rescue beardie, eye problem etc, had improper diet

[Hdrydr31]

Recently rescued a beardie, estimated at 2 years of age.
(the previous owners later revealed they did not know his age, but he was smaller when they got him so they assumed he had been under a year)

He was not being fed properly, on a diet of just mealworms, provided constantly in a bowl in his tank. Some of the mealworms had escaped and there were 4 adult stage beetles and a few baby worms in his tank. He was not provided with any vegetation as they claimed he "did not like it".
He is very pale, they said it was because he was about to shed.
He has a swollen back ankle and walks very funny, but the swelling seems to be going down.
His eyes are bulgy and stay that way constantly. I believe his right eye is more swollen today than it was yesterday.

He is in a 40 gallon, 3 feet by 18" by 16". The cool side is 75 at its lowest and the basking spot is 97. I took out the tall climber he came with so he would not have a risk of falling and becoming more injured. I replaced the 75 watt bulb for a 100 watt so he would have a better temperature range and basking spot (with the lower climbing thing he is pictured on). I cleaned out his entire cage and all of his things and replaced the wooden one which had beetles hiding in it. He is on paper towel over newspaper right now.
I provide him with water and with kale and romaine and some carrots (shredded very small) and he has eaten some of it. He has only pooped once since I got him and it was strange (wish I had taken a picture now), slippery and looked like what you might expect from a diet of only mealworms. No white, which I expected since he had not had vegetation or supplements.
I spoke to someone I know who has owned reptiles for many years and she examined him (the day I got him). She said he was shaking slightly and it could be pain from the ankle injury or it could be a vitamin deficiency (again, makes sense with his diet). She recommended I buy butternut squash for its higher vitamin a and I did, and provided some with his salad today, but I do not think he has eaten any.

He is a decent weight right now (I do not have an accurate scale yet unfortunately) but has not eaten much salad and has taken only two mealworms (he refused crickets) since I got him last weekend. He has only pooped the once, days ago.
I am concerned about his constantly bulgy eyes.
Is there anything I can do for him?

(I would enclose pictures but am not sure how to...)

Thank you for rescuing him! I would for sure get him checked out by a vet for the eyes, and a fecal done, they can also help see if he's got MBD and point you in the right direction of care...
I would get a better food source as mealworms have chitlin in their shells that make them very hard to digest especially if they are malnourished, dehydrated. dubia roaches, superworms, hornworms, silkworms, waxworms, phoenix worms, butterworms...
If you haven't gotten a chance to read some of the info in the general info a few of us have put together some basic info for new comers. We have the links attached to signature lines (below my comment) it will take you to the thread... You will also find links in there for greens/veggies and how often to feed etc... Romaine is mostly water which is ok since he's dehydrated but nutrition wise there is nothing to it.
Giving him a nice warm soak may make him feel a bit better.

 

[warmbloodedbeardie]

@Hdrydr31 - Thanks for the response. Like I said, I am trying my best but, as a high school student, vet bills will be very hard to pay. It will take some time... in the meantime, I am doing the best I can. Thanks for pointing out the links, I will definitely check them out! I had been told that kale and romaine is a decent staple but now that I know otherwise I will definitely be veggie shopping! I will also look into some of those other worm types. Pretty sure we are not allowed roaches in Canada, though. Will try to get a hold of some silk worms asap since they are apparently so healthy for them.
Giving him another 10 min soak tonight, I've been told to that every few days instead of weekly for now.
Thank you!

 

[Hdrydr31]

@Hdrydr31 - Thanks for the response. Like I said, I am trying my best but, as a high school student, vet bills will be very hard to pay. It will take some time... in the meantime, I am doing the best I can. Thanks for pointing out the links, I will definitely check them out! I had been told that kale and romaine is a decent staple but now that I know otherwise I will definitely be veggie shopping! I will also look into some of those other worm types. Pretty sure we are not allowed roaches in Canada, though. Will try to get a hold of some silk worms asap since they are apparently so healthy for them.
Giving him another 10 min soak tonight, I've been told to that every few days instead of weekly for now.
Thank you!

Shedding, vitamin A toxicity or eye infection can all be why the eyes are swollen...Has he shed? Will he open the eyes at all? you can rinse with saline solution to see if you can flush out anything that might be in there like sand...It's possible his eyes got injured by the lighting that he had the coil bulbs have been known to burn them as well as lighting that has been mounted on the sides of the tank instead of directly from above... Dragon's have those ridges over their eyes to protect them from the sun's rays..

 

[warmbloodedbeardie]

@Hdrydr31- He has not shed so far, so maybe that is a possible cause? He is also very pale coloured right now but I read that can also be a sign of certain deficiencies? The person I got took him in from said he was close to shedding, as I mentioned... but his eyes are very swollen. I doubt it is vitamin a toxicity, just based on the fact that he had only mealworms and was not given vegetation... although I guess they could have given him some supplements that caused that? If so, they didn't mention it and didn't have any left when I went to pick him up.
The lights are directly above. I will look into the saline solution thing, but he is on a paper towel substrate and it was newspaper there so I don't know what could have got in his eyes. He opens his eyes. They almost look like the eye-bulging thing beardies sometimes do, but it is constant.
He is somewhat active, in that he will sometimes wander around in his tank and if I take him out he will climb on me and wander around (I don't let him wander very long though because of the swollen ankle; he walks funny, like I mentioned in my first post).
He had that 10 minute soak today and drank some water, but did not chug it like he did on his first soak. I gave him some of the reptaboost vitamin today (less than the recommended dose but a fair amount) and he took that happily.

