back in her.

 

[diamc]

If it was me, I wouldn't give her anymore of that med until seen by the vet. That is worrisome. Do you have any other probiotic on hand like Benbac gel or powder?

I have a good recipe for homemade Pedialyte that always seems to help give them a boost. I will share it with you. 1 quart hot water, 1 tbls sugar, 1/2 tsp salt. Add enough warm water to that the bath temperature is what is preferred.

Good luck with her. Hope you can get some good answers tomorrow.

 

[BeautyBelle]

Went to the vet this morning. They gave her fluids with vitamin B, took her off the Marboflaxacin and the liquid calcium. Now we have to give her an injection of Ceftazidime every other day for another 20 days. She vomited again at the vets and said it wasn't blood thank goodness. And her fecal came up negative for parasites. Vet wants her back in next week for blood tests again to see if the meds are working, if not they want to do surgery to see if she has any hidden eggs.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Poor girl, vomiting is rough on them. Be sure she stays hydrated, too. So she is on Ceftz right now, for the stomach infection correct?
Are you giving extra oral fluids also to help replace what she ha lost?
I hope she doesn't have eggs that are causing complications! Let us know how the vet visit goes.

Tracie

 

[BeautyBelle]

She is indeed on the Ceftz for the infection. And yes she is getting extra fluids. 1 soak a day and watered down pedialite throughout the day via dropper. She's slowly getting her appetite back, ate 4 dubias and a mouthful of her salad, I'm taking that as a good sign. Also giving her 3 drops of Acidophiliz daily to help with the tummy. No vomiting today which I'm thankful for. Her walking is still a little shaky but improving. Her poop is starting to look normal again and best of all no more black beard, her pretty orange beard is back. So keeping fingers crossed she's on the right track. Really thanks to everyone for all the good thoughts and tips.

 

[diamc]

Sure sounds like she is improving. It's amazing that she ate. Happy to hear she hasn't vomited again and that her beard is back to a pretty orange now, shows she is feeling better. The Pedialyte & extra fluids should really help her out. Imagine she is weak from everything. Hopefully she will be feeling completely better soon. Thanks for the good update.