New rescue might be in deep! *update*

[crystalryan1980]

I rescued a dragon today I think he is really bad I went to look at a dragon expecting to find a healthy dragon. Unsure of the sex I was only going to buy it if it was a female I have two males already and one of them is king of the roost and spazes every time a male enters my house no matter what if it's human dog or dragon. But once there I could not leave him there he was so small. His jaw is deformed and he has never had vitimins or a UVB light. He is 1 1/2 years old. I am buying a UVB light tomorrow. He hadn't eaten crickets in a week and hasn't pooped in about two weeks I gave him some dubias he ate about 5 smalls/medium.

Any advice?

 

[Mirthy]

Even if all he has been eating is protein, if he hasn't been eating a LOT of food, go slow on the whole proteins...don't let him gorge on crickets or dubia, etc because he just might not be used to having the proper amount of food and it might really tax his system. Offer the usual green mix of collards, mixed with mustard green or dandelion or turnip greens if you can get some. You never know? He might go for a bit of it and that would help hydrate him. A nice bath would help hydrate, too. Doesn't sound like you were expecting to have to take on a rescue. It's good of you to try and get him into shape. He's lucky to have you.
Oh, if he really seems to be suffering from MBD, you can look into liquid calcium instead of dusting. I haven't used it but there are a couple of folks who usually look at the ER section who will probably be right along and offer more advice.
Best wishes to you and all your dragons
Carrie

 

[crystalryan1980]

Thanks I gave him a few dubias and he liked them. It was 930 when we got home so I didn't feed him greens. I put some in with him but his owners said he only eats them when hand feed so in the AM I will bath and hand feed. My first baby spike had to be hand feed at first. Believe it or not the pet store wanted me to open his mouth roll the greens up and push them down his throat. That's when I started looking for good advice. And found this site as a general rule I am a fast learner and now know what I am doing however I also know the more people you ask he more you learn I really love all the advice you have here. And I learn something new everyday from this site! I spend hours somedays just reading post!

 

[Mirthy]

I consider myself a beginner, too. I read read read here but I've only worked with one adult beardie at work, ages ago and so much has changed since then. And now I've raised this one to almost adulthood...so I'm still a newbie.

I keep my eye on this section because I learn the most here. I have seen several under weight bearded dragon rescues given that advice. As much as you want to plump them up, it's better to ease into protein so their livers can adjust. Slow and stead. There are two other people in the ER section with rescues, in fact, one has a malformed mouth. look for Skip needs TLC posted by reptilegyrl and Papasmurf's thread by Shannybeard. infact, in Skip needs TLC you can see how Shanny deals with feeding Papa who has trouble eating because of his jaw, she has pictures of what she uses and it might be useful to you.
Did you name this new boy yet?
Carrie

 

[crystalryan1980]

He came with the name ergon so right now he's keeping it. But that will greatly depend on my 11 year old our second dragon we named Draco but she kept calling him darango so that is his name the 4th beardie we named hermi because he was lighting fast what better name than the god of speed but she kept calling him Hayes so guess what. My plans to rehabilitate Ergon then find him a good home. Spike our first baby is a male in his prime and head bobs every male in sight (including my step daughters boyfriend and my 150lb Rotty not to mention if he catches his own reflection) I would like another female. I am going to the expo in Manchester this weekend! And I would like one breeding cycle of babies. So we can have the experience as a family. I never new that a lizard could be so cuddly. I took him to walmart tonight (it is cold in vt) he cuddled in my jacket and never moved. I wish I could take them all shopping. They cost less than the kid.

 

[crystalryan1980]

Someone mentioned having bd.co make me a custom liquid calcium for my rescue what do I ask for? And will his jaw ever realign?

 

[PumpkinJelly]

Hi!

It's awesome that you took him in. I feel that he's in good hands with you.

First off, I'd give him a nice bath with a nice long soak in warm water. You want him to get some water into him, as he seems dehydrated. Even if he doesn't drink water through his mouth, he'll absorb it through his vent so you'll want to let him soak in a nice big dish full of warm water for at least 15 minutes.

What UVB are you buying tomorrow? Please buy the ReptiSun 10.0 Linear TUBE (not compact/coil). Start dusting his feeders with calcium. It is recommended that you order Liquid Calcium as it's much easier for beardies to absorb and process in their bodies. You can get it flavored so that your beardie will enjoy it a little. You can order some liquid calcium at www.beautifuldragons.org. PM Tracie (I believe her username is Drache613) for accurate dosing for liquid calcium for your beardie.

