Vet wants to desex my bearded dragon?

[Chris1]

regarding substrate, id do both, give her dry sand in the tank, and wet sand in the bdig box, mine are all on bunnings playsand, ive never had ANY roblems with impaction, or anything else sand realated ofr that matter, they do love to dig, so even if just for entertainment sand is nice,...

if you can get her out in teh sun that would be an awesome UVB boost, i dont use UVB's in the enclosures, i just make sure they get a few hours of sun a week (i generally manage 2-3 days of 2-3 hours) and that seems sufficient.
dont leave her alone,obviously, i have a bunch of mesh cages u can buy from reptile stores so she is well ventilated, and safe, you do need to make sure 1 end always has shade tho.

ive never had to force a needle down a lizards throat, ive alwaus found that once they start licking something mushy, they tend to continue, dilute ur food of choice till it runs thru a syringe smoothly, and put a drop on her nose. you can either wait, or press ur fingernail between her lips so she tastes it, my experience has been that once she starts licking you can just keep squirting in in her mougth as she licks, ive had some pretty sick lizards happily take food that way.

also i would call the vet clinic and demand a call back, youre paying good money forl good service, and you have the right to get answers. i am appalled that theyre not talking to you when youre obviously very dedicated to ur pet!!

how is she today?

 

[viciousred]

Thanks for that Chris, have put a dig box in, will have to dry the sand out to put as substrate as it was already damp in the bag. and Yes I have had her in the sun yesterday for half and hour before work, and i'm going to be home most of today so will have her out for a couple hours,
land this morning she ate 8 crickets and 6 woodies!!!
off to vet now! update when i get back

 

[Chris1]

OMG, great news about the eating!!

Looking forward to the update, make sure u get ur questions answered!!

 

[viciousred]

OK
So the verdict is that she is now going to be fine. The vet was happy she was eating, so today was last antibiotics injection,
i am to continue with the calcium and if she starts going down again i need to take her in.

She agreed the sand might help stimulate her to get rid of the follicles, and yes they are follicles not eggs, her liver enzymes were completely fine, and she was ALOT more aggressive at the vet today lol...
She wants to desex her when she has put on weight as because it has happened once, its very likely to happen again. I'm thinking a might very well do this, but will wait to here back from other specialists.
They are faxing me all of her results today and Scott will scan them up to the computer then my emailing begins.

I'm hoping that with increased sun exposure, increased calcium supplementation, and being on sand will help stop this in the future. But if it has to be done then it has to be done.

The vet also said that they have had alot of success with the surgery and they cope well under the anesthetic...

 

[Em1986]

That is great news to read that she is doing better!!!
Gather as much info and courage before having her go in for the surgery (if it happens in the future) and i hope she continues improving for you.

 

[Chris1]

well, thats great news, and you got some answers!!

id be interested to know if putting her with a male would help her follicle situation,...(since it was mentioned that this is common in females kept alone) i have a very nice boy who would be willing to give her some affection if it will,.....

if you were planning to breed her anyway could it be an alternative to the hysterectomy?
(something to ask about when you start emailing people anyway)

 

[viciousred]

Aw! Thankyou Chris! Its definitely something to think about.. although i have been sternly advised by my partner that any breeding in this house is strictly forbidden until further notice... and notice probably wont be given for at least 2 years...

 

[Tegstep]

id be interested to know if putting her with a male would help her follicle situation,...(since it was mentioned that this is common in females kept alone) i have a very nice boy who would be willing to give her some affection if it will,.....

I wouldn't recommend that. Putting her with a male, especially any time soon is more likely to induce this same issue again.

Glad everything's working out well, for what it's worth bearded dragons generally do very well under anaesthetic with an appropriate protocol for the species, and good nurses to monitor. Desexing is something that is done commonly when called for and recovery is usually good.
If you have paid for a consultation with a vet you should be allowed to talk to them. Just be careful if they are doing things for you "back of house" and you have not paid for a consult or only for a nurses consult that may be why things were done that way.

 

[Jeffa]

Put Powerade in her water or give her a bath in it
2/3 powerade 1/3 water
That will get her feeding again

The bath doesnt work quite as well on lizards as it does on slitherers
But well worth a try

Hey mate just saw your post, not that I do but if I had a non feeding critter and followed your powerade method, I might get results?

