Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was looking through the posts from Feb. How is that lil guy you posted about that didn't seem to eat too well and only wanted to bask?

I took him to a reptile specialist for the in depth tests to try and find out what was wrong with him.

He had a very rare condition that causes an over active immune system that did not allow any bacteria (good or bad) to survive in his system for very long and it was turning against his own system at times. He could not digest food properly or even know he was hungry. We tried adding bacteria to him but it continued to decline each time a fecal was done. The vet felt it was just a matter of time before his immune system attacked his organ and that he was probably hatched with this. We even tried a supervised intake of a healthy beardie's fecal, it raised the bacteria some for a few days.

We elected not to force feed him, the trama for an ongoing life like that I do not think he would have been able to deal with and he still would not be able to absord the nutrition he needed to thrive. We continued to give him baby food and supplements that he enjoyed the taste of, but it came out looking the same it went in.

In March his fecal was totally clear of anything, nothing was there, not even normal gut flora....no matter how much we tried to replace bacteria. We prepared for the worst and had decided to put him to sleep if we saw any signs of organ failures.

We died peacfully a few days after his last fecal that was too clear, he had walked over to a hidden corner of his enclosure, sighed and just laid down and stopped breathing.

Poor little guy, doesn't sound as if he ever had a chance. I know if there was a small chance, he had it with you. I'm sure he couldn't have been better cared for.

Thank you for the comments.

We often take in problem babies,(pet stores, rescues and from vets) I have a wonderful local vet and a specialist in Tampa that is great at working with us, them and understanding more about these unique little guys. We try to keep invasive test to a minumum and when we know they have little chance of long term survival, we try to make that time as best for them as possible. I even break my own rules about feeding certain things, but at that point why keep treats from them that may effect them later in life when we know there will be no later.

Each one that does not survive we learn so much from and is always remembered for that contribution, we celebrate the life they did have and try to learn why it was not more time.

Most of them it comes down to 2 factors.....inbreeding or changes to early in life that stressed them when they were not stable enough to handle that change... both faults of inexperienced breeders or ones that only cared about the quick turnover for profit.

Sometimes I really have to bit it when I see post on here and its so easy to spot those that will be adding to the problem and see their lame attempts at justifying their actions, they will learn, but at the expense of more little ones..... at least they don't stick around long