Very worried:(

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GiddEon73

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Okay so hi guys, I just posted an intro a little bit ago. Nice to meet you.
Giddeon Info/Setup
My dragon is around 4 years old and his name is Giddeon or as my nana likes to call him Spike. I have had giddeon for almost 2 years now. Truthfully I don’t know the length of him haha. I got him through a family friend who couldn’t have him anymore and in the hopes of me getting a snake we took this guy instead:) I love him all the same. His substrate is green felt like mats on the bottom of his tank I can take out, clean off and throw in the washer. He does not have a UVB light right now since it broke a bit ago but I do have a heating lamp in place on top on the enclosures lid, above his climbing branch. I do worry sometimes if I don’t catch it in time he will sit there gaping for a while without moving first. Shouldn’t he know to move right away if he was too hot? Why would he stay sitting there? Sometimes I think he’s a little special in the head. The heat lamp is I believe a 50W bulb with a metal dome top. I asked a petco/smart worker to help me with the correct set up. I do not have any way to get a feel of the temps on each side of the tank right now but I’m sure I can find a device the next time I head in for some worms:) I do not use a heat rock or pad. Is that bad? Giddeon eats Hornworms, waxworms, mealworms and crickets. Along with occasional veggies but he’s become very stubborn lately about them:( When it’s time for everyone to wake up I get him set up with his heat lamp until he’s up and awake and if it’s been a week or so I’ll check the hornworms sizes and feed him one, try to lure out the remaining crickets hopping around the enclosure and if that’s not enough some wax worms. He normally stops when he knows he’s full. Then it’s outside time/play time. I do let him have free range of the house with the necessary precautions(lesson learned) ofc he’ll take his daily nap and then we’ll play some more:) pooping time and then everyone eats dinner at around the same time within an hour. Everyone meaning all humans and our dog as well as Giddeon:) When I get crickets I normally bring home 25-30 at a time and give em a piece of potato and a wet paper towel to eat/drink on.I do use calcium supplements with his meals because I do notice we are starting to deal with MBD.I feel like I know what I am doing but I don’t know how to do it perfect. I’ll get to that in a minute. I use calcium powder when feeding wax worms and meal worms. I either dip them in enough foe him to eat or I’ll shake em around in the powder enough to be lightly dusted for all.
I started to see some good progression for a while a bit ago but unfortunately he’s starting to fall behind again. Giddeon always has a water dish in his enclosure for his convenience and even the crickets will sip on it too sometimes. I try to bathe him 3 times a week at the least in warm/lukewarm water. He just melts right in when I place him in the tub it’s so adorable. I do have to syringe feed him water from time to time as well. I do not have any other dragon, more so no he does not live with another. I also have not gotten him a vet checkup yet in fear of news I would receive.
Backstory/Worry
I would like to apologize for the length of this message. I just don’t know where else to go. Places I call around me have me on lists waiting for months. I just can’t wait. Thank you for listening btw.
Here’s where it gets more serious and I’m worried. When I first got Giddeon he was happier than he is now and would move more freely. Although, he moves just the same but with MBD. He just doesn’t let that get in his way:) He would shed when the time came and without any problems. I remember cleaning up his awful poop lol every single day and now it’s not so frequent. He would chase after his crickets and eat like 10-13 of them in one go. Just so happy and content. But now and as time went on from that first day having him it hasn’t been great. I think the very first thing I started to notice was his pooping. That being just the first thing to go wrong I kind of pushed it to the side especially being a first time owner. Then the shedding stopped except for certain little spots here and there on his body. Again I thought nothing of it. But when I noticed that his toes started to bend like rubber and more so than normal I started freaking out. I searched and tried to study as much as I could. That’s also when the pooping and shedding issue hit me too. I immediately went to get him bulbs and calcium powder and looked for new worms he’s never had and the right UVB and substrate. Literally the whole shebang and it started to work. But then. There was a point where we were super low on money for a bit he could only rely on veggies we had in the garden but he got so bored and used to them he pretty much refuses now. I’m trying so hard but at the moment he’s almost got a whole meat diet. His toes never got any better. He’s still not shed in I’d say about 3-4 months. We are getting poops so I’m so glad about that! I noticed around 2 weeks ago his nails were getting bad so I had plans to get clippers for him. Well then we got snowed in omg. So one day I’m checking him out putting him back in his enclosure and what do I see. His front left thumb nail is gone. Before I knew or I’m pretty sure Ik what it is, I thought his whole finger just came off. I was terrified. Unfortunately I was not there for when he lost the nail. I finally got a pair now though and we are working on toe boundaries lol. He walks with his ankles bending in supporting his body weight yet still runs like the flash. I don’t understand how that’s not hurting him. I discovered he can develop a respiratory problem if the shed in his nose doesn’t come out properly. Well it definitely seems stuck in there (I noticed 1-2weeks ago) and just tonight I am seeing him gasp for air as he’s breathing and hearing the little pants. And all I can do is sit here and silently cry and tell him it’s gonna be okay. He won’t let me in his nose and is just getting comfortable with his nails. I keep telling myself and my family it’s better if I give him away to people or a business that can take care of him and bring his health back. They tell me I’m crazy and make me feel like I’m just making these problems up and I’m losing my mind really. I really do and am trying to take care of him but when I can’t get him to eat veggies or pick at his nose or nails and he’s not shedding and well yea just everything I said before this. It’s just like every time me and him get somewhere, somehow he just keeps going backwards. I don’t want to have to let him go but I love him so much I can’t let him stay here and eventually rot. I’ve got a lot coming up in life soon and guys I just really don’t know what to do. I will try my hardest to keep on keeping on until I move out in around 4 months but what am I supposed to do after:(
I heard from a post here baby food is supposed to be good for dragons when they don’t eat veggies normally. Is that really okay for them?
Again my apologies if anyone reads this. Thank you foe taking the time <3
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
First you need to invest in a UVB ASAP--- your dragon cannot live w/ out it--- what size is the tank? If its a 40 + gallon you need to look for this hood a 24" https://www.pangeareptile.com/store/zoo-med-reptisun-t5-ho-terrarium-hood.html you need to get this ASAP--- your dragon needs basking temps 95-110 --- I dont know the size of the tank but if its a 40 or bigger that 50 watt bulb is not going to keep temps to what you need ---- w/ out proper basking temps and UVB he is not going to be healthy and will get sick -- NO heat rocks NO heat mats No colored bulbs and NO coils for UVB they are all bad! Especially coil UVB's ---- you need what I posted -- please NO more potatos ---- he needs fresh salads every day here is a website for nutrition http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html ignore the kale thing its a good staple feeder --- you can use a few worms like super or meal or BSFL or horn worms on top of the salads to lure him to the bowl but only use 1-3 you want him to start eating those salads --- how often are you feeding the crickets? You can also get some dubia roaches as a staple feeder too and use them to lure him to the salad bowl -- Please DO NOT keep crickets in the tank they come out at nite and will bite the dragon and can cause infection -- he should be eating insects 2-3 times per week and salads every day --- the insects need to be dusted w/ calcium D3 lightly coated each feeding -- or once per feeding and he should be getting vitamins w/ beta carotene 2 times per week -- dust the crickets or insects your feeding --- he is getting sick w/ NO UVB they need this to absorb / synthesize the calcium hes getting -- and if he getting NO calcium he will end up very sick the UVB controls the overall health of your dragon along w/ basking temps - he needs those to start digestion of his food --- if you need any more help or have questions please ask
 

