I have just acquired a 9 year old beardie called Puff as his owner was no longer interested & the poor guy has been pushed to the side to make way for kiddies new laptops & iPhones.
So being an animal lover, I couldn’t bear the thought of him not being cared for properly. I’m completely new to reptiles, hands up, I’m not completely confident I know what I’m doing but Doctor Google has been a great tool & this forum has been fab. Puff is booked to go to a reptile vet on Monday to make sure all is well.
My initial thoughts were that he was a bit underweight. His tank was tiny & he had inadequate heat/light. Heat pad at one end & an old uvb lamp at other in a 1.5ft tank. I’m not sure how long he had been kept like this. Oh, he had a solitary branch also as habitat ? asked how much he was fed - he got a couple of crickets a week & the odd handful of pepper.
Next day I bought him a basking lamp & the correct uva/uvb and an hour long trip to collect a new Vivarium which is 4 x 2 x 2 ft!
I’ve got him calcium powder, ReptoBoost for the bath, some wax worms & crickets. His new Viv is kitted out with all sorts of cool hide outs, hammocks etc. However, he’s eaten a few crickets & worms but is not even slightly interested in any veggies. I’ve tried pepper, apple, blueberry, pineapple, salad greens, grated carrot - tried a good mixture of everything. Not interested. He’s had a couple of baths with ReptoBoost. His poo’d at least twice in the past couple of days & OMG it’s foul!! Like...I have horses, dogs, cats... and nothing has smelt like this before. Not even my nephew’s bum ever smelt this bad!! Could be normal for BDs - as I say, I’m relatively new.
I also had to clip his claws a little as they were ridiculously long. I think that’s made him a bit comfier.
He seems bright, active enough, basks quite happily, goes round licking, glass surfs a little, back to his basking spot. He’s not really eaten much yesterday or today.
I hope I’m doing all the correct things for this wee guy. I’ve become really quite fond of him. We cuddled last night & he crashed out on me. He’s currently sitting at my patio window taking in the world outside. I’ll try attach photos - could any experienced beardie owners please offer up any advice? Or do you think he looks ok?
Roughly 18.5 inches long. Top image was when he first arrived. Next image was after a couple of baths & in his new Viv after a tasty bug meal
So being an animal lover, I couldn’t bear the thought of him not being cared for properly. I’m completely new to reptiles, hands up, I’m not completely confident I know what I’m doing but Doctor Google has been a great tool & this forum has been fab. Puff is booked to go to a reptile vet on Monday to make sure all is well.
My initial thoughts were that he was a bit underweight. His tank was tiny & he had inadequate heat/light. Heat pad at one end & an old uvb lamp at other in a 1.5ft tank. I’m not sure how long he had been kept like this. Oh, he had a solitary branch also as habitat ? asked how much he was fed - he got a couple of crickets a week & the odd handful of pepper.
Next day I bought him a basking lamp & the correct uva/uvb and an hour long trip to collect a new Vivarium which is 4 x 2 x 2 ft!
I’ve got him calcium powder, ReptoBoost for the bath, some wax worms & crickets. His new Viv is kitted out with all sorts of cool hide outs, hammocks etc. However, he’s eaten a few crickets & worms but is not even slightly interested in any veggies. I’ve tried pepper, apple, blueberry, pineapple, salad greens, grated carrot - tried a good mixture of everything. Not interested. He’s had a couple of baths with ReptoBoost. His poo’d at least twice in the past couple of days & OMG it’s foul!! Like...I have horses, dogs, cats... and nothing has smelt like this before. Not even my nephew’s bum ever smelt this bad!! Could be normal for BDs - as I say, I’m relatively new.
I also had to clip his claws a little as they were ridiculously long. I think that’s made him a bit comfier.
He seems bright, active enough, basks quite happily, goes round licking, glass surfs a little, back to his basking spot. He’s not really eaten much yesterday or today.
I hope I’m doing all the correct things for this wee guy. I’ve become really quite fond of him. We cuddled last night & he crashed out on me. He’s currently sitting at my patio window taking in the world outside. I’ll try attach photos - could any experienced beardie owners please offer up any advice? Or do you think he looks ok?
Roughly 18.5 inches long. Top image was when he first arrived. Next image was after a couple of baths & in his new Viv after a tasty bug meal