Adopting 2 BD's - Advice Needed Please

[Minnie72]

Hi,

My friend at work's son has 2 BD'd roughly a year old that he is trying to re-home. The son has not looked after them very well & he wants them to go to a better home.

He tells me that they both live in the same viv, have never had any UVB & the son has on occasion (not sure how many times) not turned on the only light source they have for basking. I don't think they have ever had any vitamin/calcium suppliments either.

I am gonna send pics.

Minnie

 

[beardlover]

Hi,

My friend at work's son has 2 BD'd roughly a year old that he is trying to re-home. The son has not looked after them very well & he wants them to go to a better home.

He tells me that they both live in the same viv, have never had any UVB & the son has on occasion (not sure how many times) not turned on the only light source they have for basking. I don't think they have ever had any vitamin/calcium suppliments either.

I am gonna send pics.

Minnie

WOW! I'm glad to hear you will be taking those poor beardies in!

Have you had beardies before? Or is this all new to you? I'm pretty new but I'll help with what I can, there some quite knowledgeable members here who are always a great help!
First things first I guess, you are going to need a second viv. Bearded dragons should not be housed together as they can become aggressive with eachother which can (and most likely will) lead to injury or even death. Just ask some of the members who have rescues.
I can't believe they have never has any UVB! I suggest a MVB (mercury vapor bulb), they have uvb as well as heat...never use a coil type or compact bulb - these have been proven to cause damage to beardies.
Loose substrate is also a big no-no around here. Slate tile, paper towel, non-adhesive shelf liner...all work well.

 

[Minnie72]

I know!

Not sure if this link will work

http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn131/minnie72_photo/Adoptive%20Beardies/

Minnie

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

That's great that you are going to adopt those two beardies. Just let us know what kind of advice you need>

Dawn

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Your pictures came out fine. Considering they were neglected and had no uvb, they look pretty good. Are they the same age? I don't know if it's the camera angle, but the darker one looks smaller in the one pic. The one you are holding looks pretyy good size.
So..what kind of advice were you looking for?

 

[Minnie72]

I think they are the same age, not 100% sure thou. They are currently still with my friend. I am hoping to get them in the next 2 weeks.

Am I right that they need to be seperated, even thou have never been apart since babies?
What would you suggest with suppliments?
Can my help even after a year make a good enough change to their appearance/health?

Minnie

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

Yes.....You can make a major difference(even after many years)in their health,appearance and behavior. I'm so happy you want to take them in and give them a chance at a good life.

Definitely separate them once you get them. They may be okay now, but down the line things could change for the worse. Do you already have enclosures for them?

As far as vitamins go they will need calcium and mutivitamins. Rep-Cal is a good choice. With them being a year old, normally you would start cutting back a bit on supplements. Considering they have never had anything though I would suggest 5 x a week on calcium(one feeding a day) and 3 x a week on mutivitamins(one feeding a day).

 

[beardlover]

I think they are the same age, not 100% sure thou. They are currently still with my friend. I am hoping to get them in the next 2 weeks.

Am I right that they need to be seperated, even thou have never been apart since babies?
What would you suggest with suppliments?
Can my help even after a year make a good enough change to their appearance/health?

Minnie

Yes! Your help will make a HUGE difference once you get them under some lights and start pumping them full of crickets, veggies and love they will thrive

It's a good idea to split them up - better safe then sorry - it's pretty rare for beardies to make friends with other beardies. You may not see any aggression but that doesn't mean it's not there...

 

[Minnie72]

Hi,

I have a 5 month old BD Larry. I am comfortable with housing & lighting now.

I have been told that they do fight! I was gonna use T-Rex for vitamins and Nutrabol for calcium?

The son is giving me their viv & I have a good breeder who sells 2nd hand vivs so no trouble there. I would have them sooner, but think it best if I get the 2nd viv set up & get some additional stuff for their existing viv 1st.

Larry is on 100% recycled paper for substrate which I can use for them & I was also gonna get a 100w basking bulb & use the same UVB I have for Larry - 6% Arcadia D3?

Minnie

 

[Ethelia]

Hi there,
HIgh-five for taking in these boys.
They are dreadfully thin. Poor darlings.

We generally recommend the Arcadia 12% UVB as that provides a more appropriate amount of UVB. You could also use the Repti-Sun (not repti-glo) 10.0 bulb. These boys looks like they are in desperate need of UVB so the more the better at this stage.

You also always want a strip flourescent UVB tube, never a coil or compact because they are hazzardous to dragons.

In terms of feeding tips I would recommend trying to get some form of squash into their diets right away. Squash is a very starchy veg which incorages the body to store fat. Ive had wonderful results fattening up all my skinny rescues with it.

They will definatly benefit from seperation. Dragons are naturally solitary and territorial creatures, and even if they do not show signs of outward aggression they can still stress eachother out and diminish eachothers health.

As well as being skinny little creatures they look awfully dehydrated. They have probably never seen a bath in their lives! Id start them on a regeme of bathing. 15 minutes in warm water no deeper than their armpits should keep them perfectly hydrated.

Good luck and please do keep us posted.

Holly