Here's the summary of my $168 educational vet visit today with Nubs:
When a reptile is severely malnourished, their bodies cannabalize their muscles & other organs in an attempt to get nutrients. If you suddenly introduce healthy food to them, it acts as a shock to their system and their digestive system shuts down. Nubs has signs of severe anemia, malnourishment, muscle atrophy, and kidney failure. Because I started him off with LaFeber's critical care formula right off, his body reacted with vomiting and diarrhea.
I will give Nubs saline injections for the next 3 days to get him hydrated again. Then I will force feed him a thinly made version of Critical Care for a few days. We'll just have to wait & see if his body responds properly the second time around.
So when you have a severely neglected/malnourished reptile, it's better to start them off small with eating-- fluids and possibly pureed squash. Even Critical Care or Repashy Critical Cal may be too strong at first. I hope to never rescue such a severely neglected beardie again, but if I do, I will start with very, very small steps for feeding.
