I am sorry about what is happening. I read this thread and had to chime in as i went through something similar with 2 dragons, both babies.
Same symptoms, both going from just fine to death within 12-20 hours. Mouth open, gasping for air etc. Poor things and very frustrating feeling since you just don't know what to do.
The first one was basically a case of URI due to my fault of hydrating him too much since that's what people say you have to do :roll: Nope. They will inhale water or it will get in their ears and eventually end up trapped inside their bodies and few days later they will likely perish. As such at this point i have to say to never soak babies/young juvies unless you really know what you are doing, which as a new owner, you wouldn't know - just like i didnt. You can read all about it but chances are you will mess it up and get water in their system where it isn't supposed to be.
The 2nd one passed out due to dehydration (irony). Many people say babies need high temps to digest but you will just bake them with anything above say 95D basking (in my experience and im no expert on that so take it for what it is). It was not unusual for the humidity to drop to low 20% once the lights came on due to the already low humidity in the house. Dragon had a water dish so i figure it would do its thing. Wrong again. They are in fact quite stupid, especially when young. They will likely not drink still water or even notice it even if it is in front of their noses. The more they eat the faster they will dehydrate. About 2 weeks in my care, dragon 2 had breakfast one typical day, and by midday he was flat on the bottom of the tank breathing heavy. By the end of the day his tail was sunken in and so were the eyeballs. He didn't make it past the night. Back then i didn't know the signs to dehydration so i figured feeding him was what was needed - but i was making it all worse. (as for the signs - closing eyes, lethargic and end of the tail turning dark, base of tail shrinking, collarbone/pelvis exposed. wrinkled skin is the last stage imo and by then its too late to recover)
You have to teach them to drink, and when young they still might refuse to do so - so feed them moist items and not that many so their system doesn't send all their water in their gut to digest the food. Back to the water, if you are lucky bring him to the water dish and stir the water with your finger - that will get his attention and he should start drinking. If that doesn't work, stir water and flick some on him and around him. That usually gets him to chase the water and drink it. You do this a few times until he figures it out. Remember the younger they are the less they will care for the water. Also dragons are reactive not proactive creatures. They will not drink until basically dehydrated pretty bad. If they are thirsty they will just chill and brush it off. Once they get to critical then they will seek water out, assuming you've taught them or get their attention. A waterfall is a great reminder since the water is always moving. Misting and running droplets on the glass are also good attention getters.
Because of these intricates i've figured that the older the dragon the easier they are to deal with since they have likely figured out how to stay alive by now. After my 2 early failures i gave it another go with an older one (5 months old or so) and it went much better. Easier to get him to drink and he didnt shrink and dehydrate within the hour like hatchlings do. Then i got another one and both have been doing great for a long time now. Picked a 3rd one, adult, recently as well - awesome leatherback. A lot of breeders like to push babies because it maximizes their profits and clears space for new clutches and perhaps because a lot of people like to see their pets grow. However unless you know what you are doing, you will probably perish at least your first baby. They are more fiddly to raise than many say. So get older ones, perhaps even sub adults. The species is friendly and docile enough so you do not have to start them off young in order to get them used to you!
Good luck!
Same symptoms, both going from just fine to death within 12-20 hours. Mouth open, gasping for air etc. Poor things and very frustrating feeling since you just don't know what to do.
The first one was basically a case of URI due to my fault of hydrating him too much since that's what people say you have to do :roll: Nope. They will inhale water or it will get in their ears and eventually end up trapped inside their bodies and few days later they will likely perish. As such at this point i have to say to never soak babies/young juvies unless you really know what you are doing, which as a new owner, you wouldn't know - just like i didnt. You can read all about it but chances are you will mess it up and get water in their system where it isn't supposed to be.
The 2nd one passed out due to dehydration (irony). Many people say babies need high temps to digest but you will just bake them with anything above say 95D basking (in my experience and im no expert on that so take it for what it is). It was not unusual for the humidity to drop to low 20% once the lights came on due to the already low humidity in the house. Dragon had a water dish so i figure it would do its thing. Wrong again. They are in fact quite stupid, especially when young. They will likely not drink still water or even notice it even if it is in front of their noses. The more they eat the faster they will dehydrate. About 2 weeks in my care, dragon 2 had breakfast one typical day, and by midday he was flat on the bottom of the tank breathing heavy. By the end of the day his tail was sunken in and so were the eyeballs. He didn't make it past the night. Back then i didn't know the signs to dehydration so i figured feeding him was what was needed - but i was making it all worse. (as for the signs - closing eyes, lethargic and end of the tail turning dark, base of tail shrinking, collarbone/pelvis exposed. wrinkled skin is the last stage imo and by then its too late to recover)
You have to teach them to drink, and when young they still might refuse to do so - so feed them moist items and not that many so their system doesn't send all their water in their gut to digest the food. Back to the water, if you are lucky bring him to the water dish and stir the water with your finger - that will get his attention and he should start drinking. If that doesn't work, stir water and flick some on him and around him. That usually gets him to chase the water and drink it. You do this a few times until he figures it out. Remember the younger they are the less they will care for the water. Also dragons are reactive not proactive creatures. They will not drink until basically dehydrated pretty bad. If they are thirsty they will just chill and brush it off. Once they get to critical then they will seek water out, assuming you've taught them or get their attention. A waterfall is a great reminder since the water is always moving. Misting and running droplets on the glass are also good attention getters.
Because of these intricates i've figured that the older the dragon the easier they are to deal with since they have likely figured out how to stay alive by now. After my 2 early failures i gave it another go with an older one (5 months old or so) and it went much better. Easier to get him to drink and he didnt shrink and dehydrate within the hour like hatchlings do. Then i got another one and both have been doing great for a long time now. Picked a 3rd one, adult, recently as well - awesome leatherback. A lot of breeders like to push babies because it maximizes their profits and clears space for new clutches and perhaps because a lot of people like to see their pets grow. However unless you know what you are doing, you will probably perish at least your first baby. They are more fiddly to raise than many say. So get older ones, perhaps even sub adults. The species is friendly and docile enough so you do not have to start them off young in order to get them used to you!
Good luck!
