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Is my Beardie sick???

J

Jenity05

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Okay lets try this again. I posted in the wrong area last time. Thank you Rebel Dragons for directing me to the right place...

Okay so here it is... I am so confused on this brumation period or being sick. My new beardie Spongebob is acting weird. He's not eating, laying around on his perch under the light. He sleeps most the day and when we walk by he looks at us and then closes his eyes again. His beard is VERY VERY dark black and his eyes are almost glazy. I am worried but I can't find a vet near me that deals with exotics. Please help is he sick? or in Brumation??? Oh and I think he's a boy what do yall think?

Here are some pictures...
pics024.jpg

pics016.jpg

pics006.jpg
 
By looking at the pictures I can only tell you one thing for sure. He's all male. :hehe:

Do you know his age? He is either very old or looking sick. His eyes are sunken in a bit and he seems to be on the thin side. His tail is not very thick and you can see a lack of weight in his back and legs. Of course I'm only going on what I can see in the pics. I would recommend searching out a vet even if you have to drive a bit to get there.

Brumation is a funny thing. Some dragons enter it all on their own but only seem to get a light nap going on. True bruamation, they are knocked out pretty good. If your heat, lights, and patterns have not changed I would venture to say he's not in brumation.

Since you said he's your new dragon, I assume you haven't had him very long. It's possible that he has internal parasites. That would be a reason why he is so lethargic, thin, not eating and sickly looking. Find that boy a vet and see if you can him back on the road to good health.

Good Luck,
 
thank you for your insight. He is new to me. I have a 4 mo old baby that I bought and a friend of mine has had Spongebob for 2 years. He has never had crickets only been fed fruits veggies and beardie food. I have had him maybe a month and has yet to eat a full meal. I tried crickets but he just watched them won't eat them. I will seek out a vet as soon as possible. thank you again...

Jen
 
Never having had any protein in his diet, I'm not surprised he's in bad shape. He's probably lacking in calcium as well. Definitely seek vet advice, but in the meantime, try offering a variety of live foods, not only crickets but things like superworms, mealworms, and waxworms as well, all dusted with calcium supplements. Try to find something he will eat that will get some protein and fat into him. Don't overdo the waxies, but getting something into his tummy is important.

Does he have a UV light?
 
He didn't when we got him, but he does now. He's starting to get an orangish yellow as you can see by his eyes. I don't know what kind of BD he is, but the yellow in his eyes wasn't there when we got him so I'm wondering if that is the color he should be or if that is an infection. I tried to give him crickets today and he just doesn't seem interested. I have also tried freeze dried dead crickets w/ his veggies and fruits, not interested. I thought about Superworms, but havn't tried them yet. He tries to catch houseflies that get in his cage so I dont understand why he won't go for crickets. I did try waxworms, no interest in those either. We let him outside today while we were playin in the sprinkler and he swelled up from drinking so much water. He has a water dish, but I'm thinking of getting a spray bottle and spritzing him or letting him outside w/ sprinkler when we play. Also I tried a warm bath he just freaked... Splashed around puffed out his beard and went crazy I dont know if thats BD playing or what but he freaked me out so I took him out. I think I'm going to research more tomorrow and see how far away a vet that does exotics is. Hopefully we can save my beautiful Spongebob... Oh and when he drank from the hose his eyes filled back in. So I really do think he's dehydrated. I dont know why they never fed him live food, but I think it has screwed him up pretty bad. Anyways, I thank you all for your insight and will seek vet care soon.. I'll keep you updated...
 
Ok so vet says he'd dehydrated and needs fluids the only way to get him to drink is to put in on the lawn w/ the sprinkler going. So we do this a couple times a day. Now here's the next problem.. he needs protien but won't eat crickets or worms or anything... I don't know what to do... We have tried dangling them in front of his face w/ twizzers and string nothing... he has never had protien... can I use hotdogs???? Maybe put hotdogs in his veggies??? Something I dont know... He is barely eating his veggies now I don't want my lil guy to die and I'm so scared... Vet was no help other than to say he needs water.. Yay vet here's $50... I was so mad... Now my beardie is still sick and I don't know what to do... Please help me!!!

Jen
 
I'm going to guess that if he is as severely dehydrated as he appears, he simply isn't going to want to eat until he feels better. Did the vet mention anything about giving him subcutaneous fluids? That's a possibility, or have you at least tried misting him with a spray bottle? Using a dropper and dropping the water on his nose? How much water did you put him in when you tried to give him a bath? If it was too deep, that may have freaked him out, can you try just putting him in a small amount of water in a tub?

I'm going to guess if he doesn't want to eat crickets, he isn't going to want to hot dogs either, besides the fact that hot dogs are so loaded with sodium that it could make the dehydration worse. Worming him can somethimes stimulate his appetite as well.....did you get a fecal done at the vets to see if he had parasites? They can cause a lot of health issues as well, including dehydration. Have you tried putting some dusted superworms or waxworms in a dish and just leaving them in there?

