Double Checking I Have Everything, Please Read

I had a baby beardie for four weeks, he was not much an eater to begin with but over time he slowly stopped eating and became lethargic. He was seen by an exotic vet specialist three different times; the first time was not for any issue just to establish a baseline in case of any future issues. When Dragon stopped eating I took him back to the vet and she sent me home with a critical care diet and asked me to try to collect a fecal sample. Dragon would not eat even when I added butternut squash, it was time to force feed as went over a week without any food. Force feeding was stressful for us both and he still barely received nutrition as he would spit the food out or just let it sit in his mouth. On Sept. 14th he ate his food with me dropping it on his nose and drank his bath water, I was quite happy with this. I awoke the next day and he was still as a statue, I tried feeding and he ate only a couple drops and did not have any water. By Friday night he was back to not eating anything, he laid on my chest with a soft blanket and I thought he died, but he began blinking when a kept poking at him, I assumed he was sleepy since it was so late. I kept an eye on him throughout the night and the next morning I knew he needed to go back to see the vet; she gave him three tube feedings with medication and could collect a fecal sample (he had diarrhea for the past two days), tests came back clean. She instructed me to force feed (if necessary), bath often and to bring him back first thing Monday morning for more tube feedings and medication. So now it is Saturday night and he lost any vibrancy he had after the vet, I knew he was worse and going to die, he passed mid-morning Sunday. It was difficult to experience, I tried an extra warm bathe rubbing his belly and tail, I knew he was gone, but did not want to except the fact. I called the vet and was instructed to keep his body in a cool dark place and take him back to PetSmart. I placed a towel in a carrier and covered him and took him back a few hours later, they let me choose another beardie and took my baby for cremation.

So, there is my background story, I am nervous to lose another baby and I want to double check everything since I do not know what cause Dragon’s death (I suspect failure to thrive and/or a neurological complication, possibly from birth). Below is the list of details about his environment, feeding, bathing etc.:

• 40-gallon glass tank with screen top
• Paper towels for substrate, I also have carpet, but paper towels are easier to keep up
• I have two heat sources, one 100W basking bulb for colder days and a 75W bulb for warmer days, lately I have been using both one at each. The 75W bulb I have on a timer so it is on for half hour and off for half hour so it keeps the cool side in the low 80’s. The basking side is 105-111, I am working on keeping it between 105 and 110, but I have not figured out how yet, 75W is not enough and 100W is too much, I am looking for an in between wattage. I am also planning to order a heat source for under tank during our cold season, I currently am tight on money.
• I use a digital with probe placed right beneath his basking spot and another on the cool side. I am considering getting the gun as I read they are most accurate.
• As far as his humidity levels I think I broke the gauge, it usually ran between 20-30 daytime and up to 50 at night. I will replace soon, Montana is not a humid state so I am not too concerned, these readings before were with standing water and misting in the tank.
• I have a ReptiSun T8 10.0 tube mounted inside his home. I use tin foil for a reflector (again money is tight, but I do plan on getting a reflector hood).
• I have his lights set to turn on at 5:30 AM and off at 9:30 PM, I do not use any source of light throughout the night. I too do not like light while sleeping and he is kept in my room.
• I feed him quarter inch dubia roaches and he will always have access to salad mixes that will vary. Right now, I use bok choy and carrots and plan on adding a small amount of strawberries (or some other treat) once on the weekend. I also have dairy-free soy yogurt to help with digestion, I am nervous as I read most babies have parasites. I do have some crickets, but they have a slight smell and are a pain (I am a fear of ALL bugs/spiders, yes, even butterflies and lady bugs) I do not use any sort of fortified or freeze-dried food, it is either alive or a fresh fruit/vegetable.
• I dust the roaches with Fluker’s calcium with vit D3, I also sprinkle some on his salad, I do this daily. I feed the roaches the same salad mixes as described above without the yogurt.
• I will bathe him every other day to ensure he stays clean and hydrated, but I cannot know he will take well as I have only had him 2 hrs. On Non-bath days, I mist him
• He has a hollow log to hid in, a fake rock to climb and a fake branch for basking/climbing.
• He is very curious and not too skittish around me so I let him loose in the bath room (supervised of course) and plan on sitting in the tub with him for bonding time.

