I've recently hit a sad part of my life. My rescued bird died a week from being released, my dog has developed horrible arthritis, and now Rex has what we are guessing is kidney failure. Overall, the past few weeks have pretty much sucked. I have done hours of research and talked to my vet numerous times, but I'm not sure what all I can do for Rex. I'll go through the whole story and try to give as much info as I can so it will be easier for you guys to get the whole picture. So, it all started about two weeks ago when he stopped pooping and eating. After a couple of days, I got him to eat a couple of super worms. So for about a week he didn't poop and only ate the super worms. Last week, on wednesday night, I walk into my room to put the animals to bed, and I notice Rex struggling to breath and coughing up clear fluids. Also, he was a pale white and his beard was the blackest I've ever seen it. I stayed up all night with him doing research and trying to find out what he had. By the morning I had concluded that it was a respiratory infection and decided to bring him to the vet that day. Conveniently, I volunteer at the best vets office in town, and it's only about a mile away from my school so I dropped him off before class and picked him up later. When I got there to pick him up, the doctor was busy so I asked what they gave him and then left with him. So on thursday they gave him a deworming shot, metronidazole, an antibiotic injection, and oral enrofloxacin(antibiotic) to take home. That night as I was giving him his meds, he threw up violently the half digested super worms and some brown/orange liquid. Now this puzzled me because he had been basking(105-115 degrees) and sitting on his heat pad all week so why would he not have digested the worms? On friday, I went in to volunteer at the clinic and finally got a chance to ask the doctor what he thought. He said that with him being six years old, pale, and a little dehydrated, it most likely is a kidney disease. I told him I give him a very diverse and healthy diet, but he said that it could be because of too many insects. Thats when I remembered that his previous owners had been feeding him green leaf lettuce and dried mealworms for three years. He said that he probably sustained kidney damage from that and it just hasn't surfaced until now. That night I came home and he had pooped but the white urate had brown streaks through it. So here we are three days later, and Rex has sustained serious weight loss, he still refuses to eat, and he is shaking his head violently when I try to give him is meds. About three times a day he expels a little bit of urate, and today I found some brown liquid that I'm guessing was throw up. He is very lethargic, but I try to keep him hydrated and force feed him a veggie slurry that I made. I am doing all I can to keep him alive, but he still seems to be getting worse. The vet said that there isn't much more I can do for him, and that we just have to wait and see. As you can imagine, I've been a wreck having to watch my beard dragon die and not be able to do anything ='( Do you guys think there is any way he could pull through or should I just try and make his last days peaceful and stress free? I'm really just desperate for any advice at this point so please help!
Wow I'm so sorry to hear about your pets... Thats horrible. I can't really give you any advice on what to do for Rex now because I have no experince with beardie kidney diseases... I just really hope he can recover or atleast start to feel better. It sucks when animals get sick. Anyway, we're here for you and please keep us updated on Rex! <3
Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry It's so sad to hear when one of our long time members (human or reptile) isn't doing well I would listen to whatever the vet recommends because they are the best trained on this. I certainly can hope that he pulls through but it doesn't look likely. My thoughts are with you and Rex.
Today I brought him back into the vet. He has returned to his normal colors and had perked up a bit, but he lost 60g in a week. We gave him 5ml of fluids today, and I have to give it to him for the next five days. After the vet, he hung out at my sisters while I went to class, but when I picked him up to bring him home he didn't look so good. He was really cold so I drove home with my AC set to 90(the things we do for our pets). I thought I lost him on the way, but thankfully he got home alive, and I was able to get him under his heat lamp. I don't know how much more he can take. He gave me a look yesterday and I knew he was in pain ='( I'm probably just being selfish by trying to keep him alive, but its hard for me to willingly give up a friend.
I'm so sorry all this is happening. I know how hard it is to feel like you are fighting a losing battle for an animal. I also know how hard it is to make the decision to stop fighting and say enough is enough. Only you can decide when that point is. Rex is your friend--you know him best, and you know what's best for him. My thoughts are with you in this time. Keep us updated, and I hope the "storm" ends soon. They say when it rains, it pours. You just have to tough it out through the downpour in the meantime.
Little update on Rex: He has made some improvements since the last time I posted. He has gained a little weight and even started eating on his own! There is definitely still a problem, and I have no idea how it will affect him in the future, but it is nice to have some good news to share =) A couple days ago he pooped again, but the urate was a brownish color which again points to a kidney disease. I am still giving him his Antibiotic and feeding him a veggie and greens slurry in addition to his normal salad so hopefully he will continue to gain weight and start getting more active! Thanks for all the support!