GiddEon73

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee said:
Okay so I went to PetSmart and got a UVB bulb. Since I don’t know the exact dimensions of his enclosure I compared them to enclosures in the store. Most normal ones were around 36x38. I noticed that Giddeon enclosure is actually a little longer than ones displayed. So his is more like 40-42 possibly. My next investment is a tape measure. I’m a high school student with no job atm so getting needed materials might take a bit longer. Anyway. I only had $20 with me when I went so I got what I could. For now! I ended up grabbing the reptisun 5.0 UVB with a wattage of 13 and has UVA. The only hoods I’ve ever had for giddeon have been Hood fixtures so that’s what I have the UVB in right now. I know it isn’t ideal. You mentioned how the 50 watt heat bulb won’t keep temperatures high or even enough but when I have it on he stays under to where’s he’s warm enough and then runs around his enclosure wanting out because it’s too warm. So I take him out to play and then his lamp off. Is that normal for them to stay for so long and be hot. I figure they’d have the common sense to leave before they get too hot. The UVB bulb I have just bought isn’t coiled but it is a little oddly shaped. The box says fluorescent for the bulb. I can assure you again, I do not use heating rocks or mats or anything of that sort. And to clear things up I DO NOT feed Giddeon the potatoes? the potato pieces are for his crickets to munch on in their home. A wet napkin too. I do offer Giddeon broccoli, red cabbage, he LOVES bell peppers. Not too much tho. I offer him sliced carrots, apples, bananas, grapes and so on. He doesn’t get every single one every day. It depends on what we have left in the fridge and I’ll cut them up and put them in his food dish. But unfortunately since developing MBD he’s grown less interest in them. So with the help of the UVB I am hoping his interest will heighten soon! I feed him crickets not as often anymore because he doesn’t like to chase them as much. But still has all his mobility. When he does get crickets it’s about 2 times a week and he’ll eat about 4-5 at a time. Then we just do his normal worms. Like you said with calcium dusting, I do that already and it’s helping out a good amount. I can see slow progression to better health:) I don’t know that I have anymore questions at the moment but would just like to say thank you for getting back to me. This website was my last bit of hope. You guys are wonderful!
(Even tho I have no more questions rn I would love more advice if needed❤️)
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok so please no more broccoli red cabbage and less fruit-- green peppers are ok but tend to give runny stools so I would not feed regularly- the UVB 5.0 bulb is more for aquarium use - you can use it but I would get the 10.0 when you change the 5.0 bulb out--- it will need to be replaced in 6 months I recommend 5-- the next thing is it needs to be inside the tank w/ a distance of 6-8 inches directly above the basking decor -- what size is your fixture/ hood? That UVB is going to help him even more- but please get the 10.0 bulb when you can it's going to be better for giddoen in the long run- if you need help getting it hung I can post things to help
You want basking temps 95-110 taken w/ a digital probe thermometer - set it on the place where he sits for basking wait 10 minutes get temp-
 

GiddEon73

Member
Original Poster
What veggies would you recommend in place of those. Are the others I offer him okay for him? Of course I will get another UVB of 10.0 when I can. If I have the chance to get that bulb before 5 months (fairly sure I will) is it okay that I switch them out then(earlier)? Yes the box says 9inches above Giddeon/basking area. His enclosure isn’t super tall so his branch he uses to bask is about up to the top of the enclosure as is. I normally put the domes on top of the wire/mesh lid of the enclosure above where his branch rests. Because I don’t have room to just hang it in there with his branch. Is that okay or should I find a way around that? I will look for that digital thermometer as well:)
Edit: I will have to measure the dome as well





 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The UVB is not strong to go thru the screen it needs to be unobstructed- so either take the screen off or have it half on for basking lights - I posted a nutrition website for you look in that it will give you all kinds of ideas for feeding
 
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What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank
Taking my beardie for a walk

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