Concerned about boyfriends bearded dragon

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whatcanid0

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A few months ago I moved in with my boyfriend, and he has a bearded dragon named Ruby. I didn’t know much about them before this, but I’m an avid animal lover so I went and did a lot of my own research on their care, behaviors, health issues that can occur, etc. When I moved in Ruby was very tiny, based off photos i’ve seen of bearded dragons growth progression, measurments he looked about 3 months old. My concern began when I realized he was around a year old and so tiny! I brought this up and asked what he had been eating and- at the breeders recommendation- he was being fed about a dozen every other day, and not offered water aside for MONTHLY baths. So after this I went off on my own and was making sure Ruby had plenty more to eat so he could get to the proper size, giving him mustard greens, squash, and as many crickets as he would eat in 20 mins, giving him water daily. He has made a good ammount of progress with his growth but he just looks so unhealthy still, wrinkled skin, nonexistent fat pads, always has stress marks, very low energy. He has one of those bulbs that emmet both heat and UV. His tail is quite crooked and I think he might have MBD? My boyfriend doesn’t seem as concerned with his condition but I can’t stand seeing an animal looking so unhealthy ): What can I do to put more weight on him and make sure that if he has current health issues from his treatment that they will improve?
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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The bulb looks off color in the picture -- can you tell us what the bulb is exactly- brand and wattage-- where in the tank is it ? I am not familiar w/ the all in one bulbs of which I am assuming it is -- after you tell us what your using we can better help ---- and yes lighting plays a huge role in the over all health of the dragons - eating digestion and preventing MBD --- what are the basking temps and how are you taking them? infrared heat gun stick ons or digital probe -- another huge part of the health
Karrie
 

whatcanid0

New member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":3fziohep said:
The bulb looks off color in the picture -- can you tell us what the bulb is exactly- brand and wattage-- where in the tank is it ? I am not familiar w/ the all in one bulbs of which I am assuming it is -- after you tell us what your using we can better help ---- and yes lighting plays a huge role in the over all health of the dragons - eating digestion and preventing MBD --- what are the basking temps and how are you taking them? infrared heat gun stick ons or digital probe -- another huge part of the health
Karrie
The light is not green like that in person I’m not sure why it looks like that in photos haha. The lightbulb brand is Solar Brite, it’s 160 watt. We own a temp gun and the temperature on the basking side stays around 90-100 degrees and on the cool side 75-80 degrees.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
And he is how old? The basking temps for an adult should be 95-105-- for babies 105-110-- and juvies not really sure but I am guessing a good temp would be the 95-105 for them too --- you dont want to fatten him up per say - the way you have been feeding him is good - your BF umm not so much -- so keep feeding him the way your are w/ a variety of insects - I would offer her BSFL you can order these here https://symtonbsf.com/ and dubia roaches - there are many places to order so I am going to post some websites for you
http://www.dubiaroaches.com
https://abdragons.com/login.php
https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/
https://reptilesplus.com/
All of these places offer a variety of stuff for Ruby-- shop around
here is a website for nutrition
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
I would offer collard greens and turnip greens --- different squash - and fruit once in awhile -- NO Citrus tho -- you want to feed a healthy diet --- butter worms and wax worms are fattening kinda like candy --- horn worms are a good hydrating worm - silk worms are good -- the BSFL are good staple feeder -- no dusting required -- are you dusting the insects w/ calcium D3 and vitamins ?
the Solar brite I have not heard of somebody else is gonna haft to give you some advice on that one-- but the UVB is crucial to her health -- what does her poop look like --? runny ? formed and moist? is there urate white in it?
Karrie
 

whatcanid0

New member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":s2lfvpia said:
And he is how old? The basking temps for an adult should be 95-105-- for babies 105-110-- and juvies not really sure but I am guessing a good temp would be the 95-105 for them too --- you dont want to fatten him up per say - the way you have been feeding him is good - your BF umm not so much -- so keep feeding him the way your are w/ a variety of insects - I would offer her BSFL you can order these here https://symtonbsf.com/ and dubia roaches - there are many places to order so I am going to post some websites for you
http://www.dubiaroaches.com
https://abdragons.com/login.php
https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/
https://reptilesplus.com/
All of these places offer a variety of stuff for Ruby-- shop around
here is a website for nutrition
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
I would offer collard greens and turnip greens --- different squash - and fruit once in awhile -- NO Citrus tho -- you want to feed a healthy diet --- butter worms and wax worms are fattening kinda like candy --- horn worms are a good hydrating worm - silk worms are good -- the BSFL are good staple feeder -- no dusting required -- are you dusting the insects w/ calcium D3 and vitamins ?
the Solar brite I have not heard of somebody else is gonna haft to give you some advice on that one-- but the UVB is crucial to her health -- what does her poop look like --? runny ? formed and moist? is there urate white in it?
Karrie
Right now I believe he is a bit over a year old, thank you for the websites and recommendations. I dust his crickets with calcium powder 3x a week and with multivitamin powder 2x a week, when I first came here his poop was yellow and it smelled really badly, but recently it is a mix of brown and white, and it looks dry to me. Would giving him wax worms a few times a week temporarily to help him put on some weight be helpful, or just more harmful?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
You dont want her addicted to them -- they are mainly used for treats so a couple a few times a week w/ her salad would be good - put them on top --- and then feed her the staple feeder --- she should be eating mainly vegies by now and protein 2-3 times per week -- the goal is to get her to a healthy weight not fattening her up --- w/ you feeding a healthy diet it will do that --
what is in the tank for a substrate? is it pellets? I would get rid of it -- it can cause impaction -- you can use some non adhesive shelf liner from your local home improvement store -- look for some textured non adhesive shelf liner -- its easy to clean w/ vinegar/ water 50/50 a spray bottle and the insects cannot get underneath--- since she has not been offered water you can give her baths maybe once a week / 10 days and see if she will drink from her bath water --- nice warm water -- you want her hydrated tho - you can also offer water in a syringe -- or by misting her w/ a water bottle and see if she will lick off her nose ---
Karrie
 
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