Please Help! Rescued severely malnourished bearded dragon.

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LoveHerpz

New member
Okay, so I met this guy who wanted to get rid of his bearded dragon. He "was tired of waiting for it to die."
This is what he has told me:
- The bearded dragon is 5 years old
- He has not been fed for several months
- The last time he was fed was in February
- Before that, he was fed maybe 1-3 times a year (mealworms, crickets, not dusted)
- He was never introduced to greens

Miraculously, this beardie isn't lethargic and seems very interested in motion. The first thing i did was give him a bath where he drank everything.

I am afraid to shower him with bug as I don't know if his system could handle that. I tried to give him some greens to which he showed no interest.

Before you tell me to go to a vet, I live in the middle of nowhere, there is only 1 vet within a few hours drive, and she only does dogs/cats.

I have experience keeping beardies, but this is a new one to me. ANY help is greatly appreciated.
 

Taterbug

BD.org Addict
There are some folks in here with experience rehabbing dragkns, you might also try to get a hold of a reptile rescue willing to correspond with you on his care. If you can share a photo it will help folks know how bad off he is, based on the description he sounds like he must be in a pretty bad way. Hopefully the guy was exaggerating the extent of the neglect :(

In the mean time it will probably be best to avoid insects all together until you have him hydrated and eating and digesting small amounts of food. Processing animal protein can be taxing on a weak dragon. Once you I've to bugs it might be worth getting bsfl as they are small, soft and pretty well balanced.. Also be very careful about supplements and the food you do offer as offering too much food/nutrients at once can shock the system and throw everything out of balance making it much worse. (Refeeding syndrome) There are some therapy foods you can buy online that may make it easier to offer small amounts of balanced nutrition.

Good luck with the little guy
 

LoveHerpz

New member
Original Poster
I will try to take a photo again tonight. I was supposed to last night but my phone was dead. He honestly doesn't look that bad for the story I was given.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Wow poor dragon, indeed, how sad. :cry:
As suggested, I don't recommend any insects or protein for a little bit, at least a week or two until you can figure out how well his kidneys are functioning.
His system would not handle an influx of fat or protein & could cause renal failure. Pictures would be super if you could get them.
Try making a greens slurry, mixing in some calcium & vitamins (sparingly on vitamins) with some water or diluted fruit juice a couple of times daily right now to get his system working better.
What UVB light are you using for him?
Try to keep him around 80 over night too for helping his immune system out.

I can move the thread to the rescued thread, if you would like?

Tracie
 

LoveHerpz

New member
Original Poster
Drache613":2nqxr61o said:
Hello,

Wow poor dragon, indeed, how sad. :cry:
As suggested, I don't recommend any insects or protein for a little bit, at least a week or two until you can figure out how well his kidneys are functioning.
His system would not handle an influx of fat or protein & could cause renal failure. Pictures would be super if you could get them.
Try making a greens slurry, mixing in some calcium & vitamins (sparingly on vitamins) with some water or diluted fruit juice a couple of times daily right now to get his system working better.
What UVB light are you using for him?
Try to keep him around 80 over night too for helping his immune system out.

I can move the thread to the rescued thread, if you would like?

Tracie

Well, i tried to give him some greens with a little calcium before I read your post. After about an hour I was able to convince him it was actually food, and he now things my hand is food as well. If you could move the thread that would be great, thank you!

Here are some pics of him: http://imgur.com/a/cikTO
 

SkeptiBee

Hatchling Member
He's thin, but certainly not as thin as I was expecting from the initial post. Still, that doesn't rule out possible other problems like calcium deficiency, parasites, or organ issues. What a poor dear. I would suggest not initially going overboard with live food either; get him eating something softer first then gradually introducing live food as time and his health progresses. I would highly suggest to get a fecal into a vet to ensure there are no parasites that could also complicate matters. That substrate, if it gets wet, might be prone to harbor nastiness.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Oh what a little cutie he is! :D I am so glad you got him now.
How is he doing tonight?
He thinks your hand is food now?? LOL I don't think he will bite though. Did he take some slurry from you then?
I am moving your thread for you.

Keep us posted on him.

Tracie
 

LoveHerpz

New member
Original Poster
Drache613":26fmvx5f said:
Hello,

Oh what a little cutie he is! :D I am so glad you got him now.
How is he doing tonight?
He thinks your hand is food now?? LOL I don't think he will bite though. Did he take some slurry from you then?
I am moving your thread for you.

Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

He's doing well. I brought him out to hang with me for a bit while I worked from home and he seemed very alert but calm. He was not interested in the slurry but I chopped up the greens pretty fine and he seemed to eat that.

One thing i was worried about was how much water he drank. His belly feels like water in a ziplock bag. He drank a LOT of water. My other beardie doesn't feel like that.

How long do you think I should wait before I introduce insects? I got a few dubia nymphs and some waxworms handy.
 

Taterbug

BD.org Addict
I agree to wait at least a week or two - you can keep track of his bowel movements and the quality of his urates. Once he is hydrated and eating well introduce bugs slowly. I'd stick with the roaches or get some bsfl or silkworms. Waxworms are pretty fatty and not very nutritious aside, so probably not the best for him right now. Its great he likes the greens and will eat them himself - that will be easier on both of you.

He looks much better than I thought he would! he looks pretty skinny though.

You can probably mail in a fecal sample (there are a few labs online) since you said you don't have a vet nearby, but it might be wise to wait on treatment until you are sure he is stable, depending on the counts.
 
I had a similar instance with my dragons rescued. She wouldn't eat greens till I threw the in a chopper with melon and yellow ssquash. And Mixed supplements. In them. Then fed her pin head crickets few a day then slowly uped the numbers while watching her fecal. Now she eats all types of bugs. And loves eating anything given.
 
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