Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys...babies are doing great, chowing down, active, funny...

Except my runt. I'm so worried about him/her. He's sooo much smaller than the others. He's very sleepy ALL the time, and just lays on the bottom of the tank. When I pick him hup, he just stays "frozen" or goes limp. All the time eyes closed. He'll try to open his eyes and move for a few seconds, then goes right back to sleep. It's like he just can't wake up.

Help! I'm sooo worried! And yup I'm separating him from the others as we speak.

Thanks, guys!
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2.2.0 Beardies: Albus, Minerva, Bindy,& Baby Gibbs!
1.0.0 Beta: Redda
0.1.0 Furball (aka a cat): Smudge
1.0.0 Hubby: Travis
2.0.0 Rugrats Kyler, 9 and Collin, 6

Just make sure that your temps are correct, and that you are providing uva/uvb and that you feed the appropriate sized feeders to him.. hopefully he'll kick out of it, but its not unheard of for the runts to be like that... I've had some that are like that, then kick out of it and become the healthiest out of the bunch, then some that dont do so well.. But hopefully everything will be alright. Good luck to you!

Thanks guys...but Vic (short for victory), our runt, just died in my hands about 20 minutes ago (can't stop crying for the little bitty thing). I was watching him closely in his tank when his head started shaking really bad, then his whole body had this big spasm/seizure type thing. I picked him up as it was ending, and he took a few more breaths and then died.

We noticed as we turned him over that his belly-button slit thingy was still open...wondering if that had anything to do with it, or if there was anything I coulda done.

Thanks for your support, guys.
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2.2.0 Beardies: Albus, Minerva, Bindy,& Baby Gibbs!
1.0.0 Beta: Redda
0.1.0 Furball (aka a cat): Smudge
1.0.0 Hubby: Travis
2.0.0 Rugrats Kyler, 9 and Collin, 6

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your loss. With the given details it sounds like the dragon lost the battle to a respiratory illness. Coughing/gargling accompanied with convulsive movements are classic signs of a RI - vets can verify this with an x-ray and administer meds accordingly though these seem tough for a dragon to come back from in my experience.

The best way for a dragon to combat this serious illness is providing an excellent temp and humidity gradient. 120-130 basking hotspots (surface temp measured w/ temp gun) and 25-50 % relative humidity available at all times. Give them these options and they can fight off most illnesses without medication.

Sorry for your loss. here's hoping the others all turn out fantastic

With so little info about the conditions the little guy was in, hard to say what ultimately lead to his dead. The 'belly button' being still open, could mean an infection got in and he turned septic.

Also, if he was housed with a bunch of other larger babies, stress, lack of food, basking sites, etc. probably why he didn't thrive. In your detailed description of him being lethargic etc...you didn't indicate how long he has been like this. I don't remember off hand when your eggs hatched...

Personally I would have kept him separate from other dragons from the get go, in a sterile as possible environment, since the umbilical opening had not closed over.

However, it is also possible he was so weak from hatching that no matter what you tried he wouldn't have made it. Some babies just fail to thrive. Sorry he didn't make it but at least you have other healthy dragons to care for and ease the pain of loss.
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PHLdyPayne

Leave it to me to cause a debate over a simple post.

Thanks for all the support (Steve I needed to hear your words...ty) Everyone else (the babies) is feisty and growing and healthy. Thanks!

I'll leave the temp. debate to you 2

>>Thanks guys...but Vic (short for victory), our runt, just died in my hands about 20 minutes ago (can't stop crying for the little bitty thing). I was watching him closely in his tank when his head started shaking really bad, then his whole body had this big spasm/seizure type thing. I picked him up as it was ending, and he took a few more breaths and then died.
>>
>>We noticed as we turned him over that his belly-button slit thingy was still open...wondering if that had anything to do with it, or if there was anything I coulda done.
>>
>>Thanks for your support, guys.
>>-----
>>2.2.0 Beardies: Albus, Minerva, Bindy,& Baby Gibbs!
>>1.0.0 Beta: Redda
>>0.1.0 Furball (aka a cat): Smudge
>>1.0.0 Hubby: Travis
>>2.0.0 Rugrats Kyler, 9 and Collin, 6
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2.2.0 Beardies: Albus, Minerva, Bindy,& Gibbs!
0.0.25 Beardie hatchlings (eek!)
0.0.1 Water frog
0.1.0 Furball (aka a cat): Smudge
1.0.0 Hubby: Travis
2.0.0 Rugrats Kyler, 9 and Collin, 6

Hey Niddy,
I have only hatched out a few clutches of dragons myself...I would say don't be overly hard on yourself. I have had a few babies show similar symptoms to what Vic had. Mine did eventually bounce back but it could have really gone either way in my opinion. And like PHldypayne said...some are just unable to thrive from birth.