Sick adopted bearded dragon

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exit24a

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Last night my girlfriend brought me her sick and seemingly dying baby bearded dragon she purchased from petsmart in hopes I could save him. I have my own bearded dragon who’s going to be a year in November. I set the new baby (Barry) up in a good size tank with the same lights and set up I have for my bearded dragon. A reptisun 10.0 uvb bulb and a basking light. I also went to the store and bought non flavored pedialyte and organic baby foods. He’s only eaten a few licks of the baby food but drank plenty of the water-pedialyte mixture. I’m worried for him. His eyes are pretty red and squinted shut I’m guessing due to a screen lid blocking the uvb rays in his past home. Any suggestions on what more to do?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Feed him slow is all I can say -- what kind of organic baby food did you buy? Some chicken and squash would be good --- is he eating on his own at all? If not I would feed 3 times / day small amounts and make sure he is hydrated -- it sounds like hes dehydrated --- my vet recommended soaks for 10 min people say it does not hydrate them but I guess it wouldnt hurt --- the eye thing could be the UVB they used at the pet store - someone else on the forum will haft to give advice on what to do w/ the eye-- is it both or just one and are they watering ?
Karrie
 

CooperDragon

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It's a good sign that he was drinking some water. Plain water should be fine you don't need pedialyte in my opinion (I don't like the sugar content, although it's not likely harmful). I agree with going slowly with food for now. Just keep offering small amounts of baby food and plenty of water. With good lighting and some luck he will start to recover under your care. Please keep us posted!
 

exit24a

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I’ve been feeding him squash and carrot baby food. He hasn’t been eating on his own but I’m on my way now to buy some tiny crickets for him to try out. The friend that gave him to me said he’d refuse crickets and only ate dead mealworms but I know that’s not a good diet. So we’ll see what happens. Thanks for the advice!!
 

CooperDragon

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Dead bugs are not a good diet, that's true. Do go easy on the crickets even if he goes after them. A lot of protein at once could cause problems. You want to ease him into a good healthy diet by focusing on hydration and small amounts of food at a time.
 

exit24a

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Original Poster
He shows no interest for the crickets or food in general and just sits there with his eyes shut.
 

exit24a

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Original Poster
Some whitish clearish liquid just came out of him.. I don’t think it’s pee, isn’t it supposed to be hardened? Please help
 

CooperDragon

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OK. Poor guy is probably exhausted. Just try to keep him warm and comfortable for now. Offer water to him and let him take what he wants for now. Can you post some photos of him? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.
 

CooperDragon

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exit24a":1clm7y64 said:
Some whitish clearish liquid just came out of him.. I don’t think it’s pee, isn’t it supposed to be hardened? Please help

That sounds like maybe excess water combined with a little urate (the white bit). They sometimes pass water through directly.
 

CooperDragon

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He's looking better than I expected. He has his head up and his body looks pretty full and arms/legs look to have some strength. Hopefully he will continue to take some water and eventually the baby food to build up some strength and fight back.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
He looks better than the one I got that was a rehome and severely malnourished- had her for 2 weeks she died yesterday --- please don't give up hope--
Karrie
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
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Hello,

Agreed completely. Anytime you get one in that is dehydrated or emaciated it's always best
to feed them slowly to be sure that their system is absorbing & digesting properly.
You can feed him several times a day to ensure he gets enough food, too. Maybe keep him
a little warmer overnight also, to help boost his immune system. Around 80 or so seems to be
a good temperature.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 
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