RI in Beardie

[Serpant_Lady]

I had to take one of our older females down to the vet today. Stupidly when the symptoms first presented I didn't even think of an RI as there was no wheezyness to her breath just panting when she got stressed. Sounds dumb now. Anyway a trip to the vet which was very stressful for her in the car resulted in her stopping breathing as we pulled into the car park. NB: If you pick your dragon up and her head flops from side to side it is NOT GOOD!

Rushed into the vets and an anxious minute while the vet was found and myself and my friend continued beardie resuscitation, while her mum watched and instructed. (The clinic is my friends parents and they have some reptile experience so it was really good to feel in the loop) Ellie started breathing again within about 90 seconds but had a very glazed look and erratic breathing. She was given a Quartisol injection for the stress and some good old Baytril for the RI. She is now on a course of Baytril for 5 days.

Anyway my real question is she is quite thin and while I talk about her like an old loved one we have only really had her a few months. She is old (how old we don't know) so the odds are rather against her, although her symptoms were not very severe at all. I am going to make up a mash of veggies for her (they are not very good at eating them) and the vet has given me a syringe in case I can get some into her without causing too much stress.

I have:
Avo - for fat
Banana - for fat
Mushrooms - for vitamins and antioxiwhatsits
Broccoli - antioxihatsits
Asparagus - They are green and healthy
Strawberries - taste
peaches in nectar
Pumpkin - to be cooked soft.
I was going to blend all of these with a little vitamin powder. Got home and realized I had gone a bit off their usual diets of lettuce carrot pumpkin tomato's (rarely) as they normally wont eat anything else.
Any suggestions/anything I shouldn't be giving her?

[mummydolittle]

Hi, Im a new beardie owner but have had one of mine at the vet due to not eating and they recommended 'Hills Science Diet A/D Formula' You can only get it from the vet as it's a prescription food (dogs/cats) I didnt need a script I just asked for it.

Hope this helps Ellie.

By the way what is RI.

Cheers Tam

[frankc]

RI means Respiratory Infection .anyway,I hope Ellie will be ok.Didn't sound like she was doing well there for awhile but I am glad you got her to the vet in time and hopefully she will pull through it all. Give your mix a try and if she doesn't take it,keep trying other things like bok choy,endive and so on.Good luck and keep us informed on her progress.Cheers Frank

[Strange1]

AFAIK Avocado isnt good for animals. Maybe you can mash some mealies for fat?

[dragon lady]

So sorry to hear about Ellie,can she move around easily?do you have her on sand/turf or paper........
I (begining of this year) had to change a habitat around as "George" had bad arthritis,my friend only bought him 2 yrs prior & when i first saw him he wasnt fantasic ...within 6mnths it was down hill.
She originally used sand...then changed to turf....then i found rubber backed car carpet mats & cut them to size..........he could hardly move to eat as he couldnt grip anything & the mats allowed him to move a bit more
Did the vet say how long it will take for her to recover?
And have you thought of earthworms......heaps of protein..easy to chew & or easier to mulch up..
Tears in my eyes....loss for words.......xo's to her!

[zulu]

Hope things turn out good for your dragon Serpant Lady.

[Serpant_Lady]

Hey all thanks for the encouragement. she is on sand btw. ill give the earthworms a go. Doing ok today I had to give her her first jab this morning poor thing. She even lets me turn her upside down. Ah well keep trying. Really about the avo, I thought it was ok i small doses??

[Strange1]

Its been on mosty of the lists ive seen as "Avoid" so ive avoided it

[frankc]

I have also read avo is bad so have never given them.Maybe someone else has given and not had troubles.
http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtrem...nframeset.html

[dragon lady]

Ditto on the avo...avoid...most tropical birds dont eat it either!

[Serpant_Lady]

Thanks for all that help guys! She is doing really well now eating brilliantly just wanted to let everyone know. Sh is also loving the new outdoor enclosure for during the day with all this warmer weather!

[Naxx]

great to hear, its nice to hear a success story for once when stories like this usually end so tragically

[Serpant_Lady]

yea I as envisaging that a little but thank heavens she made it. She is also really a pet of mine. I was recently at a Herp society meeting where everyone was talking about their dugites and death adders, when I piped up with "I have a beardie named Ellie. She likes blueberries"... needless to say I think my credibility dropped several notches.

[Naxx]

i think whatever reptile u keep shouldnt reflect on ur credibility, just cuz its not uber expensive and deadly doesnt make it any less cool and good as a pet, sometimes the simplest things ilke beardies are ten times better then something that costs thousands like a bhp or woma.

[dragon lady]

Glad to see that Ellie is recovering....that is FANTASTIC!!!!!