Please help Faye

[Fayethedragon]

As for the two lizards, our situation at this time is we don't have the space to separate them both. We are in the process of purchasing a house and will not be getting the keys to the place till early July. They've never fought. The worst territorial trait I've seen either of them do is Faye guarding the food bowl. King is quite skittish and usually is always hiding underneath our the water matt. If anything he seems to be concerned about her. Slightly poking her with his nose, looking her straight in the eye, even piggy backing her. I'm not sure what exactly this all means. I'm no expert. We just always kept them together because that's what the owner of the reptile store at which we got her said we could do. Another one of the fatal errors he may have made with my Faye.

If I were to somehow separate the tank for the time being, how would I do that all while providing them with both the elements they require such as heat, water, food, basking, etc.?

We are purchasing a ReptiSun. Unfortunately, since we do not have any good pet stores in the little town I have, I will have to order the bulb, the thermomether and ceramic thingy online so i'm not sure when it will get here. Is there anything I can do in the meantime?

As for the ceramic thingy, I know we have a black night heat bulb. We screwed it in and tested it out. It does not give off any light whatsoever. It's actually a Zilla product.

I was up most of the night worrying and actually getting infuriated with the reptile store owner who has led me wrong since the beginning. If I had known so much of this information just a week ago, when Faye seemed to be doing ok, we could of been avoiding this conversation. Although, I'm thankfull I found this site now and thankfull for all your help, I can't help being upset with the guy.

Fatal Errors Induced by Store Owner:
- Beardies and Black Plated Dragons can be kept in the same cage because they come from the same area of the world down south and their paths cross on a regular basis. (He actually has an entire tank of plated and beardies together, crawling all over each other and stuff.)
- Do not use sand, use bark, it's better for them. (He actually sold us many 10gallon bags)
- Although beardies and plated need heat, have a bulb on and if it don't get warm enough in the tank, don't worry about it. With the Repticable under the tank emitting heat, they will get all the heat they need since they get most of their heat from their bellies. (Hence why he sold us the ReptiCable)
- If you want your beardie to be healthy, feed her one pinky a week. (Thank god I never listened to that one because that's apparently a big nono...)
- If you're beardie won't eat, just give her moist cat food every now and then. (They just love it and lapp it up)
- He's always sold us mealworms from the beggining. Never discouraged it, never told us anything. Never stopped us. Or asked how she was doing, or what kind of diet she was on.
- If it's not getting warm enough in the tank, try sealing the lid with aluminum foil. (We just realized last night that for this exact reason alone, she could be ill, because our water bowl is right on top of the repticable, which evaporates the water and it gets locked in the terrarium since the only place for it to really get out, is threw the whole in the aluminum foil we have set up for the basking light.)
- If you're beardies is sick, which she most likely is, just put polisporin eye drops in her eye or something of the equivalent. If it's safe for kids, it's safe for reptiles eyes. (Apparently, that's their cure all solution. No wonder their blue skink is still sick after months, )

Anyways. Here's the update from me getting up this morning. She's still lethargic. She hasn't moved from her water dish since last night. She's kinda half laying in it, half holding on to the edge. I managed to get some food into her yesterday by spoon feeding her some of my homemade puree. I will try to bath her again today and actually go buy some saline, not this clear eyes or visine stuff the guy said would work. If you guys have any more information or tips, please don't hesitate. I won't be able to get her in to the vet till at least tuesday since monday is a holiday. We gotta make my little one last till then. And once again, thanks for all your help.

P.S. As for the ceramic heat emitter. Does it matter what wattage, what type, if it's infrared or not. Please help narrow this down so I can give Faye and King the best care possible.

 

[zooeymama]

I think if you can separate them- it will really help. She needs special care that the other lizard apparently does not need right now. Not to mention you run the risk of getting the other one sick too. And not many people/animals when they are sick would prefer to be left alone- if she looks poorly she doesn't need the other lizard climbing on her or choosing that time to dominate her because she is weak.

During this time I would also not neglect to do some research on the other lizard and see what kind of care he requires too. Just because they come from the same area doesn't mean they need the same care requirements. And something that might be good for one lizard may not be good for the other.

She needs her basking spot around 105 degrees- without these warm temps she cannot even digest her food properly. She could easily become impacted. I would do some warm baths and gently massage her tummy to make sure nothing like that is going on- plus it keeps her hydrated. She really needs a bath several times a week for about 20 minutes at a time. I generally just do one every other day normally.

