Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am new to this forum, but I need some other opinions. I have 3 Beardies ( all unrelated) that have been sick for ~ 1 month now. I work at a vet hosp so they have been there a few times. They are totally emaciated. They will not eat at all (voluntarily anyway) they drink alot and are still somewhat active. Because they arent eating I havent been able to get a good enough stool sample to run a fecal. I have had blood work done and everything looked ok except the glucose was over 1000 ( normal ~200-300). The specialist had no reason the glucose would be so high, but recommended a cryptosporidium test. Another vet I used to work for said to just treat and see what happens. So they are being force fed meat & fruit/veggie baby food, ensure, probiotic gel, baytril, and albon every other day. Still nothing! I have also been giving SQ fluids every 2-3 days.
I am out of ideas! Can anyone help?! Shannon

wow! how did they all get so sick? that's terrible!

did you get them checked for crypto?

i recommend giving them some parazap. i don't know what the last 3 things are on your list of stuff that you are giving them, but parazap is all natural and shouldn't affect how those things are working. it is possible that parazap might stimulate their appetites anyway.

also, it might be a good idea to try feeding them their own foods so they can re-establish the idea that they actually like the flavor. try puree-ing up some crickets and some greens in a blender. i know it sounds really gross, and it really kinda is, and you would never want to use that blender for your smoothies again, but it makes it easier to feed it to them through a pipette or syringe, and it makes it easier for them to eat as well. you could add a little ensure or pedialyte or water to get it juicy enough, and maybe even mix in some calcium dust for good measure. i suppose it wouldn't hurt to give it a try!

i'm sure you already made sure they weren't impacted? what substrate do you keep them on? you're sure it is warm enough in their enclosure for them to digest properly?

good luck and let us know,

amanda

Try buying a cheap $5 mini-chopper if you want to mix the crickets/greens into a smoothie - cheaper and should work halfway decently with a little natural apple juice or Pedialite mixed in to help!! That way it can be your "Dragons" personal chopper!!

(my idea - sounds good to me - but maybe not to anyone else??!!
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Kelly

0.0.1 Uromastyx - Digger
0.0.1 Bearded Dragon - Spike (Actually Daughters)
0.2 Cats - Smokey & Freckles
1.1 Dogs - Rascal (Shar-Pei/Lab Mix - puppy) & Sabrina (Shepherd Mix)
0.0.8 Fancy Goldfish - One Eye & F2 (only 2 named - sorry!!)