Please let me know if I am doing anything wrong or unwise, I do not think I can bare another loss. I will make any suggested changes and will research as much as I can. I am going to post pictures of his tank and of him. Oh yes, I cleaned everything in and out of the tank just in case Dragon had something contagious. I used dawn dish soap and water too hot to touch, I let everything soak and I scrubbed every surface over and over again then let running water over everything for several minutes. Please let me know what cleaners a appropriate and safe.

He ate about 20 roaches yesterday, some vegetables plus the crickets PetSmart gave in the morning. Today he is refusing to eat, I have offered twice already and will try a couple more times, I tried giving him the roaches both inside the tank and in a separate, smaller place, nothing. Naturally this makes me nervous, if I didn’t have the aforementioned experience I would chalk it up to a new environment, but I am scared. I already love my new guy… or girl, still unknown. Please, please help, I do not want ANYTHING to happen, I do not care if I am being over protective, I even took today off from work!!!


Just to show how I have the UVB tube and tin foil


He is fearless, he was climbing in my hair then moved to the shower curtain, I was prepared to catch him, but did not want to stop him from investigating.

He often sits like this on his branch. He is plumper than Dragon which is a big reason as to why I chose him, plus he has spunk.

So sorry to hear of your Beardie passing. The setup looks good. Do you have a digital probe thermometer ? Those little stick on ones can be off as much as 20 degrees. I'm glad you took the other one back. Four weeks and have taken him to the vet a lot. When the are little, the tank looks so big. He will grow into that fast. Make sure you get a lot of baby pictures.

I'm sorry about your first baby, he most likely had an underlying infection or undiagnosed parasite, or a disease such as Adenovirus, or the vet and all that was involved stressed him to death, that's not uncommon. Just remember that the first 2 weeks is the time for relocation stress, and if he doesn't eat much or is a bit lethargic or skittish it's completely normal, and he just needs time in his new home to adjust, not a vet trip that is stressful, or tube feedings, or medication. And the best advice I can give you is there is absolutely no need for so many baths. They only get hydration when they actively drink fluids through their mouths, they get no hydration through their vents or skin. Bearded dragons in the wild do not spend any time at all in water, they get all of their hydration from live insects and vegetation, and your beardie will get all the hydration he needs if you're feeding him a healthy diet of at least 2 10-15 minute long feeding sessions per day where he gets to eat as many live bugs as he wants (3 a day is best up until 6-8 months old, then cut back to 2 sessions per day), you put a fresh salad of healthy greens in his tank every day (he may or may not eat greens until he's more towards a year old or older, if he does it's a bonus, if not don't worry, but keep offering every single day do he gets to liking them), and if you offer him water dripped on his snout by either misting him once or twice a day or dripping water on his snout with an eyedropper once or twice a day, and just drip water on his snout until he stops luckily g it off. That's it. Otherwise, the only time he needs a bath is if he gets dirty from his poop or something else like being outside, or if he becomes impacted. Most beardies hate baths, they swim frantically to try to get out, and every other day is far too often. If he seems to like his bath, meaning he doesn't frantically swim around the edge trying to get out, but rather sits and relaxed in it, then once a week or so is plenty, but chances are he won't like it much, and unless he's drinking the bath water it serves no purpose but to stress him out. You're better off dripping water on his snout inside the comfort of his tank where he feels comfortable. But again, entry of live insects that are gut-loaded with greens just before he eats them will keep him plenty hydrated.

BSFL/Phoenix Worms/Reptiworms/Calciworms are a great live beardie feeder, lots of protein, highest amount of Calcium of any feeder (you still need to dust them 5 times a week in Calcium and 3 times a week in multivitamin powders until he's a year old, no matter what feeder you use), and they contain tons of hydration as well. And they're easier to deal with, as I have an innate fear of insects too, but the BSFL I have no problem with. I order 1,000 size large (even a baby can eat size large BSFL because they're soft, and you'll go through much less than small or pin head crickets or roaches, yuck) a month for between $15-$25 from http://www.dubiaroaches.com and http://www.symtonbsf.com. The first site is cheaper and very consistent. Feed the darkest ones first, they contain the most Calcium and are closest to turning. They will keep for about a month if you have a cool place to keep them, I keep mine in a 10 gallon aquarium in my basement, then I'll go down and take the number I need upstairs, run them under warm water to wake them up, and they love them. My 4+ month old eats between 15-20 in the morning, 15-20 in the afternoon, and 10 or so in the evening, so 1,000 a month is perfect for one beardie. I throw the same greens I feed my beardies in the tank with the BSFL, and they grow pretty quickly. They love collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens, escarole, chard, endive, bok choy, and a little butternut squash and green beans.

