Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have been posting on here for years on and off, and i have given out lots of info to the best of my knowladge. Now, though, i am calling in the favor. I am asking for help with my bearded dragon.
I have had her since she was basically out of the egg. She was on of the smallest in the tank of babies, so she was one of the unfortunate; she had her front legs and tail bitten off. I took her from the petstore i worked at years ago and i nursed her back to health, hand feeding her for weeks and tending to her wounds. Later on in her life, i realised that i had been oversupplementing her diet with calcium. When i noticed that she was passing crystals in her urates i held back on the calcium and only gave it to her in small doses 1-2 times a week.
I have always had the correct lighting on her, and her cage temps have been ideal.
Now that she has been getting older, though, i have noticed some changes. I am worried.
Since it has been getting colder now (i live in the northeast) she has been slowing down on her eating. That has been normal for the past few years. But lately, she hasnt been acting right. She seems to be trying to deficate often...but only in small ammounts. From time to time she strains. (I am worried about prolapse). She has also been flipping over...she is wide and flat and her tail is short. With no claws in the front she cant get herself upright. She stayed like that all night once....my husband found her the next morning.....she was barely breathing. There are no seizures, but from time to time before she tries to poop her tail will twitch a bit.
She has been drinking alot of water lately, but not eating veggies.....maybe that is why?
For the past 2 or 3 days she has been displaying her 'distress colors'.....when she is mad or hurt she turns bright yellow.
Just a few minutes ago, i was giving her a warm water soak, hopeing she would deficate...maybe pass what she can't (not substrate, she is on carpet) maybe hair from me?
anyway, i was massaging her legs (rear legs...she relies on them for balance as well as moving around due to her front feet being gone. I noticed that she has a bump. it feels like it is on her muscle. My husband mentioned that it could be a hernia due to her flipping over and struggling. I dont know.
I upped the wattage and output of her strip light....she is in a 30gal breeder, so she is close to her strip. I had a 5.0 in there, i upped it to a 10.0 that i just got. I have been changing them out every 6-8 months so there should be no real issue there. And her insect diet is gut loaded and varied. She still gets supplements with d3.
I'm not sure what to do. There is no real qualified reptile vet close to me....the one i took my iguana to years ago told me that she was the best looking one she has ever seen, but then tried to load me up with a bunch of crap that wasn't right...
please help. I love my baby. Indie has been a good friend to me for years and i don't want her in any pain. Much thanks, jen.

-----
"Brains for dinner, brains for lunch. Brains for breakfast, brains for brunch. Brains for every single meal; why can't we have some GUTS?"-Misfits

1.0 ball python- Azazel
0.1 creamsicle corn- Pandora
0.1 motley ghost stripe corn- Raven
0.4 leos- Boji, Sanjae, fae and Kodama
0.1 beardie- Indie
1.1 crested gecko- Jubeh and Inari
0.1 leucistic texas ratsnake-Ojo
1.0 whites tree frog- Sifaka
0.1 Transe pecos rat
1.0 (?) Senegal chameleon
1.0 Ruthven's X Thaeri king- Kemushi
0.1 pacific parrolet- Mishka
1.1 cats- Cairo and Oberon
0.0.4 crab people
1.0 Husband (hes my favorite, but i dont let the 'kids' know that. )

Where is the bump? In her stomach area? Is she maintaining her weight? When was the last time she had a normal bowel movement? Was it composed of urates as well as feces?

In December I took in a small (27 gram) dragon. She has no coordinated movement of her arms and legs. She cannot walk so she lays on her stomach. She moves around sortof like a snake would with her arms and legs flailing. She often gets flipped over and cannot right herself. I'm sure she is often like that for hours. I usually have to flip her back a few times a day but am at work for 10 hours. Another rescue I took a year ago also cannot right himself. He has a curve fused into his spine and cannot use his back legs. The moral of the story is it doesn't seem as bad for them to be upside down as some say.

