Hi there. My 30 year old step son who is living with us has a 6 year old bearded dragon and I think she's sick. I think she's been stick and nobody believes me and I don't know what else to do. He refuses to take her to the vet and I don't have the funds to do it (times are rough). She is gasping for air and you can hear her make noises so I believe she has a respiratory infection again. They didn't believe me the first time she had one and we took her to the vet and I paid, but the vet seems very unsure which didn't help my case. I have some pictures to show you. I think she's starving, dehydrated, probably on her way to MBD. He had a bulb in her tank and didn't change it for a year. Her tank is way too small and he says she doesn't need a 40 gallon. She's in a 20 which I got for her because he arrived with her in a 10. She's 21 inches long. On 1/7 she was 458 grams. Last night she weighed in at 416. He doesn't really feed her greens, and if he does, it's kale, so I made sure to buy mustard greens, endive, collard greens instead. I actually bought a bearded dragon because I liked her so much and I thought by him seeing how I treat mine, that he would step up. NO, he hasn't. When I tell him what I've read on what we should be doing is all wrong. She only eats super worms. Now she's not even eating much, as you can see by her poop. He bathes her when he remembers, so maybe every couple of weeks. I remember once I did because I felt so bad for her and she literally drank for over 6 minutes straight, I have a video of it. It was heartbreaking. She's completely deteriorated since he arrived her October 2019. My husband says I can do nothing because she's not mine. I can't stand by any longer and watch him kill her. So I need proof from someone that she's ill, neglected, something. Her fat pads don't exist. If you press on them, the barely raised bump where they would be pushes down like it's only a bubble of air. He doesn't time her lighting. It's turned on whenever and off whenever. The cage is cleaned whenever. It could be weeks. He thinks she's brumating. Clearly you can tell she is not. But I'm going off of what I'm reading. If she was wouldn't she be sleeping? He doesn't know to change the timing on the lights for brumation. Her poop is rust colored, she's completely dehydrated! You an see her ribs in the photos of her sides. HELP ME! He believes nothing I say. I just told my husband I'm on here looking for help, proof, something to prove to him killing her.
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