Help for a Newbie’s Small Baby Dragon

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I’ve been a Beardie owner only since this past summer, and while my first dragon is fine, I was recently given a very small baby who is clearly underweight and pretty listless. His previous owner bought him at a pet shop then decided it wasn’t really something she was interested in. I got him in a setup with heat bad proper UV lighting, but he really doesn’t seem to have the strength to chase the tiny crickets long enough to catch one. I was able to get him to drink some water, and he did eat two very small super worms but now he’s just sitting/standing under a lamp with his eyes closed. My understanding was the gal had bought him the same day he had arrived at the pet shop, and i am hoping he’s just very tired after what must seem like a day from hell for him. My question is: is ther something else i can do for him, or should i just let the poor little guy rest? He’s clearly underweight, but I don’t know anything about care for sick or undernourished babys.
Many thanks!
 

Bear333

Member
Hi there!

Good for you to take in a baby rescue! Can you post pics of him as well as his setup also showing the lighting fixtures ? Here's how :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them

Yes, he is most likely tired after such a long, stressful day! Try to stay away from superworms, even small ones, and focus more on softer, slower insects. Such as black soldier fly larvae (Phoenix worms) or silkworms.
It’s a good sign that he’s drinking, but a good thing to give him if he refuses bugs is squash or green bean baby food from a syringe on the tip of his nose. He will most likely lap it up. See how he is tomorrow, and keep us posted;)
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

That is great of you to help out a little one in need.
What type of UVB light do you have him under? When they are underweight & wont eat much,
you can try mixing up some chicken or turkey babyfood, mixed with either squash or sweet
potato babyfood. Use either a plastic dropper or plastic oral syringe & drip it onto the end of
his nose. He should lick some off & you can try that for a few minutes to see if he takes any of
it in.
Also, keep him around 80 overnight, to help boost his immune system. Just use a ceramic heat emitter if the tank gets lower than 70 or 75 right now.
Do you have any pictures of him?

Tracie
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
Thank you for taking him in...does he have a bright white basking bulb as well? You mentioned a "heating pad", but that isn't really necessary and won't keep his temperature zones in the proper ranges, especially his Basking Spot Surface Temp, which needs to be between 105-110, Hot Side Ambient (air) Temp between 88-93, and the Cool Side Ambient (air) Temp between 75-80. Beardies get all of their heat from above or they should), and both a proper UVB tube (mounted within the correct distance from his Basking Spot/Platform and unobstructed by any mesh lids) and a bright white basking bulb need to be directly over his main Basking Spot/Platform in the Hot Side of the tank. He needs to be able to get both lights at the same time while basking on his main Basking Spot, as this is how you replicate natural sunlight.

Typically when a baby is listless and has little to no appetite and doesn't want to hunt, it's due to an improper, inadequate UVB light and improper temperature zones, as well as too short a photoperiod for both of these lights to be on, which should be 13-14 hours every day.

Also, if you're using a Coil UVB bulb this can cause severe eye damage and vision issues, as well as neurological issues that can stop them from hunting and eating. You should never use any type of Coil UVB light for a beardie, and 99% of the Compact UVB bulbs (regular lightbulb shaped) sold are not even close to adequate for a beardie, they need long UVB tubes that are mounted within the correct distance of their basking spots and unobstructed by a mesh lid. So typically this problem is due to improper lighting and improper temperature zones, and can also be due to using only stick-on thermometers, like the round ones that are sold for reptiles or any type of "aquarium" stick-on thermometers. Stick-on thermometers make it impossible for you to measure his Basking Spot Surface Temperature (they only measure the "Ambient" or the air temps, which is the most important temperature zone for a beardie. Also, most all stick-on thermometers are terribly inaccurate and when tested are usually off by between 10-20 degrees. So if you're not using either a Temperature Gun or a Digital Probe Thermometer so that you can accurate temps, and most importantly so you can measure his Basking Spot temp, please invest $10 at Petco in a Digital Probe Thermometer.

Please post some photos of the baby, and then of his entire enclosure and his lighting, and then let us know the Brand, Model, Wattage, and Types (tube, compact, coil, Mercury Vapor) of both his UVB light and his Basking Light, as well as the color of his Basking Light (bright white is the only color of bulb you should use for a beardie, no red, blue, yellow, green, purple, black, "moonlight", etc.). Also, what is his daily diet (normally if he was eating, or at least what you've been offering him), along with how often you are dusting his live insects with Calcium and with a multivitamin, and which multivitamin you use. Also, if you could list the Basking Spot Surface Temperature, the Hot Side Ambient (air) Temperature, and the Cool Side Ambient (air) Temperature for us, as well as telling us what type of thermometer you are using to take the temps, this info can help us figure out what's going on.

