Pictures of sick dragon

[Zoe]

Update: I fed her some bug juice today (a handful of large mealies, a few silks, some crix, an egg yolk and some strawberry ensure) with a syringe. She just let it run out of her mouth at first, but then she opened her mouth really wide (in protest) and I pumped it down. My fears she would choke were laid to rest when she started licking her mouth and swallowing. I gave her as much as I could, then she just stopped opening her mouth and I set her down and snapped some quick pics. She took a few steps but still hasn't opened her eyes. She doesn't look as bad now that I look at her closely... her skin is baggy and h*ll, and her ribs heave like mad, but she will improve, I hope!

http://www.indiepool.com/privateftp/archermultimedia/zoestevens/new/wd1.jpg

http://www.indiepool.com/privateftp/archermultimedia/zoestevens/new/wd2.jpg

http://www.indiepool.com/privateftp/archermultimedia/zoestevens/new/wd3.jpg

[Zoe]

The last pic is for size comp. Can you believe she had eggs at that size?

Zoe

[unspecial]

omg...she's so skinny..I hope she makes it

[Dark_Angel_x322]

Wow! poor baby! she looks no bigger than my Joker who is 13.5" last i checked. She also does not look like a Aussie WD but a Chinese WDto me. She looks just like my CWD.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-9/265826/Joker0202.jpg

She does look fairly ok beside being really skinny. Her ridge looks ok (from the pics) so I don't think she had much trouble shedding which means she had to have around the right humidity with her previous owner. And her dark color is expected since she is in new surroundings and obviously that is stressful enough. I'm glad you got some nurishment in her and I too hope she isn't retaining an egg that would be the worst. Despite her being so skinny she looks like a very beautiful dragon.

Good luck! Keep us posted

[eyespy]

Poor little sweetiepie! Please do keep us posted on how she is doing.

I'd probably modify the bug juice recipe a little bit if it were one of my rescues. The hardened proteins in mealworms' exoskeletons and the milk proteins in the Ensure are very difficult for even healthy herps to digest, I don't recommend giving them to sick ones. Handfeeding formulas made for baby birds have similar nutrition to Ensure but are much easier to digest, plus they often have some probiotics in them. I prefer either Zupreem or Tropican because they are preserved with antioxidant vitamins rather than the liver-toxic preservative ethoxyquin found in some of the more popular bird formula brands.

Soft-bodied worms like the silks and earthworms are excellent choices, and some crix to give more minerals isn't a bad idea. I usually add a tiny bit of squash to the blender because the carotenes and starches are good nutrient bases and help to add back weight, and some probiotics such as acidophilus to restore beneficial bacteria wouldn't be bad either if you don't have it already in the bird formula.

Best of luck with that poor darling.

[Zoe]

Thank you very much for all that info! The juice does have some silks in it, but I will add some other soft worms soon, and a bit of squash. I'll try and find some of that other stuff you suggested.

And yes, I meant asian not aussie!

She is quite beautiful... she is bright pink under skin! And when I saw her when she was healthy, she was blue and beautiful. If she recovers, I won't want to give her back, and don't know if I should or not.

Zoe

[TheRedDragon]

That poor baby! :( I really hope that she recovers, keep us updated.

[Zoe]

She was still alive this morning. I thought she was dead at first, she then she started to breathe so it was okay. Her eyes are still closed but I put a little saline in the them to hopefully moisten things up in there. When I get home from school I'm going to give her some more bug juice.

Zoe

[Zoe]

Another update... her eyes are still closed but she ate a few more syringes of bug juice to which I added pedialite and some soft bugs, as well as some vit/cal powder.

Zoe

[Repti]

I hope she will make it!!
Keep us posted!!

[Siretsap]

So sad to see zoe. I just gave away my 3 water dragons, I would have given them to you since you look like you care a lot for them. One of the people who has one of my females just informed me that she isn't doing so good, an eye infection (she was kept in front of a car fan during the whole ride so something must of dammaged her cornea). As for your female, if she always eats and never gains, it could be parasites. They can come from a batch of crickets or practically anything. We had the problem with our leopard geckos this summer, 3 females got really skinny and we had them checked and they were infected. So am treating them with flagil at the moment.

[V.hb]

Zoe, where did you acquire that CWD??? A friend of mine has been working with them for years, breeding medicating, housing.. whatever you ask he knows.. If you need any information PM me, and il put you in contact with him........ Hes brought CWD's back to health in far worse condition than that one.. And quite a few of them are viable breeders this day..... All the best

[V.hb]

Just read your other thread, again thats a chinese, not an aussie..

Aside from that, if you think shes egg bound, massage the vent with mineral oil, and rub her stomach.. Its a longshot but it could work.

[Zoe]

Yeah, I mean to say ASIAN when I said AUSSIE. I usually call aussies, browns and i was tired and bla bla bla. But yeah, she's a chink.

I got her from my uncle. I was at his place, they hadn't seen her for weeks, and of course she hasn't eaten all that time. Poor lady.

I'll PM you.

Thanks!
Zoe

[Zoe]

Okay, I gave her another syringe or two today. She had moved since last evening and I found the tiniest bit of urate on the towel. Yay! She's a bit more active when I feed her, though her eyes are still closed and she doesn't use her hind legs - she hardly has any muscle there at all. She colours are still okay, and she's gained a few grams.

Zoe

[unspecial]

have you taken her to the vet yet? my boy spike says he wishes her luck and that shes very cute :p

[eyespy]

That's the way, Zoe!! When a herp is so very sick it can be very overwhelming. Just keep looking for the small and incremental improvements and focusing on what you can accomplish this day. Before you know it, you might even see this girl has turned around and is starting to rebuild muscle mass.

[Zoe]

upsecial - no, because I'm pretty sure she isn't sick with parasites, and because I don't think she would handle the ride very well.

She weighs 3.3 oz (90-some g) and is a littlr over 6" head to vent. She came at about 3.1 oz, so she's gained some weight. She has virtually no muscle anywhere, except a bit in her front arms. Eyes still closed tonight. Recovery will be slow, but I have faith in her!

[unspecial]

Just keep feeding her and praying she gets better. I have no idea what I would do if spike got sick like that. you have such a huge heart...and a lot of patience!