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Really Bad Lizard
When I went to get feeders today, a girl brought her bearded dragon into the store to have the guy working there take a look at her. The lizard was pretty far gone. Her belly was completely flat and her limbs were limp and very thin. (Almost full grown bearded dragon, by the way). Her mouth was starting to become deformed. Apparently, the girl had neglected the dragon's calcium for a long time and had only just started doing it a few weeks ago. The lizard wasn't getting any better. She explained the set up and the lizard's habits, but the guy working at the store said "She is pretty far gone. You have two options. Try your best to get her healthy again, which is going to be really hard and probably wont' work, or put her down." The girl started crying the the guy said he'd see what he could do.
He tried feeding the lizard a mouse pink, but she would have nothing of the sort. She refused to swallow it. I'm not so sure she even could. Her mouth was so soft. Oh, by the way, the guy at the store had gotten my roommate and I to help him since the girl refused to hand feed the pink to the lizard. When the dragon wouldn't take the pink, the guy decided to try mealworms. (I've heard these are not good for bearded dragons.) I then told him that my bearded dragon had gotten impacted as a juvie and died from it. This could be the problem. He felt her belly and said he felt no blockage. I told him that when my beardie had gotten impacted he had stopped eating and lost a lot of weight. To get him to eat and to ease the blockage out, we hand fed him waxworms coated in vegetable oil. (This actually did help. He ended up passing several pieces of walnut shell) So he mixed some calcium into the oil and coated a wax worm with it. With a lot of coaxing, we got the worm into the dragon's mouth and she swallowed it down. I got her to eat a second and he sent the girl home with a bag of wax worms. The girl also mentioned she thought the dragon was pooping out whole crickets and worms. We told her that the dragon was probably regurging them. The dragon then took a huge poo on the table and sure enough, there was sand in it. A lot of sand according to the guy. So we think she might have a blockage of sand in her system and that wasn't allowing her to eat properly or absorb calcium well enough.
I wish I would have gotten pictures of this poor dragon. She was so horrible looking. I felt really bad for her. I'm hoping she will make it but after the girl left with the dragon, the guy looked at me and told me the dragon would probably be dead in two or three days. He'd seen dragons like that before.
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Registered User
Re: Really Bad Lizard
Holy crap I can't believe someone would let their dragon go that long before seeking help!! The poor thing can't take itself to the vet... People should know how to take care of these things before they buy them. How old was the girl?
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently." - Nietzsche
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Re: Really Bad Lizard
Still in highschool I think. She was wearing a cheerleader outfit and said she had to go to a game. She started crying when the guy said the dragon probably didn't have a chance, so she did feel something for her lizard. I'm going to find out later this week how the dragon is doing.
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Re: Really Bad Lizard
Did anyone strongly suggest she get the professional opinion of a veterinarian or was it just sent home as is with the hopes that the greased waxworms would help?
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Registered User
Re: Really Bad Lizard
Yeah, I agree. If she took the thing to an actual vet then she might have been able to get something to perk him up a little. Or at least something to hold him over. Or something.
Sad, but probably true though that if the beardie dies, it's her fault anyway. I don't see how she could just watch the poor thing's health decline until it was in that condition. It didn't just wake up like that.
"The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently." - Nietzsche
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Re: Really Bad Lizard
 Originally Posted by Jay_Bunny
Still in highschool I think. She was wearing a cheerleader outfit and said she had to go to a game. She started crying when the guy said the dragon probably didn't have a chance, so she did feel something for her lizard. I'm going to find out later this week how the dragon is doing.
Was she blonde with blue eyes and skinny? If so then I know the shop you're talking about AND the girl you're talking about. And if it is said girl then she probably didn't have a UVB light on the poor thing either. Again if it's the shop I'm thinking of then I know they told her how to take care of it, they breed their own beardies and are very adamant about telling people how to take care of them.
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Re: Really Bad Lizard
Wow, I know this thread is old, but I just saw that people had responded. Yes, she was blond and blue-eyed, so you probably know who I'm talking about. It is Off the Ark.
I asked the guy a few weeks ago and he said the dragon pulled through and is doing fine now. I agree she should have taken it to the vet, but there is only one herp vet I know of in the area, and she was on the other side of town. And she would have done the same thing for the dragon, as that is what she told me to do for mine. (Actually, she probably would have recommended it to be put down.)
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