7yr old dragon Chuck**pictures** and basking!! help :)

[Kriechtier]

I'd hold off on taking him outside. He may not be accustomed to the outdoors and will likely freak/stress out (they don't always show it). Butternut squash is very good. If he doesn't eat it by himself try small pieces via chop sticks. Usually if you wiggle it a bit he'll pay attention. Blueberries are also often times taken. Not sure what the protein situation is, but I would not buy worms from an angle supply or so, they might have additives. If you like you can go to a Petco or so and get canned silk worms. They are soft and easy to digest I'd think. I would do this until you see him turn around health-wise.
In the meantime keep up the baths, good cage temperatures and lighting. Keep in mind in the long run you will need proper UV lighting. I am not sure about compact brands, but it seems that there is some research that suggests some brands are better than others (always look at the date of the research as well). I think tubes are generally better or you can invest in a Mercury Vapor bulb for reptiles (but $$).

Best of luck.

 

[destiny1998]

If you don't want to tske him outside is there a window that gets good amount of sunlight? If do you can open up the window and sit there with him for a few mins.

 

[mrsphate]

If you don't want to tske him outside is there a window that gets good amount of sunlight? If do you can open up the window and sit there with him for a few mins.

I don't want him upset, but buy a window sounds good since he is really bothered that i touched his sore eye. ever since Monday night he has fallen asleep at 7pm I waited until my husband got home from work 730 to see him and then turned his light off. today I turned his light off at 7, Not running the uvb lights until I get the new ones. did buy the powder with the D3 in it. he did not eat today.

I washed out his eye tonight best i could...didn't see much improvement, but then spread the honey all over his eye. I really hope that helps him.

 

[destiny1998]

Sounds like you are doing a great job and he is one lucky spoiled guy

 

[mrsphate]

Sounds like you are doing a great job and he is one lucky spoiled guy

just hope we can make a difference. i'm afraid he will die. he barely can walk and today he didn't move or eat Hoping for a better day tomorrow.

 

[AHBD]

I'm really sorry that he seems so weak and unresponsive. The thing about reptiles is that we can never be sure exactly where the health problems are , how serious and long standing, especially for an older dragon. It's hard to say or even think that some won't make it , but the reality is there....but that doesn't mean that he won't, it's just agonizing to know that he might not. As the other poster mentioned, it took a long time for him to get in this condition, and it will take a while to recover, and at his age he may not. Something else you might try, offer a bit of pureed food or baby food squash or chicken, and being that most dragons like the taste of honey [ and you said he licked his lips when he tasted it ] you can add about 1/8 of a teaspoon and a bit of warm water all together with the baby food, along with a pinch of calcium powder. If you get the type of plastic syringe [ not glass ! ] that has a pointy end, [ the kind for administering medicine ] you can very gently wiggle it in the side of his mouth + very slowly give him a syringe full if he'll take it. If he likes it, then give him another small syringe full...up to about 6-8 ml's. Again, he may have problems that are not visible, his weakness can be from a number of things and it may be that not even the best vet. on the planet could help him, or it could be just some time + TLC can give him another year or 2 ....but there's just no telling. So hang in there...hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. Hopefully he'll surprise you + start doing better soon !

 

[mrsphate]

I'm really sorry that he seems so weak and unresponsive. The thing about reptiles is that we can never be sure exactly where the health problems are , how serious and long standing, especially for an older dragon. It's hard to say or even think that some won't make it , but the reality is there....but that doesn't mean that he won't, it's just agonizing to know that he might not. As the other poster mentioned, it took a long time for him to get in this condition, and it will take a while to recover, and at his age he may not. Something else you might try, offer a bit of pureed food or baby food squash or chicken, and being that most dragons like the taste of honey [ and you said he licked his lips when he tasted it ] you can add about 1/8 of a teaspoon and a bit of warm water all together with the baby food, along with a pinch of calcium powder. If you get the type of plastic syringe [ not glass ! ] that has a pointy end, [ the kind for administering medicine ] you can very gently wiggle it in the side of his mouth + very slowly give him a syringe full if he'll take it. If he likes it, then give him another small syringe full...up to about 6-8 ml's. Again, he may have problems that are not visible, his weakness can be from a number of things and it may be that not even the best vet. on the planet could help him, or it could be just some time + TLC can give him another year or 2 ....but there's just no telling. So hang in there...hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst. Hopefully he'll surprise you + start doing better soon !

i will do thank you.

