Spike (the one with Pancake)

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PH1L0D3NDR0N

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Original Poster
PodunkKhaleesi":2dwxov7u said:
I don’t mean to sound harsh, as everyone that responds to queries on these forums does so because they love bearded dragons and want to help others keep theirs healthy and happy. But during a vet visit this year I had to watch a child sobbing in the waiting room clutching a dead leopard gecko that they “just wanted to share my cookie with.” After several days of extreme digestive issues the lizard had to be euthanized. Ignoring the specific dietary requirements of an animal and deciding it would be too cute if your lizard nibbled on your dessert means you’re willing to play Russian Roulette with your animal’s health and potentially its life. Even if your pet appears fine after feeding it something nature never intended it to eat and it doesn’t have a fatal reaction, the animal can be subjected to enormous physical distress as its body attempts to cope with ingredients it isn’t designed to process. Below is a link to a chart detailing what insects and vegetables you should be feeding your dragon, as well as which foods are treats and which can be fed daily. You may notice that fruit is an occasional treat because of the sugar content. A piece of a Pop tart has 20 times more sugar than a similarly sized blueberry, as well as saturated fat, high fructose corn syrup, and complex carbs, all of which don’t belong in a bearded dragon’s body. Watching someone feed a reptile a Poptart is like watching a mother bottlefeed her newborn baby Mountain Dew. There are insects, fruits, and vegetables that can make beardies ill or even kill them (avocados are toxic, for example, as are lightning bugs). Being uninformed about these dietary dangers, let alone tossing human food into the mix, can end an animal’s life, shorten its life, or give it a really rough night as it’s digestive system struggles to cope. Like everyone else on this website that takes the time to reach out to a community of experts and enthusiasts, I’m sure you love your beardie and want him around as long as possible. But please read the nutrition chart below and stick to these foods in the future. While I’m sure many animals would happily nosh on a Poptart if offered, would and should are two entirely different concepts. ?
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Very interesting and sad about the leopard gecko.
thank you

Sometimes spike will not eat anything at all, he is getting skinnier it looks like.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
It looks like he's trying to clear something from his beard or maybe inhaled some water. Does he do this every time you bathe him? If so it could be dangerous if he is inhaling water since they don't have an easy way to release it.
 

PH1L0D3NDR0N

Member
Original Poster
CooperDragon":1bl39omz said:
It looks like he's trying to clear something from his beard or maybe inhaled some water. Does he do this every time you bathe him? If so it could be dangerous if he is inhaling water since they don't have an easy way to release it.
He does this whenever he drinks water.
 

HippieLizards

Gray-bearded Member
Beardie name(s)
Daisy, Loki, Rocket, Phoenix, Mulder & Scully. Non beardie pets: Stan (Leo) Cayde (Hognose) Tillery (cat)
PH1L0D3NDR0N":2uf0ue75 said:
Why does spike do this when he drinks water.
Finally caught it on video.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XaGGgs229f1tffGN2
Hello,

The way he is acting when drinking is very similar to my old rescue Beardie Thor. I Asked my vet about that on his first visit and he said it was most likely that he was either having trouble swallowing or he was drinking too much water that he could handle so he would have trouble (When he drank too much water he would spit the excess water out).

So I'd suggest maybe giving him shorter baths and make sure he takes less time when drinking? Have you tried giving him liquid calcium (like calcivet) for two weeks and see how he takes it?

Also, From the pictures it looks like he's on a wood chips substrate. Is That true? BTW, I Agree with PodunkKhaleesi, Do not feed him poptarts or other human junk food!!

Spike looks pretty similar to my Old Thor (My avatar picture) :) I Can tell that he's very sweet. :D

Please keep us posted.

-HippieLizards.
 

PH1L0D3NDR0N

Member
Original Poster
HippieLizards":2r4ls8k8 said:
PH1L0D3NDR0N":2r4ls8k8 said:
Why does spike do this when he drinks water.
Finally caught it on video.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XaGGgs229f1tffGN2
Hello,

The way he is acting when drinking is very similar to my old rescue Beardie Thor. I Asked my vet about that on his first visit and he said it was most likely that he was either having trouble swallowing or he was drinking too much water that he could handle so he would have trouble (When he drank too much water he would spit the excess water out).

So I'd suggest maybe giving him shorter baths and make sure he takes less time when drinking? Have you tried giving him liquid calcium (like calcivet) for two weeks and see how he takes it?

Also, From the pictures it looks like he's on a wood chips substrate. Is That true? BTW, I Agree with PodunkKhaleesi, Do not feed him poptarts or other human junk food!!

Spike looks pretty similar to my Old Thor (My avatar picture) :) I Can tell that he's very sweet. :D

Please keep us posted.

-HippieLizards.
Yes Spike is on wood stuff.
And yes he is very sweet.
 

PH1L0D3NDR0N

Member
Original Poster
HippieLizards":kvwnxclc said:
PH1L0D3NDR0N":kvwnxclc said:
Why does spike do this when he drinks water.
Finally caught it on video.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XaGGgs229f1tffGN2
Hello,

The way he is acting when drinking is very similar to my old rescue Beardie Thor. I Asked my vet about that on his first visit and he said it was most likely that he was either having trouble swallowing or he was drinking too much water that he could handle so he would have trouble (When he drank too much water he would spit the excess water out).

So I'd suggest maybe giving him shorter baths and make sure he takes less time when drinking? Have you tried giving him liquid calcium (like calcivet) for two weeks and see how he takes it?

Also, From the pictures it looks like he's on a wood chips substrate. Is That true? BTW, I Agree with PodunkKhaleesi, Do not feed him poptarts or other human junk food!!

