Possible beardie prolapse.

[Nismo89]

Hey guys when I woke up and checked out on the reptiles I noticed that our recently acquired bearded dragon looked to have a prolapse. A little back story on this beardie. We got her about a month ago from petco. Somebody had just dropped her off because they didn't have the time anymore. We were told it is a she and is 5 years old. Currently she is being housed in a 40 breeder her basking temps range from 100-110 F depending on the time of a day. Her cool side is at 85. She does have a UVB bulb and a basking bulb. The substrate is coco fiber. She eats crickets, dubia roaches and lots of greens.

When I first looked at her there was a big purple tinted thing hanging out of her cloaca. After I ran to get my camera it wasn't as bad but I still took these pics...

http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb474/Nismo892/08d1bfd1.jpg

http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb474/Nismo892/fb58ef45.jpg

Her enclosure

http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb474/Nismo892/c1f8bc08.jpg

The silver tape and bulge you see is BEHIND the enclosure on the wall. There was a big hole there so I covered it with what I had a while back.

Her basking bulb isn't on in the pics it was causing to much glare. I know her enclosure isn't ideal and we are working on finding a better one that has more room.

So my questions are. Is this a prolapse? Should I get her into the vet? What else can I do besides a vet until Monday since that is the earliest I will be able to get her in?

[infernalis]

It looks mildly swollen.

damp paper towels, don't want any substrate sticking to it.

[Nismo89]

So I should take out all the substrate? Also what could cause the swelling?

[Gungirl]

Yes take out all the substrate to stop the chance of it getting stuck to it.

[Nismo89]

Ok I will do that now.

[BarelyBreathing]

It looks like a mild prolapse. I'd make an appointment. My ATB, Crush, had a prolapse. The vet was able to fix it without the use of stitches and his vent has looked great, since.

[Nismo89]

Ok I changed the substrate to the damp paper towel and I gave her a 10 minute soak in luke warm water. I will be getting ahold of the vet on Monday. The only place open now is the ER vet and they don't see reptiles. I will keep a close eye on her and keep you updated. Thanks for the advice.

[BarelyBreathing]

Make sure to keep it from drying out.

[Nismo89]

That is what I am doing my best at. I have the humidifier running in the room right now so ambient humidity will stay around 40-50%. I dampened the paper towel and misted the cage. I also gave her a bigger water dish incase she feels the need to soak it herself. I will soak her a little bit a couple times a day over the weekend until I can get her to the vet.

[beardeds4life]

be careful she does not get an r.i.

[ladyjustice33]

be careful she does not get an r.i.

I was thinking the same thing....I understand you don't want the prolapse to get dry, but all that humidity could cause other problems.

[beardeds4life]

ya which would NOT help

[shaunyboy]

looks like a partial prolapse

i would keep it on white paper towels,so it stays nice and clean

if it gets worse or looks to be drying out,then.....

mix up some sugar water,then put enough in the bottom of a tub,so as the beardie can soak the prolapse in the water

this keeps the prolapse moist

NOT THIS PROLAPSE
on full prolapses the sugar water method is used to stop the tissue drying out and dieng

your prolapse is not too bad,just a little swelling.

i'd keep an eye on it and get to the vets A.S.A.P.

i hope you get the wee guy back to full health mate

all the best shaun

[shaunyboy]

That is what I am doing my best at. I have the humidifier running in the room right now so ambient humidity will stay around 40-50%. I dampened the paper towel and misted the cage. I also gave her a bigger water dish incase she feels the need to soak it herself. I will soak her a little bit a couple times a day over the weekend until I can get her to the vet.

if your going to soak her,i'd use some sugar water

put enough sugar water in the bottom of the tub,as to allow the beardie to soak the prolapse in it. (so the prolapse is submerged in the water)

you can do it as many times as you think neccessary

RE BEARDIES
i use the above methods on SNAKES

i do NOT KNOW if sugar has any adverse affects on lizards

it posses NO risk to snakes,but i don't keep or know about lizards pal

maybe a beardie owner could advise as to sugars suitability,when treating prolapses in lizards,beardies in particular

thanks in advance

cheers shaun

[ladyjustice33]

You really need to see a vet but in the mean time, as a beardie owner myself, I'd post this on Bearded Dragon . org (http://www.beardeddragon.org). There are a lot of very experienced beardie owners on that site, especially Tracie, one of the moderators. They even have a thread called Beardie ER for emergencies. Everyone on this site has been wonderful as well, but that site is all about Beardies and they have helped me a lot.

[beardeds4life]

me to that is why you NEVER buy from petco or petsmart they are always extremely in bred because they get all their animals from these huge breeders who have no idea how to take care of the animal

[ladyjustice33]

me to that is why you NEVER buy from petco or petsmart they are always extremely in bred because they get all their animals from these huge breeders who have no idea how to take care of the animal

The beardies at Petco and Petsmart break my heart when I go in there also. They are WAY to tiny to be in there. Some look right out of the egg and the food is bigger than their head. I can't stand it and it really ticks me off.

[beardeds4life]

i know :( and if they took care of them right they would save so much money because they at least a couple die every week and if they took care of them they wouldnt die and they would make more. It also really ticks me off how those ****** animals are so expensive i bought my sandfire tiger as a baby for 50 (a very high quality one to) and they sell normal unhealthy babys for 70? the babies they have are worth like 10 MAYBE 20

[Nismo89]

I agree that buying from petco is never a good idea. We got this girl because we went in to pick up some bedding and somebody had just dropped her off will all supplies because they didn't have time for her anymore. I looked in the cage and saw she was malnourished and her mouth was open from being far to hot. I had to bring her home I couldn't let her stay in the conditions she was in. I checked what the basking temp was when we got her home and it was over 130 F. That immediately got fixed.

Now onto the update.

I got her into the vet on Friday and had both a fecal smear and blood panel done. The fecal smear showed a few pin worms but I wasn't given any dewormer even though I asked. The blood panel however came back showing early kidney failure and she is suffering from long term dehydration and she is malnourished. Now we've only had her a month out of the five years she's been alive. I really don't have a clue what the people were doing before for humidity or anything like that because I never did get to meet the previous owner. The vet said we can start her on force feedings (she hasn't eaten much for us) and injections of some sort I can't remember exactly what.

I am going to get her into a different vet this week because I wasn't satisfied with this vets qualifications but we needed her seen last week and the nearest specialist is an hour and a half away. We plan on trying everything and anything to get her back healthy and on the straight and narrow again.

[beardeds4life]

it is normal for their mouth to be open while basking. It is basically sweating. It is called gaping. Beardies in the wild have been recorded basking at a surface temp of 140 so as long as she had a cool side it was fine. They are also smart enough to move away from the heat if it is to hot. I would buy panacur dewormer and deworm her. Next, I would boost her calcium way up. Then I would put her on a supplement to help her make a come back. Pictures would help so much. Check out this website for supplements.

BeardedDragon.co (http://www.beardeddragons.co/beardeddragon/index.php?route=common/home)