If you posted it before, I'm sorry, but what are the temps in his tank? If he's too cool or too hot, he won't want to eat either.
 
Desperate times call for desperate measures, Jen the only thing I think for you to do that might help is...force feed him pinkies! We had the same problem with our first male and he is totalyy fine now. It seems like a bad thing but we had no choice! I know some of you r gonna say no but hoestly my vet told me this is a last resort ONLY put a pinkie in his cage and see if her responds..if he doesnt reply back ASAP! If hge doesnt then I would say you need to feed him a pelleted diet, some breeders feed this with veggies and other things but since your is not respongin to live food then force feeding him and trying the pellets is your LAST RESORT!
 
OK.. no the vet did not do a fecal said if he doesn't have diarehha then he doesn't have parasites, like i said vet didn't do anything for me except put a dent in my wallet... the temps are 98 on hot side and 84 on cool side... he sits under the lamp he doesn't move from his perch. I am wondering if the new light has anythign to do with it. or if i need a different light. I have a ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 UVB Fluorescent Bulb on the cool side and a PowerSun UV 100W Bulb from ZooMed 8 inches above his basking spot. Now he moved from a family that he lived with for 2 years to my house... this may have something to do with it, plus they didn't hold him much and I hold him every day... I'm gonna try the pinkies I don't have the money right now so I got him some pellets and some good home grown veggies... Ima try this and see what happens until this weekend when I get paid... I tried to force feed him a cricket lol and he just flared his beard at me and hissed I don't think he likes me opening his mouth lol... He's so sweet he started kissing me again so I think he's getting better... I think he's just got some defecientcies like calcium, UV, and loving... Thank you all so much for ur imput and I will keep u updated about the pinkies...

Jen
 
I would agree, pinkies are the best at getting him back on track. I would force feed him a pinkie, usually they will eat them after they find out they are food. This would give him that extra source of vitamins he sound like he is lacking.
 
DO NOT force feed him pinkies. If he has not had anything is his stomach in awhile the pinkie will just make him sicker. The pinkie would be too much on a weakened system. I know some people have force fed pinkies with no problems but seeing a sick dragon throw up a pinkie is not pleasant.

I understand that money is tight but I would suggest getting a fecal done. ANY local vet should be able to look at the poop and see if anything is wrong. It shouldn't cost more than $20 if you bring a fresh sample with you. I would call around and see if you could find a vet that will take the time to examine a stool sample for you. I'm positive you'll find at least one local vet willing to do that for ya.

Temps.... Your basking tip could be a bit higher. 100-105 degrees would be ideal for an adult male. The cool end at 84 degrees is fine.

Depression in dragons is not uncommon. Some dragons will go a week or more after a big move without eating and showing much activity. However with your dragon being in bad condition you really don't have time for him to snap out of it.

Instead of pinkies start out force feeding him chicken or turkey baby food. It's high in protein, liquefied and easy to digest. What he needs now is a gentle food that won't upset his stomach. Be sure to use a syringe that you can keep measurements with. You'll want to know how much he is eating and gradually increase the amounts over time. Once he has a few days feedings in him mix a little bit of calcium powder and some pedialite in with the baby food. Continue with that feeding for a few more days. By then his system should have had a good boost from the protein. His appetite should have improved and his activity should have picked up. At that time you can start introducing small crix and finely chopped greens.

If none of that seems to help I'll give you a recipe involving pinkies and meds your vet should be able to get for you.(Decently cheap) It's kinda gross to make but it helpes in extreme cases.

If you have any questions gimme a call anytime.
 
Rebel Dragons said:
DO NOT force feed him pinkies. If he has not had anything is his stomach in awhile the pinkie will just make him sicker. The pinkie would be too much on a weakened system. I know some people have force fed pinkies with no problems but seeing a sick dragon throw up a pinkie is not pleasant.

I understand that money is tight but I would suggest getting a fecal done. ANY local vet should be able to look at the poop and see if anything is wrong. It shouldn't cost more than $20 if you bring a fresh sample with you. I would call around and see if you could find a vet that will take the time to examine a stool sample for you. I'm positive you'll find at least one local vet willing to do that for ya.

Temps.... Your basking tip could be a bit higher. 100-105 degrees would be ideal for an adult male. The cool end at 84 degrees is fine.

Depression in dragons is not uncommon. Some dragons will go a week or more after a big move without eating and showing much activity. However with your dragon being in bad condition you really don't have time for him to snap out of it.

Instead of pinkies start out force feeding him chicken or turkey baby food. It's high in protein, liquefied and easy to digest. What he needs now is a gentle food that won't upset his stomach. Be sure to use a syringe that you can keep measurements with. You'll want to know how much he is eating and gradually increase the amounts over time. Once he has a few days feedings in him mix a little bit of calcium powder and some pedialite in with the baby food. Continue with that feeding for a few more days. By then his system should have had a good boost from the protein. His appetite should have improved and his activity should have picked up. At that time you can start introducing small crix and finely chopped greens.

