found a sick beardie, neep help

I recently found a bearded outside my apartment, someone let it go about 2 weeks ago. he is doing ok, he eats mealwoms every few days, sometimes i have to syringe feed him but he ate a inky the first day on his own. He doesnt move alot, and at the abandoned apt. they had a uvb bulb on his cage so i dont think he has MBD from improper lighting but he has a bump on his right shoulder under his neck, im not sure if he is injured or has MBD or what. please help

Hi,

Can you give us some info on the set up you have for him?
How long is he?
What type of uvb? coil, compact, tube, which name brand & % is it?
What is the size of your enclosure?
What do you use for substrate? playsand, calci sand, repti sand, repti carpet or tile?
What do you feed him & how often?
Do you use calcium and vitamins?
What are the temps and how do you measure them?
Are you bathing him, if so, how often?

If you could please answer these questions, it will help the more experienced help you as all of these questions that I've posted are very important.....plus I'm sure I've missed a few too.

Please answer the questions so you can get him the help he needs so he's healthy......Thanks!! :wink:

right now he is in a 30 gallon tank until i build a bigger one and he has a 8.0 uvb tube repti sun. He is around 10 to 12 inches it is a male, he has a water dish he can drink from, and he is on ssoft towels until he gets better. He does not move except maybe once a day and i give him baths every other day at least. i take him outside to get sun exposure for 15 to 30 minutes every other day. He seems to walk around outside but doesnt wan to inside. I feed him a pinky the first day, 13 mealworms the next, he didnt eat for 3 days so i fed him a little bit of repti minerals with squished vmealworms through a syringe. he did not eat the next day, but the day after he ate 4 mealworms lightly dusted. two days later he ate 4 more. he will not chase crickets and will not eat a salad with different veggies in it. The vitamins i give him are flukers with beta carotene with the monitor on the front. I also use another vitamin or calcium im not sure which i will post it later, is there away i can post a picture? My temps are around 80 on one side with a heat lamp and 70 -75 on the other i have zoo med temperature stickys. This morning i took him outside and ran the hose over him he loved it and drank out of my hand, then he pooped but it was really big. usually they are alot smaller, he has only pooped 2 times in the 2 weeks i have had him and the last one was much smaller. I use to have a bearded dragon about 5 years ago but my step mom has him now. He was never sick so im not sure how to really take care of him with out paying the 60 dollars the vet wants.

Hi,

If your dragon is only 10-12", then he is just a juvie, not quite an adult yet. Please don't feed him the mealworms. I'm pretty sure that they have a hard chitin shell making it hard for them to digest, maybe thats why he has only gone to the bathroom twice in the last two weeks. Superworms may be a better choice, but becareful with the size of them. No bigger than the space between his eyes. A better choice of worms are phoenix worms, horn worms and there are many others out there...I just don't know the names of them. I think that you have the round dial type therm, is that right? If so, can you go to Walmart (if you have one) and buy the Accurite digital therm w/ probe in the lighting section. Lay the probe on the basking spot for 45 minutes, that will be your baking temp. You could also make a slurry for him....get some stage 2 chicken babyfood and some butternut squash, mix that up and give that to him in a plastic syringe. Put some on the tip of his nose and hopefully he'll lick it off. When you bathe him, make sure the water is luke warm, just like you would a baby, fill the sink or tub just up to his arm pits and make sure his vent is right down in the water...at least 10 minutes, probably even everyday untill his bowels start to move normally again.....those mealies may have him impacted even though he did have a big one today......you could also get him some sugar free apple sauce.....give him a little bit of that....

The weekens around here are a little slow but some one will come along soon....
You could also pm Drache613(Tracie), Vickson420(Vickie) or Diamc(Diane)...they are some of the few that have helped me alot over the past 6 months...they are very knowledgeable.

Hang in there and I hope he starts feeling well soon :wink:

I definitely wouldnt feed him pinkys - they are quite fatty and quite difficult for them to digest. If he wont eat crickets - try to order some butterworms, hornworms or phoenix worms for him to eat as they are much more nutricious - I would go with the butterworms if you think he needs a little extra weight. There is a good chance that the pinky has caused an impaction - esp if he is only 12 inches long and the temps are not spot on!!! Give him a bath in luke warm water for around 20 mins - and massage his tummy down the right hand side from shoulder to vent.

When a pinky is fed (although not advised) they dont need live food for a number of days afterwards so this could be why he is not too interested in food. I would stay away from the pinky's altogether and lay off the mealworms at least while he is feeling under the weather as they too can be difficult to digest.

