3 month old head bitten

[White Rose]

My 3 month old bearded dragon was attacked by my 5 month old while I had them out yesterday. She has NEVER tried to hurt the younger ones before and I had just turned around for a split second. His one bulges, and I already know that one isn't saveable, but his other eye seems okay for the most part. He still keeps it closed however, out of pain I can only imagine. They're separated now, and I've full well learned my lesson. I feel so horrible, especially when I know I could have prevented it by keeping her away. He is still responsive to touch and breathing. He also moves around on his own a bit. I've been putting betadine and neosprin over his wound to help heal and prevent infection. I've also been using a syringe to give him pedialyte to help him stay hydrated. I would go to a vet but I can't afford it, and they would probably put him down instead of giving him a fighting chance. (Which kinda sounds bad but he deserves to live.) I've kept him in a basking spot of around 110 degrees Fahrenheit as I read helps healing. If there's anything else you guys think I should do, please tell me.

 

[Canicke]

i would recommend a vet visit - but ---- just do what you can. sorry

 

[White Rose]

Understandable. What about food supplements? Since he doesn't have his eyes open and can't see his roaches, What can I use to feed him? I mean something through a syringe.

 

[Canicke]

this poor little guy !! you can puree just about anything - including the bugs. yeah - I know - yum. you can also give him baby food (organic would be best) you can hold his bugs in tweezers and let him feel them on his face. go to a pharmacy and ask for an oral syringe - 5 or 10 ml. these are used to dose kids meds but have a big enough opening to allow pureed foods to go through. maybe have to dilute it a bit. betadine is a good cleanser - I would just use the Neosporin I think tho. use saline to wipe the area. put just a pinch of salt in about a cup of water - boil it to sterilize it - let it cool and use it to wipe it down. please make fresh solution every day (or 2 at the most) keep us posted - we care

 

[White Rose]

Sounds good. Although pureeing my roaches would be cheaper, I'm gonna go with baby food lol. What kinds of baby food do you think would be best? I assume a meat supplement and then either a veggie or fruit one. I'll also probably mix in calcium powder and more pedialyte. I'm probably gonna keep using betadine for a couple more days to make sure no infection or bacteria from the bite survives. I really hope he does live, I've shed so many tears. I think if he's made it this far and lived, he will. He's a fighter.

 

[Canicke]

fruits are an occasional food. meat and veggies are better. don't kick yourself too hard - life happens. it can be sad sometimes, tho.

 

[White Rose]

I got him chicken and chicken broth with sweet potato as the mixture. I added pedialyte to balance it to a bit more liquid state and added calcium powder. I had a syringe leftover from when I got my wisdom teeth pulled out a couple months ago but never really used it. He took it well but this next thing is more over exciting. When he opens his mouth wide enough I stick a roach in there, and he does crunch it down and eat it! Yesterday he ate 4 which is better than nothing. Today he ate 6. I just hope he poops now lol. His movement has also increased, for better. But he always falls down and I hope he doesn't hurt himself more lol. I put up a gofundme, in the case if people do donate it would go toward a vet visit and bills. I don't expect much but the effort counts. I do wanna really know if atleast his one eye might still work, and what they think of the other. I have hopes for this fella. He seems to have already adapted some to not seeing, by sound and memory so life is looking pretty good.

 

[PatsyB]

Sorry this happened to your baby. How is he?

Be careful with baby food, it contains lots of additives (even organic) that they don't need. Stick with squash and maybe green beans. Meat based foods are going to be hard on the kidneys because things like chicken and beef are things they don't normally eat. It's so easy to take his greens and put them in a blender with some plain coconut water, Pedialyte or just plain water to make a slurry and feed it to him in a syringe.

He should be fine with one eye but the only issue is infection setting in to the eye that got damaged.

 

[White Rose]

He's doing very well. Stopped with chicken baby food, just using the sweet potatoes that I bought with pedialyte and more calcium powder. Same routine with using the syringe feeding and putting roaches on the edge of his mouth so he chews it. He eats 10 nymphs a day, which was what the normal feeding was. I might try using my collards in the blender like you suggested since it seems more nutriruous. Sadly, I see his jaw is kinda deformed on his right side. His teeth cave in toward his tongue. Seems to eat just fine though. I am concerned about his eye though. I don't think either is saveable or seeable. A couple days ago I accidentally pinched his toe and in his effort to run I did see him try to open his eye. It was the one that wasn't directly bitten, but it was pure black. It probably burst some kind of vessel. I am considering just a visit and seeing if they think he'll need something to fight infection. I believe the office visit is about $80, so it's not awful.

 

[PatsyB]

I would really do the vet visit. It will be good for him to get some antibiotics and be looked over.