Here we go again

I brought home a guy in really bad shape tonight. He had been living in a house with no heat. His enclosure was on the floor in the dark hallway. He had no lights at all. I knew about him, he belonged to a friend of my sister. They talked of giving him away a few times, but the kids always threw a fit and they gave in. I was pretty sure he wasn't being cared for properly, but had never seen him.

The kids were rough housing and one of them put their foot through the side of his tank. Finally, they decided he needed to go, beside "The kids quit feeding him"

I was shocked at what I saw...... He was in the broken tank with a towel on the outside of the jagged broken glass, with a box in front to keep the cats out He was soooo cold. He sort of moved when I picked him up, then closed his eyes. I thought he had just died. I didn't want to make a scene so I just held him in the towel while they loaded his stuff into the van. Once in the van, he peaked his eyes open.

We came home and put him in a nice warm bath for about 30 minutes. He started to perk up a tiny bit. At one time, he did the eyes closed and dead routine. My daughter panicked but he came around again.

He ate a little baby food squash and quickly ate 4 super worms. I was so relieved that he ate. I think that is a good sign. He is very active and alert now.

I grabbed some lights for heat on the way home and he's borrowing Izzy's UVB light until I get one for him. I'll be ordering it tonight.

How is my best way to proceed with him. Do I feed him slowly or let him have at it?

Wish us luck.

Barb

Oh he is SO lucky to have you!!!!! Thank God you rescued him! How cruel that he was living in such horrible conditions! I feel that he'll eat as he wants to, so let him eat as he will. If someone else thinks otherwise, please let me know! lol :wink:

I think you should continue what you're doing... warm baths for re hydration, and the right lighting and good food and love should bring him right around!!!!

HUGS!

Sandi

Oh he is SO lucky to have you!!!!! Thank God you rescued him! How cruel that he was living in such horrible conditions! I feel that he'll eat as he wants to, so let him eat as he will. If someone else thinks otherwise, please let me know! lol :wink:

I think you should continue what you're doing... warm baths for re hydration, and the right lighting and good food and love should bring him right around!!!!

HUGS!

Sandi

Id start slowly with the food if hes not used to eating he might gobble stuff way to fast and not chew things up. His tummy might not beable to handle it. Im sure someone who has had this bad of a beardie might post with sugestions. Im so happy you got him he looks so awful And here i thought Zero was skinny :shock: Brought tears to my eyes.

Oh My God, he looks awful.....how can people mistreat animals like that? And what kind of an example are they setting for their children? He is so lucky that you decided to take him. He looks half starved, and it also looks like he has some retained shed on his face and head, or is he just dirty from being kept in such terrible conditions?

You definitely did the right thing to give him a warm bath as soon as you brought him home. It probably helped him to relax, and he's also probably terribly dehydrated from not being cared for properly. I would continue to do that twice a day for the first week or so, so that he gets rehydrated as quickly as possible. If he seems very weak, you can add a bit of Pedialyte to his bathwater, which will help to replenish his electrolytes, and should help him feel a bit stronger.

As far as feeding him is concerned, it's wonderful that he decided to eat for you. However, I wouldn't give him any more superworms for a few days. If he hasn't been eating much lately, overloading him with too much protein too quickly can have an adverse effect on his kidneys, and superworms are extremely high in protein. Also, they can be very hard to digest, especially if his digestive tract is a bit out of sorts from not eating regularly.

I would start him out on some Gerber #2 Chicken Baby Food, with some finely grated raw squash, and some sort of finely chopped greens, such as collard, turnip, or mustard greens mixed in for a day or two, and see how he does with that. If he seems to tolerate that well, and has a bowel movement for you, with no problems, then you can slowly start him on live feeders, but only a few at first, then slowly increase the amount that you give him each day. If you plan to feed him supers, that's fine, but I would start him off on them slowly, and slowly increase the amount that you give him over the next week or two, so that you don't overload his system with too much protein all at once. Also, you need to check his stools, to make sure that he isn't passing any undigested pieces of worms. If you find that he passing undigested pieces, then I would switch to another live feeder until he's a bit stronger and more mobile. Or you could cut them up in small pieces for him, until his system is better able to handle them. I know that sounds gross, but doing that will be much better than having him get an impaction because his system can't handle them.

If the brown on his head does appear to be retained shed, and not just dirt, from not being cared for properly, then you'll need to give him some help in order for him to get it off. Rubbing some warm Olive Oil on that area of his head, after you remove him from his baths, should help to soften and loosen the dead skin, so that he can get it off. Also, be sure to check his tail and his toes and legs for retained shed, as well. If you find any, then be sure to soften that up with the Olive Oil too. Leaving retained shed on him for a long period of time can cause the dead skin to constrict and cut off blood flow, which can cause an infection, so you need to soften it so he can get if off as quickly as possible. However, don't peel it off him yourself, or you may hurt him....let him do it himself. Make sure he has rocks or something rough in his tank to rub against, and it should come off on its own, in time.

