adopted adult beardy, extremely small and looks malnourished

[ElenaNH]

So I was offered this bearded dragon by someone I don't have a very high opinion of, she wanted to get him off her hands. I was going to decline but then she laughed and said she could remember the last time she even fed him and that the UV lamp has been OFF since November. So I immediately decided to take him, I was originally planning to get a snake, so I have have equipment and a tank and I made sure to go out and get extra for him.
But then I saw him.
I got home, and he's in my tank, and I'm expecting this large beardy, cause apparently he's 3-4 years old at least. But he looks like a baby beardy. He's so skinny and small and he's so small in my hand. I don't understand. How did this happen? I have no respect for this woman anymore.
But I've now put vegetables and some fruit into a feed bowl on the cool end of the enclosure near his water, and I put in all the crickets she gave me, which was only 6. I have the UV on, and a heat rock.
But I'm really worried, because he's tiny and underweight and his skin is sorta hanging around his legs. I need help, I've not had a beard before, I have lots of pets, but this beardy is my first lizard. I need an experienced opinion and advice. ASAP

 

[CooperDragon]

Poor guy. I'm glad you were able to take him in and give him a chance. It sounds like he has been severely mistreated. I would go easy on him at first. Don't offer solid foods as that may overwhelm his system if he hasn't been eating. Offer him some water by dripping it on his nose a little bit at a time from a plastic syringe or dropper. If he licks it up, that's a good sign. Keep offering small bits at a time throughout the day and see if he perks up.

If he starts drinking, I would keep up with that for a day or so and then offer some baby food squash or green beans the same way. Hopefully he'll lick at that too and that will give him some energy. Keep that up for several days and see how he does.

It's also important to give him high quality lighting. What kind of lights do you have in place right now? What are the temperatures across the tank? You'll want a basking area to be about 100-105 with a gradient down to the cool side of about 75-80. At night, you may want to keep his temps up higher than normal for now. Use a ceramic heat emitter above the tank to bring the temps in part of the tank up to around 75-80 overnight. I wouldn't use a heat rock because they have been known to cause burns with dragons. It's best to provide their heat from above so they can better regulate.

 

[CooperDragon]

You can upload photos of him here: https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button.

 

[Gormagon]

I am so glad you got him, sounds like he was basicly abandoned it the place he was kept. There are no words (that I can put on this forum) to describe what the previous owner deserves and I would be more than happy to explain it to them in great detail. These loving little creatures depend on their caretakers to thrive and this little guy was horribly let down.

Look around on here or post questions you have and we will be glad to help. You have already gotten some great advice and information in the above post.
I hope he comes out of itquickly.

 

[tdxdmc]

hey, I just recently adopted an underweight/sick beardy recently. I recommend you try to get some oxbow, its a liquid diet you can feed him everyday. The progress I see in my little guy has been incredible in less than a week.

 

[tdxdmc]

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/56283/full

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/56289/full