Re: New bearded dragon owner/rescue from a family member/nee

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I got my beardie from a family member who couldn't care for him anymore. She says she got him as a baby in Jan. She did not provide a uv light and used a red light as a heat lamp. He was also in a 10 gallon tank that had sand substrate. He was also being fed, meal worms, crickets, and ice lettcburger lettuce, and broccoli. He had a sister who was housed with him who passed before him about a week ago. Now that he is in my care,he has a 40 gallon tank I've been feeding him crickets,meal worms, super worms,horn worm, vitimin c with d3,kale,carrots,grapes,tomatos, and broccoli. Hes mot drinking on his own so I've been dripping it on his nose and bathing him everyday. He has had bm with me the 1st one seemed very normal the second was very runny and he seemed dehydrated to me so I've been forcing water as much as possible and now he has a carpet matt. He holds his mouth open often and sticks out his tounge. He is super chill and doesnt run around alot. He kind of drags his belly to walk. Not alot ot strength. I've also been syinge feeding him for the past 2days.He seems to have a bit of discharge from the corners of his mouth but I'm wondering if it's the liquid feed. No other discharges.He will take food when given by hand/forced but rarely does he do it himself. His eyes still seem alert and he doesnt hide he spends alot ot time in his basking spot.He also does look around and holds his head up and swims in the bath. I am terrified of losing him, and I have no way of a vet at the moment. I am looking for ANY help for him. I care for him dearly and I just want him to be happy and healthy.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Beardiemommarescue":1qmkuzxg said:
I got my beardie from a family member who couldn't care for him anymore. She says she got him as a baby in Jan. She did not provide a uv light and used a red light as a heat lamp. He was also in a 10 gallon tank that had sand substrate. He was also being fed, meal worms, crickets, and ice lettcburger lettuce, and broccoli. He had a sister who was housed with him who passed before him about a week ago. Now that he is in my care,he has a 40 gallon tank I've been feeding him crickets,meal worms, super worms,horn worm, vitimin c with d3,kale,carrots,grapes,tomatos, and broccoli. Hes mot drinking on his own so I've been dripping it on his nose and bathing him everyday. He has had bm with me the 1st one seemed very normal the second was very runny and he seemed dehydrated to me so I've been forcing water as much as possible and now he has a carpet matt. He holds his mouth open often and sticks out his tounge. He is super chill and doesnt run around alot. He kind of drags his belly to walk. Not alot ot strength. I've also been syinge feeding him for the past 2days.He seems to have a bit of discharge from the corners of his mouth but I'm wondering if it's the liquid feed. No other discharges.He will take food when given by hand/forced but rarely does he do it himself. His eyes still seem alert and he doesnt hide he spends alot ot time in his basking spot.He also does look around and holds his head up and swims in the bath. I am terrified of losing him, and I have no way of a vet at the moment. I am looking for ANY help for him. I care for him dearly and I just want him to be happy and healthy.
A bad start for this dragon I am glad you took over ---- welcome to the forum we will try and get him back to recovery it sounds like you already have --- please post pics of him and his tank and lighting and we can go from there -- https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ click on XIMG at top of message box click on pic and it should post ---- here is a website for nutrition please no more tomatos broccili iceberg lettuce -- the other stuff is fine here is a website for nutrition
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
the calcium D3 is calcium and not vitamin C correct? no vitamin C please! He should have vitamins like 2 x per week - like Jurassivite ---- dripping water on his nose to see if he will drink is good - and you can give baths to see if he will drink from the water -- do not force the water it will give him watery stools --- his poop should be formed and moist and have white urate that is formed and moist and not chalky or dried looking --- he does not have a lot of strength because I am guessing he has MBD now w/ no UVB so w/ that being said your going to need a good UVB to get him back to health -- his basking spot should be 95-105 and cool side of tank around 80 during the day and not below 65 at nite ---- temps should be taken w/ a infrared heat gun or digital probe NO stick ons they are inaccurate--- please post pics and tank and lighting
Karrie
 

Beardiemommarescue

Member
Original Poster
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I uploaded pics but, I dont see them on my post. I am extremely new to this. I have been doing a bunch of research though. And yes no vitimin c I meant d. I've been sprinkling it on his food, in his water and baths. 100watt basking light and a "curly q" 26 watt uvb light. I use the red light at night if it gets too cold. I will be getting a scale and new ways to check his temps. Thank you SO much for the input I am willing to do anything for him.
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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ click on XIMG at top of message box your pics should come up click on the pic you want to post - it will come up in message box w/ a bunch of numbers/ letters etc -- please dust your bugs / insects your feeding --- he should be getting that 5 x per week and vitamins 2 x per week -- on his vegies is good too but no bath water --- we need to see him and his tank so if you can get them posted that would be great or you can put them on youtube and post the link there to would work -- you have come to the right forum for help --- if you have more questions please ask
Karrie
 