Sorry you did say you have a digital probe. Hers a good list of veggies to try.
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

I ordered some BSFL, I just ordered 500 dubia's the same site yesterday; if my guy begins to eat like he did yesterday, then the 500 Dubia's and 100 BSFL will not even last 30 days! I will trial different foods from what has been suggested above and see what feeders he likes best. I bathed my late baby because he drank and seemed to like water, I will give it time and see what my new baby likes.

It is so hard to leave him be, I just want to hold him, but I will let him be as much as possible for the next week or two...

I would like to point out that you mentioned you are giving calcium every day. I would give calcium five days a week and vitamins the other two days. Did you also get him vitamins? I would be nervous too I have had a previous beardie die and was paranoid for a long time with the new one. Since then I had got two more and still a little paranoid lol. I want to provide you with a list of resources for supplies, feeders and information you might find helpful. Some of them also carry fixtures.

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/
http://bug-de-lite.com/
http://www.beardeddragon.co/
http://www.reptilebasics.com/
http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/
http://www.rainbowmealworms.net/
https://store.kfcfeeders.com/
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Symton-Feeding- ... 2960764685
https://oregonsilkworms.com/oregon-silkworm-shop/
http://www.mulberryfarms.com/
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/?ref=4136 ... _-B-_-4136
http://www.petmountain.com/

You can use a plastic eye dropper to give him water. Mystic hates baths, so I got treat him like baby. He's almost 3 years old.

Hi there, he seems to be pretty healthy. It's true that he probably has relocation stress but one more thing is that it's possible that he just ate a lot more than he's used. to. Coming from a pet store they may only get fed once a day so now he got to pig out. Just take it easy at first, not too many bugs for the first week because he simply is not used to it. Whatever veggies you use should be grated [ I mean tough veg. like carrot, peppers, etc ] and the leaves should be shredded on the small side but that's not usually a problem.

See how he does tomorrow, if he still won't eat he may need a bit of natural laxative like baby food squash, sweet potato or prunes [ any or all o those ] A drop of olive oil can be added if you have some.
Hopefully everything will go smoothly with this little guy, he looks pretty alert in his pics.

Oh, I forgot....lights need only be on for 14 hours a day, not 16. From 7:00-9:00 is perfect, no need for anything longer than that. BTW, can you post pics of the size of the roaches next to a dime ?

I will post pictures of the roaches when I get home from work, I believe some of them a grown too big for him since I had them before I got my new guy. The ones that I feel are too big I just leave aside, perhaps if he grows he will be able to eat them before long. He has not eaten since Sunday, I know this isn't unusual, but I cannot help but be afraid, I still have some of the critical care food and he ate a little bit of that without hesitation.

Due to my work schedule I need him up before six so he can warm up enough to eat, I have the same issue again in the evening I don't want him to eat right before bed, so that way he has a couple hours to digest. I try to come home during work to feed him, this is not always possible though. Is 16 hours too much? If it is I could wake him up later, because his home will warm up as the day goes on, Is this The wrong way to think?

How long is it from the time the lights go on until you feed him ? A half hour is plenty if your house temps. are above 70 and his tank warms quickly. Feeding him twice a day would be fine, too. If you shorten it by a half hour off in the a.m as well as the night, 15 hours is doable, 16 is overkill.

Thank you, I have been giving him 2 hours before breakfast and two hours after super. I will shorten his walk up time and set his timer to turn lights on at 0630 and off at 9:00 PM that will make it 14.5 hrs on and 9.5 hrs off.

He ate today! He had 11 roaches when I came home during work and about 7 more just now, I am soooo relieved I could cry lol! I was able to get some pictures of the dubia roaches but they were frightened and ran amuck; nevertheless I got what I could. I found feeding him in a different place other than his home is best, he is far too curious (and yet lazy with hunting) to eat in his tank. Perhaps your ideas are correct, he must have ate so much the first day because he could. he noticeably let me know when he was finished.

He does not appear to like water so I will only bathe if he is messy or if it has been awhile. He does drink when I use a syringe, lol he will actually go for it before I am ready.

He is fearless, he freely walks up my arm and sits on my shoulder, he jumped off of me today, luckily I was watching and could see his planning, I put my other arm out so he could land on the back of my hand.

That's great, he's just getting used to everything and sounds like he's settling right in. The roaches are a good size, those won't be a problem at all.