I run an animal rescue, mostly dogs, and because of that I peruse the FB groups keeping an eye on people giving away/selling animals. Well, I came across someone asking for help because her neighbor was tired of taking care of a beardie and he was going to quit feeding it and let it go outside to die. I watched the thread and no one was stepping up to take the poor guy so I volunteered. I figured that I already have one at home so I pretty much know what I'm doing and I can at least get the guy to safety and then go from there.
FF a couple days and I pick him up. He's got advanced MBD and is so malnourished that I want to find the apartment that this owner lives in and beat him about the head and shoulders. He was apparently keeping him in a tank with three or four other beardies and my little guy was being picked on relentlessly. The owner was hand feeding him for a while but got tired of doing that.
Anyway, I've consulted with a local reptile rescue in my area and they were very helpful on how to feed him and get him rehydrated and everything, which I'm very thankful for. Now I'm going to check with you guys to see if any of you have any tips.
I've named him Stimpy and he's so friendly, just like my other guy, York. He was being fed some kind of meat substance, pellets, and some kind of vitamin powder that needed to be mixed with water and fed to him with a syringe when I got him. I haven't given him any of that, but for the first week gave him organic butternut squash baby food and wax worms that I cut so they oozed so when I fed them to him he could taste them and would eat. Since then I've been introducing greens (which he loves), whole wax worms that he has to hunt himself, and today I gave him some small crickets that he had to chase around. He's not very good with his aim but it makes him move which I think is good for him. He's definitely a lot more active now than when I first brought him home. And, yes, I know under normal circumstances wax worms aren't an all the time food, but I think it'll be OK if Stimpy has several or more for a while because he's so thin.
I have him in a smallish tank right now with a basking light and a Reptisun 10.0 UVB light. He's about 16" long and weighs about 160 grams. He hasn't gained any weight yet since he's been here but he looks better and his body is not as flat as it was. He's much more interested in the things that go on in the house, and we go outside and walk around for a few minutes each day so he can get some natural sunlight and he loves that. He also has his head up a lot more and in the last day or so has started glass dancing.
However, one of his front arms is permanently curled, but his back legs are good. He's got a very pronounced lump at the base of his tail, a very pronounced underbite, and he seems to be missing his teeth. I have no idea how old he is, but I do know he should weigh a lot more than he does. I don't know if the MBD is too far along to stop or reverse, but I'm hoping someone has some pointers for anything I can do to help Stimpy along and to get healthier.
As soon as I figure out how to post pictures I'll do that.
FF a couple days and I pick him up. He's got advanced MBD and is so malnourished that I want to find the apartment that this owner lives in and beat him about the head and shoulders. He was apparently keeping him in a tank with three or four other beardies and my little guy was being picked on relentlessly. The owner was hand feeding him for a while but got tired of doing that.
Anyway, I've consulted with a local reptile rescue in my area and they were very helpful on how to feed him and get him rehydrated and everything, which I'm very thankful for. Now I'm going to check with you guys to see if any of you have any tips.
I've named him Stimpy and he's so friendly, just like my other guy, York. He was being fed some kind of meat substance, pellets, and some kind of vitamin powder that needed to be mixed with water and fed to him with a syringe when I got him. I haven't given him any of that, but for the first week gave him organic butternut squash baby food and wax worms that I cut so they oozed so when I fed them to him he could taste them and would eat. Since then I've been introducing greens (which he loves), whole wax worms that he has to hunt himself, and today I gave him some small crickets that he had to chase around. He's not very good with his aim but it makes him move which I think is good for him. He's definitely a lot more active now than when I first brought him home. And, yes, I know under normal circumstances wax worms aren't an all the time food, but I think it'll be OK if Stimpy has several or more for a while because he's so thin.
I have him in a smallish tank right now with a basking light and a Reptisun 10.0 UVB light. He's about 16" long and weighs about 160 grams. He hasn't gained any weight yet since he's been here but he looks better and his body is not as flat as it was. He's much more interested in the things that go on in the house, and we go outside and walk around for a few minutes each day so he can get some natural sunlight and he loves that. He also has his head up a lot more and in the last day or so has started glass dancing.
However, one of his front arms is permanently curled, but his back legs are good. He's got a very pronounced lump at the base of his tail, a very pronounced underbite, and he seems to be missing his teeth. I have no idea how old he is, but I do know he should weigh a lot more than he does. I don't know if the MBD is too far along to stop or reverse, but I'm hoping someone has some pointers for anything I can do to help Stimpy along and to get healthier.
As soon as I figure out how to post pictures I'll do that.