# FAT Bearded Dragon!



## reptilife (Mar 3, 2011)

I was given a couple of bearded dragons about six months ago, a Male & a Female. Both adults. The female was quite 'fat' when we got her, and we thought she may have been gravid, but she has never laid and has continued to get fatter and fatter! She is not over-fed, and her mate is in perfect health. She almost looks like she is going to explode... very 'bloated', but I don't believe she is egg-bound as I can't feel any eggs! She just feels like a balloon. 
She has been like this for some time, but she seems happy and is eating well etc.

Any ideas?


----------



## Defective (Mar 3, 2011)

hey there,
if not egg bound, and you haven't seen any behaviours of a gravid beardie and shes eating well i would be best to get a reptile vet to check her out. from the angle of the photo her eyes look a little bulgy as well. best get it checked.


----------



## chewbacca (Mar 3, 2011)

I'd say she ain't in good health mate, is she digesting her food okay? Her eyes look a bit large too  get her to a vet asap..but first off, what and how much is she eating? And how often?


----------



## hansel1313 (Mar 3, 2011)

chewbacca said:


> I'd say she ain't in good health mate, is she digesting her food okay? Her eyes look a bit large too  get her to a vet asap..but first off, what and how much is she eating? And how often?


 
Agree +10 She dont look to good to me either


----------



## reptilife (Mar 3, 2011)

chewbacca said:


> I'd say she ain't in good health mate, is she digesting her food okay? Her eyes look a bit large too  get her to a vet asap..but first off, what and how much is she eating? And how often?



They have fresh vegies at all times, and get woodies about 3 times per week.

She 'seems' to be in good health, in that she sheds, eats, poops, swims, and has good colour etc.


----------



## nagini-baby (Mar 3, 2011)

thats not normal... looks almost like when people get fluid retention in their legs.. all swollen up.. id go vet just to be safe


----------



## W.T.BUY (Mar 3, 2011)

is she like that all the time or just when u approach her? She might just be puffing up with air.


----------



## reptilife (Mar 3, 2011)

She's been like this for months. No it's all the time. Again, the funny thing is she seems perfectly normal in every other way!


----------



## Khagan (Mar 3, 2011)

reptilife said:


> She's been like this for months. No it's all the time. Again, the funny thing is she seems perfectly normal in every other way!


 
Most reptiles are usually are good at hiding signs of illness untill it gets bad. It's a survival thing, if they were to show weakness they'd get picked off easy by predators. So it might 'seem fine' but something more sinister could be going on.


----------



## Lollypop (Mar 3, 2011)

Just had a mate who's beardie presented very similar to yours. After 7mths of taking her to the vet & being told she was low in calcium & had a lot of gas from indigestion, a 2nd opinion showed she had infected egg follicles - at that point it had gone on for so long that even an op (that showed the extent of internal 'rotting' from the initial problem) couldn't save her & she died post-op, never waking up again.

Please heed the above advice & get her to a vet. And a specialised one at that.


----------



## chewbacca (Mar 3, 2011)

Lollypop said:


> Please heed the above advice & get her to a vet. And a specialised one at that.


 
take everyones advice and please head down to a vet tomorrow, im sure they will make room for you if you cant make an appointment, they will do the best to help your dragon, good luck and keep us posted on an update.

cheers.


----------



## Exotic_Doc (Mar 3, 2011)

Poor girl..+1 to all the comments above her health looks really bad. The buldging eyes are unfamiliar to me. Im going to pull out my books and see if i can find anything to assist you. Please see a vet. I wish you were in sydney i would have went with you to Dr Janet at livingstone animal hospital. Goodluck


----------



## reptilife (Mar 4, 2011)

Thanks for all replies.

I have an appointment in the morning. That's the soonest I could get her in.

No herp Vets anywhere near me and unable to get to Melbourne for some time, but my Vet does take an interest and will hopefully seek advice if he's unsure.

Will update when I have answers.


----------



## PeppersGirl (Mar 5, 2011)

Oh poor girl, I do hope you can sort it out! 

Actually I'm rather curious, I have a netted dragon with the same issue (she's an ex-breeder) so I'm really interested to know what the answers are.


----------



## JKretzs613 (Mar 6, 2011)

Hello,

I totally agree, & am glad you are getting her to a vet.
You wont be able to feel if she is egg bound or if she has had some eggs burst in her abdomen area.
Also, the eyes bulging is usually an indication of high blood pressure & water retention caused by other problems. It can also be caused by heart problems, too due to poor circulation going on.

Let us know how things turn out for her.

Tracie


----------



## reptilife (Mar 8, 2011)

Ok Guys just in with an update on the big girl.

The Vets are at a loss as to what is wrong exactly, besides saying that it is a 'fluid mass'.
They don't believe it is fluid retention as such, but rather a 'mass'.
Cause unknown.
We are treating it blindly I am afraid with a course of antibiotics and hoping for the best.
As far as her bulging eyes go, my Vet (and I) believes her eyes are fine. Maybe they looked bulgy in the pic I posted but they are the same as my other Beardeds in that respect.
I have separated her from her mate for a while as the Vet wants a better indication of how much she is eating while in the state she's in, as well as a fecal sample.

Will update as news comes to hand...


----------



## veenarm (Mar 8, 2011)

Hope all goes well, I was terrified for my girl as well, she wasn't even a year and hit 340grams mostly due to my over indulging her, but then every now and then she turned into a balloon like she wanted to POP, later realised it was a mechanism they do to stay afloat when i bath them, but can last a few hours!

either way, after I realised this and have realised she is just way to fat and lethargic, i've since cut her 'live feed' down to 1 to 2 times a week and only give fruit / veg, I was worried of impaction for a while to some watermelon and lettuce helped clear her out.

Now she is 326grams and looking much healthier and hasn't bloated in month or so 

Hope same goes well for you


----------



## reptilife (Mar 8, 2011)

Glad this worked out for you Veenarm.
I wish my girls problem was simply a case of over-eating.... The Vet weighed her in at nearly 600g.


----------