Beardiemommarescue

Member
Original Poster
I think I've gotten the photos submitted. I am looking to get better temp gauges and a scale to keep track on him as I can't go to a vet. I am willing to do anything to get him back to health! I just dont know the right things to do!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok the UVB is a coil and it should be in a reflector dome 6-8 inches from basking spot-- although we don't recommend the coil I have not heard anything bad about the 26 watt-- it is similar to the T 8 long tube- but it does need to be in the reflector dome as mentioned w/ the 6-8 inches-- it's the 13 watt coil you need to stay away from-- I would look at getting him some more decor PetSmart has some nice decor like logs- is he having difficulty climbing the rock/ cave he's on? I feel so bad for him and the care he didn't receive-- the basking temps are extremely important for digestion- what does his poop look like? Getting him on the correct diet will get him healthy as well-- please get rid of the red bulb--- they need darkness to sleep and it hurts their eyes and can cause long term damage--- please ask more questions if you need to--- I will try to answer them as best as I can or let someone else on forum answer
Karrie
 

Beardiemommarescue

Member
Original Poster
He sometimes can get up it himself but like I said hes really fragile and weak so I have to help him sometimes. His very 1st poop was in the bath and it had the white you speak of and a long trail of brown. The 2nd poop happend to be on my carpet and that was yellowish and runny which that's when I was giving him alot of water so I will stop doing that. He popped again in his bath it was white but it was kind of hard and in 2 pieces that floated in the water. So I thought constipation why I tried the tomatos but what should i give in the future for it? And he popped in his terrarium today it was also white and more longer brown however it looked like there was a meal/super worm casing that was visible in it. He did catch a cricket by himself tonight! I've been syinge feeding him 2wce a day with a mixture of water,carrots,kale,meal worms,super worms and calcium. I leave a water dish on the cool side of his tank. And I've been bathing him everyday. Thank you so much for the help I cant begin to say how appreciative I am!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Beardiemommarescue":3v0fxftr said:
He sometimes can get up it himself but like I said hes really fragile and weak so I have to help him sometimes. His very 1st poop was in the bath and it had the white you speak of and a long trail of brown. The 2nd poop happend to be on my carpet and that was yellowish and runny which that's when I was giving him alot of water so I will stop doing that. He popped again in his bath it was white but it was kind of hard and in 2 pieces that floated in the water. So I thought constipation why I tried the tomatos but what should i give in the future for it? And he popped in his terrarium today it was also white and more longer brown however it looked like there was a meal/super worm casing that was visible in it. He did catch a cricket by himself tonight! I've been syinge feeding him 2wce a day with a mixture of water,carrots,kale,meal worms,super worms and calcium. I leave a water dish on the cool side of his tank. And I've been bathing him everyday. Thank you so much for the help I cant begin to say how appreciative I am!

So the water intake I would slow down on -- bath once a week --- see if he will drink from the bath water and the salad you can wash those greens before serving -- you want him on a diet of salads once a day or if he will eat more feed him more - bugs for his age he should only be eating 2-3 times per week --- dusted w/ the calcium D3 and regular calcium non phosphorus -- I would do that every other feeding of the protein --- along w/ the vitamins -- his diet is going to straighten out the poops --- hes weak from the lack of UVB -- has he been basking alot under the UVB? correct temps are also gonna straighten out the digestion -- you have been feeding him good food in the syringe that is for sure - is he eating from the syringe for you? Its not uncommon for the brown poo to be a little hard so dont be concerned w/ that -- the good food your syringe feeding him is coming out good from the way it sounds but you want him eating on his own --- how long has he been under the UVB? Unless someone else recommends the calcium thing go w/ what I said --- but some others may have a different idea since hes been w/ out UVB for so long --- watch him and see if his mobility improves - you may haft to get some decor for him thats easier for him to get around on so he can get to his basking spots etc................. And please no red bulb -- if you need extra heat at nite get a CHE ceramic heat emitter -- they have only heat and no color! They come in 75 and 100 watt bulbs I believe you can order them off Amazon and you will need a dome fixture
Karrie
 

