Bearded Dragon Health questions

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JCur

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Hi I recently rescued a bearded dragon from someone who didn’t really pay much attention to her. I’m not sure how old she is but the person had her for 5 years and she was full grown when they got her. The person I got her from knew nothing about beardies so she didn’t have heat or uvb for that 5 years they had her until about the last month they had her. Her cage was never cleaned and her owner was a heavy smoker which caused everything in her tank to turn yellow and I’m sure it had a big impact on the beardies health and I think may have caused her to get an upper respiratory infection. When I got her she was walking around fine for the most part, not super active but still walking around exploring, however, once I got her out of the gross tank she was in I set her up in a 40 gallon tank which I was quarinting her in I noticed she wasn’t really using her front legs much. When she walks around the tank she just keeps her front arms behind her and pushes herself around with her back legs but will use them to get on her basking spot. I know it’s probably a sign of mbd but I don’t understand why all of a sudden she’s doing it.
Another thing I noticed is around her mouth is really dry and crusty which I thought was maybe mouth rot but it’s just the outside that looks bad and not so much the inside. She also does this weird twitching thing with her head when I’m trying to feed her almost like something is tickling her face or throat. I’ve never seen this in a beardie and can’t find much on the internet about it. Right now she is in the 40 gal with a Reptisun 10.0 and her basking spot is at about 95-100. She gets calcium dusted crickets and salads amongst discoids, hornworms and super worms. I have a vet appointment set for her but not until next week so I want to see if there’s anything I can do for her in the meantime. Sorry for the long post just a lot to cover.

Thanks!
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
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It sounds like she's had a rough life. I'm glad you are able to take her in and give her a good home. It's a good sign that she is eating. Hopefully she will start to feel better and bounce back after some time under good lighting and enjoying a healthier diet. That may just take time.

Can you post some photos of her and her new setup? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button.
 

JCur

Member
Original Poster
This is her temporary enclosure. I have a Zen Habitats enclosure on the way for her and the other picture is her the day I brought her home.

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CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
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That should do nicely. Does she have any issues climbing up on that rock to bask? The T5 UVB should be really good for her overall. She looks a bit thin (which can be fixed over time) but overall fairly good considering her past treatment. Her gums look a bit rough. If those don't start to look a bit better (less swollen/gunky) after a couple of weeks then you might want to get some MaxiGuard gel and dab that on her gums with a q-tip in order to help clean the tissue and prevent/reduce infection.
 

JCur

Member
Original Poster
CooperDragon":1rt8aund said:
That should do nicely. Does she have any issues climbing up on that rock to bask? The T5 UVB should be really good for her overall. She looks a bit thin (which can be fixed over time) but overall fairly good considering her past treatment. Her gums look a bit rough. If those don't start to look a bit better (less swollen/gunky) after a couple of weeks then you might want to get some MaxiGuard gel and dab that on her gums with a q-tip in order to help clean the tissue and prevent/reduce infection.
She was having a bit of a problem climbing up that rock once she stopped using her front legs so I did swap it out for something a little lower that’s easier for her to get up onto now and she seems okay with it. I will definitely try the Maxiguard stuff and give that a shot. I’ve been using a syringe to make sure she’s drinking water and I’ll usually drip some over on the sides of her mouth and since I’ve been doing that it has got a lot better but I’ll give the gel a shot too. Thanks for the advice!
 
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