If he's extremely dirty, you can try brushing him very gently while he's in his bath, with a soft bristled toothbrush, will may loosen the retained shed, as well as getting him clean. Most of them enjoy it, if you move slowly and do it very gently.

If you need any further help, just ask, and all of us will be happy to help any wqy we can. If you notice any serious medical issues with him, then I would suggest that you send a Private Message to Traci (drache613). She is very knowledgeable about medical problems in bearded dragons, and can offer you a wealth of good advice, if needed.

With good care, and lots of love, I'm sure that he'll recover in time. After what he's been through, being taken care of by someone like you will be like a miracle for him. Thank you so much for caring enough to save him!

Oh My God, he looks awful.....how can people mistreat animals like that? And what kind of an example are they setting for their children? He is so lucky that you decided to take him. He looks half starved, and it also looks like he has some retained shed on his face and head, or is he just dirty from being kept in such terrible conditions?

You definitely did the right thing to give him a warm bath as soon as you brought him home. It probably helped him to relax, and he's also probably terribly dehydrated from not being cared for properly. I would continue to do that twice a day for the first week or so, so that he gets rehydrated as quickly as possible. If he seems very weak, you can add a bit of Pedialyte to his bathwater, which will help to replenish his electrolytes, and should help him feel a bit stronger.

As far as feeding him is concerned, it's wonderful that he decided to eat for you. However, I wouldn't give him any more superworms for a few days. If he hasn't been eating much lately, overloading him with too much protein too quickly can have an adverse effect on his kidneys, and superworms are extremely high in protein. Also, they can be very hard to digest, especially if his digestive tract is a bit out of sorts from not eating regularly.

I would start him out on some Gerber #2 Chicken Baby Food, with some finely grated raw squash, and some sort of finely chopped greens, such as collard, turnip, or mustard greens mixed in for a day or two, and see how he does with that. If he seems to tolerate that well, and has a bowel movement for you, with no problems, then you can slowly start him on live feeders, but only a few at first, then slowly increase the amount that you give him each day. If you plan to feed him supers, that's fine, but I would start him off on them slowly, and slowly increase the amount that you give him over the next week or two, so that you don't overload his system with too much protein all at once. Also, you need to check his stools, to make sure that he isn't passing any undigested pieces of worms. If you find that he passing undigested pieces, then I would switch to another live feeder until he's a bit stronger and more mobile. Or you could cut them up in small pieces for him, until his system is better able to handle them. I know that sounds gross, but doing that will be much better than having him get an impaction because his system can't handle them.

If the brown on his head does appear to be retained shed, and not just dirt, from not being cared for properly, then you'll need to give him some help in order for him to get it off. Rubbing some warm Olive Oil on that area of his head, after you remove him from his baths, should help to soften and loosen the dead skin, so that he can get it off. Also, be sure to check his tail and his toes and legs for retained shed, as well. If you find any, then be sure to soften that up with the Olive Oil too. Leaving retained shed on him for a long period of time can cause the dead skin to constrict and cut off blood flow, which can cause an infection, so you need to soften it so he can get if off as quickly as possible. However, don't peel it off him yourself, or you may hurt him....let him do it himself. Make sure he has rocks or something rough in his tank to rub against, and it should come off on its own, in time.

If he's extremely dirty, you can try brushing him very gently while he's in his bath, with a soft bristled toothbrush, which will help to loosen the retained shed, as well as getting him clean. Most of them enjoy it, if you move slowly and do it very gently.

If you need any further help, just ask, and all of us will be happy to help in any way we can. If you notice any serious medical issues with him, then I would suggest that you send a Private Message to Traci (drache613). She is very knowledgeable about medical problems in bearded dragons, and can offer you a wealth of good advice, if needed.

With good care, and lots of love, I'm sure that he'll recover in time. After what he's been through, being taken care of by someone like you will be like a miracle for him. Thank you so much for caring enough to save him!

Update

I was pleased to find that James was still alive when I woke up this morning.

He had another long soak this afternoon. I added some pedialyte to the water. I was able to get some baby food down him too.

My sister is going to call his former owner and see what information she can nicely get from them -- what he likes to eat and most importantly, how often they fed him and when was the last time.

If our memory is right, he's about 3 years old, so at one time they fed him regularly. We remember he was a birthday gift for their son. If he has a favorite food, it may help on his road to recovery.

What about crickets? Should I try some or not? Frank won't eat them so I don't have any now, but I could run and get some for him.

Barb

Barb,

I'm glad to hear that he made it through the night!