Beardiemommarescue

Member
Original Poster
Yes I wash my greens before serving but hes mot eatting them on his own so I've been grinding up, kale, carrots, meal worms, super worms and calcium with de. I syringe feed him twice a day about 1.25ml in the morning and a bit more later but not nighttime as I know basking is needed for digestion. Hes been on uvb for about 4 maybe 5 days so far. I'm not quite sure, we got him the Saturday before this Saturday and just used what he came with for a day or 2 to allow him to acclimate. I try to move the uvb to where he is, I keep it in the middle but if hes basking I put it on the right side of hes on the other side I move it there. He tolerates me feeding him he really doesnt like it but I try to give him love and cuddles as soon after to calm him. He did put some weight on his hind legs this moring and got up his rock, it took some effort but I didnt need to help him up. He also slept with no lights for the first time last night we run a pellet stove and that kept a good temp in his terrarium as well as good humidity.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

He definitely needs some good care from you but at least he has a great home now!
I would be sure his basking platforms/rocks are relatively low so he doesn't hurt himself
in case he does have a slight case of metabolic bone disease.
As soon as you can get the UVB lighting changed out, the better so he can start to recover.
Remember, they do recover slowly so it may take him some time to get better.
I wouldn't feed tomatoes often, as they are high in oxalates & bind calcium. Which greens
are you trying to feed him? They all seem to like something different. You can try a mix of
arugula, mustard or collard greens, dandelion greens or escarole, or even bok choy. Maybe
he will like one of those. Squash varieties are great to feed also.
He looks to be of good weight right now. How is he doing today?

Tracie
 

Beardiemommarescue

Member
Original Poster
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I've posted about Elliot previously and he seems to be showing signs of improvement, however last night when I was giving him a bath he went to the bathroom but it was only the white stuff, he did poop the day before. Today he was walking around on the carpet(hes been putting some weight on his hind legs and has some more mobility since hes been in my care) he still seems to be flat backed and skinny. He popped on the carpet and it had the white and the brown but it came with a small puddle of liquid. It was on a red carpet so it seemed clear to me. I've been syringe feeding him 2wce a day about 1.875ml at a time. I mix it with kale, carrots, meal worms, super worms, and I put in a horn worm this time along with calcium with d 3, and water. I've been bathing him every night as it seems hes mot drinking from his dish on his own. He goes after worms and crickets every once In awhile but will not touch veggies on his own. He seems to be closing his mouth more but his tounge is still sticking out quite often. He also licks his lips like we do when were thirsty but I offer water and he doesnt want it. His temp on the warm is between 88-and 100 %f and 80% f on the cold side humidity on the warm side stays between 30 and 50 about the same on the cool side never over 60. I'm very concerned about his size as well as the watery poop today. I'm looking for any pointers as to getting him back to health. Im mot sure what else to do. I'm trying to add photos of him but it doesnt seem to be allowing me. I click on the ximg and my old pictures from my previous post pop up.
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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
You need to click on the user image uploader again to down load new pics the click on the XIMG on top of message box -
Karrie
 

Beardiemommarescue

Member
Original Poster
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This is him today. He still seems very skinny to me. He also is still very flat backed. And his mobility has gotten better hes now climbing to his basking spot and I've been letting him walk a bit on the floor and he has started to put weight on his hind legs. He seems more attentive but he still doesnt seem to excited about food. I've tried kale and romaine lettuce, I've wiggled it and showed it to him but no go. I will take your idea and maybe try something different! He sometimes goes after bugs but not much. That's why I've been syringe feeding. He has been pooping but today it had white and brown but it came with a small puddle of liquid I'm wondering if it's from the feed? Like its liquidy? Once he starts eatting normal it will get better? Is there anything I can do to help it? And yes I am so happy I can care for him, I just wish i knew more! I've been doing tons of research but most things I find automatically say got to the vet. I am very thankful for this site to help me with him I want what's best and to see him thrive and have a long life!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The cool side is never over 60? Is that C or F? Cool side of tank should be 80 F during the day at nite not below 65 F----- I would try and find him something easier for him to climb on than the rock you have showing him on--- mobility should be as easy as can be for him you dont want him struggling-- I dont think you need to bath him as often as you are - if hes not drinking from his bath he is probably not thirsty--- the extra water he pooped out means hes hydrated and getting rid of the excess water - I would knock his baths down to once a week -- did you get the UVB changed out that is going to be key to him getting better --- I would try and see if he will eat on his own -- feeding him good fresh greens and live insects even if you haft to disable them so he can catch them --- is he taking the syringe feeding ok?
Karrie
 
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