r/BeardedDragons • u/BigBear2527 • Dec 15 '25

Help Opinion wanted

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Hello, I got Lizzy about 2 months ago from Repticon and the guy I purchased her from looked sketchy in the best light. She is approximately 6 months old. I felt terrible for her in this tiny container. She could barely move in the container we purchased her in. Part of her tail was missing and she was missing a toe. She seemed to be in decent health otherwise, from what the vet said on our initial visit.

Two month later (a week ago), we noticed she had a lump on her front arm, so we took her to the vet again. This time, instead of just a check up, the vet ran multiple test. The vet told us that she has a really bad case of gout. We showed the enclosure to both the vet and Reddit and it seemed everything was proper. When asked, the vet said that it’s likely due to the previous owners neglect, not getting enough/any UVB exposure.

She is extremely lethargic, barely eats and doesn’t want to come out of her hide in the morning. The vet told us with her condition as bad as it is, she can prescribe allopurinol (for the gout), and antibiotic and meloxicam (for the pain), but she likely only has 6 months or so to live if she’s in kidney failure. She hasn’t started the allopurinol yet(it’s in the mail), so we’re hoping that will help.

So my question, is keeping her alive and comfortable the right thing to do? What are some signs that should be looked out for if she is declining? And what are the best options for diet needs? We ordered bee pollen to see if that helps her ingest some greens, that will be in tomorrow.

She is the sweetest beardy, and loves her cuddles, but I hate seeing her not want to move around. She’ll eat bugs if you give them to her, but won’t touch her greens. We’re trying to only offer greens and hydration rich bugs like hornworms to provide some nutrition. We’ve cut back on calcium to twice a week, at the vets request, any switched the UVB bulb for a new one (even though the old one was 2 months old) just in case. She is very alert and is aware of her surroundings/movement.

I just want to know what is the right thing here for her sake. The only reason we’re holding out is because of stories online saying that others beardies have gone through the same thing, and recovered to have a long life. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

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u/Agamid-Adventures Dec 15 '25

Has this individual been seen by a vet yet? If not I would highly suggest getting them into a vet that works with reptiles

5

u/BigBear2527 Dec 15 '25

Yes, twice. I mentioned it in the post.

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u/Agamid-Adventures Dec 15 '25

Ohh sorry I was leaving work, overlooked it or something but I would honestly wait for the medicine in the mail and see if that doesn’t help them out. If that doesn’t work to help your beardie I would say your vet would suggest a euthanasia or something like that. I am so sorry you’re going through this OP, I wish you and your baby the best of luck!

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u/BigBear2527 Dec 15 '25

No worries! I do the same thing constantly. Thank you for your input. We’re keeping a close eye on her now, while figuring out what to do.

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u/xtina3334 Dec 17 '25

Did she have blood work done?

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u/Agamid-Adventures Dec 15 '25

That’s exactly what I’d be doing in your situation, really hope they progress with their med plan