Giving him some crickets couldn't hurt, but again start him out slowly, so you don't overload him with too much protein for his system to handle. I would start him out on small ones for now...not the pinhead ones, but the next size up. The very large ones have an exo-skeleton that can cause problems for him if he has trouble digesting them properly, and the legs on the larger ones are just as difficult to digest as the hard shell on the Superworms, if he isn't used to them.

If you can find out how often they were feeding him (if they were at all) and what he was usually given to eat, that would probably be very helpful in planning his diet, until he gets used to eating regularly again. You and your daughter are both much better people than I could be, to be willing to talk to them in order to help him. I would probably completely lose it while trying desperately to be civil to them!

I have absolutely no patience at all with anyone who could treat an animal like that. The only just penalty for that sort of behavior, in my opinion, would be to put them in a cage, and do the same thing to them!

One thing that you might try adding to his diet would be a few small peeled pieces of fresh apple with every meal. The fiber in them would probably do his digestive tract a world of good, and they are high in Vitamin C, which will help to boost his immune system a bit. Also, hand feeding him small pieces of apple would be a great way to earn his trust. Most of them really love the taste of fresh apples...all three of mine will do everything but stand on their heads to get them! LOL Just don't give him too many at one time, or they could give him diarrhea! You also may want to pick up some Rep-Cal Phosphorus Free Calcium Supplement for him, and some Herptivite, which is a very good multi-vitamin for him. just dust some lightly over his food once a day. His little body is probably starved for good nutrition!

Have you been able to handle him at all? Or is he very spooky from not being handled much recently? Handling him gently every day, and handfeeding him bits of things that he seems to especially like is a great way to earn his trust. I have no doubt that, in a week or two, you'll have a best friend for life! Nearly all beardies are affectionate with people, but those who have been neglected, or mistreated seem to bond really quickly with their new owners, once they learn that they're loved!

Keep up the good work, and please keep us posted on how he's doing!

THANK GOD YOU SAVED HIM!! I just can't believe anyone could treat their pet that way. It just makes me sick.

Well we got no real answers on his previous diet. "some crickets and those worms" She side stepped telling us when he ate last......

I do have to remain civil, as hard as it is. She's a good friend of my sister and it would only cause drama for her as we will see each other from time to time.

I put some calcium and vitamins on his salad this morning. I don't think he touched it at all. That is why I was wondering if crickets would be easier on him. He ate the squash from the syringe today. As long as he'll continue to do that, I won't worry as much about trying to find things he'll eat on his own.

I'll mix the vitamins and calcium in with the squash and chicken tomorrow.

The kids did handle him quite a bit at one time. From what my niece and nephew say, it sounds like they weren't always so gentle with him. Sometimes he would hiss at them when they tried to pick him up.

He has let me handle him with little resistance, not that he's strong enough to put up much of a fight anyway. I will admit that I shut his lights off and let him cool down for about 1/2 an hour or so today before I did get him out.

Later, I was doing things in his tank and he didn't seem to mind. I even moved his foot out of my way.

Speaking of his feet, well his little legs.... I've attached a couple pictures that really show how emaciated he is right now.





Barb

That's just unbelievable! I hope you can pull him through it. It looks like he's almost literally starving to death.

OMG I just want to cry when I see those pictures of his little legs.... that is SO SO SO awful.

Poor little baby

HUGS

Sandi

I'm praying he will pull through. I can only imagine that he has lived this long because he was so cold. The house has not had any heat for several weeks. They were moving the first of the month and saw no reason to refill the propane tank. Our night time temps are still dropping down to the 30's some nights. It's warming up in the 60's and 70's during the day so it did have a chance to warm up some in the house, but still not warm enough, as he had no lights at all.

Of course a large price tag doesn't give an animal more value, but I know they paid over $500 for him and his set up. You would think they would have at least wanted to 'protect' their investment or something.

So sad.....

Barb
praying he'll still be alive in the morning

It is just devastating!!!! Im praying for him too!!!!!

Thank you again for rescuing him!!!!!

HUGS!

Sandi

He's still hanging on.

He scared me this morning. He was just hanging on his log, legs dangling. I talked to him, got no response. I tapped lightly, no response. One light, nothing. Finally when the second light came on, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at me like, "What the hell do you want? Do you know what time it is??"

I mixed some salad up for him. He walked through it at some time during the morning, but I don't know if he ate anything.

I did get him to accept about a teaspoon of a squash, chicken, apple juice, vitamin and calcium powder blend.

No poop yet. I do try to massage his tummy while in the bath. He poofs himself all up and I feel like I'm going to break his ribs just by picking him up, let alone any kind of pressure of a light massage.

If no poop by tomorrow, I'll start with the oil and apple sauce combo.

I'm also going to see if we have a scale at work (Vet clinic) that I can borrow. I'd like to keep track of his progress.

Barb