What is wrong with my bearded dragon?

[rebeccamonteith]

Hi guys,

I am really worried about my 9 month old bearded dragon, Luka.

A bit of background:
I moved to Aberdeen in September (for uni) and when I got there, he stopped eating for a week or 2 so I took him to the vet. Had a fecal done and he had pinworms/coccidia. He was treated with Panacur and Baycox I think they were called. 2 weeks later his fecal came back clear. Afterwards he didn't eat so I started giving him baby food, critical care and avipro +. After a week or 2 of giving him this, I got him back to eating every day and sometimes even twice a day (crickets/locusts/veg). He was very healthy looking, great colour and put on weight (we've always had trouble with him putting on weight, even though he was eating as much as he would like each day. He's still only 288 g) yet he was hiding away a little bit.

I have given information on his setup in this post
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=228298

Now, I have moved back home (on December 12th) and since this he hasn't been doing too well. He isn't eating, is very lethargic despite being a lovely bright orange colour and is hiding away basically all day, sleeping during the day, etc. I took him to the vet a few weeks ago to a herp specialist who checked him over, felt his belly, looked in his mouth, etc. and said he appears very healthy and there is no obvious sign of anything wrong. I was recommended to get a heat mat more suited to the size of the enclosure (I had a square one that only covered a small area, now I have a rectangular one that covers most of the back wall) and a min-max thermometer. I have been giving him critical care and avipro on alternate days. He ate some greens about 2/3 days ago and crickets about a week ago but other than this nothing for weeks. I read the post on here about brumation along with information from other sources and a lot of people were saying to just leave him to it while keeping him hydrated. I left him yesterday other than giving him critical care (5 mL with syringe into his mouth) and he stayed in the corner all day.

I have just spoke to the vet on the phone who said that if he isn't getting any better, they would look into doing another fecal and a blood test to check if his organs are functioning correctly.. they said to keep an eye on him for another week and if there is no improvement, to bring him in. Is there anything I can do? I'm really worried about him and just want him to be back to his happy, active self like he was in the summer


Thanks guys

 

[rebeccamonteith]

Also I forgot to mention that when he pooed the other day it was runny and very light brown. I'm not sure if this is because I have been giving him lots of critical care/avipro in water so he's been having a lot of fluid :/

 

[AHBD]

Hi Rebecca....whenever there is change in behavior you look for anything that has changed in his environment/care. The fact that you moved again is the likely culprit, causing the lethargic behavior. For an adult or large juvenile [ what Luka is ] this can trigger relocation stress all over again that seems like a brumation. I wouldn't worry too much at all if he isn't losing much weight. Can you post a pic of him ?

 

[rebeccamonteith]

Hello! Thank you for your reply. I'm hoping that it will just be location stress and that he will be fine soon as the blood test is £100 I will post a pic of him just now. I also noticed earlier just after I posted this that a tooth from the side is missing I think? he appears to have a gap between 2 teeth, it looks like it has broken but not fallen out completely. I have no idea how this could have happened as he hasn't been active or doing/eating anything that could cause this!

My worry is that even though he is not eating he has put on a few grams in the past week or two, is this normal? :/

 

[rebeccamonteith]

Here are some photos of him. The first one was taken this morning of him hiding away. He was asleep and only woke up cause he must have heard the door open. The second was taken only yesterday/the day before which is what he looks like when he's not hiding away! As you can see, very lovely healthy colouring!

 

[AHBD]

Yes, he looks good. The slight weight gain is because of the critical care coupled with his metabolism slowed down for his short brumation. I don't think there's anything to worry about. I'd cut back a bit on the C.Care and let his appetite return normally.

Oh, and yes the runny poo is from his diet and a broken/missing tooth is common and no concern unless you se obvious irritation, redness/swelling.

 

[rebeccamonteith]

Thanks so much for your help! I will cut back on the critical care. I was just so worried cause I've never heard of them losing teeth before! but no there is no sign of swelling/irritation

 

[AHBD]

You're welcome.