I know it will cost money and space to separate them but it really is the best thing for them. I'm so sorry she is doing so poorly. I hope the vet can give you some answers and appropriate medications to help her get well.

 

[zooeymama]

It looks like Plated Lizards need more intense basking temps and higher humidity than a Beardie. I found this link...http://www.888reptiles.co.uk/reptilecare/caresheet_platedlizard.php But I would also do a search on more Plated Lizard care to verify the accuracy of the care information. Beardies from come Australia originally...according to what I have read Plateds do not originate from there.

More links for the Plated Lizard. A lot harder to find info on btw.
http://www.anapsid.org/plated.html
http://www.petlifeforms.com/plated.htm
http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/lizard-care-sheets/327212-plated-lizard-care-sheet.html

As you can see even though the care varies from link to link a bit- you can see there are some differences in care that make it incompatible for the two to live together even if they were BFFs. <3 If you can work out some way to get them separated- I think you will do them both a huge favor to giving them peace of mind, room to move and grow and do what comes naturally to them and not exposing the other to a climate/substrate/foods/etc that may not be beneficial to both.

 

[Fayethedragon]

Thanks for the info. Right now I have no clue how I will manage to separate them but I will do my best as soon as I can. Like I said previously, the owner led me to believe so many things that are now outrageous come to think of it. I wish I would of known all of this sooner. I will do my best to take her to the vet on Tuesday. Hopefully I can get in.

She doesn't seem well. I just spoon fed her a bit more puree and she barely lapped at it. I'm doing everything I can in order to get her back to typical health. Everything that can be done now that is. I'll keep giving you all regular updates. This is now the best tool I could ever have for my poor baby. It's nice to know that there are others out there to help.

Thank you all,
Angèle

 

[kcarello]

Please remove the water dish from her tank..asap. You need to up the temps for now, at least 5 or 10 degrees. If she has URI she needs the warmer temps. Have you pm'd Drache613 yet. She will be able to help you and get you through till you can get to the vet. I, myself know the basics, but am no expert, and Tracie, (Drache613) is!! She will know things to help that I haven't thought of or am just not aware of. Please do this immediatley,,I want your girl to make it and the best chance of that is to get the most help you can.
Good luck,
Kelly

 

[zooeymama]

I look forward to your updates, Angele! <3 Fingers crossed for a helpful vet visit tomorrow!

 

[Fayethedragon]

Latest update:

King the plated lizard is starting to get restless since we took out the bark substrate and replaced it with paper towel. He doesn't seem to be liking that too much. He too is eating the puree I made for Faye. King is now mounting her more frequently than before either out of agression or concern, who knows.

Faye has been siting in the basking lamp since I bathed her, tried to spoonfeed her and flushed out her eye some more.

The care sheets for both plated and beardies show some differences in care. Until I have the proper enclosures for them both, I don't know how I will manage to separate them. I only found one care sheet so far that says beardies and plated can be together.

I don't know how wise it would be to remove the water bowl when King would also need it. I really don't know what to do with this dilemna.

As for messaging Drache613 (Tracy), I have. I'm still waiting for her to respond.

I'm really starting to get anxious now with everything that is going on. The idea of having done it all wrong. The idea of having to get a second enclosure and set of material.. It's really starting to get to me... By the time everything is said and done, I may be looking at about 500$ and more in material.

 

[kcarello]

Didn't you say you had a night light? If so you could put a piece of cardboard or anything else flat to divide the tank into two. You could have the water in the other lizards side and you could use one light fixture for one side and the other for the other side. All you have right now is the basking light? correct? You can use a household light bulb for the basking light,,do you have any light bulbs in your house, or can you get one?? Put one light on each side.... I don't think it will actually cost you as much as you think. And the alternative is,,well,,,not very good. If your girl has an upper respritory infection, you need to keep the humidity down as low as possible. I suppose its up to you which is more important.

 

[zooeymama]

Latest update:

King the plated lizard is starting to get restless since we took out the bark substrate and replaced it with paper towel. He doesn't seem to be liking that too much. He too is eating the puree I made for Faye. King is now mounting her more frequently than before either out of agression or concern, who knows.

Faye has been siting in the basking lamp since I bathed her, tried to spoonfeed her and flushed out her eye some more.

