What's up with my bearded dragon? HELP!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Question

I have two bearded dragons- a girl and a boy, that are the same age, brother and sister. The boy is growing fast... and the female is still really small... She eats, drinks and goes to the bathroom, but I noticed that she is a little bit droopy, so I took her to the vet. The vet told me she probably has a birth defect and is going to die... so then i brought her back to the pet store and they told me that she most likely has a parasite that is eating all her food, and that is what is making her weak. She perks up in warm baths, goes to the bathroom, and it doesn't look unnormal.... and she eats pinhead crickets and romaine lettuce. Otherwise, she lays on her perch ALL DAY LONG and all night, and sleeps and sleeps and sleeps. Sometimes I've heard of brumating, but she isn't even 6 months old yet. As for the vet, she doesn't deal with reptiles, and I'm finding out that she doesn't even have a good reputation around here. Does anyone have any ideas? I don't want to lose my female beardie.

Also, just adding this- When I pick her up, sometimes she perks right up and runs up my arm to sit on my shoulder, but other times she just opens her eyes and then closes them and goes back t to sleep.

The male is huge. He grew very fast, and he is very loving to her. They sleep on the same perch, and he keeps her warm. They are cute.

Please help me... I don't know what is going on.

I have ordered some deworming powder to put on their crickets, but I have a feeling that maybe she is just brumating????

She is skinny, but still eats margininaly, and her tail and body is growing a tad bit. She doesn't have much muscle mass though.

Also, she drinks water out of an eyedropper.... she started doing this the other day, so I know she's getting fluids.

Yes, she has a basking light and all of that. Its 105 degree's in there.

I went home from work for Lunch, to find out that she's spent most of the day running around her cage. She was resting when I got home, but I gave her a bath, and she ate some lettuce and i put her back into her cage. She seems to be doing a tad bit better, and I luckily found someone, though an hour away, that may be the proper type of vet to care for her. The vet we just went to tried to stick a cotton swab into her mouth..... She is right underneath the heat lamp resting, and when I hold her, she perks up and gently falls asleep within a few minutes. I won't give up on her at all... I want to prove that other vet wrong. I don't want to seperate them, just because they get along so well, and they have always been together. The pet store says they have been close like that since they were born. I get out of work in a few hours, so I'll give her another bath and make sure shes eating again. Shes such a little runt, but I love her very much- I love all my pets but especially my beardies

I brought her to a well-known herp vet, who gave her a guarded prognosis. She died this past monday... She was deemed Anorexic, but didn't have a parasite. She was fighting for her life, but she ended up succumbing... even though she was on a special diet and such.

Thank you for all your help... you guys are great. I'm currently seeking a new female in order to keep my male company. Thanks!

Answer 1

do you have a basking light in the tank and a heating pad to help digest the food for her ?
if so
bearded dragons are kind of lazy as long as she is eating and drinking she should be fine typically the males will grow faster then the females

check out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bearded_Dragon
and
Bearded Dragon . org

Answer 2

I would separate the two and get the female in her own enclosure. It is exceedingly common for one Bearded Dragon not to thrive when housed with another, and this is often fixed by separating them. For the first week or so she may seem despondent because of relocation stress, but she will be much healthier in the long run if she is alone. Moreover, a sick Beardie should not be kept with another in case it is catching. The sick one should be kept in quarantine. Also, they are getting pretty close to sexual maturity, and if the female is bred by her brother before she is old enough to handle laying the eggs and while she is not healthy that could kill her.
I really don't think it's possible that she is brumating. Only Beardies over a year brumate.
Now, you sound like you need a second opinion on the vet's. Go to herpvetconnection.com and see if they have a vet listed in your area. That site only lists reptile vets. I got mine from there, and was very impressed.
It sounds like you also need to get the female fattened up a bit too. How many crickets are you feeding her? You might want to go order some silkworms from either mulberryfarms.com or coastalsilkworms.com. Silkworms have much more protein than crickets do, and they also have some enzymes in them that will help make Beardies healthier. They are the best food you can get for ailing Beardies. You should also probably add some more salad ingredients that are healthier. Romaine is almost purely water, without much nutrition in it. Try sweet potato, squash, mustard greens, collard greens, and turnip greens.
Treating parasites is kind've hard on their systems, so I would go to a new vet before I start that. Also, if you are going to do that, you should probably get a probiotic (parasite treatments also kill all of the good gut stuff that your pet needs to digest). A good probiotic is Acidophiliz+, and it's cheap too.

Good luck with your Beardie. As long as she is capable of eating on her own, and even beyond that, I wouldn't give up on her.

Answer 3

She is stressed out and would love nothing more than to be separated from the male. If you do this, she will most likely pull through. See another vet, cause the one you saw doesnt sound caring and compassionate toward the well-beign of your beardie. The reason she perks up when on your shoulder is because she sees her chance to get away from the male. You may not see the confrontations, but they are there and just his simple presence could push her into being so stressed out that she will die. If it is a parasite, not likely if captive born to captive born parents, but you can use a medication called Panacure, ask a vet for proper dosage. If your vet was good ntentioned, he would have done a fecal sample to check for parasites and prescribed the proper treatment. Good luck to the both of you.

Also if he keeps growing and she stays small, you risk the male eating her. It happens all too much.

Answer 4

First thing is to give her the worm powder just in case. Then go on the internet and find a good vet in the area, there has to be one. It sounds as if she won't make it much longer the way it's going now. So give the medecine and make sure she eats and drinks well. That's al you can do untill you get some good medical advice.

Answer 5

The truly best thing to do is find a herp vet, or a vet that knows reptiles. Any exotic pet store may be able to refer you, or try to google it. It may be nothing and it may be everything, just take her to someone that would know.

I have a little girl too about 6 months old and I can only imagine how hard it is. They become part of the family!

Good luck and keep us updated. God Speed!!

Answer 6

Separate your dragons and your problem will be solved. They are not meant to live together unless they are mating, which is way too early for a 4 month old dragon, they dont reach sexual maturity till around 1 year.

Answer 7

brumation is the likelyhood of the issue. It worried me at first because I too Have Bearded dragons and brumating. they sleep any =where from 4 to 5 days only opening their eyes but won't move they stay right where they are at. They only eat every so often or hand feeding with wax wrms cause they'd like to fatten them selves up.GoodLuck!

Answer 8

my thought is this---if she has a parasite why hasnt the boy got it as well--if they are that close he would certanily get it---there must be something else--birth defect makes sense---take her to another vet----sounds like she is fighting for her life---the fact she has made it 6 months is a very good sign that she may be able to win this battle--

Answer 9

I have no idea what you are talking about but I just wanted to say that I hope you find the answer for your female dragon, and you sound like a very caring person!!

Answer 10

okay listen bath it daily so it goes to the bath room it may be lacking fluids so drip water on her nose it will drink it also the food you give her be to big for her and may be causeing Terminal Ingestion