HELP...regure and skinny as dickens!

He is a rescue. And my first beardie. Won't eat any veggies. Ignores them. Been feeding wax worms and crickets, tried meal worms that he regured last night. Feed him a very very small mouse pinkie a week ago, been trying desperatly to put weight on him. I have taken him to vet. They say no parasites and have no clue why he is so skinny.
But no idea on age. He is about a foot long. Blue cal sand sucks i know, but was what they had at my podunk store.
Any further advice?

Hi and welcome to the forum. Boy, he sure is a little guy. The first thing I would do is make sure he is well hydrated by bathing him and/or giving liquids by dropping them on his nose for him to lick off. I would also remove the calci-sand right away because it will harden in his belly like cement & encourges them to lick it since it contains calcium. You can even use papertowels for now until you can get non-adhesive shelf liner, reptile carpet or slate tile.
Could you answer these questions for us so that we can make sure he has everything he needs now? That would help us cover all the basics. :wink:
How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?

Sure! I am a snake keeper so I understand compeletly.

How old is your dragon? unknown...rescue
How long have you had your dragon? a bit over 2 months. weight is steady too skinny
How long is your dragon? just about a foot
What is the sex of your dragon? male
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 40 gallon breeder
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? cal sand
Do you use UVB lights? yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? compact
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? i do not recall brand but is a 50 watt
How old is your UVB bulb? less than 2 weeks
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? 11 inches
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? no but use a uth
What are the basking temps? 93
What is the cool side temp? 83
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? gun
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? right under lamp
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? uth
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. crickets, wax worms, pheonix worms, meal worms once, one small f/t mouse pink, and offer collards, squash, kale, corn
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? afternoon daily
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? yes
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? yes. reptical and 3x weekly.
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? yes
Do you bath your dragon? How often? weekly soak
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? water bowl, mist
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? no
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? yes, clean

Hi there,
I took in a rescue beardie 3 months ago and we started very much in your position.
I know how frightening it can be to see them skinny and not really eating.

My advice regarding food would be TRY EVERYTHING.
Dragons are unique and have their own little foibles.
Try hand feeding her as well as leaving it in a bowl for her, try wiggling the food around near her to grab her attention, try 'sneaking in' the veggie by putting mealworms on top, try to see if she likes to chase crix, or if she likes you too hold them infront of her. Some dragons also will not eat with their human slaves around. Try adding something fragrant to her bowl like chopped up rocket leafs.
Another trick is to put a few waxworms ontop of a handful of finely chopped veggies. The movement will grab her attention and she'll probably end up getting a chunk of veggie every other mouthfull. Waxworms themselves are fatty and dont have too much nutritional value to them alone.

My little one recently went on a hunger strike and i ended up feeding her chicken+squash babyfood mixed with calcium and vitamins when I felt like i NEEDED to get some goodness into her. Im now attempting to sneak in some veggies by putting the tinest spot of babyfood on top of them so she smells it.
As you can see they can be stubborn and demanding little monsters so keep faith!
Im sure you will find something that she eats.

Hope I was of some help x

Hi, thanks for answering the questions. I do see a few things that could use some changing which could help him put some weight on.

You mentioned that you're using a coil UVB light. There have been some major problems with all coil & compact UVB's, please read this info about them. [ Invalid URL Removed / p= t=65424 f=1 ] I would suggest you turn that off right away & replace in a few days with either a Repti-Sun 10.0 or 5.0 strip fluorescent or a mercury vapor bulb that supplies heat & ultraviolet rays.

That's good that you're using a temp gun but noticed that you're using an UTH heater rather than a basking bulb. Since beardies have a 3rd eye on top of their head, that's how they sense heat. I would suggest you use a bright white basking bulb and could even use a standard household lightbulb. You will need to pick up a clamp light holder though if it doesn't fit in the same holder that you're using for the coil bulb. I would also recommend that you turn off the UTH because if it malfunctions, it could burn the beardies belly. They need a basking temp of at least 95 and up to 110 in order to remain healthy & the correct temps help with their appetites and overall health. I'm surprised the tank temp is 93 when you're only using a coil bulb though.

As mentioned before, it would be a good idea to remove the calci sand before he becomes impacted & he may very well have ingested some already, so bathing would help with an impaction & also hydrate him at the same time. You can check for an impaction by gently massaging his right side from armpit to vent & if you feel a hardened area, massage in a circular motion trying to move it closer to the vent (where he poops).

To help him gain weight, you could pick up some hornworms, silkworms or butterworms (are somewhat fatty so should help with the wt issue). You can buy all those here: http://www.mulberryfarms.com

I think once you add a basking bulb, adjust the temps, get a good UVB light, you should notice an increase in appetite, activity & overall health. It might be a good idea to pick up a product called Jumpstart that you can read about here. http://store.everythingreptileinc.com/rp360.html Mixing some of that with a small amt of chicken or turkey babyfood & some squash should also help to get him on the right track a little quicker. Please keep us updated.

Thanks so much everyone! I will try these ideas asap. And I will update. I do love this little guy!

That's great that you will be making some changes, it really should help. We can all tell how much you care for him. :love5:

Okay guys! Thanks to your help He is LOOKING great! Gained weight...eatting veggies at long last...looking much better. He is off sand, on newspaper. New lights, being soaked. And really has improved a ton! I will update with pics soon!

What wonderful news!
We're all so pleased for you.

but....
WE DEMAND PHOTOS!!!

LOL okay took some photos while he soaked. It has not been very long...so no miracles...but he really is much better.




I can't wait until the stupid blue dye is shed away!

Oh isnt he looking perkier already! He's getting some fat pouches on his arms and legs!
You must be so pleased.

Poor boy and his blue stains though. Looks like he's a cross bread. Half Dragon half smurf!

What have you managed to coax him into eating?

Glad to hear that he is doing better.
Proper heating and lighting do wonders for these guys.

Ethelia":3d57e said:

What have you managed to coax him into eating?

Click to expand...

Greens, squash, small mealworms, one small pinkie mouse f/t, is pretty much it so far, But it's a start!

He does look better already! Try squash cause thats like the only veggie that all 3 of mine like. haha.

I, also notice that he's doing better and I'm glad that 1) he's doing better and 2) you found this site and we were able to help him.