My bearded dragon died instantly after her visit to the vet

[Christene9]

As I am writing it feels like my heart is ripped out. 3 days ago mercy my 8 month old bearded dragon started to refuse eating. Everything else was fine. This morning I noticed a runny poop and took her to the vet asap this afternoon. She took a feces sample and told me that mercy have parasites. She gave her 3 oral injections and told me she will be fine. 3 Hours later mercy starts to vomit badly and died instantly.


This is the medicine she gave:

Flagyl Suspension 20ml
Baycox Oral 5% 250ml

Mercy weighed 180 grams

I am suppose to take my 2 adults tomorrow for the same medication. She said parasites are contagious and they also need it to be safe.


Mercy was climbing on her rocks just a few hours ago, she cuddled in my neck on the way to the vet and even bobbed her head. No real signs of illness. Now she is dead just after the visit. As responsible pet owners it is always advised to visit the vet asap. I did the responsible thing and it cost my angel to die.

Does anyone have a solution to why she died so suddenly?

[Snakesitter]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Christene. :-(

I'm no vet, but a) I've never seen three anti-parasite meds adminstered at the same time, and b) the doseage on the second med looks high (really 250ml?!). Also, what was the third med?

Beforte doing *anything* with the other two animals, I would call a different vet to get a second opinion on the meds and dosages. If you can get an inexpensive necropsy done, it may be worth it to find out what really killed your little one. Only then do you know if the other two need treatment.

Best of luck, and please keep us posted.

[Ales]

The 250ml is impossible, maybe it was 2.5ml?

[Christene9]

Here is the full Invoice;

Rounding adjustment
Panacur BS
Fagyl Suspension 20 ml
Bycox Oral 5% 250 ml
1 Faecal Flotation

I am not sure what everything means, but I saw her administer the 3 injections.

I will definitely not take my other two dragons back. My heart is broken, I will not survive if something happens to them.

I uploaded a picture of the invoice, hope it works

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-351HloQ98dQ/U ... C_0037.JPG

[Primogen]

I think there might have been an overdose of Baycox, I see your beardie was give 1.5ml of 5% thats sounds like a lot of Baycox for a beardie,
I think the dosage rates of Baycox 5% is 3ml per 10kg, When I had my Tegu they gave him 0.5ml of 2.5% over a period of 5 days.
I'm not a vet and could be wrong.
Give your vet a call and ask about it, it might have been something else as well.

[Snakesitter]

Again, the dosage seems very high. Talk to your vet, and get a second opinion. I wish you the best of luck, and again am sorry for your loss.

[jaroo]

Very old post I know, but the invoice says 0.15 ml of each medication. I have no experience as a reptile vet but in small animals the usual dosage is 1 ml/kg for 5 days so the dosage should have been fine for a 150g animal. The baycox dose is higher than I use in mammals, usually 0,4 ml/kg of 2.5% for 5 days. so the dosage was 3 times higher than i would have given for companion animals but i would still not have expected ths to cause an issue. The flagyl suspension doesnt state a concentration but 0,15 ml seems about right. Each of these is for a different problem, the Panacure for worms and possibly a few protozoans, the baycox for coccidia and then the flagyl for enteric bacteria mostly. It would be nice to know which "parasites" were seen on the faecal float, different types requiring the different medications, which is possible. I imagine a smear and stain would have been needed needed for bacteria, the metronidazole was possibly for protozoa as well perhaps, more likely to treat any secondary infection or overgrowth caused by a primary parasite. I am just wondering if jumping vets is the answer. More people would benefit if you discuss the case with the original vet and get a bit more information. If the vet was at fault then they can learn from it and not make the same mistake in future, if there is another underlying problem then you are a step closer towards the diagnosis that can benefit your other animals. If you are not happy with the vets explanation and justifications for the treatment given then dont use them again but let them know what happened. If you are not sure then get a second opinion from a more experienced reptile vet, or ideally ask your vet if they could refer you to one.

In this case it is possible that Mercy aspirated the regurgitation as well. I am sorry for your loss, i know it is always difficuilt to part with a beloved pet.

[Snakesitter]

it may be an old post, but that was a great answer. Kudos.