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!!!!!!!!!HELP QUCIK PLEASE, HELP HELP MY DRAGON IS BURNT!!!!!!

nogjedi Aug 11, 2003 12:16 AM

HELP, QUICK, I CAME HOME AND MY BEARDED DRAGONS NECK AND STOMCHE AND TAIL IS ALL BLACK, AND HE LOOKS TO BE BURNT, HE IS GOING CRAZY, EATING THE SUBSTRATE, BANGING HIS HEAD ON THE WALLS, HE IS LIKE CRYING TO ME, IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!/1

Replies (14)

flammingcat Aug 11, 2003 12:17 AM

I know a lot of people hate hearing this but you need to take him to a vet!!!! Not yelling but there isn't a whole lot you can do for a burn, imagine if that was you, and you were burnt like that, you can try neosporn, but he needs to see a vet
Good luck

nogjedi Aug 11, 2003 12:26 AM

Thanks for your help, I live in Canada and its closed right now, but first thing in the morning, if he is still alive.. :'(, i dont know if i should touch it or not?? he ate has walnut stuff in his mouth, and it sounds like he is choking, more help would be good, THANKS GUYS

flammingcat Aug 11, 2003 12:37 AM

Hi
I dind't mean to sound crabby, If I did sorry, I just couldn't imagine being like that, our vets here have an emergancy office call if it's at night or on weekends, I would defintly do like the other person said, maybe put him on paper towl, that is probably aggervating it, and like he said could choke him, if you have any neosporn (don't know if I spelled it right) rub that on him, maybe goop it on, so you don't rub the burn, I can't really think if anything else you could do, if your like me,even when cleaning one of my human baby's boo boo;s I get very nervouse, about hurting them worse, but I bet the neosporn would probably relieve it..I would hope, and keep anything from getting on it..Did you figure out what burnt him?
I hope he makes it I feel sorry for you both

griffinej5 Aug 11, 2003 12:20 AM

First, calm down. You are not helping by being so nervous. Now, if he is eating substrate the first thing you need to do it take him off the substrate. Remove it and replace it with papertowels. You need to try to figure out what burnt your dragon. You need to fix this so that it cannot happen again. Then, you need to find the number of a vet who deals with reptiles. Set your alarm clock so that you get up and call first thing in the morning. Maybe they have an answering machine though and you can leave a message so they can get back to you first thing in the morning. For the time being, keep your dragon as clean as possible to try to prevent any infections from occurring.

falias Aug 11, 2003 12:31 AM

I would suggest No substrate. Just damp paper towles. Put neosporin in the burned parts..if you don't have that petroleum jelly, if not then chapstick... stop the area from drying out...vet ASAP. Give electrolytes if you can..pedialyte is good. Keep you dragon very damp and cool until you can see the vet..
Are you sure he is burned though...what do you think burned him in these places?
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MY Dragons!!

nogjedi Aug 11, 2003 12:36 AM

I think it was the heat rock that we have, the guy at the petstore said it would be perfectly fine, but i said they can burn themselves, but he said you should have one, should i be giving him water to drink or anything??
Btw, thanks for the help guys, im praying he can make it till morning

nogjedi Aug 11, 2003 12:47 AM

We also called a vet and she said it could of been aggrivation, or a seizure, has anyone had there lizard start jumping from stick to stick and eating the substrate and banging his head against the wall?? The colour seems lighter except for the neck and tail which is black

falias Aug 11, 2003 01:11 AM

I DO think that it is your heat rock. Pet store people DO NOT know how to care for the animals they sell, and cause pain like this everyday by giving misinformation. Dragons cannot feel heat coming from under them as well. They NEED to get their heat from above, from a light. Get rid of your heat rock.,,take it back to the store and get them to pay for your vet visit. Please, make sure you do not let this store get away with this. they WILL do it again if you do, and then someone else will have to go through this. Yes, all the water he can drink..maybe even pedialyte.. Your dragon can get dehydrated if he is badly burned. Damp paper towels, squirt water on his head everytime you walk by. Do NOT allow him to be jumping around his tank. Best thing would be to move him to a small container that he can't get out of til tomorrow, if not you need to empty his tank...nothing but paper towels. Lots of goo to keep the wounds moist..good luck. Give that pet store hell.
Jen
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MY Dragons!!

nogjedi Aug 15, 2003 09:08 PM

Well, thanks for all the support, he wasnt burned, it seemed that he got a shock from the heat rock, or he had a seizure, he is fine now, but god, i had a scare, thanks again, and he is O.K!

LauraV Aug 11, 2003 01:28 AM

Some male dragons when they become breeding aggressive turn very black on their beird, tummy arms, ect. I hope, indeed it is not a burn, if it is ...you might try some topical analgesic to help deaden the pain (if it works through that tough hide). You can find it in a triple antibiotic or in something like aloe vera with pain reliever.
Let us know,
Laura
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Photos

dragonsbynature Aug 11, 2003 06:25 AM

It's not a burn, your dragon is choking, possibly to death, from the substrate. You said he has walnut or whatever in his mouth and he's running around shaking his head and running into things and coughing?

The reason why he is running around and shaking and bobbing his head is because he has something stuck in this throat and is trying to clear his airway. He's black from the stress and the lack of air, not from the burns. The coughing sound is him trying to get whatever is stuck in his throat out.

You need to gently with a cuetip or something soft pry his mouth open and check to see what it is. Take a pair of tweezers and gently pull whatever it is out and get him some air if he's still choking and alive. Turn him upside down when you do this and gently shake his head (GENTLY) and help coax whatever is there out.

I had a weak dragon I bought from some loser do this on collard greens. I got a call to come home he was dead/dying. When I picked him out of the cage he was 95% black, eyes would not open, and cold. I shoook him softly and he flicked an eye open but would not move. I soaked him in some water and he came back some and started shaking his head. Figured I would check for blockage as a guess, sure enough a piece of green was stuck in his throat. I did what I said above and pulled out like 4 pieces of collard greens. He fought and bit and broke one of his teeth and it bled some, but I did it as gently as I could and after about 5 minutes of careful working I got everything out. Put him back on some newspaper with a warm spot and left him alone to minimize the stress. After about 5 minutes I peeked around the corner into his cage and his color was coming back but he looked so weak his eyes were closed. I was 99% sure either he would be dead from the air or the stree when i got hom. The next morning he was fine. Took him a few days to get back to normal, but after tht he's been fine.

If he's burned, he would have sores and disfiguration and everything else. You really need to get a good caresheet if you are using a heat rock and walnut shells in your enclosure. God only knows what else the pet store told you to do. Hope he is okay for you.

brandon
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Dragons by Nature

ToniaD Aug 11, 2003 08:38 AM


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God Bless, Beardie Dreams, & Peace!
Pogoniacs™

LauraV Aug 11, 2003 09:32 AM

I've never seen such a thing happen before - I am glad you posted so I can we aware of what to look for.
Thanks!
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Photos

griffinej5 Aug 11, 2003 12:14 PM

I've never seen a dragon choke so that never occurred to me. Maybe that is the problem. However, there was a heat rock involved, so it is still possible he is burnt. That's just a lesson in doing what you know is right. Don't allow some petstore idiot to pressure you into buying something that you know is wrong.

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