What are the temperatures in his tank currently? You'll want to keep this guy in the 95-100's range so that he'll stay warm and recover. He'll probably have parasites, so you'll want to get him checked out by a vet.

Keep us updated!

-PumpkinJelly.

 

[crystalryan1980]

The pet store was out of bulbs but I had a repti sun coil 2.0 from my second rescue that is on one of my males and his 10.0 is on him now. He is in bermentation not cool. I want to hold him all the time but refrain so he can stay under the heat and UVB. His temp is at least 100 closer to 105 I keep the house warm in their room so at night it is at least 85. The rest of the house suffer but at least the beardies are happy! Bath time is tomorrow AM wanted to get it in today but ran out of time. I am going to the new England reptile expo hopefully they will have bulbs and liquid calcium. Will I need any info on the dragon to get it? I will look for traci now thanks for the help. Once I saw him I could not leave without him! I just wanted to cry. Poor boy is so small for a male.

 

[PumpkinJelly]

It's very good that you're going to go the expo. Make sure you get the ReptiSun 10.0 Linear TUBE fixture. From what I know, you can buy liquid calcium without a vet prescription or anything. Even if they did ask just say you have a rescue that has terrible MBD and he needs calcium.

Get him a bath soon, though, if you haven't already. He needs to be hydrated.

How's he doing today?

 

[crystalryan1980]

Bath done. He drank the whole time he was in there. I let him soak until he was done about 20 mins.
I did get him to take a few chunks of callard greens and a chunk of blackberry. Dusted in vitimins and calcium. He hasn't touched the roaches but I left 4 smalls in a worm bowl they don't seem to be able to figure out how to get out. I have noticed he can't lift his belly off the ground and shakes really bad when he walks. I hope he gets better soon. He is a great dragon and greatly enjoys interaction.

 

[PumpkinJelly]

MBD dragons are sometimes crippled by the disease. It's because their bones soften because they're lacking calcium and their bodies robe it from their bones. There are BD's with serious MBD who live happily after they've been taken care of and given the proper calcium and UVB lighting. You need the UVB light, because without it he's not processing any of the calcium. I hope you can get ahold of the proper light. The coils don't emit enough UVB for a BD, so he's probably not gaining any calcium from the dusting. Keep dusting though, in case that little coil you have helps him process even the slightest bit of calcium.

Just as I expected, he's dehydrated. Give him 2 baths a day if you can, so that he can absorb more water through is vent and possibly even drink some more. When they drink the water by mouth themselves, that means they're severely dehydrated. Now that's not your fault, so don't get mad at yourself. Try spritzing the veggies with some water as well to get some extra water into him. Hydrated beardies are able to function properly.

The MBD is most likely causing the shaking. His legs are weak because of the disease so he probably cannot fully hold himself up. Now I don't know if he'll ever be able to walk properly again, occasionally an MBD who is given calcium/good UVB can regain some strength. Did you mention his jaw being unaligned? Like the bottom juts out further than the top lip? That will most likely never realign, which is no big deal. He may not have the most "fancy" jaw, but he's a real trooper and looks don't matter as long as he's healthy.

I'm so happy you took him in and are trying your best to help him. Please do give yourself a pat on the back and feel good about what you're doing.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Crystal,

Oh that is too bad, he is weak if he can't lift himself off of the floor & he is a little shaky. You can try some baths for him to see if he wants to swim around some. It can help with strengthening his muscles.
Is he eating anything right now?

Tracie

 

[crystalryan1980]

He ate a few chunks of greens and blackberry (only eats greens when hand feed) and one of the roaches (small nymph). I will continue to bath him I was planning on buying all of my babies mvb bulbs is that ok for him? From what I have seen mega ray and power sun are the best. Tomorrow I will put my hypo's tube on him.

 

[crystalryan1980]

Ooh and he did liven up in the bath. He likes to be held I wish I could hold him more.

 

[crystalryan1980]

We have poop! I have a 120 heat lamp on him and a rept 10. Tubular on him in the bath today he swam a little! He came off is log today and ate 3 (small) dubias! They where nicely dusted. No veggies tonight though. and again is an mvb ok to use on him? I am switch all of the.and I ordered liquid calcium!only time will tell he is still very slow mover. I took out the wood shaving he came with right now he is on just the glass but it is hard for him to get traction. I didn't put anything down because I figured it wouldn't do any good seeing how he drags his tummy on the ground.