 

[viciousred]

I wouldn't recommend that. Putting her with a male, especially any time soon is more likely to induce this same issue again.

Glad everything's working out well, for what it's worth bearded dragons generally do very well under anaesthetic with an appropriate protocol for the species, and good nurses to monitor. Desexing is something that is done commonly when called for and recovery is usually good.
If you have paid for a consultation with a vet you should be allowed to talk to them. Just be careful if they are doing things for you "back of house" and you have not paid for a consult or only for a nurses consult that may be why things were done that way.

Thanks for clearing that up for me And yes I only paid 2 consult fees out of about 4 or 5 visits, the initial consult and the ultra sound ( I did not get to speak to a vet on the ultra sound consult.)

 

[Helikaon]

Sounds like the results you were after. beardies are tough as nails.

 

[viciousred]

Dawn Only ate 2 crickets today, no veggies.
Gave her a bath witch she wasn't exactly impressed with and managed to get one dose of calcium into her. Had an hour and half in the sun yesterday.
Will keep trying, if she doesnt eat tomorrow its back to the vet... maybe try some of the a/d.

 

[Lollypop]

This is bizarre! I acquired a girl 6 mths ago that was laying 2,3,5 infertile eggs / day - never even seen a male. MAD!! I decided - in my wisdom - that if I mated her, she would produce fertile eggs.
Put her with a male, she was dead within a wk!!!! The male never really was interested in her, she kept digging but never laid, & to this day I believe she had a follicle problem. My vet btw was away for the wk that I trialled this, otherwise she would still be alive today.
So I reckon your vet is probably spot on....................

 

[viciousred]

Yes I'm beginning to agree. the problem is going to be getting her to gain enough weight for the surgery to be safe to do...

Hopfully going back to the vet on tuesday... not eating at all now. Still very restless though. hasn't made use of the dig box, but has dug herself a nice spot in the corner of her tank where she usually sleeps.

She has lost 9g since her first vet visit

also she has soft lumps where her baytril injections were?

 

[Lollypop]

If they decide to operate, rehydration will be the key prior to surgery, usually with fluid injections straight into stomach.
If u not going to vet til Tues, u could forcefeed til then - if she not eating, I'd be anxious to make sure u go then. All the best !!

 

[Helikaon]

Yes I'm beginning to agree. the problem is going to be getting her to gain enough weight for the surgery to be safe to do...

Hopfully going back to the vet on tuesday... not eating at all now. Still very restless though. hasn't made use of the dig box, but has dug herself a nice spot in the corner of her tank where she usually sleeps.

She has lost 9g since her first vet visit

also she has soft lumps where her baytril injections were?

Baytril is cytotoxic in these guys and can cause sterile abscess' , usuing baytril oral, or ceftazidime injections would be a better choice. you can get them to dilute the baytril with 50% water for injection to reduce the reaction. where are they giving the injections

 

[viciousred]

Along her sides over her ribs.
I wish i could get there tomorrow but I'm working till 6 and now Tuesday isn't looking good either. God damn it I really need to get my bloody license.....
And yes i think I will give force feeding a go, I can't get any a/d before then but have been advised that vegetable baby food is ok?

 

[Helikaon]

that would be fine

 

[viciousred]

UPDATE!
Dawn is now doing very well, Smashing down woodies and is back up to 435 grams (she got down to 380 at the worst) Is very alert and happy with in her self. Will be going back to the vet to do the surgery in the next few weeks

 

[JKretzs613]

Hello

Hello,

I read through your thread. How is your girl doing? How old is she?
Which calcium syrup are you using, glubionate or calcionate syrup.
The enlarged follicles could be indication of cysts on the follicles.
Did they mention how many follicles or undeveloped eggs she had or
could they tell on the ultrasound?
I would recommend feeding the chicken or turkey baby food, along with
some squash baby food. Usually, if they like the taste of the food, they
willingly lick the food off of the dropper or syringe.
The Enroflaxin/Baytril is nephrotoxic so I wouldn't keep her on that for
too terribly long. What is the duration she is supposed to stay on the
meds for? I would also use a probiotic also to help keep her normal
bacteria in check & to help avoid fungal/yeast issues too.
Are they planning on doing a complete hysterectomy or just removal of
the ovaries?
I hope she is doing better soon.

Tracie