Spike looks pretty similar to my Old Thor (My avatar picture) :) I Can tell that he's very sweet. :D

Please keep us posted.

-HippieLizards.
Yes Spike is on wood stuff and he is very loving.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
PH1L0D3NDR0N":3oug21du said:
Why does spike do this when he drinks water.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XaGGgs229f1tffGN2

Water is too deep !!

He's actually partly downing in it …. water MUST NOT be deep enough for him to get his nostrils under - when I bath Peppa (very rarely) I do it in a plastic baby's bath and I lift the end her head is at so she never has her head in move than 15mm of water and it's unlikely she will asperate any .
I also never have the bath water deep enough she floats , if it's deeper than her body side spikes - it's too deep.


I personally thing trying to get a bearded dragon to drink in the bath is very unwise and very dangerous - they can very easily aspirate water (and have no way of coughing up water in their lungs (their chest is set up different to mammals) , this can easily result in a dragon with pneumonia or a drowned dragon.

If he's having this kind of problem in a bath , STOP BATHING HIM unless he ACTUALLY NEEDS a bath for other reasons.

Better off using an eyedropper to deposit drops of water on the dragon's snout - when the drops drain to it's lips / mouth it will lick them drink them if it's thirsty.
Even better , provide nice juicy live gut loaded insects and fresh salad and grated veg and fruit (excellent sources of hydration for a bearded dragon).

Wood substrate = must go …. this is very dangerous for a dragon to have a substrate made of ingestible ingestible materials - can very easily cause a fatal gastrointestinal blockage that's extremely painful and very hard to unblock.

Human foods and treats = BAD and definitely NOT TO BE GIVEN to bearded dragon.
Cat food and dog food = bad and not suitable either.
 

HippieLizards

Gray-bearded Member
Beardie name(s)
Daisy, Loki, Rocket, Phoenix, Mulder & Scully. Non beardie pets: Stan (Leo) Cayde (Hognose) Tillery (cat)
kingofnobbys":2d4wddh0 said:
PH1L0D3NDR0N":2d4wddh0 said:
Why does spike do this when he drinks water.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XaGGgs229f1tffGN2

Water is too deep !!

He's actually partly downing in it …. water MUST NOT be deep enough for him to get his nostrils under - when I bath Peppa (very rarely) I do it in a plastic baby's bath and I lift the end her head is at so she never has her head in move than 15mm of water and it's unlikely she will asperate any .
I also never have the bath water deep enough she floats , if it's deeper than her body side spikes - it's too deep.


I personally thing trying to get a bearded dragon to drink in the bath is very unwise and very dangerous - they can very easily aspirate water (and have no way of coughing up water in their lungs (their chest is set up different to mammals) , this can easily result in a dragon with pneumonia or a drowned dragon.

If he's having this kind of problem in a bath , STOP BATHING HIM unless he ACTUALLY NEEDS a bath for other reasons.

Better off using an eyedropper to deposit drops of water on the dragon's snout - when the drops drain to it's lips / mouth it will lick them drink them if it's thirsty.
Even better , provide nice juicy live gut loaded insects and fresh salad and grated veg and fruit (excellent sources of hydration for a bearded dragon).

Wood substrate = must go …. this is very dangerous for a dragon to have a substrate made of ingestible ingestible materials - can very easily cause a fatal gastrointestinal blockage that's extremely painful and very hard to unblock.

Human foods and treats = BAD and definitely NOT TO BE GIVEN to bearded dragon.
Cat food and dog food = bad and not suitable either.
I Completely agree with everything you say Nobbys. Your current husbandry for him is improper and could make him very sick. Could you post a picture of his cage and maybe the other dragons cage? https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/
 

HippieLizards

Gray-bearded Member
Beardie name(s)
Daisy, Loki, Rocket, Phoenix, Mulder & Scully. Non beardie pets: Stan (Leo) Cayde (Hognose) Tillery (cat)
BTW, are Spike and Pancake cohabitated? If they are you need to separate them ASAP..
 

PH1L0D3NDR0N

Member
Original Poster
/\
Thank you guys/gals.
Spike does this whenever I give him water bath or not.
Spike has bad back legs, I think it would be hard for him to walk on repti-carpet I have a towel under his food dish I also feed him over the towel.
Yes, at one time they were living together only because we were moving and I just got her.

And my mom doesn't understand reptiles....
Oh they will be fine together...
Ugh, you don't need more stuff to plug in...(lights heat ect.)...
You don't need another tank...

UGH, SIGH...
 

HippieLizards

Gray-bearded Member
Beardie name(s)
Daisy, Loki, Rocket, Phoenix, Mulder & Scully. Non beardie pets: Stan (Leo) Cayde (Hognose) Tillery (cat)
Actually, Since he has bad back legs a solid substrate would be 500% better for him because loose substrates could cause joint issues (and about 1000 others problems).

So Tile, Carpet, Towels, Even paper towels will be a 1000 times better then the loose substrate because they're slippery and harder to walk on, plus Wood chips are sharp and could hurt his feet.

But are they in separate enclosures now? Cohabitation could cause stress, fighting, dominance, (since they're male and female they could mate), and Just lots of issues, and could you post a picture of his cage and her cage? Is Pancake also on wood chips?
 

HippieLizards

Gray-bearded Member
Beardie name(s)
Daisy, Loki, Rocket, Phoenix, Mulder & Scully. Non beardie pets: Stan (Leo) Cayde (Hognose) Tillery (cat)
and was Spike an adult when you first got Pancake (Y'all got her as a baby right)? If you were cohabitating them as an adult with a baby you're lucky the adult didn't eat the baby beardie because beardies don't see baby beardies as their babies, They see them as a potential food source.. Leading to the adult eating the baby one.
 
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