Munch at Home

In the craziness of sickly, bleeding geckos, I forgot to post that Munch was stable enough to go home. He'll be on antibiotic shots for the next two weeks and then we'll take him back to retest his blood to see if his infection is under control. But for now, he's at home where he is being loved & adored.

A Great Trip to the Vet

I took 3 beardies to the vet today and wasn't sure if it would be a good visit or a bad visit.

HOORAY! It was a good one!

Pepper, a beardie I'm babysitting, had a bent toe removed. Munch needed a follow up and I wanted Dr Folland to check on Baby Raptor. Munch and Raptor had warmed cornbags in containers on the way. Pepper got to be in my shirt.

Munch looks good and is far less bloated that he was last night. For now, we will continue to give him his antibiotic shots every 72 hours and treat him with a dewormer. I'm going to start him on a diet. Poor Munch- no more insects, only greens.

I was most worried about Baby Raptor who is holding steady at 5 grams. :( Dr Folland did a thorough exam and was surprised at how feisty he was. He said "Let's not pull the plug just yet." I'm going to keep forcefeeding him and offering him food and then we will see if we can get a fecal test on him. It's possible that pinworms or coccidia are preventing him for absorbing nutrition.

Pepper (who didn't get any pics taken) got her crazy bent toe snipped off without any issues. She stayed calm and nice throughout the whole procedure.

The greatest part about all of it is the total-- less than $85. Gotta love those visits! My vets are awesome. :)

A Caution about Superworms & Mealworms and a Discussion about Poop

Superworms and mealworms are an easy feeder to have on hand. They don't die as easily, they are fairly cheap, and most bearded dragons (and other insect eating reptiles) are happy to eat them.

There's a big problem-- their exoskeletons are very hard to digest. Mealworms are mostly a hard plastic-like exoskeleton with a bit of meat in the middle. Superworms are a more meatier version of mealworms. Think of their exoskeletons like the thick, inedible plastic covering on the end of a shrimp. You can technically eat it, but it doesn't taste good (sorta feels like eating fingernails).

Munch's insect diet-- and really his WHOLE diet-- in the past few months has been superworms. Bits and pieces of the exoskeletons have built up in his guts and are contributing to the bloating he now has.

Thankfully this morning he was able to poop but it was almost entirely parts & pieces of superworm shells. I'm going to post a picture and it's gross, but informative. I'll even make it smaller than normal. The pic doesn't do it justice, but as I looked through the poop, I counted at least 2 dozen "shell" pieces. What a relief for him to start moving that through his system.

Have you ever stuck a stick in a slightly flowing river or stream? It instantly starts to collect debris from the river-- a leaf, a stick, etc. If you leave even a thin stick in the stream long enough, eventually it will collect enough debris to form quite a sizeable dam, stopping the water flow in that area.

That's how I describe the "flow" of a beardie's intestines. A single piece of calcium sand, a bit of crushed walnut shell, or even a small piece of exoskeleton alone do not pose a problem to a healthy beardie's digestive system. But over time those small pieces will start to accumulate debris that can lead to a potentially fatal blockage/impaction.

Munch had a fecal test done last night at the vet and it showed a massive overgrowth of pinworms and pinworm eggs. Pinworm eggs are very sticky and attach themselves to everything (intestines, substrate, anything). If you have a small blockage and a couple of pinworms (which most beardies do), it won't be long before you have a larger blockage and an overload of pinworms. That's what happened to Munch. We are treating him for pinworms, but since his belly is not currently absorbing any fluids (not sure why), the dewormer med is largely ineffective.

SO, can you safely feed superworms and mealworms to your dragons? Yes, but think of them as beardie cheeseburgers and offer them as a treat. Roaches & silkworms are two of my most favorite feeders. Hornworms and Phoenix worms are my second favorites. Wax worms are largely like small cheesecake pieces and are perfect for putting weight on emaciated beardies. Superworms are okay. Mealworms are NEVER okay for beardies under a year-- not worth the risk of exoskeleton impaction.

Variety is key when feeding a beardie. Swap out your insects and greens often so they don't get bored of one particular thing. Only feeding one or two items is more likely to lead to nutritional deficiencies. When I tell people that, I almost always am asked "But what if they don't eat?" Most pet beardies are WAY overfed. Unless your beardie is very young or recovering from trauma, they can stand a few days of hunger to help motivate them to try new foods.

If you have a beardie under a year or a sickly beardie, you'll need to supplement their diet with some baby food or Critical Care from your vet. Don't let them go more than a day without eating since their bodies can't handle it. Otherwise, practice a little "Tough Love" and let your beardies become hungry enough to start eating their greens & veggies & other insects.

Also, an adult beardie (over a year and a half) will be *healthier* if you only feed insects once a week! YES! You read that right! I do every 10 to 14 days in the winter when they are less active. In the Spring and Summer, I do every 7 to 10 days. I've found that feeding less protein has made my guys much much healthier. They may look at you longingly and beg for feeder insects, but stay strong, Friends! Your beardie will be healthier and live longer with less protein in their diet.

Any questions? Post your comment below.

Munch in the Morning

Mr Munch made it through the night. He had to keep his body propped up because the fluid in his body presses on his lungs when he lays down. I may run him back to the vet to see if we can remove some of the fluid in him.

It's always a relief to check on beardies in the middle of the night and find them breathing. It makes it much, much easier for me to go back to sleep. 

Sicky Boy Munch

I adopted out Munch awhile ago (vague timeline since I can't actually remember when! ;) ) and have been in touch with his owners since then. Today I met them at my vet with a very sick Munch.

This was him on Sunday:

This was him today: 

I had a blood draw done on Munch and a fecal test. He has a massive infestation of pinworms and an incredibly high white blood cell count that is turning toxic. He is throwing up fluids that he was given yesterday which tells me his stomach is not currently working properly. It's possible he has some sort of block or build up of pinworm eggs.

Munch is very sick. :(

I brought him home with me so I can do his supportive care and shots, etc.. He'll be in a sick tank for now. Hopefully the antibiotics and dewormer will start taking effect quickly and we can pull him back from the edge of death. I gave him his first dose of antibiotics before I put him in his soft, warm sick tank. If I can get him to keep fluids down tomorrow, I'll give him his first dose of dewormer.

And then we wait and see if his body has enough strength to keep fighting the infection.

Poor Munch. I hope he pulls through.

Munch, rescue number 66

I picked up Munch on Saturday and, after sleeping in my shirt for an hour, started trying to eat everything he saw including my hair, fingers, and sweater. 

He's around 6 years old, has beautiful coloring, and is small for his age. He is friendly and loves eating roaches. There doesn't appear to be anything wrong with him besides being "pocket sized" so it should be easy to place him.