Need advice on sick beardie

[julescoffman]

My dragon Si started acting funny about two weeks ago,quit eating,and very lethargic..took him to vet,she gave him enema thinking he was impacted,3hrs later,all that came out was pile of clear oil(enema) no poo,took him back next day,she did another enema,by the way we thought impacted because he had hard lumps in his lower belly,took him home,Nothing,not even oil enema came out.so freakin out by this point,put him in warm bath and gently rubbed his belly down,he couldn't hold his head up,he went under water,which has Never happened,I had to hold his head up to keep him from drowning..Took him back to vet,she sent me to reptile specialist 2hrs away,got there and they did xrays,said his kidney's are misplaced,that was hard lumps we were feeling,said he will be ok just bath him daily to keep hydrated..this has been a week ago,still not eating,no energy,all he wants to do is sleep on his heating pad,by the way he is 1yr old..all temps are good,uvb good,I've tried baby food,and everything I know to do..please any advise on what could be wrong? Thanks Jules

 

[misskatie]

Have you tried syringe feeding him like a mixture of critical care carnivore care and a pro Biotic??

 

[julescoffman]

No but I will definitely try that,going back to vet today,thank you for responding..

 

[misskatie]

No problem

 

[julescoffman]

And I forgot to mention he brumated for 4 months,woke up mid April,he almost acts like he wants to go back into brumation,but im in sc and it's mid summer,has anyone heard of this?

 

[Elemental Dragon Lord]

It's possible, is he losing weight? If not he is probably going back into brumation.

 

[julescoffman]

He is not losing weight,good color,but he only wants to lay on his heating pad,when he went into brumation in December,he was on cool side..i know he's not cold,his temps are good,lights and uvb bulb are 3 mnths old,I hope that's all it is..Even the specialist I took him too doesn't really know what's goin on with him,she said he's just going through a weird stage..But I want to know what is wrong with my little man! He is good weight and is 21inches.

 

[Elemental Dragon Lord]

As long as he isn't losing weight don't worry much. Maybe he wants to be outside, or held more, or maybe he just wants to be lazy........my girls spend weeks not doing anything then turn into dust devils all over.

 

[julescoffman]

I take him outside to sit in the sun almost every day,he loves it..and he normal hangs out on my shoulder,or on my bed watching tv with me,that's why im so worried,he loves to get out and hang out with us and he suddenly started this,fine one day,sick the next..i been leaving him alone last couple days,and let me tell you it's been hard!! I put a fresh salad and berries in there everyday,but he won't touch it won't even flinch if I put a cricket in there,so goin to continue to let him be for couple more days and see how he does..thanks so much for your feedback

 

[jarich]

My dragon Si started acting funny about two weeks ago,quit eating,and very lethargic..took him to vet,she gave him enema thinking he was impacted,3hrs later,all that came out was pile of clear oil(enema) no poo,took him back next day,she did another enema,by the way we thought impacted because he had hard lumps in his lower belly,took him home,Nothing,not even oil enema came out.so freakin out by this point,put him in warm bath and gently rubbed his belly down,he couldn't hold his head up,he went under water,which has Never happened,I had to hold his head up to keep him from drowning..Took him back to vet,she sent me to reptile specialist 2hrs away,got there and they did xrays,said his kidney's are misplaced,that was hard lumps we were feeling,said he will be ok just bath him daily to keep hydrated..this has been a week ago,still not eating,no energy,all he wants to do is sleep on his heating pad,by the way he is 1yr old..all temps are good,uvb good,I've tried baby food,and everything I know to do..please any advise on what could be wrong? Thanks Jules

Thats a disappointing result, sorry to hear that neither vet seems particularly helpful (except at taking your money, Im sure). When you go back, ask for a copy of your xrays.

Could you tell us a big about your set up, or even post a picture? What temperature are you getting in the basking area and cool side of the enclosure? How are you measuring that temperature? What UV light are you using and how old is it?

