Sweet Xena

Xena grew weaker and more lethargic over the weekend. She was obviously dehydrated and not absorbing any nutrients or fluids from being force fed Critical Care. Her eyes looked sicker & sicker. 

This morning Xena's little beard was black and I knew it was time to let her go. My vet put her down at 9 am this morning. She was semi-comatose by the time I got to the vet. 

Poor little girl is now free. No more sickly body that won't work right. :) 

I spy with my little eye... A baby beardie belly

Xena has gained 1 gram in the last two days. She's up to 9 grams. 

Baby Steps

Baby bearded dragons are HARD! They are so small that there is no room for error. A big beardie with some fat could go a few days or weeks without the risk of a dying. A baby beardie doesn't have that luxury- malnutrition, dehydration, and poor lighting have an immediate and profound effect.

I've lost more babies than any other age of beardie since I started my rescue. Sometimes we try to save babies that are genetically unable to survive to adulthood and end up prolonging a life that would have ended quickly in the wild. It's so hard to know when to actively rescue or when to provide "comfort" measures. 

Usually, I tell my beardies (especially the babies) that I won't quit until they do. 

Xena seems determined to stay alive and I'm just as determined to help her. She's had 3 doses of Lefeber's Critical Care carnivore formula given to her in a syringe. She has pooped twice and appears to be more active. 

Today she is 8 grams. I didn't weigh her yesterday because so was letting her adjust to her new environment.

It is a matter of baby steps forward now, trying to keep her warm and hydrated and fed. Hopefully the extra high-quality nutrition is all she needed to start to thrive. 

Xena, rescue number 65

Xena has had an amazing owner who has researched and studied and tried SO hard to get her to be healthy, but nothing has worked. She won't eat on her own and isn't growing normally. He'd been giving her a drop of baby food every day because that is all she would take. :(

I think Xena is a classic case of "Failure to Thrive." For whatever reason (genetic), she is not healthy and doesn't have the drive to eat. I suspect it has a lot to do with the inbreeding it took to get her "fancy" colors and such. 

For now, she's in a sick tank and I'll force feed her Critical Care twice a day to see if we can get some nutrition into her. Some times babies get so depleted that they don't have the energy to eat and then they just spiral downwards. Or, it's possible, the nutrition will expose a genetic flaw internally that will end her life. It's hard to say at this point. Only time will tell. 

Babies are tricky. An unhealthy mother or an undernourished pregnancy and pre-pregnancy can create deficits in the babies that no one can over come. That's why education is SO important before breeding!