If none of that seems to help I'll give you a recipe involving pinkies and meds your vet should be able to get for you.(Decently cheap) It's kinda gross to make but it helpes in extreme cases.

If you have any questions gimme a call anytime.
Click to expand...

Mike, how bad of shape is he? The photos do not open. If he is not in real bad shape, I do not see where pinkies would hurt him more than help him.
 
From what I saw in the photos, Bobby, he's not looking well at all. Perhaps she can repost the pics. From what I saw, he is very underweight and his eyes are sunken in a quite a bit from dehydration. I normally don't have a problem with pinkies but being that he hasn't ate in quite awhile and he's dehydrated a pinkie is a large meal to take. My only fear is that the pinkie might be a bit too much to soon..............
 
The photo's are working for me now. Maybe it was glitch???

Since they are here now I'll go ahead and repost them so they don't disappear again. jen, if you have a problem with me reposting them just let me know and I will remove them right away.
 

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Rebel Dragons said:
From what I saw in the photos, Bobby, he's not looking well at all. Perhaps she can repost the pics. From what I saw, he is very underweight and his eyes are sunken in a quite a bit from dehydration. I normally don't have a problem with pinkies but being that he hasn't ate in quite awhile and he's dehydrated a pinkie is a large meal to take. My only fear is that the pinkie might be a bit too much to soon..............
Click to expand...

Well that makes more sense. If he is that bad, then I would agree, pinkies would be hard to digest.
 
Rebel Dragons said:
The photo's are working for me now. Maybe it was glitch???

Since they are here now I'll go ahead and repost them so they don't disappear again. jen, if you have a problem with me reposting them just let me know and I will remove them right away.
Click to expand...

And a veterinarian told her that he was just dehydrated? Is he is a real veterinarian??? That guy is more than just dehydrated!!! He needs to see a real herp vet. He is in real poor shape. This guy will not live if he is not seen and treated. He is not burmating, he is sick.
 
Jenity05 said:
OK.. no the vet did not do a fecal said if he doesn't have diarehha then he doesn't have parasites, like i said vet didn't do anything for me except put a dent in my wallet... the temps are 98 on hot side and 84 on cool side... he sits under the lamp he doesn't move from his perch. I am wondering if the new light has anythign to do with it. or if i need a different light. I have a ZooMed Reptisun 5.0 UVB Fluorescent Bulb on the cool side and a PowerSun UV 100W Bulb from ZooMed 8 inches above his basking spot. Now he moved from a family that he lived with for 2 years to my house... this may have something to do with it, plus they didn't hold him much and I hold him every day... I'm gonna try the pinkies I don't have the money right now so I got him some pellets and some good home grown veggies... Ima try this and see what happens until this weekend when I get paid... I tried to force feed him a cricket lol and he just flared his beard at me and hissed I don't think he likes me opening his mouth lol... He's so sweet he started kissing me again so I think he's getting better... I think he's just got some defecientcies like calcium, UV, and loving... Thank you all so much for ur imput and I will keep u updated about the pinkies...

Jen
Click to expand...

WOW..you need to find a new vet!!! It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that an animal can be full of parasites and not have diarreah. You need to have a fecal done.

Also, you need to raise his basking temps a bit, and I would NOT try force feeding him a pinky. Once he gets rehydrated, he may very well eat better....one thing that I found worked WONDERS on my Flash when he got a RI and stopped eating and drinking was giving him apple flavored Pedialtye. It's in the baby care section of the grocery store or Walmart, I just hand fed it to him with a syringe (no needle on it, of course) and once he got a taste of it, he loved it. The first time or 2 he didn't drink a lot, but he gradually took more each day. Keep trying with the crix, worms, whatever.....but in the meantime, it can't hurt to try mixing some of the "complete" pelleted food in with his greens and hopefully he will eat that. Just be sure you soak the dry pellets in some pedialyte, fruit juice, or water before adding them to soften them. You can dust the salad a bit with calcium powder as well to get some calcium into him.

Keep us posted on how he's doing.....and find a REAL vet!! ;)
 
K I found a vet in OKC who knows a lot about BDs. He says that he has a respitory infection, calcium defenciency(which we all knew) and also a virus I can't remember what he called it. He put Spongebob on antibiotics and after being on them for 3 days he passed away. I am so sad I am more pissed at the people who gave him to me because they probably knew this was all wrong with him and why they would put a family through this I have no clue. So my kids are really upset and so am I. I am so thankful for all your help guys and I am so sorry to inform you that he is gone. :(

Jen
 
Oh Jen, I am so sorry to hear you lost him.... :(

At least you know you made his last days probably the most comfortable days he ever had.....and he knew what it was like to be loved and cared for.
 
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