 

[mrsphate]

Hey everyone! the UVB light and hood will be here saturday sometime and the temperature thing with a probe! I hope that is all I need for him right now. We were not prepared to re buy these things as we were told that all his lights came with. Didn't know they all were either A. burnt out or B. the wrong ones. :/

Also Should I continue to leave the uvb light off while his eye heals? Please let me know. Going to get him some yummy worms, he LOVED the squash!! Can I post a video on here? Want you to understand how he eats, I basically have to move his body for him

 

[AHBD]

Hey, that's great that his lights will be coming so soon ! You can keep the old coil one off, one or two more days will be fine. also great that he loved the squash....how did you prepare it and serve it to him ?

 

[mrsphate]

Hey, that's great that his lights will be coming so soon ! You can keep the old coil one off, one or two more days will be fine. also great that he loved the squash....how did you prepare it and serve it to him ?

I cut the butternut squash in half. cut side down on plate in microwave. nuked for 2 minutes. took it out and sliced and cubed it. then put a like 10ish pieces back in the microwave for a minute let it cool off and then gave it to him...he has such a hard time eating because it seems like he has no depth perception. I also gave him 3 crawlers today. he freezes if any food touches him...maybe that is why he wouldn't let me rub it on his mouth for him to eat anything...so he wouldn't eat the worm from my hand, but i put it on a tuberware lid and he ate it off that once he finally got it. took him 30ish minutes to eat 3 of them. seconds once he got each one in his mouth though

I don't know how long for the horn or super worms to come in...I don't know what my husband ordered..

 

[AHBD]

Wow, Chuck was sure hungry....that's ALOT of food ! You might have just gone with one crawler, being that they are larger than most feeders, but hopefully he'll be O.K. with that much. Be sure that he stays in his tank where it's warm, no bathing until tomorrow since he needs plenty of time to digest his big dinner, as well as the fact that the crawlers have a lot of moisture.

 

[mrsphate]

Wow, Chuck was sure hungry....that's ALOT of food ! You might have just gone with one crawler, being that they are larger than most feeders, but hopefully he'll be O.K. with that much. Be sure that he stays in his tank where it's warm, no bathing until tomorrow since he needs plenty of time to digest his big dinner, as well as the fact that the crawlers have a lot of moisture.

He only ate a few pieces of squash, not all I gave him. and the 3 worms. That is a lot, but he wanted to eat! I hope he wont be too full. I thought someone said I could feed him 3-5 at a time....hmmm...well next time I'll just give him one. the pieces of squash are also cut pea size. or slightly larger.

 

[MichaelG]

3 night crawlers are fine to give a dragon. I wouldn't decrease his food voluntarily right now, he still needs quite a lot to rebuild his strength.

Putting a dragon in the sun by a window won't give him UVB at all- the glass of the window filters out UVB and only lets in UVA. It will only stress him out.

It sounds like he's been deprived of proper UVB and calcium for a really long time, especially since his legs are so weak. That's called Metabolic Bone Disease and there is quite a lot of literature on the subject.

Even if the coil bulb was giving off good UVB at one point, which it probably wasn't, I'm sure that it had gone bad a really long time ago and the previous owner didn't know it. UVB bulbs need to be replaced at least every 6 months. The UVB levels decrease over time and after 6 months they are not beneficial levels anymore even though the bulb appears to still be working since it is still lighting up.

 

[AHBD]

He will probably handle the 3 crawlers alright, but it's always good to proceed slowly when feeding a sickly old dragon whose stomach may have never held that amount of food in quite a while. So a precaution is always warranted. And the new bulbs coming in will definitely help with the MBD. There are many problems that he could have, but he seems to be a fighter, and a good appetite is always a plus. So far so good !

 

[mrsphate]

Also, he is more lively out side of the tank I notice. he crawls on you sometimes when you hold him. he walks (slowly) on my floor several feet. he just lounges in the bath, but hey who doesn't like a relaxing bath?
i'm thinking the tank could possibly be too hot for him? we will see Saturday when i can give you temperatures accurately.

Also I can't get a picture now because he is asleep but there is white things (plugs?) coming out of him that were not visible before I read another post but they didn't have something coming out of them. said it was femoral plugs? I don't know. Anyway they weren't there Monday/tuesday for sure, but they are there now. also has a bit of something hanging out of his vent. (sperm plug?) does this happen alot and how many sperm plugs do they have? shouldn't he have lost his already at 7 years old?