Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have struggled with finding a vet I can afford and I like on Long Island for my class bearded dragons. I have one that is very lethargic and doesn't eat. The vet said she looked okay with weight and size. Her mouth was pale. They tested for coccidea (spelling wrong) and even salmonella (spelling again) and found nothing. It just looks like she can't wake up. Any thoughts?

Then I have another one that is more active and eats more, but he has blood in his stool. He was tested and fine. They gave him a laxative to coat his stomach- didn't work. Any thoughts?

Thanks!

Brian

Did they do a fecal??
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Mike & Wendy

2.0.0 Siberian husky, Jackrussel/schitzu
0.0.1 Ball Python
1.0.1 Leopard Gecko
1.0.0 Beardie
4.0.0 Beta's
3.1.0 Future Herper's

First thing I would do, is check your tempertures with the lethargic dragon. Make sure you basking areas are between 95-115F, air temp around 80-90F and cool end between 70-80F. Next, if it hasn't been done recently, change your UVB bulb if it's more than 6 months old. Also make sure the light intensity of the tank is high, if the lights are all dim even if proper heat is maintained, dragons can go into brumation thinking its time for that.

If the dragon isn't eating at all, make sure he's well hydrated, luke warm baths help with this.

As the other poster asked, did your reptile vet run fecals (examination of the dragon's poo?). Did he do any bloodwork or x-rays?

For the other dragon with bloody stool, is there alot of blood, or just a trace? Also, are these dragons housed together and what sex are they? Dragons who have recently mated can sometimes pass some blood though this should go away after a couple poops, or even just one. Also, what are you feeding them? Bright red vegetables, flowers or dyed pellets can cause red staining of the stool.

Below are a couple links to qualified herp vets, if you haven't see them before, might be a good ideal to go through them and see if there is another vet in your area with more experience with herps.

www.herpvetconnection.com/

www.anapsid.org/vets/
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PHLdyPayne

The lethargic bearded is a female. The temps are in the 80 to 105 range. It doesn't get much cooler in my class- Very hot from all my lights.I have over 20 reptiles in my class.

The bleeder is a male. It is a decent amount. Recently his poops are mucous.

They are housed seperately.

Yes they had stool tests.

Feeding collard, dandelion, and escarole usually. Try various worms and they don't want to eat my cockroaches. I've spent a year growing this darn colony and they will not eat them! A classroom disaster waiting to happen.

Thanks for the links.

I am giving baths and force feeding some baby food ( carrots and peas)

Any ideas welcomed!!

Thanks!

Brian

This is very strange that they have had fecals that are clear, one is lethargic, the other has blood in stool, housed separately..... humm

How old are they for starters? And can they see each other?
Do they have a UVB source (this can have a bearing on ease of bowel moments and alerness.
What is their heat source? they need to have access to steady 95-105F temps during waking hours. That is VERY important
What substrate are you using for the male and did either have a gram stain done?

on the fecal, was it a float? How old (hours) was the sample the vet tested (some things degrade and can not be seen after 4 huors old)
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www.reptilerooms.com

Also forgot, I have a friend on LI that has a herp vet, do you want to contract here and see who she uses? I know her vet even boards reptiles and babysat her incubator too while the babies were hatching and she was out of state
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www.reptilerooms.com

I would deffinitely bring the male to see the vet again (or a different vet if you found one in your area via the links I posted earlier) The male may have an internal injury to his bowel or intestine or impaction. If the fecals themselves came clean, then parasites won't be the cause of the bleeding. Unless the vet you went to doesn't know how to do a parasite screening (which isn't hard to do at all), neither problem is likely to stem for that.

How old are your dragons? If they are quite old, it could be old age settling in. However, if they are under 5 years old, I would not expect this to be the cause of either problem.

What sort of substrate have they been on, currently and in the past?

Did the vet you did go to do any other tests other than fecals? Such as blood work, x-rays etc?
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PHLdyPayne