Hi!
Tomorrow I'm taking Pog to the vet. His fecal was negative but I want to rule out any other possibility.

The more I read about brumation, the more I'm convinced that he might be preparing for one and I want to prepare myself as well.
I'm still not convinced because most Bearded Dragons start in Oct., Nov. or Dec., and not March!

From what I've read, here's what I'm thinking about doing:
- Don't force feed him for a couple a days (he's not eating on his own) and make him poop one last time;
- Kill his UVB tube (he won't need it burrowed in substrate under his log), kill the Ceramic Heat Emitter, maintain the basking light, reduce daytime to 10h and put the Under Tank Heater on a dimmer regulated for 70ºF / 21ºC and leave it on day and night (he will sleep over it);
- Every 2 weeks wake him up for a few drops of water and/or light misting and check his weight;

Beside a few tranquilizer pills for myself, am I forgetting anything?

Thanks!
Ricardo

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Wish list: Blue Tongue Skinks and Uruplatus =)

Brumation? at this time of year?

My thoughts exactly but I'm not in charge! =(

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Wish list: Blue Tongue Skinks and Uruplatus =)

haha, good point..Ive never had to brumate any of my herps but it sounds like youve got everything right. good luck and hopefully its a brm. period that your little guy needs to get better!

Well Ricardo, what did the vet say! Brumation is terrible! They just lie there day after day. I had to keep checking to see if Dundee was alive! I could have used a tranquilizer myself. Sounds like you have the idea though.

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0.1.0 Bearded Dragon (Dundee)
1.0.0 Chow/mix Dog (Simba)
1.0.0 Russian Hamster (Bear)
1.1.0 Parakeets (Little Tweet and Feathers)
0.1.0 Long hair gray calico cat (Opal)
0.0.3 Red-eared slider turtles (Mommy, Daddy, Robbie)
0.0.16 Fishy Friends - misc. tropical fish

Oh sorry, haven't updated this thread because work went 1000mph again.

Short version, the vet's diagnostic was a hard case of puberty.

Long version, she did a full check up (we were there for 2.30h) that included an x-ray, 2 different blood tests (don't know their names in english sorry), stool sample on the spot, groping his body, probe almost every cavity and the compilation of Pog's life.
This was where the blog we keep of his life paid off. We were able to give a lot of details that normally we would forget due to excessive information and time distance. Things that can change the diagnosis, for example, she thought he had lost a lot of weight during this process and we were able to confirm her that he only lost 7g since 3 weeks ago.

Pog had 2 signs of parasitic infection: the way his poo was shaped and 1 lonely "flagellated" (I believe this is the name of it) specimen that appeared under the microscope on the sample she collected on the spot. Seems it belongs to a group of parasites that only show up in a 10 minute timeframe after the sample is collected.
The vet gave him Flagyl to treat that.

Here's one neat trick for you to watch Dundee's poo for signs of parasites: if it's involved by a membrane that keeps it together, then she has parasites. Their number might be low and they might not disrupt her life (Pog wasn't affected) but they are present and might turn into a major problem if they have the opportunity.
For all of you that have bath poopers like Pog, watch for the "cloud effect". If the poo dissolves and creates a "cloud" when the Bearded Dragon is pushing out, then its fine. If there is no cloud and it's kept together by a mucous membrane, then its a sign of parasites.

As for the rest, everything measurable was normal except for 3 things: white cell count was below average but could be a consequence of his current condition and not the cause, slight signs of dehydration (again, probably consequence of not eating) and calcium was low (not worrisome but needs correction).
Learned a couple of things with this: first, although I'm extra careful almost paranoid with it he was a little dehydrated and second, even though I dust every single meal, his calcium levels were bellow normal.

She said we have been doing a great job with him and the only thing we need improve was Pog's time out of the enclosure to muscle up a bit. He's an elegant Bearded Dragon =)

So in the end she said that puberty was the most likely culprit of this situation. The sperm plug I found 2 weeks ago, the fact the sample she took was packed with sperm and his behavior is in accordance to it. She dismissed brumation for the same reasons. During the visit, he was always very active and attentive as he is outside his enclosure. Except for the fact the he's not eating and stays in bed all day, he's not that different than before.

Gave us a can of special dog food and a recipe to prepare with to force feed Pog for the next 3 weeks, time when she said he should show signs of improvement.

Learned something new that day: Bearded Dragons are as good as puppies or babies when it comes to girls =)

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Wish list: Blue Tongue Skinks and Uruplatus =)

LMAO! Its true its true! Im glad to hear you dont have to burm. him . Good luck with him for the next 3 weeks and keep us updated!!

Great to hear Ricardo,,,but she gave you dog food? What is the dog food and this reciepe for?

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

Marsha, her first advice was to prepare an invert and veggies puree but if any of you remembers this thread you'll understand why that was put right out of the question =)

So as an alternative she gave us this special dog food (high on Ca and some other stuff) for recovering dogs, told us to blend it with squash and a special cabbage we have in the iberian peninsula.
That will serve a few purposes like keeping Pog well fed with a small dose (we have to force feed him with an insulin syringe), help restore the internal flora after the Flagyl dose, bring some regularity to his pooping habits (she was concerned about his irregularity and bath pooping habits) and also increase the Ca levels.

And although he doesn't bask anymore, he pooped on his own today, I don't know if it's already a result of the treatment but it's definitely a good sign.

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Wish list: Blue Tongue Skinks and Uruplatus =)

I have something that I have used for my dragons when the appetite decreased that does not require crickets . Its amazing what it does and how much the appetite increases. PM me if you want it ...I want to eventually make it into a HCD article.

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!