 

[julescoffman]

I was trying to post pics of him and enclosure,but havnt figured that out yet,his temp on hot spot is 110 cool side 82,his uvb lights are 10.0 they are three months old,I bought a new digital thermometer last week to make sure heat is good..he is normally very active good eater till now,his condo as I call it,we built ourselves,its 5ft long 2-1\2 ft wide 2 ft tall,he loves it,climbs all over the place,Will try n figure out how to post pics of it.

 

[julescoffman]

So its been about a month since Si quit eating,still nothing! Today is day 4 of force feeding him critical care carnivores mixed with turkey baby food,and squash baby food,and after every" feeding"I give him syringe full of Gatorade /water,warm soaks daily,and took him outside today for 1st time since Mon because its been raining for days here,he layed by the pool with me getting some rays,he did perk up a little but,but can't seem to get him to eat,I have researched till my eyes hurt from reading! Just hoping there is that one person that has had this problem,or anymore ideas that maybe im missing? Just so stressed out and feel so helpless.

 

[PatsyB]

He looked good in the photos. How old is Si? My girl Dexter is almost 2 years old and one day she decided she didn't want crickets anymore. She would just close her eyes and put her nose up when I offered them. She still loved supers so I fed those to her. Now she will go crazy for hornworms, eat maybe one super and still won't eat crickets. I thought maybe she was weaning herself off of live food for more salad, but she won't eat salad unless I put a hornworm in it! I hope she doesn't stop liking the hornworms because I am running out of options. I tried dubia and she wasn't interested in those either.

 

[julescoffman]

He was a yr old in march,I haven't tried horn worms yet,but ordering today,tried dubia,supers,crickets,bought out the store in different greens and veggies..and he does look good (thank you) doesn't seem to be losing weight,color is good,mouth good and pink,not dehydrated,he has me stumped! Even the reptile specialist that takes care of all the reptiles at the Columbia zoo doesn't know why he suddenly quit eating..hopefully he will like the horn worms

 

[PatsyB]

Sounds like my Dexter. She started getting real picky right around the 1 year mark. She's gaining weight (she's over a pound) so i'm trying not to worry about it too much but I still do. My batch of hornworms came in Tuesday so they are about the size of a smaller super worm, I'm going out of town for the weekend and wanted to feed her good before I left and she only ate 2 of them! Luckily my boyfriend is staying home so he will try to feed her tomorrow and Sunday.

 

[jarich]

There are pictures up somewhere? Sorry I missed those, could you put a link to them? Also, you mention heating pad. Do you use a UTH instead of a basking lamp or in addition to it?

It is important to remember that as they get older their metabolism isnt as high due to a slowing of growth. We get used to such a breakneck growth speed when they are little, and the eating that is required to keep up, that when they hit adult sizes and go back to their normal metabolism it can be a little shocking.

 

[misskatie]

when I first got zuri she was extremely picky she would only eat collard greens nothing else crickets or mealworms she would just make friends with more or less but with age she has accepted a lot more variety now

 

[julescoffman]

I had heating pad,and his basking spot,I was told NOT to use both that he could cook himself,so I turned it off,his basking spot is 109-110 cool side is 82,and I have 10.0 reptisun uvb bulb,actually 2 of them so they go all the way across his house,his pics I put up yesterday are on this discussion page under Si getting some rays,he was right at a pound when I took him to vet mnth ago,my friend has a scale she is bringing over tonight to weigh him to see if he has lost weight..his enclosure pics are under enclosure page..i use my phone to get on here so don't know how to send you a link..

 

[julescoffman]

I did order hornworm's bit ago,maybe he is being picky idk,but if y'all knew how much he loved his food,and how much he loves to hang out with us until now you would see why im freakin out,he still likes to come out,but he doesn't run around like he normally does,he just wants to be held..he has such a personality that when my daughter would open his doors,he would run and pounce on her like super dragon and stick to her like Velcro he even loves my English bulldog,he runs all over her while she's laying on couch,she could care less,my point is,fine and crazy one day,to eating nothing the next!

 

[julescoffman]

His pics are under,my non eating boy..i took them yesterday.