New to Bearded Dragons: adopting a neglected beardie

Status
Not open for further replies.

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

What type of thermometer are you using to measure the temperatures?
Are you using a UVB light also? What type of basking light are you using?

Maybe give a little less fluids if she is having diarrhea right now as you don't want her getting dehydrated from that.
How many insects is she eating at a time? I would dust the insects or the greens with the calcium powder. Depending on how much is eaten at the time, will dictate whether or not the calcium needs to be used both times. If she ingests enough at one meal then she only needs calcium once daily, 5 times per week.

Has her beard darkened at all?
Coming to a new home is overwhelming for them sometimes so stress can also cause diarrhea too. You can try using pedialyte to help with hydration status if needed.

Do you have a picture of the tank set up also?

Tracie
 

greenbeanette

Member
Original Poster
Hi Tracie,

There are pictures of him and his tank earlier in the thread, I can post current ones this afternoon (I've added a stone to the left side). I'm using a zoo med digital thermometer. This one here:
http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Digital-Terrarium-Thermometer/dp/B000MD3MFA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1373030036&sr=8-1&keywords=zoo+med+thermometer

I have a uvb bulb, a 24" Zoo med reptisun 10. For the basking light I have a 100w regular household bulb with this dimmable fixture:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FTEQCY/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I stopped wetting his greens and have only given him one bath, about a week ago. He pooped yesterday on his basking rock and when I lifted the rock up there was quite a bit of green liquid that had run under it. So she's still having diarrhea. I wonder if the squash is causing it? He's not used to eating anything but crickets, so I don't know if he just needs to adjust.

I turned her temps up a bit just in case she isn't getting hot enough to digest properly. So now they get up to about 101 by the time I turn the lights off (the temperature gradually increase throughout the day).

I dust his superworms in calcium 5 times a week and multivitamin 2 times a week. He eats 5-8 superworms a day, after he eats at least half of his salad. He was darkening his beard and hissing a lot when I first got him, but he seems a lot better now. I think I was handling him too much at first too. I've stopped petting him and picking him up. I only pick him up when I feed him his bugs so he will learn a positive association.
 

argolupin

Hatchling Member
something to think about as well is that your dad had him for awhile and he wasn't getting any greens at all. I (after 2 years of trying) am finally getting my rescue to eat veggies, but it has been a long hard haul.


Apollo came from a hoarding situation where the beardies and water dragons were kept 2 and 3 to a tank and the tanks were only 10 gallons. I was lucky that Apollo was by himself in one. The lady threw iceburg lettice and oranges in daily and only a couple of crickets every few days. there was no water and the whole bottom of the cages (not to mention the reptiles) were black. I had to start off feeding small amounts per day and giving him time to let his stomach build up and every time I added something new he had dirrahea or threw up (he still throws up his superworms from time to time if I don't give him a bit in between them).

My point is - how much was your dad feeding at one time, and what all was he feeding. I would definitely take the him to the vet if the dirrahea persists. Take the feedings easy and let your dragon tell you what they need, Apollo was telling me smaller meals, which he still insists on though he can eat more at one time. keep us posted on the outcome!!!
 

greenbeanette

Member
Original Poster
That's a really good point. My parents fed him crickets once a week. They would buy a bunch of them, maybe 25, and dump them in the tank with him for him to eat when he wanted to. The feeding I witness, he ate maybe half of them then the rest he ate throughout the week. Should I cut back on his feedings to every other day?
 

argolupin

Hatchling Member
I wouldn't cut back to every other day but maybe do smaller meals at a time there was a point (after Apollo was full grown) that he had 4-5 meals in one day because his stomach needed time to digest some of what he had eaten before he could eat more, now I have him on two feedings, (veggies in AM and Crickets and Supers at night). My beardie is a pig and will eat and eat and eat if I let him, the best way I can explain it is like when someone has had their stomach stapled they need to eat small meals several times a day, though if they keep making the meals bigger and bigger then eventually they can eat like they used to. not the best explination but it was the best I could think of.
 

greenbeanette

Member
Original Poster
So I'm still feeding him twice a day, once in the morning (a salad) and once in the afternoon (5 superworm/dusted). I'm thinking a a big part of his problem might be he's not basking, and I don't know why. I put a few more rocks on the warm side of his tank today in case he just didn't like the one small rock. I'm not sure what to do. If I put him on the warm side of his tank he moves back to the cool side, especially if the temperature on the warm side is more than low 90s. The UVB strip runs most of the tank so he is getting exposure to that, it's just he's not getting warm enough.
 

greenbeanette

Member
Original Poster
Here's a picture of his viv. I just put construction paper on the back/side walls in case that's why he's not basking.

20grr7.jpg

fbgxmq.jpg


Here's today's poop (sorry for posting this but I need some feedback):
2jcslcp.jpg


Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi GB....that poo looks fine, he's just well-hydrated. It just seems like a lot of water because it's sitting on top of the liner. By the way, beardies enjoy climbing a bit, so you might collect a nice log or thick branch from outside, preheat the oven at 250, and pop it in for about 45 minutes to kill anything living in it. He'll probably enjoy it very much. Then you can just put the UVB bulb on the top , don't worry, it won't block too much UVB. If you're worried about that, just keep the branch on one side of the tank + the UVB on the other so he doesn't jump up on it. But I think he'd enjoy a nice branch to hang on.
 

greenbeanette

Member
Original Poster
That's wonderful that his poop looks ok, I was really worried about that :)

I'll see if I can find him a log. Maybe then he'll bask? Is it ok that the area he prefers is around 90f? I actually tried moving the basking light to the other side earlier to see if he just likes that side better. He moved to the other side about 10 minutes later. He doesn't like heat, it's confusing to me.

I actually don't have a lid on the tank so I wouldn't be able to put the uvb on top, but I can keep the log away from it like you said.

Thanks :)
 

greenbeanette

Member
Original Poster
sorry for my excitement, but GUESS WHAT

He sat on his basking rock for a while yesterday :) I guess he did want the sides of his tank covered.

soyb2e.jpg
 

greenbeanette

Member
Original Poster
So Rocko has been basking regularly. I was worried that he had a lump in his belly even though he's been pooping regularly, but after researching here apparently it was just his rib sticking out because of the angle he was at :oops:

He has been shedding on his face and feet. I wasn't aware that they continue to shed after they finish growing. I gave him a bath the other day to help with that, and he spent the whole time trying to escape. He still black beards me a lot but he doesn't actually puff it out, so I guess I make him nervous but not terrified? I'm not quite sure how to make him more comfortable with me. Putting him on my lap or chest, he stays put for a minute then tries to escape. He gets nervous but mostly lets me pick him up since I've been doing that to feed him his superworms. I tried just having him out on me and on the floor in hopes he would just get used to being out and he ended up biting me when I tried to pick him up.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Still Needs Help

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,896
Messages
1,255,655
Members
75,964
Latest member
lil booshka
Top Bottom