The care sheets for both plated and beardies show some differences in care. Until I have the proper enclosures for them both, I don't know how I will manage to separate them. I only found one care sheet so far that says beardies and plated can be together.

I don't know how wise it would be to remove the water bowl when King would also need it. I really don't know what to do with this dilemna.

As for messaging Drache613 (Tracy), I have. I'm still waiting for her to respond.

I'm really starting to get anxious now with everything that is going on. The idea of having done it all wrong. The idea of having to get a second enclosure and set of material.. It's really starting to get to me... By the time everything is said and done, I may be looking at about 500$ and more in material.

King doesn't like paper towel substrate because that kind of lizard likes burrowing kind of substrate. And he is laying on top of your Beardie because it's a dominance thing. Who ever can get more heat/light lays on top. It's a dominance thing. Looks like her being sick made her easier to dominate which isn't necessarily a good thing right now. She needs to be warm.

Your best temporary solution is to get a second bulb for heat and try to divide the tank in half so you can split the substrate and no water on the beardie side. <3

 

[Fayethedragon]

we only have the one lamp. I will probably have to go out and buy one because king is going crazy scratching at the glass, trying to get out and what not. At this point this is the best i can do. We have a few basking lights here. We bought like 2 of the daytime ones and 2 of the nighttime no light ones prior to all this information. I'm not worried about heating the tank. for now I just want them both to be as comfortable as possible, and clearly this arrangement isn't working. I'll let you know how things go after I buy the lamp.

 

[SpikesAgirl]

Oh boy, it sounds like you really have your hands full! I'm so sorry this is so difficult for you! So let's see what else we can do in the mean time... Keeping Faye extra warm is very important right now as the heat will help raise her body temp to help fight off infection. You said you have one light fixture, right? Raising the temps can be done with the household lightbulb. I would say a 60 watt bulb would probably get the job done in that small tank. For night heat, if all you have is the "black night bulb", use it, just cover Faye with something so the light given off doesn't disturb her sleep. A small hand towel or something like that. I thought I saw something about a heat cable mentioned. Can that be put along side of the tank where Faye sleeps for extra heat? You're right, getting a whole new setup is going to be costly! What about Craigslist? Maybe you could find a used tank cheap on there somewhere. I know you said you're getting another light fixture, just something to think about to get them seperate, more comfortable housing! I hope Faye starts to feel better soon.
Hugs,
Sue

 

[Fayethedragon]

I didn't manage to get the reptile shop to buy the second lamp because it was closed. I did however find another 30 gallon tank with all the necessary accessories and some extras for only 130$. I won't be getting it till hopefully tomorrow or sometime this week. I can try to move stuff around for the night and get her as much heat as possible. I will say though that i'm not sure the black night bulb really gives off any light but i will try covering her tonight. That brings me back to a question i had asked before about the ceramic heat emitter. Does is matter what wattage, brand, or even if it's infrared or simply white? I'm doing everything to try to rectify this solution. Any help is appreciated.

 

[DragonBus]

Hi,
Sounds like Faye needs some serious antibiotics for that infection. Baytril is often prescribed for infections like that, sometimes Cephalexin a more powerful antibiotic is used, but it tends to upset my little dragons's tummies. Keep Faye extra warm to fight infection. Give food with the meds so as not to upset her tummy. 85-105 temperatures are good. Sometimes I won't go cooler than 90 while they are fighting infection. Good luck! Give her extra love and pets, it really helps.

 

[Fayethedragon]

Thanks for the advice. Can't wait to be able to see a vet. but we are doing everything we can to keep the temperature as high as we can. right now the warm side is at 95 and the cool side at 86. she's right on a log under the basking light so I'm sure the temperature is even higher there. cross our fingers she gets better soon.

 

[DragonBus]

HI,
I use those white ceramic bulbs to heat. They are awesome!!!! If she's in a small tank use less wattage, those things are awesome but they get really hot. I use 200 watts. Brand doesn't seem to matter. They are spendy, like $30-40 bucks, but last several years. I think I use zoo med. I turn up the heat in my dwelling space to help keep my guys warm when a bulb goes out and I can't get to the pet store till the next morning, I have used heating pads and even hand warmers when the power goes out. To see if they are staying warm, I stick my fingers under their belly while they are sleeping to see if they feel warm. Sometimes covering them up shields them from the heat and actually cools them if the bottom of the tank is cool I have found. Sleep toasty!