With regards to the temps your basking spot needs to be 100-110 and your cool side could also be upped a few degrees - you will need to get a digital thermometor with probe to ensure that the basking spot (exactly where he lies) is hitting the correct temperature (I think they are available from walmart) or you could get an infra-red temp gun. If the temps are not correct then he could be having trouble digesting which could be why he is not pooping regularly so you def need to check that out.

Hopefully someone else will see this soon and clear up anything I have missed.

Hope he starts to feel better soon!

T

Thank you so much for your help and i will definatly contact them,

Hello Mercedes,
I sent you a PM. Feel free to answer my questions via PM or on here, or both whichever is easiest. There are several concerns with your husbandry that I did address.
How is he doing this evening?


Tracie

Hi and welcome to the forum. That's great that you're trying to help this sick beardie. Glad to hear that you're been keeping him well hydrated. I also would suggest you not feed the mealworms because due to their chitin shell, it makes it hard for them to digest especially since young beardies have a kink in their digestive tract. Pinkies are also hard for them to digest. Better choices would be crickets (no larger than the space between his eyes), hornworms, silkworms, phoenix worms, butterworms or roaches like dubias. He's really not big enough for supers yet as they can be hard to digest unless your beardie is closer to 16" long. I would go easy on the protein right now since he had such a poor diet previously. Here's a site that shows the best greens to feed: http://www.beautifuldragons.503xtreme.com/Nutrition.html

You really should invest in either a temperature gun or a digital thermometer with a probe end right away. If the temps aren't accurate, they won't do well & it will affect their appetite, pooping, activity & overall health.

If you have an 8.0 bulb, it must be a Repti-Glo rather than a Repti-Sun. It is a strip fluorescent bulb, rather than a coil/compact bulb, right? How far away from the UVB is your beardie? Is the bulb new?

As suggested, continue to bathe him regularly & at least once a day. Would also be a good idea to feed him babyfood slurry of squash, applesauce, garden veggies and chicken. Only put a small amt of chicken with a larger amt of squash or veggies as you don't want to tax his system with too much protein. You could also use some diluted pedialyte and a plastic syringe to drop on his nose for him to lick off.

Please keep us updated & thanks for helping out this little guy.

Got your PM and responded.Feel free to respond there or maybe better here with those pics so we can all put our 2 cents in.

Hello Mercedes,

Pictures would be helpful, definitely. Thanks.
Keep us posted on him. We are all pulling for him.


Tracie

Could you give us an update when you get a chance? Hope everything is ok.

He is still the same as of now, i bought him some baby food and fed him with a syringe, i stoped on the calcium so much and the reptiglo bulb is around 9-11 inches away from him, he also moves to where he is right under it most of the time and he is still drinking water, i am currently finding the right worms near by at the local pet store and i am getting a better temperature gauge tomorrow. i will keep you guys posted, thank you so much.

benzychik":94c42 said:

He is still the same as of now, i bought him some baby food and fed him with a syringe, i stoped on the calcium so much and the reptiglo bulb is around 9-11 inches away from him, he also moves to where he is right under it most of the time and he is still drinking water, i am currently finding the right worms near by at the local pet store and i am getting a better temperature gauge tomorrow. i will keep you guys posted, thank you so much.

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Mercedes
Have you given him a bath yet?Also you will need to get him a bit closer to that uvb.He needs to be within 6-8 inches of the bulb in order to get proper uvb absorption.Glad to hear you are getting the new therms.

Hi...Sorry your dragon isn't doing well. You can get the digital thermometer with a probe on the end of a wire at Walmart...AccuRite...for $12. In our store it is on the right back by the ladders. You will leave the probe on his basking spot 45 minutes to get the correct temp...100-110 on the basking side & 75-80 on the cool side.
Do you have his basking/heat bulb right beside his UVB?
I agree with not giving any mealworms or pinky mice.
How much babyfood are you giving him? He can eat 15-20 cc's.
Keep bathing him 30 minutes daily in warm water to his armpits at least til he gets thru this, then every 2 or 3 days.
Good luck
Patsy

Wow................. I can't imagine anyone just letting their beardie go I wonder what people are thinking?

I'm so glad you found him.........alive..............I agree with everyone, no pinky's, mealworms, or supers, you may have to hand feed him for a while.

How is he/she doing?........................Any chance of a picture?