Hopefully this is just the typical husbandry issues that are causing his lethargy and lack of appetite, and some simple tweaking of his setup and some light upgrades/temperature adjustments will turn him around quickly, usually they perk up pretty immediately once they are put under adequate UVB light and given a proper Basking Spot Temp...

I forgot to ask, do you know about how old he is? A better question might be how long did your friend have him, as if she bought him from a pet shop like Petco or PetSmart they are usually right around a month old when they are sold. Another good question would be about your friend's husbandry, meaning did she use the exact same setup that you have been using since you got him, or have you since upgraded anything? I'm asking this because, for example, let's say your friend had him for about a month, which would make him around 2 months old, and your friend was using a very weak compact or a coil UVB bulb that was sitting on top of a mesh lid, and she only let his weak UVB bulb and his basking bulb on for 10 hours a day, and then when you got him a few days ago you upgraded his UVB light to a 22" Reptisun 10.0 T5HO UVB Tube that is mounted under the mesh lid and within 11" of his Basking Spot/Platform, and you have had both his T5 UVB tube and his bright white basking bulb on every day for at least 13-14 hours, that would mean that you've been providing him perfect UVB lighting for the few days that you've had him, but during the entire month that your friend had him he pretty much got zero UVB light, and it will take a while for him to recover from not getting any UVB light for an entire month...That's just an example that I made up, but you see what I'm getting at....
 

Gouldian63

Member
Original Poster
I got a little more info from my friend, she only had him a couple days. She got him from Petco the day he arrived, and he is quite small, i cant say as ive seen any smaller at the pet shops. He is thin, and today he barely moves. I did get pics of the setup, its one i grabbed at Petco. One of their setups they offer. It didn’t really have anything for him to bask on so i put one of my grapevine things in for him. I did get some pics, ill try to get them uploaded here. I will have to wait till after 9 tonight to be able to get him some baby food, as my daughter has my car at the moment.
 

Gouldian63

Member
Original Poster
I’m having issues with the photos, but the setup is a 10 gallon tank, Mozilla mini dome lights, 25w halogen bulb.
 

destiny1998

Extreme Poster
Photo Comp Winner
Hi. You definitely need a better set up. A ten gallon is way to small he needs a 20 gallon to start off with. The bigger the better to get the correct temps. Second you needs good uvb light reptisun 10.0 t5 Ho. You also need a bright white basking light and a good thermometer. A temp gun or a digital with a wire probe.
 

Gouldian63

Member
Original Poster
Highly aggravating to have spent money I really didn’t have as extra in the first place. I’m referring to the Petco people. I’m on disability so it’s a little dicey getting extra stuff, but clearly I need better lighting for this little guy. It seems kinda odd, but this baby actually avoids the light. He’ll sit there a minute or so, he hen bumbles away from it. Every time I set it over him he opens his mouth and walks out of the direct light. Even when he’s on the carpet he leaves it.
 

destiny1998

Extreme Poster
Photo Comp Winner
Yep. Unfortunately pet store are notorious for giving out the wrong information. Can you take the set up back and exchange it for a better one? The reason he is avoiding the light is those coil/compact bother their eyes. Also you can find good deals sometimes on Craigslist for tanks.
 

Gouldian63

Member
Original Poster
Just looked closer at the light bulb’s packaging. IT’S JUST A FREAKING HEAT LAMP! NOT EVEN A UV LIGHT! :banghead: OMG. I’m heading to the pet shop momentarily. I already asked about trading it in, answer was no. I’m gonna get an actual UV bulb, and in answer to questions about the light type, none of my lights for the lizards are compact coils. At least i did that right, eh? OK, I’m off for a better light for the little guy, i’m Gonna look on Amazon for Reptisun products. I expect the little guy will be happy to have a real UV!
 

Gouldian63

Member
Original Poster
Ok, he’s got a Reptisun UV light, and i need to correct the first post i made. He is not on a heating pad. I meant to put heat light. New digital thermometer says his basking spot is 81.7 degrees. He moves away when its warmer. Ive been playing all afternoon with his set up, and finally got him to stay put at that temp, under his UV light. Do i leave it on him all night since he’s so depleted? I got some baby food squash down him boosted with calcium and vitamins, and a booster for being stressed. Tiny amounts due to his tiny size. He’s literally the size of my size 6 ring finger, not including his tail. I feel like he’s just hanging on with a wing and a prayer at this point. How often should i feed him the squash, and should i ad chicken to it, or would it be too hard to digest?
I really appreciate all the help here, ive certainly gotten a crash course in dragon care! All our dragons will benefit from this group. Many thanks!
 

Gouldian63

Member
Original Poster
Update: he just pooped out, what loooks just like the squash baby food that went in his other end a few hours ago. Like NO visible change. Problem?
 
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