New rescue beardie Sif

Hey everyone! I've used these forums a ton in my research into taking proper care of my new beardie. She is a rescue, I'm not even sure how old. Essentially an older couple went to the hospital for health issues and never had anyone take care of their animals so she was extremely underweight and lethargic. She is putting on weight, eating more, pooping regularly and seems happy with more energy but I just want to make sure she looks okay as I'm a novice. She appears to be shedding, and while the top of her head is turning a bright orange, her back is getting dark lines appearing across it. Nothing that appears too alarming but again, a novice. I'm also having a bit of trouble with temps, the heat tape causes the floor on either side of the tank to reach 100-120 and the taller basking rock which is now under the UVB was reaching 140+ when under the lamp. I've included some pictures and would love any advice! Glad to be a part of this little community xD

Good for you for taking this little one on. I hope you can get her on track.

What do you mean by heat tape? Isn't that a basking lamp up top?

People will want to know what exact lighting / bulbs you have and then they can give you advice on that. I don't have enough knowledge to help you there, but 140 is dangerous hot. :shock:

What are you feeding her?

I do have a basking lamp on top 74watt, and I only use the heat tape below at night when needed now due to the temp issues. I knew 140 was crazy high so I changed the basking rock to the shorter ones she is laying on in the pictures and the other hide/rock no longer gets as hot. The new basking rocks aren't holding heat as well and hover between 90-105 which isn't terrible but could be better. I also have a 28" T8 UVB bulb up top. It's the newest addition to the tank and I've only had it for a few days now. It is above the mesh which I know takes away some UVB but I figured the size and distance from her she should be okay.
I'm feeding her roaches and superworms, because she was so poorly fed when I got her I don't really have her on any type of schedule. I usually put some roaches or worms in there, she eats for 5-10 minutes and doesn't usually finish so she will have food crawling around for a couple days as she slowly eats the rest. I put some veggies in every couple days as well and she will eat them here and there.

Hi there, it's really nice that you took this poor girl in. You can see that she was never fed properly, no muscle mass to her skinny little legs. She may also be dehydrated so you can offer oral hydration by dripping water on her snout to give her a chance to drink. Drip, stop, repeat....some dragons will drink quite a bit this way. BTW, what exact type of uvb bulb do you have ?

One thing to be careful of, take all loose bugs out at night. They will swarm over her at night + may bite her, plus they can eat the poo in the tank and of course you wouldn't want that. Check under everything + remove the bugs after you feed her. It looks like she may have a slight sore spot [ nothing bad ] on the back of her neck. You can put a bit of neosporin or raw honey on it [ raw honey is a natural antimicrobial ] Just be SURE to take loose bugs out, they would be attracted to the wound , esp. if you have honey on it.

AHBD":37zh50h7 said:

Hi there, it's really nice that you took this poor girl in. You can see that she was never fed properly, no muscle mass to her skinny little legs. She may also be dehydrated so you can offer oral hydration by dripping water on her snout to give her a chance to drink. Drip, stop, repeat....some dragons will drink quite a bit this way. BTW, what exact type of uvb bulb do you have ?

One thing to be careful of, take all loose bugs out at night. They will swarm over her at night + may bite her, plus they can eat the poo in the tank and of course you wouldn't want that. Check under everything + remove the bugs after you feed her. It looks like she may have a slight sore spot [ nothing bad ] on the back of her neck. You can put a bit of neosporin or raw honey on it [ raw honey is a natural antimicrobial ] Just be SURE to take loose bugs out, they would be attracted to the wound , esp. if you have honey on it.

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If that is a wound and not part of a shed then it appears to be getting bigger and, well, shedding at the edges. some white underneath but mostly orange. I will remember not to keep bugs in the tank with her, thank you. I have a Zilla 28(26?)" T8 UVB 10.0 bulb 15 watt I believe. I replace her water often and she likes to swim around in it and drinks often. I spray her with warm water sometimes and she will drink the drops off her nose. I can try to get a better picture of the back of her neck but it's from another larger male beardie that she was kept with for a short time before I took her in.

Some of the Zilla light fixtures actually have a clear plastic shield over the light, be sure to take it off if yours has this.

The little wound should heal just fine, that does look like the type of bite a male would inflict as they hold a female in position to mate. I've had females that were bred + that's right where the male grabs them, anywhere along the ride of the neck. Just treat it as I mentioned, it will heal more quickly. It's nothing serious at all, any small wound always sheds differently.

AHBD":1r5e26xk said:

Some of the Zilla light fixtures actually have a clear plastic shield over the light, be sure to take it off if yours has this.

The little wound should heal just fine, that does look like the type of bite a male would inflict as they hold a female in position to mate. I've had females that were bred + that's right where the male grabs them, anywhere along the ride of the neck. Just treat it as I mentioned, it will heal more quickly. It's nothing serious at all, any small wound always sheds differently.

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Great thanks very much for the info! I double checked and there is no plastic. I had to replace the ballast in the light anyway so I was pretty sure I took care of that. I will treat the wound as needed too, thanks!

You're welcome. It sounds like she has a good home.

With a water dish sometimes it can get dirty quickly so you might want to just put it in for an hour or so a day + take it out after.