I really appreciate your help, both of your efforts mean a lot because there is no-one in my area I can ask for advice.

 

[warmbloodedbeardie]

@Hdrydr31 I just re-checked his lighting because you mentioned it! I made the mistake of leaving the regular UVA&B bulb over his tank when I switched out the heat lamp. I didn't check the original lighting myself, which I clearly should have, because the light bulb is a coil bulb- and it is separated near the top! Which common sense says is not good. My parent said they weren't going to mention it so I didn't spend money on a new one... I will do something about it asap. What type do you recommend? (keeping in mind my unfortunate budget restrictions)

 

[PatsyB]

I was also going to suggest a vitamin A deficiency with the bulging of the eyes. Get a multivitamin that has a natural vitamin A in it. Get soft bodied worms like silks, hornworms are good for hydration and butter worms or black soldier fly larva are good. I would see if there is an animal rescue that can provide any help to you. I have a friend in Canada whose chameleon had to have leg surgery and it was thousands of dollars!

 

[warmbloodedbeardie]

@PatsyB that sounds more probable comsidering his old diet. I have no rescues nearby but the closest independent reptile story is run by someone with lots of experienrce with reptiles. Unforunately, she is still not close enough to drop by often r. I did ask her to take a look at him the day I picked him up and she suggested the potential of vitamin a deficiency and told me to provide butternut squash, which I did. I will look into a vitamin

 

[warmbloodedbeardie]

and some of those feeders as soon as possible. Unfortunately, my family acts as a bit of a handicap here because I have to work around some major restrictions. (in visiting the private store, getting supplies, etc) Thank-you.

 

[warmbloodedbeardie]

*considering *store *experience *a vitamin with a good amount of natural vitamin A (sorry, on phone and cannot edit)

 

[Hdrydr31]

@Hdrydr31 I just re-checked his lighting because you mentioned it! I made the mistake of leaving the regular UVA&B bulb over his tank when I switched out the heat lamp. I didn't check the original lighting myself, which I clearly should have, because the light bulb is a coil bulb- and it is separated near the top! Which common sense says is not good. My parent said they weren't going to mention it so I didn't spend money on a new one... I will do something about it asap. What type do you recommend? (keeping in mind my unfortunate budget restrictions)

You would want to get a T5 HO 10.0 UVB they are High output T5 will penetrate thru mesh tops.. Petmountain often have great sales and for these products and most of us use these. The tube style bulbs get replaced once a year...some bulbs have to be replaced every 6 months as they loose their potency...The coil bulbs say that the issue has been resolved however...we are not taking that out of the equation... Tubes are just better..
http://www.petmountain.com/product/...eptisun-t5-ho-10-0-uvb-high-output-bulbs.html
http://www.petmountain.com/product/...eptisun-t5-ho-high-output-terrarium-hood.html

 

[Hdrydr31]

@PatsyB that sounds more probable comsidering his old diet. I have no rescues nearby but the closest independent reptile story is run by someone with lots of experienrce with reptiles. Unforunately, she is still not close enough to drop by often r. I did ask her to take a look at him the day I picked him up and she suggested the potential of vitamin a deficiency and told me to provide butternut squash, which I did. I will look into a vitamin

I was going that way as well as the shedding he would only do it occasionally... and he would look dull but so would a vit def...then the lighting... Even if you have to puree items to get into him with nat vit A and some good nutrition and good lighting will all make a big difference..

 

[warmbloodedbeardie]

@Hydrydr31 Ok, thanks. Going to look for a bulb tonight. Will check out those links! I'm sure the little guy will be very grateful for your help.

 

[warmbloodedbeardie]

Update: got a reptisun 10.0

 

[Candybugs]

Your doing great I use reptisun too

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[Bobbi]

Oh man, thanks so much for taking care of the little guy! I hope everything works out. How's he doing today?

 

[warmbloodedbeardie]

@Bobbi He is a bit lethargic it seems, but perks up when I walk near his tank. He is still not eager to eat vegetation and I am going to try some feeders again with him in a minute. Thanks.

 

[warmbloodedbeardie]

Thanks again everyone for the help.
Quick update: He has proper lighting and a good temperature range now. He spends most of the day basking instead of snoozing. He eats a worm every once in a while (although crickets still just confuse him), but was losing weight from refusing to eat much on his own. I purchased reptiboost to give him and am also preparing slurries for him that he eats readily. I still offer his veggies, but he refuses them unless I mix them in. When he no longer wants to eat, he runs away! He still limps a bit but is getting pretty fast when he wants to go somewhere. I still try not to let him wander too much since his leg is still not perfect... and there are still days when he worries me. Overall, though, he is looking much better. He is also shedding now, and he loves his baths.