Running out of ideas... (rescue)

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merisquid

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Hi everyone.

I've had my bearded dragon for about 2 months, and I'm a first time beardie owner. I'm a long time lurker here, and was actively looking for a hatchling in New Zealand (where I live) for about a year and a half prior, but we have a bit of a drought.

I saw my beardie for sale, and knew already I'd be in for a hard time. The pictures and description they provided screamed bad husbandry, and he looked a lot smaller than he should have been at a year old. I'd been saving for awhile though, knew I had a reptile vet on standby, and had a good idea of what I needed to do, so I went for it.

I picked up Forkes, who was TINY - He looked about 2 months old. They'd been feeding him on carrot greens and mealworms, and keeping him in a fish tank (thankfully they 'hadn't gotten around to putting him on sand yet') He had a coil UVB, and they didn't give him any supplementation. I strongly believe he wasn't getting enough heat either. I didn't ask too many questions, as the mother (Forkes was owned by a eight year old...) was a little defensive.

I got him home and worked on feeding him up (I'll post my questionnaire on my set up below). I took him to the vet who said he looked very healthy and alert, and that I should try and keep his diet somewhat consistent but with supplementation, which made me feel a bit better - however, I wanted to get him on some better insects. I tried locusts, which he was scared of, and BSL, which he turned his nose up at. In the end I fed him on supplemented wax moth larvae and mealworms for a month, which he gradually ate more and more of. He managed to get up to almost 80 gms, and doubled in length.

Regular baths to make sure he was pooping, but no major issues. He was getting friendlier too.

However, quite suddenly he stopped eating as much, maybe a couple of worms a day. I took a fecal sample to the vet for testing and had Forkes checked again, but the vet said he was doing really well, and that 'bearded dragons just don't eat much'. He also said that maybe he was going into an early brumation??

The fecal test came back with high levels of coccidia and pinworms, so we got him on treatement. We've finished the run of both kinds of drugs.

Forkes has gone off food completely. We've given him a few soy yoghurt smoothies (with calcium and vit supplements) by dripping on his nose and a little baby food but he's only had three insects in the past few weeks. He's become super skittish, and also kinda aggressive (gaping his mouth at me, looking like he might pounce!).

I'd say he's about the size of a four month old, despite being probably a year and a half old. I've been feeding him as if he's still a baby, but leaving salads for him daily which he ignores. Keen to hear if anyone else has had experiences of 'delayed' growth like this. Or any ideas at all. Thanks for reading!!

---

How old is your dragon? hatched approx. October 2016
How long have you had your dragon? Two months
How long is your dragon? I can't remember, but he's 80 gms
What is the sex of your dragon? Unsure
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? ReptileOne Vivarium 900 (big enough for an adult)
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Tile and papertowels
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? 10.0 florescent tube - currently sitting on the grate on top of the tank, we're looking at ways to mount it inside.
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? Repti-sun? whatever the rec. one is
How old is your UVB bulb? 2 months
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? 20 cms?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb? Yes, uncoloured, can't remember what wattage
What are the basking temps? 110F
What is the cool side temp? 90 F
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? We have a mounted thermometer, two stick thermometres
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? on the basking spot
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. Explained above
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? Morning and night attempts (although lately more often)
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? Infrequently
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? We always use them, switching between calc with and without D# and vitamins
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? Yes
Do you bath your dragon? How often? A couple of times a week, more if he's dirty
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? We'll occasionally drop water on his nose
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? Yes, see above
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No
 

merisquid

Member
Original Poster
Also, we're kind of in love with the little guy
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I don’t know a whole lot about the whole health side of beardie care, but it seems the cool side is way too hot. The cool side should be in the mid 70s-low 80s ( f ). Once that is lowered he should be more willing to eat
 

merisquid

Member
Original Poster
Thanks :) I'll buy a couple of new basking bulbs and try switching them out tonight. Let me know if you have any other suggestions!
 

destiny1998

Extreme Poster
Photo Comp Winner
Hi. Those stick on thermometers are very inaccurate. A temp gun or a digital with a wide probe is what you need.
 

merisquid

Member
Original Poster
Sorry I was unclear - I have one mounted (stick on) thermo. and two probe based ones. Thanks for checking in though! Anything else you could see that needs fixing?
 

merisquid

Member
Original Poster
It's a 40 gallon pretty sure.

Update: Changed out the bulbs and it's a bit cooler in there now, he's been basking today. Still won't eat normally though. We drip fed him (he licked it off his nose) a smoothie of bugs+squash+soyyoghurt today as it had been a few days since he'd eaten anything at all. He didn't seem too stressed by it.
He still won't eat anything normally though.

Any other reasons why he might not eat? Surely he's too small to brumate? Supposedly he's a year and half though...
 
He is old enough to brumate. I unfortunately don’t have any other ideas, you should probably see if you can ask cooperdragon or kingofnobbys
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
If he was a normal healthy dragon he would be fine brumating at his age but he's stunted + in no condition to brumate right now. There are always issues with stunted dragons but he may still do reasonably well for you once he's eating + has everything set up right. :)
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
PM me if I don't remember to post some suggestions and hints for you tomorrow, is very late here and I've just seen this one and will be more on the ball tomorrow after I've had good night's sleep.

I think there are some simple , easy changes you can do that may well get him back on track with feeding and health side of things.
 

merisquid

Member
Original Poster
AHBD: Thanks! I did think he's too small to brumate, but does that mean he won't try? Vet is reassuring me he's fine and it'll be no problem now he's parasite free... But can you stop him from brumation?

Thanks kingofnobbys! That sounds super promising. I'll pm you if I don't hear today.
 

merisquid

Member
Original Poster
Update: he ate a few worms yesterday, but no luck otherwise. If anyone has any ideas or questions, please let me know!
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
That's good, keep offering him food and keep his temps. up. What insects do you have available ? Make sure he's hydrated. He had a bad start in life and so he may develop periods of lethargy due to nutritional imbalances. How long was he on the parasite meds, and what were they ?

Bee pollen can sometimes kick start the appetite.
 
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