But, I'm surprised yours cannot turn herself over. She used to be able to right?

Thanks for the reply.
Indie's lump is in her rear leg, and it feels like it is in the muscle which leads me to believe that it could be a hernia.

The last time that she pooped, there was defined urates along with fecal matter, but not much.

This happened to an adult ig that i had a while back when she had unfertilized eggs in her abdomen...she stopped eating and pooped very little. Indie, however has never done that. I palpated her abdomen and i dont feel anything different.

She will try to right herself when she flips, but she is so wide and flat that she can't, she seems to give up after a while or just get too tired to try. This makes me worry about twisted intestines and her not breathing.

My girl has had a tough life. I have been able to fix all of her problems before....i just want her to be ok. Her color is better today and last night she acted a bit more interested in food. We'll see i guess. Thanks again! j
-----
"Brains for dinner, brains for lunch. Brains for breakfast, brains for brunch. Brains for every single meal; why can't we have some GUTS?"-Misfits

1.0 ball python- Azazel
0.1 creamsicle corn- Pandora
0.1 motley ghost stripe corn- Raven
0.4 leos- Boji, Sanjae, fae and Kodama
0.1 beardie- Indie
1.1 crested gecko- Jubeh and Inari
0.1 leucistic texas ratsnake-Ojo
1.0 whites tree frog- Sifaka
0.1 Transe pecos rat
1.0 (?) Senegal chameleon
1.0 Ruthven's X Thaeri king- Kemushi
0.1 pacific parrolet- Mishka
1.1 cats- Cairo and Oberon
0.0.4 crab people
1.0 Husband (hes my favorite, but i dont let the 'kids' know that. )

if the lump is in her thigh it won't be a hernia or egg. It could be infected or blocked femoral pore or something else.

My best advice is to get her to a vet. An x-ray can see much better what the lump is and if her intestines are twisted or if there is any fecal matter in her bowel. Even a vet with little to no reptile experience can take x-rays and consult with more experienced reptile vets over the phone or computer.
-----
PHLdyPayne

I think that may be the best bet....Her color is better today and she seems a bit more alert. But, a vet visit wouldnt be a bad plan. thanks much! j
-----
"Brains for dinner, brains for lunch. Brains for breakfast, brains for brunch. Brains for every single meal; why can't we have some GUTS?"-Misfits

1.0 ball python- Azazel
0.1 creamsicle corn- Pandora
0.1 motley ghost stripe corn- Raven
0.4 leos- Boji, Sanjae, fae and Kodama
0.1 beardie- Indie
1.1 crested gecko- Jubeh and Inari
0.1 leucistic texas ratsnake-Ojo
1.0 whites tree frog- Sifaka
0.1 Transe pecos rat
1.0 (?) Senegal chameleon
1.0 Ruthven's X Thaeri king- Kemushi
0.1 pacific parrolet- Mishka
1.1 cats- Cairo and Oberon
0.0.4 crab people
1.0 Husband (hes my favorite, but i dont let the 'kids' know that. )

Where in the Northeast do you live?

Hey Jenn!

Its mim

Im sorry to hear that Indie isn't doing well...I know most of the local vets are no good, but i have been using Dr. Anthony Guerrino at Animal Medical Center in Portsmouth. He is REALLY good...he has been treating reptiles for years and is very knowledgeable...i took hanny down there a few years ago when she was having issues and i was hugely impressed when he looked at her bloodwork (which didnt have any normal reference ranges) and he knew all the normal ranges off the top of his head, and was able to acurately interpret the bloodwork. I have also brought various rescues to him, i had a REALLY sick beardie i got from the puppy mill raid in buxton last year and he helped me a ton with him..placed an i.o catheter and walked me step by step through his rehab.

Give him a call, he is wonderful...its right across the bridge in portsmouth, not a bad drive at all.

I hope everyone else is well, and Indie starts to feel better!

(603) 436-4922
-----
1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog